Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie team up to catch a serial killer in The Bone Collector. New to 4K UHD from Kino Lorber.
The Film
It’s wild to say that Denzel Washington may go down in history as the most underrated film actor in history, but… Denzel Washington may go down in history as the most underrated film actor in history. At the time of writing this, he has only been nominated for 9 Academy Awards, having only won 2 of those. I can think of at least seven performances he deserved to at least be nominated over the winning performance that year.
All that to say that Washington is the Platinum standard of excellence in his chosen art form. Even when he decides to do genre work like The Bone Collector, it pushes past his contemporaries’ work. One can see why the actor wanted to take on the role of Lincoln Rhyme, the quadriplegic former homicide detective attempting to solve a series of grisly murders. The role pushes the star away from the physicality of previous genre roles to the cerebral, still within the confines of a genre picture.
The film itself is standard issue fair, with Rhyme being pulled back into police work when the work of a rookie cop (played by Angelina Jolie) catches his eye. Finding a protégé of sorts, Rhyme decides to help the NYPD only if Amelia (Jolie) can be his “eyes” on the scene. From there, Rhyme and Amelia form a bond as they search the underground catacombs of New York City.
The duo fails upwards, causing much aggravation within the department in the form of the Homicide Captain played by Michael Rooker. This is the type of film that one can guess the killer and the red herrings after watching the credit sequence. The obviousness doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the picture. One who hasn’t seen the film will be surprised by just how entertaining and engrossing the film for how predictably clockwork it is.
The centerpiece isn’t the story but the film’s two stars. Washington, already at the height of his stardom, and Jolie, fresh off her Academy Award-winning performance in Girl, Interrupted, are perfectly cast here. One often forgets there was a time when Angelina Jolie wasn’t one of the most recognizable faces in the world. It is shocking to see Jolie here as the young upstart cop with a New York Accent. Watching her collide with Washington in their first moments together is special. One does wonder why Jolie and Washington never found another project to work together on, as they had chemistry to spare. So much so that the duo makes the ending plausible (something that anyone else cast may have rung false).
Director Philip Noyce brings the same sort of stylish, handsome pop sensibilities he did in the amazing studio run he had with films like Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. The Bone Collector is the kind of studio-made film you rarely see. Big budget R-rated adult-minded entertainment.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative (Approved by Director Phillip Noyce) is as good a transfer as we’ve seen in 2025. The beautiful anamorphic film shot by Dean Semler is as sharp as it looks on the day it was released in 1999. The Dolby Vision encoding adds a luster to the blacks and low-lit scenes that make the film’s darker catacombs and night scenes positively glow. Oftentimes, directors will tinker with the color grading, but here this transfer seems to keep true to the original look of those 35mm release prints (note: I was a projectionist during this time and projected the film at least 50 x during its run). Bravo to Kino Lorber/Noyce for keeping the general look of the film from that era. 2025 continues to be a wealth of truly wonderful 4K releases.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
Audio Commentary by Director Phillip Noyce
NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Edwin Samuelson
NEW Audio Commentary by Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Journalist Barry Forshaw
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
Audio Commentary by Director Phillip Noyce
NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Edwin Samuelson
NEW Audio Commentary by Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Journalist Barry Forshaw
Spotlight on Location: Featurette
Theatrical Trailer (Newly Mastered in 2K)
The first of three Audio Commentaries and an archival track by Director Phillip Noyce. Noyce opens his track with a practical discussion of the title sequence and what he wants out of those opening title sequences as his opening thesis of the films using his own films’ credit sequences for Dead Calm, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Bone Collector, and how each accomplishes this. Some of the other details include filming in Toronto as New York; the reasons he wanted to make The Bone Collector – including his thoughts on the book by Jeffery Deaver and the screenplay; the casting process and how he ended up with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie as his stars; his process as a director once he’s hired on giving examples from other films and what he did for The Bone Collector and some of the various experts; his preproduction process including the storyboard process, and getting various production heads involved to lock down the visual style of the film; his love of the anamorphic widescreen process and why he often chooses to shoot in it; a larger discussion of his use of CG and practical tools to accomplish the Toronto for New York look; a larger discussion of the various actors and crew that worked on the film; and much more. Noyce’s commentary track is one of the truly great tracks as the director is loquacious, constantly discussing the techniques, tools, cast, and crew that accomplished this big-budget production.
The second of three Audio Commentaries is an all-new track by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Edwin Samuelson. Mitchell and Samuelson open their track about their qualifications, and this type of film was a regular studio output, the police thriller, no longer really produced by studios anymore. Some of the details include a discussion of the fact that how good the film fakes Canada for NYC and just how they accomplished that; Noyce’s thoughts on the film after years of its release; the development process and what attracted the creatives to the project initially; the casting what if’s; the studio initially did not want Angelina Jolie; the reason why this was co-financed by Columbia and Universal; a discussion of the great casting of this film; a discussion of Ed O’Neill in the film and his type casting after Married with Childrenand how he broke out of that; how the film’s scheduling and single location for Washington benefited his performance; the development of the film from novel to screen; what separates the film from other serial killer films; how this is essentially a Pygmalion retelling; a larger discussion of the effective use of NYC locations when they are used; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; a larger discussion of the various locations and how much those locations have changed in the close to thirty years since the film’s release; and much more. Mitchell and Samuelson provide a well-researched, informative track that includes quotes from the cast and crew.
The third and final Audio Commentary is a new track by Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Journalist Barry Forshaw. The track opens with Forshaw and Newman giving their credentials and Newman jokingly saying that he will be “Watson to Forshaw’s Sherlock Holmes” before diving into the opening credit sequence and the influence of Se7en’s opening title sequence. Some of the details include novelist Jeffery Deaver’s thoughts on the film adaptation and how it changed over the years; a history of the series itself (which includes 20+ novels), and a larger discussion of the work of Deaver; a discussion of the work here and in his career of Denzel Washington; the casting and work Angelina Jolie and how it compares to the character in the novel; the reasons why this film series never took off; the work here and career of Angelina Jolie; an interesting side conversation of actors and their political viewpoints in history; the work here, personal and professional history of director Phillip Noyce; a great discussion of actors Leland Orser and Michael Rooker which leads a great discussion of character actors as red herrings; a discussion of the various detective series and their best novels; the TV ill-fated TV series based on Deaver’s books; a discussion of the novels of Thomas Harris and the shadow cast over the serial killing genre as a whole; a larger discussion of the serial killer subgenre that reached its heights in the 1990s through the early 2000s; a larger discussion of the supporting cast and actors that play them; a larger discussion of the various detectives and stories of disabled, housebound, and ones that solve crimes remotely, to which Lincoln Rhyme is a part of; and much more. Newman and Foshaw bring an entirely different look and well-researched track than Mitchell and Samuelson, providing us a look at the serial killer genre as a whole in Book/TV/Film and the creatives behind The Bone Collector.
Spotlight on Location: Featurette (22:36) – this archival EPK-style behind-the-scenes look at The Bone Collector dives into the writing, casting, production, themes, and style of the film. The featurette is a combination of interviews and b-roll footage from the making of the film. Comments by director Phillip Noyce, producer Martin Bergman, stars Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Ed O’Neill, and more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Bone Collector [Newly Mastered in 2K] (2:29); Inside Man(2:14); The Manchurian Candidate (2:32); Mo’ Better Blues (2:42); Cry Freedom (2:43); Blind Fury (1:25)
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber continues to bring the very best in classic genre cinema to home video. Recommended!!
Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie team up to catch a serial killer in The Bone Collector. New to 4K UHD from Kino Lorber.
The Film
It’s wild to say that Denzel Washington may go down in history as the most underrated film actor in history, but… Denzel Washington may go down in history as the most underrated film actor in history. At the time of writing this, he has only been nominated for 9 Academy Awards, having only won 2 of those. I can think of at least seven performances he deserved to at least be nominated over the winning performance that year.
All that to say that Washington is the Platinum standard of excellence in his chosen art form. Even when he decides to do genre work like The Bone Collector, it pushes past his contemporaries’ work. One can see why the actor wanted to take on the role of Lincoln Rhyme, the quadriplegic former homicide detective attempting to solve a series of grisly murders. The role pushes the star away from the physicality of previous genre roles to the cerebral, still within the confines of a genre picture.
The film itself is standard issue fair, with Rhyme being pulled back into police work when the work of a rookie cop (played by Angelina Jolie) catches his eye. Finding a protégé of sorts, Rhyme decides to help the NYPD only if Amelia (Jolie) can be his “eyes” on the scene. From there, Rhyme and Amelia form a bond as they search the underground catacombs of New York City.
The duo fails upwards, causing much aggravation within the department in the form of the Homicide Captain played by Michael Rooker. This is the type of film that one can guess the killer and the red herrings after watching the credit sequence. The obviousness doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the picture. One who hasn’t seen the film will be surprised by just how entertaining and engrossing the film for how predictably clockwork it is.
The centerpiece isn’t the story but the film’s two stars. Washington, already at the height of his stardom, and Jolie, fresh off her Academy Award-winning performance in Girl, Interrupted, are perfectly cast here. One often forgets there was a time when Angelina Jolie wasn’t one of the most recognizable faces in the world. It is shocking to see Jolie here as the young upstart cop with a New York Accent. Watching her collide with Washington in their first moments together is special. One does wonder why Jolie and Washington never found another project to work together on, as they had chemistry to spare. So much so that the duo makes the ending plausible (something that anyone else cast may have rung false).
Director Philip Noyce brings the same sort of stylish, handsome pop sensibilities he did in the amazing studio run he had with films like Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. The Bone Collector is the kind of studio-made film you rarely see. Big budget R-rated adult-minded entertainment.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative (Approved by Director Phillip Noyce) is as good a transfer as we’ve seen in 2025. The beautiful anamorphic film shot by Dean Semler is as sharp as it looks on the day it was released in 1999. The Dolby Vision encoding adds a luster to the blacks and low-lit scenes that make the film’s darker catacombs and night scenes positively glow. Oftentimes, directors will tinker with the color grading, but here this transfer seems to keep true to the original look of those 35mm release prints (note: I was a projectionist during this time and projected the film at least 50 x during its run). Bravo to Kino Lorber/Noyce for keeping the general look of the film from that era. 2025 continues to be a wealth of truly wonderful 4K releases.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
The first of three Audio Commentaries and an archival track by Director Phillip Noyce. Noyce opens his track with a practical discussion of the title sequence and what he wants out of those opening title sequences as his opening thesis of the films using his own films’ credit sequences for Dead Calm, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Bone Collector, and how each accomplishes this. Some of the other details include filming in Toronto as New York; the reasons he wanted to make The Bone Collector – including his thoughts on the book by Jeffery Deaver and the screenplay; the casting process and how he ended up with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie as his stars; his process as a director once he’s hired on giving examples from other films and what he did for The Bone Collector and some of the various experts; his preproduction process including the storyboard process, and getting various production heads involved to lock down the visual style of the film; his love of the anamorphic widescreen process and why he often chooses to shoot in it; a larger discussion of his use of CG and practical tools to accomplish the Toronto for New York look; a larger discussion of the various actors and crew that worked on the film; and much more. Noyce’s commentary track is one of the truly great tracks as the director is loquacious, constantly discussing the techniques, tools, cast, and crew that accomplished this big-budget production.
The second of three Audio Commentaries is an all-new track by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Edwin Samuelson. Mitchell and Samuelson open their track about their qualifications, and this type of film was a regular studio output, the police thriller, no longer really produced by studios anymore. Some of the details include a discussion of the fact that how good the film fakes Canada for NYC and just how they accomplished that; Noyce’s thoughts on the film after years of its release; the development process and what attracted the creatives to the project initially; the casting what if’s; the studio initially did not want Angelina Jolie; the reason why this was co-financed by Columbia and Universal; a discussion of the great casting of this film; a discussion of Ed O’Neill in the film and his type casting after Married with Childrenand how he broke out of that; how the film’s scheduling and single location for Washington benefited his performance; the development of the film from novel to screen; what separates the film from other serial killer films; how this is essentially a Pygmalion retelling; a larger discussion of the effective use of NYC locations when they are used; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; a larger discussion of the various locations and how much those locations have changed in the close to thirty years since the film’s release; and much more. Mitchell and Samuelson provide a well-researched, informative track that includes quotes from the cast and crew.
The third and final Audio Commentary is a new track by Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Journalist Barry Forshaw. The track opens with Forshaw and Newman giving their credentials and Newman jokingly saying that he will be “Watson to Forshaw’s Sherlock Holmes” before diving into the opening credit sequence and the influence of Se7en’s opening title sequence. Some of the details include novelist Jeffery Deaver’s thoughts on the film adaptation and how it changed over the years; a history of the series itself (which includes 20+ novels), and a larger discussion of the work of Deaver; a discussion of the work here and in his career of Denzel Washington; the casting and work Angelina Jolie and how it compares to the character in the novel; the reasons why this film series never took off; the work here and career of Angelina Jolie; an interesting side conversation of actors and their political viewpoints in history; the work here, personal and professional history of director Phillip Noyce; a great discussion of actors Leland Orser and Michael Rooker which leads a great discussion of character actors as red herrings; a discussion of the various detective series and their best novels; the TV ill-fated TV series based on Deaver’s books; a discussion of the novels of Thomas Harris and the shadow cast over the serial killing genre as a whole; a larger discussion of the serial killer subgenre that reached its heights in the 1990s through the early 2000s; a larger discussion of the supporting cast and actors that play them; a larger discussion of the various detectives and stories of disabled, housebound, and ones that solve crimes remotely, to which Lincoln Rhyme is a part of; and much more. Newman and Foshaw bring an entirely different look and well-researched track than Mitchell and Samuelson, providing us a look at the serial killer genre as a whole in Book/TV/Film and the creatives behind The Bone Collector.
Spotlight on Location: Featurette (22:36) – this archival EPK-style behind-the-scenes look at The Bone Collector dives into the writing, casting, production, themes, and style of the film. The featurette is a combination of interviews and b-roll footage from the making of the film. Comments by director Phillip Noyce, producer Martin Bergman, stars Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Ed O’Neill, and more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Bone Collector [Newly Mastered in 2K] (2:29); Inside Man(2:14); The Manchurian Candidate (2:32); Mo’ Better Blues (2:42); Cry Freedom (2:43); Blind Fury (1:25)
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber continues to bring the very best in classic genre cinema to home video. Recommended!!
Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD of The Bone Collector is out October 14th
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