The Singing Detective is a bit jarring in its presentation yet there’s some fine moments especially with the performance from Robert Downey Jr. and to some extent Mel Gibson if only for the weird hairpiece and make-up which was more distracting than anything. The Blu-ray release by Olive is decent enough I guess but there were some minor issues with the video while the audio is better than expected. That said, for the money it’s a bit much.
The Singing Detective
(2003)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Musical
Olive Films | R – 109 min. – $29.95 | August 25, 2015
 |
MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Keith Gordon Writer(s): Dennis Potter (screenplay) Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Robin Wright Penn, Jeremy Northam, Katie Holmes, Carla Gugino, Adrien Brody, Mel Gibson DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase The Singing Detective on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
PLOT SYNOPSIS
Dan Dark (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.) is an author of pulp novels who is undergoing treatment for severe psoriasis which has crippled his body and mind. In an out of consciousness, Dark’s paranoid delusions manifest themselves as vivid fantasies, combining fragments from his life and his fiction, giving voice to the characters he’s created and the action around him.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0/5
No features were included.
VIDEO – 3.25/5
Olive Films releases The Singing Detective onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). This was a strange transfer because on the surface, it doesn’t look half bad with only the occasional dust marks, specs or scratch yet there’s some kind of vertical lines noticeable in certain scenes though nothing painfully obvious outside of a scene or two. I don’t know if this was due to a problem with the software used or what but when taking screen caps, it is perceptible enough to take note.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo track provides for crisp and clear dialogue but really comes to life with a certain robustness with the variety of musical/singing sequences. It’s may not be an amazing lossless track or anything but certainly good enough and a bit better than I expected from a catalog release.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, The Singing Detective is a bit jarring in its presentation yet there’s some fine moments especially with the performance from Robert Downey Jr. and to some extent Mel Gibson if only for the weird hairpiece and make-up which was more distracting than anything. The Blu-ray release by Olive is decent enough I guess but there were some minor issues with the video while the audio is better than expected. That said, for the money it’s a bit much.
Published: 08/19/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.