Narc dvd thread (1 Viewer)

[David Illingworth II]

Hey guys, thanks for explaining the "plot hole" for Narc. That one has been bugging me for a while.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Watched it last night...saw it in theaters and loved it...but I think it might actually be better at home...its just a brilliant film and easily the best cop movie along with Dark Blue since LA Confidential...

While the 5.1 track on the DVD is nice...the dialogue seemed very low and I had to turn it up and then BOOOM something big would happen and would have to turn it down...somethings off...

 

[Mike Graham]

Saw the film in theaters back in January and found it to be one of the best cop films in years. While I like Training Day mainly because of the performances by Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington, the script was very weak at times and the ending was a complete let down (plus the fate of Alonzo's character was just so "safe" - he was a bad guy who gets what he deserves).


However, in Narc, everything just seemed done so well - a wonderful throwback to the hardcore crime dramas of the 70s. Patric's wonderfully subdued and reserved performance is the perfect compliment to Liotta's fiery turn as Oak. The ending completely blew me away, mainly because:

the fact that not only was Calvess a junkie like Tellis had been, but Calvess actually revealed Tellis' true identity to other people, setting in motion the events that started the film. The fact that the opening is so powerful and wonderfully integrated in the rest of the screenplay was fantastic.


Plus the morally ambiguous ending was perfect for the tone and atmosphere the film had.

Concerning the dialogue, I could barely hear some lines in the theater, and turned up my center channel last night in preparation for this. The effects like gunshots come through really well on the Dolby track, diddo Cliff Martinez's score.

The extras are extremely well done (produced by Laurent Bouzereau) and definitely worth the time to sit through. This is a wonderful disc for a wonderful film.

 

[Doug Schiller]

Although that explains the "hole", it is still hard to buy when...

The purpose of the cover up is to allow the wife to get his pension/benefits. It would have all been over if they would have closed the case from the junkie in the apartment. I don't feel so bad for the Liotta character now. He had a chance to close the whole ordeal and he blew it. Pin something on those guys later, close the damn murder case now!

Doug

 

[Mike Graham]

Oak is portrayed as a hot head who'll stop at nothing to punish people - that's why he's so vengeful on the wife beaters, etc. When he saw that Calvess killed himself because he had become a junkie, he wanted nothing more then to find the guys that had made him that way. Oak lost his chance at a family when his wife died, so when his tie to Calvess was lost he went into a tailspin.

 

[Nick Graham]

When did the pension ever get mentioned? Wouldn't she be getting his pension and benefits anyways? I don't even remember any character mentioning pension. I thought the purpose of the cover-up was that Oak didn't want to have his partner's memory tarnished as a junkie who committed suicide, as opposed to a hero who died in the field

I also noticed that the dialogue on this disc seemed pretty low compared to the score and sound effects...I assume this was intentional, especially if you guys say it was like that in the theater.

 

[Mike Graham]

Nick - watch the ending again, and listen to:
Oak's last words to Tellis - he says something along the lines that the dealers made Calvess "that way...his family will get nothing".


Whether it was intentional or not, this film has had one of the strongest messages about drugs I've seen in a film for a while (with the exception of Traffic). Everyone that is involved with drugs in the picture is a completely unsavory character, Tellis himself became addicted, the crackhouses are incredibly disgusting (realistic) while the dealers are very threatening (the opening sequence).

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

As others have mentioned:I thought Oak wanted to nail those he perceived as made Tellis the junkie he was. I think that he could not bear the idea of Tellis' death being pinned on that loser junkie while the two men he felt were responsible walked away. Don't forget that we're told early on that Oak was walking a fine line with IA. How much time after the case he would have had to chase down those two guys is very debateable. I think he felt that his investigation with Tellis was his last shot.

I loved this film. I hope we can get more gritty throw-back cop films.

 

[Nick Graham]

Mike, I had not thought of that, but I do remember it now. I guess Oak's goal was twofold then, make sure Calvess's family gets the pension, and to get revenge over who he believes was responsible for Calvess' death.

I think it's a testament to this flick's quality how lively (in a good way)a conversation we've been having all day, with more people chiming in as they've watched it.

 

[Aaron Cohen]

I'll chime in as well as I just finished watching it. This movie is outstanding and definitely one of the best new films I have seen in quite some time. I am kicking myself for not getting off my ass and seeing it in the theatre... I bought this DVD blind and am 100% happy with my purchase. I know if I merely rented this film I would want to go out and buy it after finishing it.

I was confused as well to see a full-screen version of this title sitting next to the widescreen version.....seems odd to me. Oh well, I guess they figured there is a market? I wouldn't think there would be much of any market for a full-frame version of this but what the heck whatever. I couldn't find anything to complain about while watching this film. I loved the sound, the transfer was wonderful and the extras were pretty interesting. Anyone listened to the commentary yet? I'm planning on checking that out tomorrow night.

Great dvd.

 

[Mike Graham]

Nick

I think it's a testament to this flick's quality how lively (in a good way)a conversation we've been having all day, with more people chiming in as they've watched it.

Very true indeed!

 

[Aurel Savin]

I am not sure if you guys missed this point ... but if the crime does not get pinned on anyone ... and it is discovered that Calvess commited suicide ... the PD does not pay the family any monies. Cops killed on duty allows for family payments ... cop killing himself does not. This is why Oak HAD to pin this on someone ... and who better than the ones that turned him into a junkie. And I hate to say this, but as Busta Rhymes mentioned in the movie, the fact that they are black would have made it stick better too.

 

[ScottJH]

dvdfile.com has their review up now.

 

[Prentice Cotham]

What I like best about the ending is how you are left wondering what Tellis will tell the cops. He gazes over at the tape recorder which had just recorded Oakes and his conversation. Would he allow the cops to listen to it? If he does, the wife would most likely lose the pension.


An excellent movie all around.

 

[Steve K.H.]

Ok, thank you all regarding the use of spoilers... there's one post comparing an ending to another classic that I suggest should be edited into a spoiler.

How does this film rate not on it's own but against Traffic, Training Day, and Scarface (which I'm guessing are fairly equitable backgrounds for the genre of film).

And more importantly...

How does this look? Sound?

 

[Joshua_Y]

I would say its as good as Scarface...I like Training Day and Traffic...but their no Scarface...

The DVD boasts a gorgeous transfer and a damn good 5.1 track!

 

[Mike Graham]

Against Traffic, I believe Narc has just as much to say about drugs. Traffic is about 40 minutes longer, is more epic in scope, and deals with drugs in every aspect, to the people that sell and distribute it to the people who become addicted to it.

Narc, however, just lays out for the viewer how drugs affect people and what the dismal effects are; the message, while not as grand, is still pretty powerful. Also, this film has fantastic acting, a Cliff Martinez score and some colored photography effects like Traffic.

I haven't seen Scarface so I can't comment on the similarities between the two films.

As for Training Day, as I stated in the previous post I never liked that film's final 15 minutes, as I felt it wasn't nearly as exciting as what came before, while the fact that:
Alonzo was just a thug
was just plain boring. Still a movie I would recommend overall, but not a great one.

Narc looks great on disc, with the Dolby track being very nice, with wonderful bass and some occasional ambient effects. The A/V quality on the disc really compliemnts the film.

 

[Tommy Ceez]

Oak wanted to pin the murder on someone in order to get the family the pension. The problem with the white junkie taking the fall is that Oak and Patrick knew the conviction would never stick. He would walk and they would still have no suspect. Now remember that this was not an ordinary citizen 'killed', it was a cop, with potential political ramifications. Oak knew that if the department was willing to pull Patrick back onto the case then they would stop at nothing short of a real conviction. Oak couldnt straight up kill the two junkies at the end because he needed a confession. The tape recording at the end was significant. If Patrick tells the truth the wife and daughter get screwed, and remember Patrick liked the daughter and felt bad for the wife (he saw his wife and child in them). If he erases the tape the he basically frames Oak and covers up the suicide, the exact same thing that Oak, who Patrick thought was an animal for a while at the end, did.

 

[Todd Bennington]

I enjoyed this film (not as much as many of you) but have a couple of problems with it.

First, I didn't think it was very effective as an anti-drug movie. the drugs simply hover in the background and are simply eluded to. You never get a first hand account of their impact. I also think the film really glossed over the concept of being a Narc.

Spoiler

Spoiler

if you are working as an undercover narcotics agent then you're going to be taking drugs and risking crossing over from cop pretending to be junkie to actual junkie. If Calvess was doing this work, then Oak should have known it was a risk of the work. Why would he obsessivly blame the 2 dealers for his condition? That doesn't really work for me. The other thing that I don't totally understand is the part about Calvess wife. She is the girl that Oak recued right? What was the point of Tellis' accusations re: her at the end. It sounds like she's a hopless junkie as well. She certainly didn't seem like one though. Did I miss something. The other beef is with the end. If Oak was that hell bent on torturing a confession out of them, he had to know that his efforts would be in vain. A first year law student would have that confession and any evidence they found tossed out. Maybe he was going to kill them afterwards and then claim they were killed in a firefight with the cops. the "confession" would still be without legal value and would cast doubt on the firefight story.

I think the jason Patric film "Rush" does a better job exploring/explaining the whole narc sitch

 

[AllanN]

Concerning the dialogue, I could barely hear some lines in the theater, and turned up my center channel last night in preparation for this. The effects like gunshots come through really well on the Dolby track, diddo Cliff Martinez's sco

In the commentary they mention that most of the dialouge was taken from shooting, and not redubed. So being a lower budget movie, they may not have had the time or the resources to extract that dialouge from the background noise as well as a major production would have.