Act of Violence appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a pretty strong presentation.
Sharpness worked well throughout the movie. Some mild instances of softness popped up at times, but these remained insignificant.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to become an issue, and grain felt light but natural.
Blacks appeared deep and dense, while shadows looked smooth and clear. The film consistently looked great.
Though not as good, the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack appeared perfectly acceptable for its age. Speech occasionally betrayed a little edginess, but the lines generally came across as accurately rendered.
Music and effects worked in similar ways, as they showed decent accuracy and lacked much distortion. Nothing here excelled, but the audio seemed satisfactory for the material and vintage.
A few extras appear, and we get an audio commentary from film historian Dr. Drew Casper. He delivers a running, screen-specific look at genre domains, story/characters, themes and interpretation, cast and crew, and the movie’s release/reception.
Casper mixes his attempts to dig into the movie’s context and noir domains with production elements, especially as he examines genre areas at MGM. Expect a consistently informative and engaging chat.
Dealing with the Devil runs five minutes, eight seconds. It brings remarks from film historians Richard Schickel and Alain Silver, critic Glenn Erickson and filmmakers Christopher Coppola and Oliver Stone.
The featurette looks at the movie’s approach to its subject matter as well as cast/crew, filmmaking techniques, story and characters. We get a smattering of decent observations but “Devil” seems too brief to tell us much.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we find two animated shorts from the same era as Act. We locate Goggle Fishing Bear (7:21) and The Shell-Shocked Egg (6:50).
Goggle shows Barney Bear as he attempts to nab some fish. Due to an adorable seal, hijinks result but not many laughs come along for the ride.
As for Egg, a half-hatched turtle wanders about while still encased in his shell. While not a classic, it comes with some charm and amusement.
A noir thriller with more character depth than usual, Act of Violence becomes a compelling project. It evolves at a logical pace and ends up as a taut tale of guilt and revenge. The Blu-ray comes with positive picture, appropriate audio and a mix of bonus materials. Expect a well-executed dark drama.