‘A Knife In The Head’ Blu-Ray Review – Bruno Ganz Delivers A Standout Performance In Inconsistent German Drama

Bruno Ganz gives a tour-de-force performance as Hoffman, an innocent bystander who survives a gunshot to the head by the police during a raid on a group of revolutionaries. In order to justify the shooting, the police claim he is a dangerous radical who attacked a policeman. The leftist revolutionaries in turn claim him as a hero and victim of police brutality. As Hoffman struggles to recover from the trauma to his brain and memory loss, he must try to piece together what really happened that fateful night. Featuring a stunning first solo score by Irmin Schmidt, co-founder of the legendary krautrock band CAN.

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Video Quality

A Knife In The Head comes to Blu-Ray with a new digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original 1.67:1 derived from a 4K restoration. The new restoration looks quite strong throughout most of the runtime with only a few setbacks here and there. The film maintains the natural film grain that resolves well. There does seem to be some variances in color temperature in different environments, especially within the hospital, but by and large the picture seems fairly well saturated. Skin tones are natural and consistent with distinct facial features easily noticeable in closeup. 

Black levels hold up pretty well with only slight loss in fine detail in certain night time shots. Digital noise is mostly avoided throughout. There are occasional minor specks of print damage that do not register as a major issue since overall clarity and detail leans positive. The shots inside the hospital are replete with little details in the production design that are easily noticeable thanks to this transfer. This new presentation is a fine effort from the Cohen Film Collection.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a very robust LPCM 2.0 Master Audio track in the original German with forced English subtitles. The score from Irmin Schmidt adds a bit of personality to this work as it comes through with admirable fidelity. Dialogue is most prominent here as it stays centered in the mix without threat of being consumed by competing sounds. The track maintains a strong balance with all competing elements so that dialogue comes through perfectly clear. Environmental sounds such as hospital machinery or rumbling crowds are rendered well alongside everything else. There does not seem to be any notable instances of age-related wear and tear. This audio presentation offers a solid representation of the film. 

Special Features

• Interview with Reinhard Hauff: A 26-minute interview with the director in which he discusses the inspiration for the story, the themes they wanted to explore, why they decided to explore the story through a political lens, the differences in acting styles between Germans and Americans, the ideologies of the characters, his approach to directing and more. 

• Interview with Eberhard Junkersdorf: A 14-minute interview with the executive producer in which he discusses the development of the project, the formation of his production company, collaborations with Reinhard Hauff, the tone of the film, settling on casting decisions and more. 

Final Thoughts

A Knife In The Head is an intriguing story that meanders a bit too much for its own good. Bruno Ganz anchors this effort in something emotionally honest and fitfully heartbreaking, but his larger journey lacks immediacy. There is still a lot to admire about this effort, but it is not as strong as it could have been. Cohen Media Group and Kino Classics have delivered a Blu-Ray with an A/V presentation that is pretty impressive while also including an insightful collection of interviews. If you are a fan of German cinema or Bruno Ganz in particular, you should still give this one a shot. 

A Knife In The Head is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.