Meet the long and short of L.A.’s vice squad… Keneely (Elliott Gould, The Long Goodbye) is the lanky one… Farrel (Robert Blake, In Cold Blood) is the short one… they may not be the best cops in town, but they sure are the toughest. Stand by for plenty of action in this fast-paced thriller that marked the impressive debut of writer and director Peter Hyams who later went on to make Capricorn One, Outland and Running Scared. Gould and Blake play a pair of Los Angeles cops who find themselves in a bitter conflict with their corrupt superiors as they wage a two-men war against crime czar Carl Rizzo (Allen Garfield, The Organization). And even when they’re demoted after a hair-raising shootout, the two dedicated cops are ready to break every rule in the book to bring their quarry to justice. The stellar cast includes Antonio Fargas (Across 110th Street), Michael Lerner (Barton Fink), Sid Haig (Pit Stop), Cornelia Sharpe (Serpico) and William Sylvester (2001: A Space Odyssey).
For thoughts on Busting, please see my previous article here.
Video Quality
Busting comes to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 and is not advertised as being from a new scan, leading me to believe this is the same disc Kino Classics previously released in 2015 that was previously out of print. The presentation is a bit inconsistent with soft long shots, but for the most part the transfer is gritty but gorgeous throughout the runtime. The release does not appear to be plagued by digital tinkering, as this transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation. As mentioned, the picture occasionally runs slightly on the soft side, most likely due to limitations of the original source material. Colors are well saturated in a pleasing way, and instances of print damage do not serve as a major issue with only the occasional specks and marks visible. Overall clarity and detail is stunning, and skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels hold up well with crush not serving as an overwhelming issue. This presentation from Kino Classics captures the intentionally gritty aesthetic which should please fans of the film.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that captures the artistic intention of the film well enough. The period-specific score sounds solid throughout the duration of the film, as it creates a propulsive tone for the film. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. Environmental sounds such as the motors of cars are rendered well alongside the urban street sounds. The one issue worth noting is there is some brief audio damage about 24 minutes into the film when Elliott Gould is walking out of the courtroom that sounds a bit wonky. Kino Classics has delivered a track that mostly does what it needs to do.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Peter Hyams delivers a very exciting and informative commentary track in which he recounts his experience with the film, his reason for wanting to tell this story, his real-life inspirations for various scenes, the production woes of certain moments and more. This is a great walk down memory lane with this great filmmaker as he delivers a wealth of information.
- Selected Scenes Commentary: Star Elliott Gould and Film Critic Kim Morgan deliver a commentary track over a condensed 46-minute version of the film which is very entertaining as they discuss the background of some of the performers, his experience on The Dick Cavett Show that landed him this role, his relationship with Hyams, the portrayals of cops and more that provide great context for the film.
- Trailers: The nearly three-minute trailer is provided here. There are also trailers provided for The Long Goodbye and Running Scared.
Final Thoughts
Busting is a gritty product of the time period in which it was made which means it has some very dated elements that most would label as “problematic” in the current cultural landscape. If you set aside the underlying homophobia within the picture, the procedural aspects of Elliott Gould and Robert Blake are very engaging. Peter Hyams constructs the film really well and does not let up when it comes to the nihilistic tendencies of the narrative. Kino Classics has brought this film back onto the market with their old Blu-Ray in a spiffy new packaging and a couple of great special features. If you own this already, the packaging alone is probably no reason to upgrade but this is a solidly entertaining vice film if you are searching for new content from that genre. Recommended
Busting (Special Edition) is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
