On a Texas ranch sharing a border with Mexico, two families are about to collide. While out on a border patrol, rancher’s son Jackson Greer accidentally kills a Mexican immigrant boy. When his father tries taking the blame, Jackson flees south on horseback, becoming a gringo “illegal alien” in Mexico. Pursued by both Texas Rangers and Mexican Federales, he journeys across Mexico to seek forgiveness from the dead boy’s father … only to fall in love with the land he was taught to hate. Inspired by the real-life “no man’s land” along the Texas-Mexico border, this thoughtful modern Western explores an engrossing and potent new twist on a hot-button issue.
For in-depth thoughts on No Man’s Land, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
No Man’s Land comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is truly stunning. This is a beautifully shot film with many expansive shots of dry, open plains where you can see an incredible amount of detail. There are numerous sequences featuring vegetation and trees in the background that provide a nice reference to showcase the depth at play in the image. The film plays very well with the earth tones on display from the greens of the foliage to the stark browns of the dusty plains where most of the film takes place. This is a film with a warm color palette that is reproduced perfectly here with a pleasing radiance. The white levels are handled beautifully, along with the intensely deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. There are no obvious signs of any noise or other such digital nuisances. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. This presentation is definitely top-tier work.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that conjures a very specific mood that transports you to this area of the country. This is a very subdued film, but there are moments that give the track more of an intense workout. The score is showcased beautifully here with a gently enveloping use of the surround speakers. The dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overpowered by the environmental effects or the score. The sound design is just as precisely thought-out as the on screen visuals with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really nice soundscape of dust storms and animal sounds. This is not an action-heavy film, so the activity in the low end is reserved for a few key moments. This is a lovely sounding release that brings the movie to life in a really splendid way.
Special Features
- Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
No Man’s Land has its heart in the right place but does not always succeed in providing true insight into the issues it is trying to tackle. There are many emotionally resonant moments and plenty of thrilling developments to keep you invested, but there are key moments that ring hollow including an ending that nearly derails the whole ordeal. There is much to admire about this feature, but be prepared to raise a few eyebrows in the course of watching this one. Shout! Factory has released a Blu-Ray that features a stellar A/V presentation and next to nothing in the special features department. If you want a solidly entertaining drama with forward-thinking ideals, you should give this one a shot.
No Man’s Land is currently available to own on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Shout! Factory 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.
