The lives of two Los Angeles policemen are thrown into chaos after the mysterious and brutal murder of a woman named Elizabeth Short captivates the city and leads them down a rabbit hole of conspiracy and corruption. Based on true events, this throwback noir thriller chronicles the case that shook 1940s Los Angeles to its core.

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Video Quality

The Black Dahlia gets a decent Blu-Ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment, but with it comes issues that lessen the overall quality. The transfer is sourced from a reasonably solid older master provided by Universal Pictures that appears nearly identical to the preexisting Universal release. The biggest issue with this disc is not the occasional speck of damage to the print, but rather the slightly processed look that plagues most of the film while betraying the naturally filmic qualities. The presentation provides some fine textural detail, but it appears to be a bit smoother than it is supposed to be. The resulting image loses much of the precise detail found in the beautiful photography. The colors are one of the more lackluster aspects of the disc with most appearing a bit dull and depressed, which does match the bleak tone of the story. Skin tones look a bit on the pasty side, but the presentation offers up some fairly deep black levels. The disc experiences an extremely minimal of black crush, but nothing overly problematic. Mill Creek Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray disc that is pleasant enough, but not a home run.

Audio Quality

Mill Creek Entertainment brings us this new Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix that is perfectly representative of the film. The dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming though clearly without being stepped on by the score or sound effects. Information stays primarily in the center channels with some occasional calls from off screen emanating from the side speakers. The ambient details are delineated nicely and given a dynamic placement throughout the speakers. The sounds of a bustling office or a busy crime scene, along with a slew of other sounds, bring nuanced life to the rear speakers. The movie features a sultry score which sounds great within the mix. This is a track that suits the material quite accurately. A truly pleasing experience. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc.

Final Thoughts

The Black Dahlia is a lesser effort from the great Brian De Palma which plods along with a bloated narrative which never truly gets to the heart of what makes this case so compelling. This might be acceptable if the personal arc on the detective side of the equation was fulfilling, but it never really comes together in the end. The performances are pretty strong across the board, but the script simply does them no favors. Mill Creek Entertainment has delivered a new Blu-Ray featuring a decent A/V presentation similar to the previous Universal Blu-Ray, now at a budget price. If you find you are a Brian De Palma completist, you can pick this one up without breaking the bank.

The Black Dahlia 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: Mill Creek Entertainment 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.