‘The Blue Knight’ Blu-Ray Review – Epic Police Miniseries Is A Highlight For William Holden

Oscar-winner William Holden made his first major TV appearance in decades with this landmark adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh’s depiction of life on the LAPD beat. Nominated for five Emmys and winning three (including an acting award for Holden), The Blue Knight pioneered “novels for television” and told the story of LA cop Bumper Morgan (Holden) and his final week before retirement. The years have taken their toll on Bumper, both within and without, but this tarnished chevalier of the streets is still dedicated to protecting the public that he mistrusts from the criminal elements in its midst. There are just a few things Bumper needs to get done before collecting his pension and getting married to college instructor Cassie Walters (Lee Remick), chief among them solving a vicious murder. Holden toplines a terrific ensemble cast that includes Joe Santos, Sam Elliott, Anne Archer and Eileen Brennan. Cinematography by Michael D. Margulies (Minnie and Moskowitz, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry).

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Video Quality

Warner Archive provided The Blue Knight with a sterling 1080p master transfer in 1.33:1 when it was released in 2018 sourced from a new 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative. This ‘70s limited series captures the grittiness of patrolling the city thanks to the cinematography of Michael D. Margulies. The visage is exquiste thanks to the retention of the natural film grain. Black levels are nice and deep, and the highlights stay firm throughout the runtime. The drama is primarily clear of shortcomings with nearly zero damage or dirt lingering. Compression artifacts, banding, and other such nuisances are not an issue in this transfer. The transfer delivers great detail and clarity in some of the background characteristics and the clothing. There are also fetching colors within the costumes and the environments that appear to be accurate. Warner Archive gave this one a wonderful upgrade. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio split mono track that brings this to life very well. Dialogue is not always the most prominent aspect of the mix, but this is accurate to how it was originally constructed. That being said, most exchanges emerge to land with the appropriate clarity. The more bustling moments are handled favorably and give the track a bit of texture. There is no unexpected age-related wear and tear to the track such as hissing, dropouts, or popping. The score from Nelson Riddle secures a distinct mood for the sprawling story that is free of unwanted anomalies. Warner Archive executed this with great care. There are no subtitles provided. 

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc. 

Final Thoughts

The Blue Knight is a great cop drama miniseries that allows William Holden to remind everyone what an amazing performer he is. The narrative toes the line between our main character being a noble hero and a rough and reckless renegade in a way that plays with moral ambiguity in a compelling way. The ensemble adds a lot of character to the proceedings including the ever-charming Lee Remick and a young Sam Elliott. This one does not give you easy answers, and that is prominent reason it has endured for so long. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray that sports a wonderful A/V presentation but nothing in the way of special features. Recommended 

The Blue Knight can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

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

Disclaimer: Warner Archive 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.