Why So Blu?

No Country for Old Men – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Sitting as one of the premiere entries in their filmography, if not the greatest one they’ve made, No Country for Old Men is an incredible film from Joel and Ethan Coen. Adapted from the 2005 novel by the late Cormac McCarthy, this neo-noir western thriller finds the brothers exploring fate, self-determination, nihilism, and circumstance, not unlike many of their other features but handled brutal sincerity and pitch-black humor. The film would go on to be one of the Coens’ biggest successes in terms of both box office and critical acclaim, as it would go on to win many major awards, including Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The Criterion Collection has now seen fit to bring this masterpiece to 4K, complete with a terrific new transfer and a few new extras. That’s good enough for a coin toss.

 

Film:

Set in the early 80s, the film revolves around three characters – a world-weary Sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a hitman with a psychotic code, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), and the hapless Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), who discovers the aftermath of a situation-gone-wrong and decides to take home the $2 million left behind. This action puts Llewelyn on the run, as he’s now being sought after by a Mexican cartel and the crazy hitman, who are both looking to get the money back to where it should go. In the meantime, Sheriff Bell tracks the mess being left behind, hoping to avoid more of the terrible violence that’s become more commonplace for him in recent years.

All three of these performances are excellent and key to what makes the film work. It was in 2007 that Brolin really went from a notable actor to a much bigger star, and this film is a key reason why. Handling the dialogue with all the natural cadence one would hope for, given the writing, Brolin does a fantastic job creating what feels like an everyman the audience can relate to, even as the film continually stacks the deck around him. A traditional narrative would let Brolin run the show, but the film wisely understands his fate from the start and allows him to be capable but not invulnerable.

The truly invulnerable force appears to be Bardem’s Chigurh. The Spanish actor received enormous praise for his work here, including an Oscar, and it’s easy to see why. Between the accent choice, the haircut, and his general demeanor, Chigurh is a force to be reckoned with, and even when in action and showing some vulnerability, this is never someone you want to be in the path of. Having this character represent inevitability is all the scarier when seeing the way he deals out his logic on whoever may enter his sights, including random gas station attendants.

Of course, Tommy Lee Jones also delivers, which is truly the performance that holds this film together. While debates concerning the nature of the ending were fueled by those not expecting the dramatic turns taken in this film to be handled in a manner that would feel unsatisfying to those wanting something more formulaic, it’s having Jones’ be a figure present throughout this film that should serve as a major clue as to who this story really belongs to. Between his narration (minimized compared to the book) and his observances, there’s no question regarding how the film prepares the viewer to accept the cause and effect taking place, let alone the thematic reasoning for what’s happening. Through all of this, Jones allows his eyes to do so much of the work in reasoning through what’s going on.

Of course, being a Coen brothers’ film, there’s a variety of support coming from the rest of the performers, including a very smug Woody Harrelson as a rival bounty hunter, Kelly Macdonald as Llewelyn’s innocent wife, Garret Dillahunt as a fairly green cop, and the great Stephen Root as a businessman underestimating who he has hired for to do a job. That’s not even mentioning the brief appearance by character actor Gene Jones as the gas station owner who asks Chigurh the wrong questions. Each of these performances adds texture to the film, complete with memorable lines of dialogue and enough presence to help fully flesh out this world.

Key to all of this is tone. The Coens have specialized in nailing their sense of humor on film through dark comedy, mixed with the occasional broad moments that speak to their irreverent sensibilities. That said, if The Man Who Wasn’t There was seen as being as bleak as they could go previously, No Country for Old Men really puts that to the test, with the added notion of suspense and intensity. At the time I had seen this film, it had to have been one of the scariest non-horror movies I had seen in theaters at the time just based on the amount of tension created not only by Chigurh’s presence but also Llewelyn’s efforts to avoid getting shot. Does the rhythm of the dialogue still allow for humor to come through? Sure, but it’s countered by some brutal violence and a really ugly look at how destiny can lead to an unsavory end.

Everything else one hopes for from a Coen production is present. Roger Deakins’ impressive cinematography does a fantastic job of showing the Texas landscape. Having only been outdone awards-wise due to There Will Be Blood opening in the same year, that doesn’t take away from the beauty of an early sunrise while Llewelyn is being chased by a dog and trucks. The deep shadows of cheap motels amplify suspense when necessary. Visual choices regarding milk, TVs, a candy wrapper, and more all display what a great unit these directors and Deakins can be. The atmosphere becomes so thick that you don’t even think about the fact that a score for this film provided by Coen-regular Carter Burwell is present, just softer than usual.

Entertainment for adults, fascinating to decipher, and packed with great effort from all involved – No Country for Old Men is one of the best films of the 2000s, one of a few Coen masterpieces, and one that will easily stand the test of time when considering what it has to say about the way of the world, dark as it may be. There’s nothing short of brilliance here, and all I’m doing is merely providing a reminder of it.

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Video:

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10

Layers: BD-100

Details:  Supervised and approved by director of photography Roger Deakins, this new 4K digital transfer was created from a 4K digital intermediate made from the 35 mm original camera negative.

Clarity/Detail: This newly developed transfer does wonders for its display of the borderlands. You get such a great look at the rough and tumble nature of the land, which includes how the characters interact with it, whether through gunfights, chases, or other explosive situations. Smaller areas, such as hotel rooms, offices, and more, speak to the level of detail on display to suggest an 80s period that’s stuck in time enough for one to feel it’s a modern film until told otherwise. Even the clothing we see is rich with detail to further show what’s being put into making this all feel authentic.

Depth: Given the many faceoffs taking place, plenty is handled when it comes to the dimensionality of a given scene. Character spacing all tracks well on this disc.

Black Levels: With so many scenes set at night or under shadow, it’s great to see a transfer that makes all the black levels look deep and inky. No sign of crushing here.

Color Reproduction: Even while presented in faded browns and other colors reflecting a dark countryside, there’s enough working for this film when it comes to clothing choices, blood, and more when color is on display in full. It all looks great.

Flesh Tones: We see many faces that create a vast range of skin tones and textures to do justice for, and this disc does not disappoint.

Noise/Artifacts: The film looks nice and clean, with no issues in sight.

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Audio:

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH

Details: The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the digital audio master files.

Dynamics: The film sounds terrific. Having so much specific use of silence allows the times when sound is on full blast to feel all the more effective, thanks to this strong lossless surround track.

Low-Frequency Extension: There are a few areas where the subwoofer can shine due to gun blasts and an explosion, and it comes through incredibly well.

Surround Sound Presentation: There are a lot of areas where the spread of the sound is essential, given the environments these characters are in. The various channels work the way they need to build the mood. Even while mostly front-driven, the atmosphere of areas populated in specific ways also lets the rear channels shine.

Dialogue Reproduction: Everyone is heard loud and clear.

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Extras:

This Criterion release, which features some pretty great artwork, includes all the features made available on the previous special edition Blu-ray release and two new excellent interviews with the Coens and Roger Deakins. All of the supplements can be found on the Blu-ray disc.

Features Include:

• Joel and Ethan Coen with Megan Abbott (HD, 40:27) – The Coens sit down with author Megan Abbott to discuss how they came to make this movie, what they think about it now, and how audiences accepted it. It’s especially fun watching the Coens relish in their own jokes in their films and do all they can to explain their process without getting into meaning.
• Roger Deakins and David Diliberto (HD, 33:45) – Deakins and associate producer Diliberto discuss the work done in finding locations, production design, and more to create a visual identity for the film.
• Interviews with the Cast (HD, 24:53) – Archival interviews from the film’s promotional tour featuring Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, and Kelly Macdonald.
• An Incredibly Unauthorized Documentary (SD, 9:19) – A behind-the-scenes look at the movie made by Brolin during filming.
• The Making of No Country for Old Men (SD, 24: 29) – An above-average making-of feature, with lots of raw footage from the making of the film and featuring plenty of cast and crew interviews.
• Diary of a Country Sheriff (SD, 6:45) – A look at Tommy Lee Jones’ character, with interviews featuring Jones, the Coens, and others.
• Trailer (HD, 2:29)
• PLUS – An essay by author Francine Prose and a 2007 piece on the film by author Larry McMurry

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Summary:

No Country for Old Men is a modern classic and one of the very best efforts from Joel and Ethan Coen. It’s tense and exciting, as well as darkly humorous and contemplative. The Criterion release does a fantastic job of bringing in a new transfer to allow the film to look as great as ever, and a couple of new features are excellent additions to add further insight. Anyone looking to add another fabulous movie to their collection, well, the choice is available to you, friendo.

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