Review: Carlito’s Way Limited Edition UHD
4K UHD & Blu-ray: Carlito’s Way (1993)
Carlito’s Way wasn’t the huge ‘De Palma/Pacino’ hit everyone thought it would be, especially after Scarface, which even now, sort of amazes me as it’s a really great movie, seeped in De Palma influences (noir, Hitchcock), looks beautiful, especially in this new Arrow 4K release, and has set pieces that keep the story and pace fresh and exciting. Damn even Penelope Ann Miller didn’t annoy me.
Based on the books novels Carlito’s Way (1975) and After Hours (1979) written by Judge (a real Judge) Edwin Torres. Pacino plays Carlito Brigante, a Nuyorican (a person of Puerto Rican birth or descent who is a current or former resident of New York City) ex-criminal after being given a 30 stretch in prison is released early and vows to go straight and retire in ‘paradise’. But no matter how hard he tries, his sense of honour and just being at the wrong place at the wrong time gets him into all sorts of trouble. Sean Penn plays Carlito’s lawyer Dave Kleinfeld with his now infamous shaved head and curly ginger wig, and is a revelation in this part as a whiney, entitled, scared shitless crooked lawyer who uses and betrays Carlito.
Carlito becomes a partner in a nightclub and declines several offers to be friends with and perhaps become a partner of young cocksure gangster, Benny Blanco “from the Bronx” (John Leguizamo). Carlito also rekindles his romance with his former girlfriend Gail, a ballet dancer who’s now a stripper. When Dave starts shagging Benny from the Bronx’s girlfriend, Steffie, a waitress at Carlito’s club, and Carlito’s constant rebuttal of Benny’s offer of ‘friendship’, things start to turn dark quickly, mainly at the hands of Lawyer Dave, who involves the mafia.
It sound’s like a complicated plot but is straightforward and told with panache. Pacino over acts a little bit, but isn’t doing his annoying ‘HOOHaaaa’ type of acting and the rest of the cast, particularly Penn, are fantastic. There was a full house at 60MW towers to watch this and all the family loved it, prompting my 30 year old son who’s never seen it to say he was going to ‘tell his mates what a great film it is’. High praise indeed from someone who never stops looking at his phone.
I’ll also mention that again Arrow have put together an amazing array of extras for this film, from the FOUR commentaries to the new docs. Seeing where it was filmed, now and then, is an eye opener.Another great Arrow package, chock full.
4K DUAL FORMAT LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative
- Double-sided fold-out poster featuring newly-commissioned art by Obviously Creative
- Seven double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new art by Tom Ralston and writing on the film by Barry Forshaw and original production notes
DISC ONE: FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (2160p) presentation in High Dynamic Range
- Original stereo, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-X audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by Matt Zoller Seitz, author of The Wes Anderson Collection and The Soprano Sessions
- Brand new audio commentary by Dr. Douglas Keesey, author of Brian De Palma’s Split-Screen: A Life in Film
DISC TWO: FEATURE AND EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by Matt Zoller Seitz
- Brand new audio commentary by Dr Douglas Keesey
- Carlito and the Judge, a brand new interview with Judge Edwin Torres, author of the novels Carlito’s Way and After Hours on which the screenplay for Carlito’s Way is based
- Cutting Carlito’s Way, a brand new interview with editors Bill Pankow and Kristina Boden
- De Palma’s Way, a brand new appreciation by film critic David Edelstein
- All the Stitches in the World: The Locations of Carlito’s Way, a brand new look at the New York locations of Carlito’s Way and how they look today
- De Palma on Carlito’s Way, an archival interview with director Brian De Palma
- The Making of Carlito’s Way, an archival documentary on the making of the film, produced for the original DVD release
- Deleted Scenes
- Original promotional featurette
- Theatrical teaser and trailer
- Image gallery
Released 25th September.
Review by Tina from discs kindly supplied by Arrow Films via Fetch Publicity.
