Review of Cop Land

Introduction

Copland brings together many popular and successful actors/actresses including Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta and gives them the roles in the movie that perhaps you would least expect given their track record. For example, De Niro is usually the mafia wise-guy and Stallone a gung-ho action hero.

When I first saw this movie several years ago on VHS, I really enjoyed it and whilst not one of my priority purchases on DVD, I picked it up in ASDA`s "2 for £20" offer a couple of weeks ago.

Basically, Stallone plays a local sherriff, Freddie Heflin, in a crime free town - with a high Police population - that was built by the mob in return for access to New York. Everything seems rosy until one night, a young cop murders two innocent black youths and apparently jumps to his death from a bridge. However, he is being hidden by his uncle Ray (Keitel), a bent cop who lives in the town and is a long-time friend of Heflin. Stallone then has to put his past years behind him as he trys to uphold the law.

Video

The 2.35:1 widescreen presentation is unfortunately non-anamorphic so it`s time to find the zoom button on your remote control.

The picture is above average, but would definetly have benefited from the extra lines of an anamorphic transfer.

The movie is shot on location in New York and its suburbs and has an authentic feel. There are no special effects to speak of.

Audio

The movie carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but to be honest you wouldn`t notice - it`s very much like a pro-logic mix spread over the 5.1 channels. Even then, the movie is mostly dialog based and there`s little action from the rear speakers.

Dialogue is clear and understandable through the movie.

Features

Features? - nothing here - not even a trailer or bios of the accomplished cast...

Conclusion

Overall, I didn`t enjoy Copland as much the second time round. It really is a watch once film - when you know what is going on there`s nothing else of interest to warrant a repeat viewing.

Despite the fantastic cast, their characters just aren`t especially interesting enough and it is difficult to relate to any of them. Performances are above average, but De Niro`s talents are wasted in the role of internal investigator whilst Stallone`s overweight portrayal of Heflin and Harvey Keitel are both also good.

The video and sound are only above average and there is no extra material on the disc.

Overall, if you`ve already seen this, ask yourself if you really want to watch it again. For anyone who has not seen the movie, it`s definitely not worth full price, but if you can pick it up as part of a promotion give it a go.