Overview: In a career that includes Oscar-nominated masterpieces such as Serpico, Prince of the City and The Verdict, director Sidney Lumet has cross-examined the fine line between those who enforce the law and those who exploit it, both in the courtroom and on the streets.

Adapting a novel by former NYPD officer Robert Daley (Year of the Dragon), Lumet once again exposes the corrupt underbelly of the city that never sleeps in Night Falls on Manhattan.

Sean Casey (Andy Garcia) is an assistant district attorney and a rising star in the New York City legal system. He is forced into a tough position when his ambitious boss, seeking re-election, asks Sean to prosecute a drug dealer caught by two NYPD detectives under controversial circumstances – one of whom happens to be Sean’s father (Ian Holm).

As Sean gets closer to the truth in the case, what he uncovers may break his faith in the legal system, threaten his promising career and tear his family apart.

Blu-ray Verdict: Sydney Lumet’s Night Falls On Manhattan is the kind of morally complex, daring, emotionally charged, all out classic that most films of its type wish they could be. It explores police corruption, double standards and hypocrisy in the justice system so unnervingly that by the end of the film we as an audience don’t have a clue where to position ourselves or who to root for.

Perhaps this is why it was so overlooked, people just got too scared by the provocative, damaging implications of the subject matter, and chose to gloss over it. Shame. It is one of the most mature films I’ve ever seen about the tough subjects it tackles, never shying away from the blunt, unsolvable problems that this justice system raises, and never solving the, itself in the film.

The truth hurts, as the characters find out. Andy Garcia, an actor I usually don’t like too much, is excellent as an idealistic young law grad who suddenly finds himself in the spotlight when the trigger happy hound dog DA (Ron Leibmann in a hilarious, manic, spellbinding performance) chooses him to prosecute a murderous drug kingpin who gunned down several police officers and badly wounded one who happens to be Garcia’s father (Ian Holm).

The plot doesn’t follow any cinematic or genre conventions, but seeks to overturn them, creating a searing, realistic narrative and ruthlessly throwing its characters into situations that no human being should have to endure, but situations that are ultimately of their own flawed design. It’s an absolute dynamite and comes up strong in every category.

Ian Holm, a British thespian, nails every scene with a lived in, authentically brilliant performance, and breaks your heart with his Everyman desperation and anguished soul. James Gandolfini is reliably awesome as his partner. I have no clue why this film slipped through the cracks, but like I said before, it probably scared people with its unflinching, uncompromising and bitter indictment of our deeply flawed Justice system.

In conclusion, and personally, I feel like we need more movies like this, a breath of un-clichéd, truth hurts fresh air filmmaking and a welcome addition into the NY crime drama sub genre.

Limited Edition Special Features:
Brand new 2K remaster from the original negative by Arrow Films
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Original lossless 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Archive commentary by director Sidney Lumet
Archive commentary by actors Andy Garcia and Ron Leibman, with producers Josh Kramer and Thom Mount
The Directors: Sidney Lumet, an hour-long archive documentary from 2002 featuring interviews with Lumet, Garcia, Leibman, Jack Lemmon, Rod Steiger, Christopher Walken and others
On-set interviews with Lumet, Garcia, Dreyfuss, Olin, Holm and Leibman
Behind-the-scenes footage
Theatrical trailer and TV spots
Limited Edition packaging featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tom Ralston
Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Nick Clement and original production notes

www.arrowfilms.com