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Narc, to this writer, is as good as, if not better than, LA Confidential simply because it sticks to its narrative guns in the same fashion Curtis Hanson did in his opus. Both films are conscious of the limitations of the genre yet do what they can to succeed within such strict guidelines. I would not deem either film a colossal success writing- wise, because with genre pieces like these, it was all about the kinetic thrill of watching cops strategize against one another. Yeah, sure, it would be nice to get more hard-edged, more nihilistic dialogue to spice up the conflict (to its credit, L.A. Confidential trumps it in that regard), but Narc still delivers great chase, eloquence be damned. After some unbearably long production credits - there are more than ten executive producers listed - Carnahan starts us off with a bullet. As Jason Patric chases a suspect through, tragically, a playground, Carnahan shoves his herky-jerky filmmaking style in our faces. If you're not a fan of assaultive cinema - extensive P.O.V. shots, endless handheld "grittiness" - this sensibility will come off as overindulgent and excessive, but if you can stomach it, it's captivating.

Stars Jason Patric and Ray Liotta have some turgid, explosive confrontations that allow for both of these notoriously histrionic actors to fly off the handle, and they pull of the melodramatics with masterful broad strokes. And the film's visual style is really quite striking. Relying not just on the immediacy of "unhinged" handheld camera moves, Carnahan pays attention to nuances and environmental details with effective jump-cut close- ups, and is able to infuse a pretty tired old storyline with messy, frantic adrenaline. It's no wonder this is the guy poised to helm the next Mission: Impossible movie - he hasn't mastered the ebb and flow of egregious narrative like Brian DePalma or harnessed the technical prowess of David Fincher, but one can construe from watching Narc that the guy has a nice sense of artistic instinct, and has the courage to follow it. Narc is a film that follows its gut, and that makes for a fascinating ride.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Stunning! This 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer has a supple beauty to it. The print is terrific, aside from all the intentional stylization, such as the heavy grain and high-contrast shots. Black levels are reference quality, and color saturation is rich and very well- saturated. Detail is very good, and even shadow delineation is tight and well-defined. There are no signs of compression artifacting anywhere, nor excessive edge enhancement. All told, this is an exemplary transfer.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The 5.1 Dolby Digital surround track here is equally impressive. Frequency response is exploited to the fullest extent, and dialogue is crisp and clean. Separation across the front channels is well done, with nice fidelity and clarity, and the use of the surround channels for suspense-driven atmospherics and effects is excellent. The .1 LFE channel is also given quite a workout, delivering solid low bass. Even the music is balanced expertly in the mix. Marvelous.

Also included are French 5.1 and English 2.0 surround, and English subtitles and Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The screen-specific audio commentary with writer and director Joe Carnahan and his editor, John Gilroy, is giddy, goofy fun. These guys deliver plenty of production info as well as a sense of childlike wonder at being able to make the kind of film they've always wanted to. It's not a definitive commentary track, but a fun one.

Next up are three featurettes - "Making the Deal" (13 minutes), "Shooting Up" (20 minutes), and "The Visual Trip" (13 minutes) - all of which are of extremely high quality. Carnahan presents himself calmly and intelligently, Ray Liotta offers an upperclassman's perspective on bringing a low-budget thriller like this to life, and the behind-the-scenes footage is intercut very nicely. Really good stuff. Less interesting, and a bit off-putting, honestly, is The Friedkin Connection, a 10-minute fluff piece about how Friedkin thinks Narc is "the most honest film about police procedure that (he's) ever seen." The juxtaposition of Narc to Connection is thought provoking, but for a 10-minute featurette it comes off as a little much.

Rounding out the collection is the film's theatrical trailer in anamorphic and 5.1 Dolby Digital surround, plus more trailers for The Italian Job, The Hunted, The Core, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Timeline.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts