Recently I saw on my Twitter timeline an “Ad” that tried to tempt me to click by declaring “see the stars of Goodfellas now and then.” There was Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco in the movie and supposedly recent photos of them. Talk about extreme clickbait. Ray Liotta passed away 2 years ago on May 26, 2022. There is no recent photo of the actor. It might not have seemed like he had passed since he had a few movies come out afterward including Cocaine Bear. Sadly Ray is gone. During announcements of his death, the news showed clips from Goodfellas, Field of Dreams and Something Wild. A film that didn’t get as much attention was Narc. Not only did Liotta have a great role but he produced the low budget cop thriller. The movie is now getting upgraded to 4K UHD so you can see all the gritty details of an investigation into an undercover narcotics officer’s death in Detroit.
Undercover narcotics detective Nick Tellis (The Lost Boys‘ Jason Patric) gets into a deadly foot chase with a drug dealer. The two exchange gun fire in an apartment complex courtyard. Tellis ends up hitting innocent bystanders before he nails his target. This leads to him leaving the force. Almost two years later, Tellis finds himself back at the police headquarters. They want him to investigate the death of Michael Calvess who was also working the undercover drug beat. Captain Cheevers (Pushing Daisies‘ Chi McBride) thinks Nick can get to the truth because of his connections on the street. He swore never to work another day in the job. But seeing photos of Calvess with his wife and kids makes Nick feel that he must find the killers. He takes the assignment, but he wants a desk job if he cracks the case. He also wants to be partnered with Lieutenant Henry Oak (Liotta) who was close to Calvess. The two roam around Detroit and uncover a few nasty truths. Oaks believes the Detroit police want to bury the case. Tellis keep digging in the cold days.
Narc is a gritty cop tale. Partnering up Jason Patric and Ray Liotta as the lead detectives makes it even gritty. Both actors give off this vibe that they will lose it when they are interrogating suspects. This is not a good cop-bad cop situation. We’re given a Cop on the Edge and Ready to Beat you into a Bloody Pulp Cop. They both extremely intense on the screen. This is what should be achieved when they pair up actors for True Detective. This is also my favorite film from director Joe Carnahan (Smoking Aces and The A-Team). He’s able to create more mayhem here in tight spaces than his bigger budgeted action films that followed. When Nick takes out a few innocent bystanders in the opening chase, it shows this isn’t going to be a homage to Dirty Harry. Narc is an intense experience that hasn’t softened since being released in 2002.
Along with the 4K UHD release, Arrow also has a Blu-ray edition of Narc with the new transfer at 1080p.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 4K UHD transfer brings out the uses of blues and shadows in the film. You feel cold watching the outdoor scenes. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo. There’s also a Dolby True HD 7.1 mix to bring the creepy houses inside your house. The movie is subtitled in English.
Archival Commentary with editor John Gilroy and director Joe Carnahan has them discuss what they went through to get the film made.
Introduction by Joe Carnahan (0:12) is a simple thanks before the main feature.
Shattering the Blue Line: Joe Carnahan on Narc (13:42) has him talk about his love of Elmore Leonard and Jim Thompson. He had done a short film called Gun Point that turned out to be the basis for Narc. He worked on the story while dealing with a massive toothache. He talks about working with Ray Liotta and Jason Patric. The best story is the tale of the Steadicam operator on the opening shot.
Shooting Narc (10:06) is a fresh interview with director of photography Alex Nepomniaschy. He talks about how the film pushed his techniques as a cameraman. They wanted a realistic film look so Alex used his documentary techniques to the screen. He didn’t attempt to make things look beautiful.
If You Live Another Day (16:20) interviews actor Krista Bridges who played Audrey Tellis. She got the part after Jason Patric approved her as his character’s wife. She used her experience of going through a divorce with two little kids to inform the character.
The Journey of the Costume (18:31) meets up with costume designer Gersha Phillips. She had been working in fashion and seeing the Costume Designer credit in the opening of Beaches made her purse the career. She was able to work on a few films as a volunteer and moved up to get the job on Narc. She talks about dealing with the cold of shooting in Toronto in the middle. There was no need to freeze the cast members.
Making the Deal (13:20) is a vintage promo featurette looking at the making of the film. Carnahan talks about what it took to get the film made. He took the script to Ray Liotta and the actor wanted to do more than show up on the set. The film had a minimal budget so they had to know what they wanted to do when production started.
The Visual Trip (13:02) is a vintage promo with Carnahan talking about the cinematography. He chose Alex Nepomniaschy for his work on Todd Hayne’s Safe.
The Friedkin Connection (9:50) has the late William Friedkin talk about seeing the film on video cassette when his wife (the head of Paramount at the time) brought the film over. He didn’t relate it to the French Connection. He talks about cutting out scenes in his film that would have brought more to the real life of Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman). Friedkin really plugs Narc hard. He believes this is a film that we’ll be talking about for many years. Here we are 22 years later with Narc arriving on 4K UHD.
Shooting Up (19:26) is a vintage promo has executive producer Paula Wagner discuss what went into making the movie. They shot the film in 27 days in Toronto and a day in Detroit.
Vintage EPK interviews with Joe Carnahan (31:41 & 71:09), Ray Liotta (28:30 & 22:47), Jason Patric (15:31), Diane Nabatoff (21:52), Alex Nepomniaschy (18:03) and William Friedkin (36:04). Are the uncut interviews that were used in the vintage promo featurettes. The Friedkin interview includes a side camera. He talks about To Live And Die In L.A.‘s DVD release.
Theatrical trailer (2:26) opens with a Voltaire quote. They set up a dead cop at a dead end brought back for one more case.
Image gallery has over 70 press photos and behind the scenes shots.
Double-sided poster featuring original and new artwork by Nathanael Marsh
Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring an essay by Michelle Kisner, a new interview with producer Diane Nabatoff and archival interviews and articles
Arrow Video presents Narc: Limited Edition. Directed by Joe Carnahan. Screenplay by Joe Carnahan. Starring Jason Patric, Ray Liotta, Busta Rhymes & Chi McBride. Running Time: 106 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: May 28, 2024.
