Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Over the summer of 1976, thirty-six bombs detonate in the heart of Cleveland while a turf war raged between Irish mobster Danny Greene and the Italian mafia. Based on a true story, "Kill The Irishman" chronicles Greene's heroic rise from a tough Cleveland neighborhood to become an enforcer in the local mob. Turning the tables on loan shark Shondor Birns and allying himself with gangster John Nardi, Greene stops taking orders from the mafia and pursues his own power. Surviving countless assassination attempts from the mob and killing off anyone who went after him in retaliation, Danny Greene's infamous invincibility and notorious fearlessness eventually led to the collapse of mafia syndicates across the U.S. and also earned him the status of the man the mob couldn't kill.

Anchor Bay delivers a solid HD transfer for this new release. The film looks like it was shot with digital cameras and retains a very crystal clear look with lots of fine object detail and definition. Some of the special effects are a bit too obvious and can distract, but this is a production limitation more than a video issue. Depth of image is excellent and color rendition rarely disappoints. Contrast looks a bit subdued by the digital capture but shadow detail is strong. The DTS-HD Master Audio mix is better than expected and reveals a strong surround presence and nice punchy low end. The music fits the movie’s tone perfectly and the balance of the mix is precise. All in all a strong presentation.

Since this is based on a true story it was nice to see that the supplements give you more insight into the true events including news coverage, interviews and case files. You also get some inside looks at the production and some trailers.

While Anchor Bay put together a great ensemble cast for this one, I never really dug it. I love most of the talent here and the story is interesting enough, but the tone and execution left me a bit wanting. Most of it comes off as a direct to video spoof that doesn’t take the material as seriously as I think it warrants. While entertaining I just thought it could have been so much more.