BOULEVARD NIGHTS (1979)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 102 Minutes 6 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Michael Pressman
Cast: Richard Yniguez, Danny De La Paz, Marta DuBois, Betty Carvalho, James Victor
L.A. street gang drama Boulevard Nights (1979) from director Michael Pressman (The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, Doctor Detroit) is a gritty drama about cholos living in a particular barrio of East L.A., focused on the lives of the Avila brothers, the older Raymond Avila (Richard Yniguez, The Deadly Tower) who is an former cholo looking for a better life, about to marry his highschool sweetheart Shady ( Marta DuBois, Fear), but whose wayward kid brother Chuco (Danny De La Paz, Barbarosa) is still very much about the cholo lifestyle, hanging with a neighborhood gang, wasting his life huffing paint and angel-dust. In spite of their differences, the brothers are bound by strong family ties, and a unifying mother (Betty Carvalho, Stand and Deliver). Raymond attempts to set Chuco straight, getting him a job working at an upholstery shop owned by Gil (James Victor, Rolling Thunder), but the kid loves the street life and won't give it up, with Raymond finding himself dragged back into the gang life after Chuco's lifestyle leads to a personal tragedy.
This is a film that just feels authentic from frame the opening scenes right up till the end, the L.A. neighborhood, the Mexican families homes and family get togethers, the rivalries between the warring gangs, it just doesn't have that Hollywood sheen to it, it feels lived-in and real, and that really sets it apart for me. It's a serious minded film that isn't looking to glamorize the gang lifestyle, but does fantastic work looking at it from the perspective of a Mexican-American family, with one brother out of the lifestyle and the other deeply entrenched, also offering a colorful portrait of a particular neighborhood and the myriad characters who populate it. At times it does get a bit too melodramatic for it's own good, and it's a tad formulaic, you can see where it's headed early on, but I thought overall it painted an affecting portrait of Chicano brothers on different paths that converge, and the authentic location shooting of this one does wonders for the film, it looks terrific and never feels staged, a terrific time capsule of this area of East L.A. at this time.
Audio/Video: Boulevard Nights (1979) arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, presented in 1080p HD widescreen (1.78:1), the new restoration looks terrific, particularly the L.A. nightlife sequences on the titular boulevard, shot by cinematographer John Bailey (Cat People) we get terrific colors by way of period clothing, cool looking low-rider cars with slick looking paint jobs, the neon streets, its just a really terrific looking film and the Blu-ray looks phenomenal with intact grain and wonderful detail and textures. The sole audio option is English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced. English and Spanish dialogue sounds great, as does the score buoyant score by Lalo Schifrin (Class of 1984) and choice songs by The Mello-Kings, Mary Wells, Gene Chandler and Jr. Walker and the All Stars that capture the era's music. The only extras is the 3-min Theatrical Trailer, the single-disc release arrives in standard keep case with the original theatrical artwork.
Special Features:
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:45)
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