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Disc Dispatch: Love and care went into the new IN BRUGES remaster and it shows

Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh
Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson
Runtime: 107 minutes 
Now on 4K from
Kino Lorber

by Nikk Nelson, Staff Writer, Cinematic Maniac

Synopsis, per Letterboxd (cleaned up by Nikk):

Ray and Ken, two hit men, are on the lam in Bruges, Belgium, after a hit gone bad. While waiting for their next job, both men deal with their guilt, boredom, and exile. 

What features make it special:

  • Brand New HDR/Dolby Vision Master Color Graded and Approved by Cinematographer Eigil Bryld

  • 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Stereo

  • Triple-Layered UDH 100 Disc

  • Optional English Subtitles

  • Featurettes

  • Gag Reel

  • Deleted/Extended Scenes

  • Cast Interviews

  • B-Roll Footage

Why you need to add it to your video library: 

Kino Lorber is very quickly becoming my go to for physical media purchases. Other companies try and attract my dollar with a plethora of new bonus features: “Look! We rounded up the cast of this obscure 80’s horror film, stuck a camera in their face, and for the next ninety seconds they’re going to pretend like they’re not completely confused and/or disgusted that this film is what they’ll be remembered for when they die! Not only that, would you like to see the original coffee-stained storyboards that were found in the former art director’s moldy basement? THEN GIVE US YOUR MONEY!”  

On more than one occasion, I’ve shelled out an extra twenty to fifty bucks for a ‘deluxe edition’ with extra extra bonus features and been markedly disappointed. I won’t name names but I remember one set of cast interviews where the participants were in a white room, no background, sitting on a stool—the camera was off-center and the boom-mic was constantly in-frame. It looked really rushed, is what I’m saying, probably to meet a release deadline, and my suspicions were confirmed when the same company emailed me a week or so later and let me know they were sending me replacement discs because it was likely there were issues with all the pre-orders. But, so far, Kino Lorber is focusing on what I really care about. Special features are great and all but at the end of the day: DOES THE MOVIE LOOK AND SOUND GOOD? Even more, for physical media freaks like myself, does it look and sound better than the last version I bought?

Kino Lorber's release of In Bruges (2008) is exactly that. A quick capsule review of the film. It’s Martin McDonagh’s feature debut. It’s funny, violent, emotional, and you get amazing performances from Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. I watch it every Christmas. And I am so happy to have this new 4K version for the upcoming holiday season. The colors are solid and bright, and the sound is deep and well-balanced. I recently purchased The Man with No Name trilogy in 4K from Kino Lorber as well and was equally impressed. Someone is finally listening to people who care about the quality of the film itself when we present it in our homes for ourselves, our family, and our friends. So, you may look at the very short list of special features on this edition (features you would already have if you owned the previous versions) and think you’re not getting anything new. But you are. You are getting the most important thing: the crispiest presentation that actually utilizes the capability of current technology to what looks to be at, or very near, its full potential. It’s fried chicken, baby.  

In Bruges is available to purchase here.