Cruising - Arrow Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

William Friedkin's Cruising awkwardly exists in this strange, uncomfortable space between an earnest, if flawed, attempt at representation and a controversial picture that sparked significant backlash. The filmmakers use the niche subculture of the leather bar scene in New York City as the atmospheric backdrop for a murder mystery, depicting it in an almost matter-of-fact way, neither overtly judgmental nor celebratory. It is presented, for better or worse, as the hunting ground for a serial killer targeting gay men. Whether Friedkin's approach can be regarded as nonjudgmental observation of gay nightlife or voyeuristic exploitation for sensationalist shock value probably depends on who's watching and when. Nevertheless, the tonal ambiguity has fueled debates for decades since its initial release.

Loosely adapted from Gerald Walker's 1970 novel, Friedkin's script doesn't really have much to say about anything. It largely sidesteps any cultural and social issues bubbling under the surface during that period, content to let the murder mystery chug along at a pace that's more "mildly intriguing" than genuinely gripping. The story feels like a standard-issue police procedural that happens to be set in leather bars, as if the subculture is just window dressing, a way to shock audiences rather than engage with the material meaningfully. Granted, a few moments hint at something deeper, like when DaVinci (Gene Davis) tries to report an assault by two patrolmen (Joe Spinell and Mike Starr). But the filmmakers ultimately shrug it off and move on. The subplot could've been a jumping-off point for sociopolitical commentary on police violence and institutional homophobia, but instead, it's treated as an afterthought, mostly forgotten by the time the credits roll.

Despite these shortcomings, which admittedly are arguably personal gripes, the film manages to hold its own in the performances, especially Al Pacino as still-green-behind-the-ears Officer Steve Burns. Pacino brings a twitchy intensity to the role of a young cop who accepts the undercover job as a calculated career move. But as Burns slowly unravels and immerses himself deeper into this world, Pacino sells the gradual transformation with a sincerity that keeps things relatively engaging even as the mystery begins losing steam. The supporting cast is pretty solid too, making the seedy, after-hours atmosphere feel lived-in rather than just set decorations.

Unfortunately, Friedkin's direction is rather a mixed bag although largely competent with a handful of inspired moments scattered throughout, but it's not cohesive enough to sustain momentum. Things begin with a palpable sense of danger and unease, but going into the second half, the story drags along at a snail's pace while the mystery just meanders towards a lackluster conclusion. Then, right at the end, Friedkin throws in a weird, ambiguous finale that drops pointless speculation about whether the cops captured the right guy, suggesting that Burns has been irreversibly changed or something worse. But frankly, it feels unearned. Nothing in the preceding two hours builds toward this kind of uncertainty, so the open-ended conclusion lands less like a haunting final note and more like a cop-out. 

In the end, Cruising endures as a fascinating watch in Friedkin's oeuvre, but its uneven ambitions, where it can be intriguing in parts but remains largely flawed, never quite manage to settle on a fully convincing tone or message.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Courtesy of Arrow Video, William Friedkin's Cruising arrives on 4K Ultra HD as a two-disc Limited Edition. The Region Free, UHD100 disc sits on a center spindle inside a black keepcase with a BD50 disc containing the special features on an opposing panel. They are housed in a sturdy, side-sliding slipcover with reversible cover art, a reprint of several pages from the script, a double-sided poster and a 120-page illustrated book, which features review articles, essays, an introduction by Friedkin and archival interviews. At startup, viewers are taken directly to an animated screen with the usual menu options, full-motion clips and music playing in the background.

Reportedly coming from a fresh remaster of the original 35mm camera negatives (likely the same one used for Arrow's 2009 Blu-ray release), the crime thriller cruises the Ultra HD nightlife with shockingly beautiful results. From the opening moments, the HEVC H.265 encode offers a massive improvement over its predecessors, boasting sharper, cleaner definition of various objects, buildings, streets and the dingy interiors of the many nightclubs. Most noteworthy are the improved black levels, looking richer and inkier than in previous iterations while maintaining outstanding detailing within the darkest, murkiest shadows. A few blurry, mildly bland moments creep up here and there, but it's nothing too distracting and is expected as inherent to a source of this vintage. 

The Dolby Vision HDR presentation also comes with a spot-on contrast balance that supplies brighter, vivid whites and vibrant, crisp specular highlights. All the while, colors are fuller and more lively, particularly the reds and blues, while facial complexions appear significantly healthier and more lifelike than its HD SDR counterpart. Awash in a thin layer of natural grain throughout, the 1.85:1 image overall is a massive step-up, and the film has never looked better and more film-like than it does on 4K UHD. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 88/100)

The folks at Arrow have ported over the same pair of lossless audio options as their previous Blu-ray release: a stereo track and a modernized surround sound version. However, they are also joined by a lossless track of the original 1.0 monaural design, which sounds more natural and accurate with excellent clarity, fidelity and adequate bass. Background information comes through cleanly, providing a great sense of presence, while vocals are sharp and crisp throughout. The previous uncompressed PCM 2.0 track of the BD is now a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo. And of the three options, this is arguably the weakest, as it lacks the warmth of the mono version with a mostly uniform midrange and dialogue reproduction that largely feels cold and weirdly artificial. Surprisingly, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is better with strong definition, great balance across the soundstage and good dynamic range. Although there are few sporadic moments of the surrounds being employed, mostly related to the nightclub sequences, they are very mild and don't actually feel out of place, maintaining a strong front-heavy presence without sacrificing the overall design. (Audio Rating: 82/100)

For this UHD edition, Arrow Video ports over the same collection of bonuses as the previous Blu-ray release, but they are joined by a variety of material that is new to this edition although they've been readily available for some time. The Blu-ray disc contains the majority of supplements while the 4K disc houses a small collection.

UHD Disc

• Audio Commentaries kick things off with director William Friedkin riding solo while the second track is a 2019 conversation between Friedkin and film critic Mark Kermode. They are joined by a third track, which is a stitched-together compilation of interviews discussing the soundtrack, and the fourth track is actually a 2019 alternate score that plays with the movie in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo.
• The Backroom (HD) is collection of three "Deleted Scenes" (7 min), five "Original On-Set Audio" pieces (15 min), seven "Alternate Elements" (11 min) and four "Censored Material" comparison videos (7 min)
• Exorcising Cruising (HD, 23 min)
• The History of Cruising (HD, 21 min)
• Photo Galleries (HD)
• Trailers (HD, 16 min) is a collection of previews, TV spots or other promotional tests

Blu-ray Disc

• Walking the Line (HD, 71 min)
• Cut Offs (HD, 55 min)
• Pounding the Beat (HD, 47 min)
• BeyondFest Q&A (HD, 44 min)
• I Want to Be the Curator (HD, 39 min)
• The Boy on the Bus (HD, 38 min)
• Mineshaft Memories (HD, 34 min)
• Who’s That Guy? (HD, 14 min)
• Breaking the Codes (HD, 13 min)
• Stop the Movie (HD, 12 min)
• Production Stills (HD)

William Friedkin's Cruising exists in that uncomfortable space between nonjudgmental representation and voyeuristic exploitation, using the leather subculture as an atmospheric backdrop for a murder mystery. Released amid heavy backlash and protests, the controversial film chugs along with a mildly intriguing pace but fails to be genuinely engaging, but Al Pacino's performance is the production's only saving grace. Courtesy of Arrow Video, the cult crime thriller cruises the 4K Ultra HD nightlife with a shockingly beautiful Dolby Vision HDR presentation and a trio of excellent DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks. Joined by an exhaustive collection of supplemental material, the overall UHD package comes Highly Recommended. 

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.