Disc Details
Special Features:	Widescreen anamorphic format Chapter selection Commentary track by director Harold Becker "Ring of Truth: The Onion Field" documentary Theatrical trailer.
Video Format:	Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 2.0) mono
Subtitles:	English, Spanish, French.
Captions:	Yes
Casing:	1-Disc Keep Case

Former LAPD officer turn author Joseph Wambaugh placed a human face on the men and women who walk the thin blue line with a series of blockbuster books during the 1970s. Wambaugh wrote novels such as "The New Centurions," "The Blue Knight" and "The Choir Boys." "The Onion Field" was his first non-fiction book. I read them all back in the day. Wambaugh's writing made me want to be a cop. That what quite an accomplishment because I was a longhaired pot smoker in high school!

Wambaugh risked his own money to bring "The Onion Field" to the screen. The movie starts out with the words "This is a True Story." The film was shot at the actual locations that each event took place. Wambaugh wrote the screenplay also. He and director Harold Becker went to great lengths to ensure that the events on screen actually happened. This makes "The Onion Field" all the more powerful.

"The Onion Field" is part true-crime story, but it is mainly a character study of a man destroyed by a choice. On that March night in 1963, Greg Powell got the drop on Officer Ian Campbell. Campbell told Hettinger to give up his service revolver. Hettinger did. Campbell died as a result. Hettinger found himself abandoned and ostracized by the LAPD. He lived the remainder of his life a broken man.

Real life makes for powerful drama. The four male leads in "The Onion Field" give strong performances. The sadly under-appreciated John Savage (The Deer Hunter) gives the best performance of his career as the haunted Karl Hettinger. I can't imagine what it would be like to go through what Hettinger did; second guessing yourself, and also being ostracized by the only people who could offer support. Savage plays a man caught in a storm with no port in sight. James Woods is very creepy and scary as killer Greg Powell. He brings a seriously twisted individual to life. Powell is very intelligent. This makes his lack of moral compass all the more dangerous. Ted Danson made his big screen debut as the doomed Ian Campbell. Although he is killed off after the first half-hour, his spirit permeates the rest of the film. The late Franklyn Seales is somewhat overshadowed by James Woods, however that was the nature of the relationship between the real life Powell and Smith. The film also features actor Ronny Cox as a detective investigating the murder of Ian Campbell. Pricilla Pointer also has a nice cameo as Ian Campbell's mother. You will never hear bagpipes the same after this movie.

Picture Quality: 8/10
MGM did a nice job remastering the film. it looks as good as ever. There are a few delineation problems, but they are rare.

Sound Quality: 8/10
The soundtrack is 2.0 mono. It is just fine for this film. The movie isn't sound effects intensive. You hear all of the dialogue. There is no distortion. Never have bagpipes sounded so haunting.

Menu: 5/10
Simple design using still frames from the movie. Easy to navigate.

Extra Features: 10/10
It is nice to see an older film like this get such good treatment by MGM. There is a new 30-minute documentary "The Ring of Truth: 'The Onion Field'" which includes interviews with Joseph Wambaugh, John Savage, Harold Becker, Ted Danson and James Woods. The documentary tells about the making of the film and the true crime that the movie depicts. Photos of the real men depicted are shown. I was surprised to find that James Woods looked even scarier than the man he portrayed did.

The theatrical trailer illustrates the differences in advertising styles of the late 70s and today.

Harold Becker made his directorial debut with this film. His commentary track includes a lot of great stories about the film's production.

The Final Word:
I have a friend named Gordon Abernathy. He is a Shelby County Sheriff's deputy. Mr. Abernathy is the bailiff in the courtroom I'm assigned to. I thought of him as I watched this film. Gordon plays (or tries to) the bagpipes. Gordon is also a movie fan. I asked him if he wanted to borrow this DVD. He said no. He had seen "The Onion Field." As a police officer, he found the death of a brother officer too hard to watch a second time. That was a testament to the power of this film.

The movie also made me think of an old friend who is now dead. Ernie was shot and killed around Father's Day 1985 in a routine traffic stop by a Nevada Highway Patrolman. I was on the waiting list at the time to enter the Las Vegas Police Academy. Ernie told me a few months before he died that he hated cops. He said that he would have to reexamine his views because he liked me. The Coroner's Inquest returned a verdict of "excusable homicide." After that, I withdrew my name from the list to enter the academy in order to think about what I was getting myself into. More cops get killed in routine traffic stops than any other event except domestic disputes. Things can change in an instance. I hope Ernie's family has healed. I hope the cop in Vegas who killed him has found some peace. "The Onion Field" is a film that makes you think about life, death and friends.

Rusty White