• Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
• Video Codec: AVC MPEG-4
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
• Audio Codec: Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
• Subtitles Color: Yellow
  
• Region: A (Region-Locked)
• Rating: Not Rated
• Run Time: 123 Mins
• Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
• Digital Copies: N/A
  
• Studio: MPI Media Group
• Blu-ray Release Date: August 28th, 2012
• List Price: $29.98

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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

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The Film

[Rating:4/5]

The Heineken Kidnapping tells the story of Freddy Heineken (Rutger Hauer). Known throughout Amsterdam for his family’s multi-million dollar beer company, Freddy is definitely enjoying his life. That is until amateur street thug Rem (Reinout Scholten Van Aschat) and his cronies kidnap him, with Rem demanding a large ransom from Freddy’s family. Not knowing what to do after the family refuses to give up any kind of money, the thugs soon find their plan slowly beginning to unravel. It’s after that they find themselves the target of Amsterdam’s entire police force (and of Freddy himself). Fictionally based on the account of the Netherland’s most notorious abduction of Heineken himself in 1983, The Heineken Kidnapping is a taut, fast-paced thriller with a fine performance by Rutger Hauer.

These kidnapping type thrillers have always been some of my favorite films. It’s not just the fast paced action sequences, but actors consistently seem to put forth their best work in roles like this. Hauer’s lengthy resumé in film is clearly on display here, as he easily handles the quieter dialogue moments with a sense of being in control. Yet, during the high octane sequences, he’s quick to his draw (mannerism wise not literally drawing his weapon), but always remains calm, cool, and collected. Like Jason Statham in The Transporter series (arguably his best roles in my opinion), Rutger Hauer just may have delivered the performance of his career here (outside of Blade Runner).

Video Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

The Heineken Kidnapping arrives with a 2:35:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer. Despite no technical information being available on how the film was shot, I’ll easily say that this transfer captures the cold, sometimes bleak looking Amsterdam locale perfectly. Contrast levels remained accurate throughout, while flesh tones were spot on with no real instance of overly pumped tones. The film’s color palette, as previously mentioned, does tend to feature colder colors like dark blacks and winter whites/blues. Neither of these colors posed any kind of issue. Textures are also finely visible, especially during some of the more focused shots of Heineken. All in all, I found this transfer to be quite pleasing.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

Featuring a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix available in the native Dutch language, this audio track fares just as well as the aforementioned video. Dialogue is well reproduced throughout with no instance of drop out. I’ll note that the provided English subtitles (in yellow) are easy to read, and appear on screen for enough time for the viewer to fully read the dialogue. With that said, the rest of this audio mix is impressive. The numerous action sequences result in fine examples of atmosphere. Particularly during the initial kidnapping, the score revs up creating a sense of horror. The latter moments see bullets zip by us, accompanied by occasional instance of deep low-end. Even the quieter, dialogue heavy scenes, are great. All in all, this is a fine effort from MPI, one that places the viewer right in the middle of it all.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:1.5/5]

The included supplements are featured in High Definition:

• Behind The Scenes – Running roughly 20 minutes in length, this is a fairly well put together glance into the making of the film. Via cast and crew interviews, we’re given a bit of insight into what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish by making this film.
• Trailer – The film’s trailer is shown.

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

The Heineken Kidnapping works on nearly all cylinders thanks in part to a fast moving pace, and an excellent performance by Rutger Hauer. Equally impressive is MPI’s Blu-ray for the film with its top notch technical presentation. Even though I wouldn’t have minded a few more features, this one still comes highly recommended.

Additional Screen Captures

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Purchase The Heineken Kidnapping on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]

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