Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on social media with your friends.

WHAT: After picking up a young woman in the city and returning to her Upper West Side townhouse to have some fun, Pakistani-American college student Nasir “Naz” Khan (Riz Ahmed) wakes up to find her stabbed to death. In a moment of panic, Naz flees from the scene and is eventually captured and charged for murder. While all evidence points towards him, defense attorney John Stone (John Turturro) believes that Naz is telling the truth about his innocence and offers to help clear his name… or at the very least, get rich off the trial.

WHY: “The Night Of” was originally supposed to star James Gandolfini before the actor’s untimely death, but within the first few episodes of the HBO limited series, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than John Turturro in the role. The veteran character actor is so riveting as the down-on-his-luck attorney that it seems a near-certainty he’ll walk away with an Emmy for his performance. He’s that good, and the same could be said for the rest of the cast, including co-star Riz Ahmed and supporting players like Bill Camp, Michael Kenneth Williams and Peyman Moaadi. However, what really elevates “The Night Of” beyond the typical crime drama is the superb writing by co-creators Richard Price and Steve Zaillian, which delivers a probing examination of the systemic problems in the U.S. criminal justice system (from the police, to the prisons, to the lawyers) and how one crime can affect the lives of not only the accused but the people connected to them as well. Though the actual investigation feels a bit rushed, and the series doesn’t hit as many highs in the later episodes, “The Night Of” is an excellent piece of filmmaking that challenges the way we watch television and tell stories.

EXTRAS: Sadly, there’s no bonus material.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

Read the rest of this entry »