Apparently whenever director Brian De Palma and actor Al Pacino work together, they create flicks with lasting appeal that don’t do well during their original release. Such was the case with 1983’s Scarface.

It failed to attract a great audience back then but gradually became seen as a gangster classic, a factor helped by the masses of rappers who adored it. 1993’s Carlito’s Way doesn’t enjoy the fame of Scarface, but it’s nonetheless managed to become more popular than its initial lackluster theatrical one would make one believe.

The flick pretty much tanked back then, and I don’t recall that it received many positive critical notices. However, it maintained a decent following – at least enough for Universal to bankroll a 2005 direct-to-video prequel.

Way starts with its ending, as it introduces us to Carlito Brigante (Pacino) right after someone shoots and seriously injures him. We then flash back and see events from 1975.

Carlito gets out of jail after five years of a 30-year sentence. This occurs because his slick lawyer David Kleinfeld (Sean Penn) wins an appeal based on a technicality because DA Norwalk (James Rebhorn) used some shady tactics during the original investigation.

A former big-shot criminal, Carlito claims he plans to go straight. He just wants to raise $75,000 so he can move to the Bahamas and invest in a buddy’s car rental agency.

No one believes this claim, though, and they constantly try to re-involve Carlito in illicit activities. He resists but finds his past tough to avoid, a factor that leads him to a mix of complications.

Since Way came based on novels by Edwin Torres, I know it had no connection to 1990’s much-maligned Godfather Part III. However, it’s easy to see a link since the story of Way feels like it’s a riff on the earlier flick’s most famous line: “Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in!”

That quote essentially sums up the plot to Way. Although this makes the movie follow a fairly predictable path, I don’t mind since it brings unusual depth for a gangster movie.

Most of these genre efforts go the Scarface route to look after the violent rise to power of those involved. Way takes the opposite road to look at someone who really does want to reform but finds it tough to avoid the mistakes of his past.

Carlito himself provides an unusually deep character for this kind of film. He still aspires to succeed and seems somewhat resigned to the fact that he’ll likely need to resort to some illegal methods along the way.

However, he truly appears to aspire to get out of the scene. It’s not lip service, and his past weighs on him much more than expected.

As the lead role, Pacino is a mixed bag, though usually good. On one hand, he shows too much of the bluster that mars many of his modern performances.

This trend remains exemplified by his work in Scent of a Woman, a turn notable mainly for his loud “hoo-ah!” exclamations. There’s too much aggressive Scent of a Woman in Pacino’s performance and not enough of the subtlety that he brought out in earlier flicks like The Godfather.

On the other hand, Pacino demonstrates a presence that serves the role well. For all his hamminess, there’s an authority and charisma Pacino emanates that help make Carlito much more believable than I otherwise might expect. When the actor backs off from his bluster, he seems eminently easy to accept in the role, as he really looks the part.

Pacino also depicts Carlito’s weariness well. Again, his non-verbal side works best. He conveys a lot with little looks and gestures. Despite his occasional bluster, Pacino manages to work fairly well in the lead part.

While the plot elements that involve his former girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller) become necessary in the end, they often feel somewhat artificial. For much of the movie, they come across as grafted on, and they don’t mesh well with the rest of the tale. By the end, they add up to a little more, but I still think they act more as plot devices than anything else.

Carlito’s Way doesn’t serve as a great gangster movie, but it’s more than serviceable. It aspires to be something a little different, and despite some misfires, it usually succeeds. It works well as a nice change of pace.

Carlito’s Way appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was a largely positive but not exceptional presentation.

Overall sharpness seemed good. Some soft shots occurred – and were exacerbated by photographic choices – but the majority of the film stayed fairly crisp and concise.

I saw no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and the image lacked edge haloes. Grain seemed light – perhaps a bit too light, as I suspected a bit of noise reduction – and the movie suffered from no print flaws.

With its 1970s setting and an emphasis on nightclubs, Way provided many opportunities for bright tones. The colors became the best aspect of the transfer, as they consistently appeared lively and dynamic, and they remained firm throughout the movie.

Blacks also demonstrated deep, tight elements, and shadows were clear and easily visible. The softness and potential noise reduction meant the image didn’t dazzle, but it appeared fairly positive.

Given the film’s genre and the era in which it was made, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundfield maintained a surprisingly heavy emphasis on the front spectrum. Even during more action-oriented scenes with gunfire and other lively elements, the surrounds played a minor role. They fleshed out the front material in a modest way and that was it.

At least the forward channels offered pretty good information. They showed nice stereo imaging for the score and created a solid sense of environment through effects. These were appropriately placed and usually meshed well, though a few transitions seemed a bit awkward.

Audio quality was fine, though without great heft. Speech seemed concise and distinctive, and I noticed no signs of edginess.

Music appeared reasonably lush and full, although I felt low-end was a little weak. The same thoughts greeted the effects, as they were acceptably accurate but without much bass response. This was a serviceable soundtrack.

How did the 2023 Blu-ray compare to the original BD from 2010? Both brought seemingly identical audio.

Visuals worked better, mainly due to the absence of the 2010 disc’s print flaws. However, the rest of the image felt similar between the two.

Note that 2021 brought a 4K UHD from Universal and 2023 delivered a new 4K UHD from Arrow? I never saw the 2021 Universal product but I felt impressed with the 2023 Arrow 4K.

While I believe the 2021 Universal 4K included the 2010 Blu-ray, the 2023 Arrow 4K came with a newly-minted BD. As of November 2023, the Arrow BD remains exclusive to that 4K package.

I suspect Arrow didn’t release their own solo Blu-ray because Universal had this remaster on their schedule. That leaves this 2023 Universal Blu-ray as the best version in that format available on its own, but I think the Arrow Blu-ray works a bit better.

The remastered Blu-ray duplicates the 2010 disc’s extras, and we start with Brian De Palma On Carlito’s Way. This five-minute, 26-second featurette offers the director’s comments on verisimilitude and various actors, visual elements, and movie critics.

De Palma tosses out a few interesting comments but doesn’t tell us much of use in this brief piece. It flies by too quickly and without enough depth to stick.

Nine Deleted Scenes last a total of eight minutes, 14 seconds. That running time doesn’t leave a lot of room for anything terribly memorable, so don’t expect a lot from these clips. They mostly flesh out existing scenes and fail to present anything very compelling.

The disc’s most substantial program, The Making of Carlito’s Way runs 34 minutes, 35 seconds. It includes remarks from De Palma, author Edwin Torres, producer Martin Bregman, screenwriter David Koepp, and editor Bill Pankow.

We learn about the origins of the story and its script development, bringing De Palma on board, Torres’ continued involvement in the project and inspirations for characters, the movie’s structure, working with the actors, dialogue and pacing, difficulties with/aspects of specific scenes, and the film’s reception.

“Making” hits on all the necessary bases to become a useful program. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, and that’s fine with me. It runs through the important aspects of the film’s creation with honesty and reasonable depth, so we get a good feel for the production here. It acts as a solid documentary.

On a 2005 DVD but dropped from the 2010 BD, we also get a circa 1993 Promotional Featurette. It spans five minutes, 11 seconds.

We get some sound bites from De Palma, Bregman, Torres, and actors Luis Guzman and Penelope Ann Miller.Expect story/character overviews plus promotional material and not much else.

An unusual take on the gangster genre, Carlito’s Way mostly succeeds. It occasionally goes off-track with some weak plot threads, but it mostly keeps us interested and involved. The Blu-ray offers reasonably good picture and audio along with a decent set of extras. Carlito’s Way doesn’t match with the best crime films, but it works pretty well.

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