Onion Field, The (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Aug 13, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
-
Director
Harold BeckerRelease Date(s)
1979 (June 25, 2025)Studio(s)
Black Marble Productions/AVCO Embassy Pictures (Imprint Films/Via Vision Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian Blu-ray import.]
Hollywood has a history of tackling the injustices of the American justice system. Runaway Jury, Murder in the First, And Justice for All, and The Firm all spotlight failings and abuses of the system. Based on true events, The Onion Field tells the story of a horrible murder and its convoluted legal aftermath.
The film introduces its main characters through cross-cut editing. Los Angeles police officer Karl Francis Hettinger (John Savage) is starting his first day as the new partner of officer Ian Campbell (Ted Danson). Jimmy Lee “Youngblood” Smith (Franklyn Seales), just paroled from prison, encounters Gregory Powell (James Woods), a career criminal who entices Jimmy to team up with him. Together, they rob liquor stores and travel back and forth between Los Angeles and Las Vegas to buy guns and cars.
When Hettinger and Campbell recognize Powell’s car that night and stop them for an ostensibly routine traffic offense, the lives of all four change dramatically. The thieves kidnap the cops at gun point and force them to drive to an onion field in Bakersfield, promising to abandon them there and take off. Instead, at a desolate spot in the field, Powell shoots Campbell in the face. Hettinger escapes into the darkness and as he hides in the bushes, he hears four more bullets fired. Smith panics, jumps back into the car and speeds off, leaving Powell stranded. Hettinger manages to reach safety and call for help. Powell steals a car but is soon picked up and arrested. He immediately gives up Smith, who is soon arrested.
There’s already enough here to comprise a solid police procedural, but screenwriter Joseph Wambaugh goes further and details what happened after the arrests. Instead of a speedy trial, what follows is a decade of postponements, motions, re-trials, and more re-trials. Hettinger relives the horrible night at each trial, as he’s required to testify in court. Suffering post-traumatic syndrome, he has recurring nightmares, becomes impotent, succumbs to kleptomania, and has suicidal thoughts.
The first half of the film is the stronger section. There’s genuine suspense created as the cops are taken hostage and subsequent events occur in the onion field. We hear the four additional gunshots that struck Campbell but can’t see who fired them, nor could Hettinger, who was fleeing in the dark. This fact is crucial because the first shot that Powell fired wasn’t lethal. The two criminals each claim the other fired the four additional shots that killed Campbell and there are no witnesses or other evidence to solve the mystery. Police interviewers are unable to get to the truth, and both perpetrators are sentenced to be executed.
James Woods is frightening as Powell. With quiet menace in his voice, a crazed stare, and unexpected movements, he emanates danger and unpredictability. He also imbues Powell with cunning intelligence as the character takes over his own defense and knows enough law to wield it to his advantage.
John Savage dominates the second half of the film as the traumatized Hettinger, taciturn, tormented, not permitted to heal from the events of that horrific night. Savage is shown in close-up often, his face contorted as his character attempts to hold himself together while he testifies repeatedly for years and his life gradually breaks down. There’s a look of helpless disorientation as his Hettinger devolves into detachment and depression.
Seales has a more subdued role than Woods, as Smith takes orders from the treacherous Powell. Seales ably conveys Smith’s evolution from uneasiness at cooperating with Powell to increasing intimidation to outright fear. In his own words, Smith is a thief, not a killer. Seales shows Smith’s shock when Powell unexpectedly shoots Campbell. Screaming uncontrollably, he panics and speeds off. Later, in courtroom scenes, Seales’ Smith is the model of the ideal defendant—conservatively dressed, attentive, focused.
Wambaugh, a former LA police officer turned novelist, had two previous books made into films, was unhappy with both, and insisted on having The Onion Field retain the story’s complexity. He closely supervised the production, ensuring that the endless court proceedings were portrayed accurately. By allowing Powell to defend himself, the judge opened the door to delays, countless motions, and subsequent trials stretching into years. Trials become circuses with droning lawyers, irrelevant testimony, physical confrontations, and frustration on frustration. We see an assistant district attorney so disgusted with the failure of the justice system that he decides to leave his job.
Director Harold Becker uses a documentary style of narrative without embellishment. The facts are intriguing enough. Becker concentrates on showing how a case that seems airtight was fraught with legal loopholes and dragged out for ten years with one motion after another. The system, like the two criminals, bears scrutiny for hampering rather than expediting justice. The film makes you angry at how easily someone with some knowledge of the law can manipulate the system. It’s not always exactly clear who all the parties are that appear in the trials in the film’s second half, but the point is that, in the interest of giving the accused their full rights, the innocent suffer, namely Hettinger and his family and the family of the murdered Officer Campbell.
The Onion Field was shot by director of photography Charles Rosher, Jr. on 35mm film with Panaflex cameras and spherical lenses by Panavision, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. On the Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Via Vision Entertainment, clarity is excellent, particularly in the suspenseful night scenes that take place en route to and in the onion field. Details are crisp, with characters backlit so they stand out. Certain acts, such as the shooting of the downed Officer Campbell, are purposely obscured. The chase in the online field is gripping as Powell, flashlight in hand, hunts for Hettinger, intent on killing him. Scenes of Powell and Smith casing a liquor store show an incandescent glow from within the store. Complexions are well rendered. In an intense scene, Smith’s face turns red with anger. As the incidents mount after the shooting, Savage’s face begins to exhibit nervous tics. Scenes in the death row cells are dimly lit and feature prisoners lounging against their cell doors. The stark interrogation room has only a table and two chairs. The color palette tends toward darker tones. At Campbell’s funeral, dozens of police officers in their dark blue uniforms stand as an American flag draped over Campbell’s coffin is carefully folded and given to his widow.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 LPCM. Optional English SDH subtitles are an available option. Dialogue is clear and distinct. Director Harold Becker uses silence as the cops are forced to drive to Bakersfield. The camera switches from close-ups on each man in the car to increase tension. The critical gunshots reverberate in the open field, and a car engine roars as Smith speeds away. A crying baby is the basis for a scene in which the unemployed Hettinger, in charge of the children after his wife gets a job, feels overcome by stress. The score by Emir Deodato creates tension with percussion and extended, somber chords.
Bonus materials on the Region-Free Blu-ray release from Imprint Films include the following:
- Audio Commentary by Harold Becker
- Ring of Truth: The Making of The Onion Field (28:58)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:00)
Audio Commentary – Director Harold Becker notes that the opening music of The Onion Field is based on a bagpipe tune and has a melancholy quality. Becker wanted to tell the story as truthfully as possible. When actual locations couldn’t be secured, the filmmakers tried to duplicate them as closely as possible. Casting was critical. The four principal actors all resembled their true-life counterparts. The director was convinced by James Woods’ audition that he would be a great Powell. Cross cutting is used in the beginning to show Hettinger and Campbell together and Powell and Smith together until the four cross paths at the fateful traffic stop. Joseph Wambaugh, author of the book on which the film is based, was helpful in providing details that contributed to authenticity. His dialogue helped bring the characters to life. Although he had made several short films, The Onion Field was only Becker’s second feature. It’s more than a crime melodrama; it’s about justice in America. There was “enormous technical support” for the film. Becker didn’t find it necessary to call for many takes because the actors were so thoroughly invested in their roles. No liberties were taken to make a point. The film essentially shows Hettinger on trial. When he starts stealing, it’s a cry to be caught and punished. John Savage’s performance is quiet but powerful. Becker speaks about scenes that were cut and the reasons for the deletions. The filmmakers never imagined the film would have the impact it has had.
Ring of Truth: The Making of The Onion Field – Cast members, writer Joseph Wambaugh, and director Harold Becker contribute their thoughts on the making of The Onion Field. The film depicts characters as human beings, requiring actors to be authentic. Joseph Wambaugh wrote The New Centurions and The Blue Knight while still working as a cop for the LAPD. The Onion Field was his first effort to be a real writer. He took a six-month leave of absence to write the book. Wambaugh was “on the job” when the events in the film took place. After 14 years on the job, he had acquired a degree of fame as a writer, so he left the force. Wambaugh and private investors bankrolled the film. Wambaugh promised Harold Becker more freedom than he would ever have. The film was shot over 42 days, with mostly actual locations where incidents occurred. Hettinger never fully rebounded from what he had endured. He died of liver cancer. Smith died in prison. Powell is serving a life sentence. The subject matter created a heaviness to the production. Ted Danson’s appearance as Campbell is brief but significant. Seales screaming after Powell shoots Campbell wasn’t in the script. Powell misunderstood the Lindbergh Law. Until he shot Campbell he hadn’t inflicted any bodily harm. Wambaugh interviewed both Smith and Powell, noting that Powell had “sociopathic eyes” while Smith had soft eyes. Powell wanted Wambaugh to believe what he was selling, though he was straight with the author. The casting is excellent. Pictures of the real people are shown and the actors look amazingly similar to them. The film has heart and soul and honors real people. Wambaugh notes, “We caught lightning in a bottle.”
What strikes the viewer is how non-sensational The Onion Field is. Yes, the killing is brutal and unexpected and Powell’s hunt for Hettinger is harrowing, but the film is mostly about the aftermath. Screenwriter Joseph Wambaugh (based on his own book) and director Harold Becker have crafted a disturbing, thought-provoking examination of the American justice system. By simply depicting actual incidents, they illustrate why justice isn’t always guaranteed when arrests are made.
- Dennis Seuling