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Demolition Man (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (2nd April 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes go at it amid a dazzling cyber-future in this explosive hit. In 2032 arch-criminal Simon Phoenix (Snipes) awakens from a 35-year deep freeze in CryoPrison to find a serene, nonviolent Los Angeles ready for the taking. Unable to deal with Phoenix's brutal 1990's style, officials-seek an old-fashioned cop to fight old-fashion crime. They revive Sgt. John Spartan (Stallone), unjustly serving a CryoPrison sentence because of his last encounter with Phoenix. Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt (TV's Law and Order) also uphold the law in this "terrific mix of action and humour" (Joel Siegel, Good Morning America/ABC-TV).
Video
Warner Home Video have released the all-star nineties action-fest "Demolition Man" onto Blu-ray in the original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The transfer uses an AVC MPEG-4 encode and is 1080p. It looks great for a catalogue title. The first scenes take place in the 1990's, during a time where crime levels are high, and the darker colour scheme here really shows off the blacks, which are deep and inky throughout. This darker colour scheme is also rife in the scenes which take place below ground with the 'scraps' and suits the tone well in contrast to the bright vivid futuristic 'happy and peaceful' imagery of the scenes above ground in the future. Shadow detail is surprisingly good at times, especially during the museum shoot out after Sly and Wesley Snipes drop down into a garage setting. Facial details are also strong, as are the various background and environmental elements. There is no excessive signs of digital noise reduction, and I noticed no aliasing, but there are a couple of brief moments of minor edge enhancement (barely noticeable), as well as some occasional blooming. Apart from the rare speck, there are no signs of damage to the print - it's really clean. A light layer of consistent natural grain runs for the duration, and the transfer never becomes noisy. Fans will be happy to hear that this transfer is uncut (previous BBFC cuts waived), and features the original Taco Bell settings - not the Pizza Hut settings we have become accustomed to. The disc is region free, and the film runs 115:02.
Audio
The following audio options are available: - English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - French Dolby Digital 5.1 - Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 - Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 For my viewing, I opted for the original language track - English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Unfortunately, although it's a good sounding track, it feels slightly lacking that OTT feel that the movie cries out for. The LFE and surrounds are utilised to a reasonable degree for the various explosions and gun shots, but a lot of the action tends to come via the front speakers. The score makes full use of the sound field, and never outperforms the dialogue, with volume levels consistent throughout. Channel separation is good when the action does find its way to the surrounds, and directionality is solid. There are no signs of damage such as drop outs or scratches, and I noticed no background hiss. Subtitles are available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Extras
The main extra is an audio commentary with director Marco Brambilla and producer Joel Silver which has been carried over from the older American DVD release. To be honest, it's a disappointing track. Silver seems to disappear about quarter of the way through, and rather than go into technical detail, or give us information as to why certain scenes were shot in certain ways, this is more of a descriptive track, with not a lot of tidbits for the viewer to grab on to. I did learn that Lori Petty was originally hired in Sandra Bullock's part though. There is also a theatrical trailer (2:05).
Overall
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