Demolition Man (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Jan 01, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
Marco BrambillaRelease Date(s)
1993 (December 17, 2024)Studio(s)
Silver Pictures/Warner Bros. (Arrow Video)- Film/Program Grade: B+
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
By the time 1993’s science fiction comedy actioner Demolition Man hit theaters, Sylvester Stallone’s career was somewhat in flux. The days of Rocky and Rambo were over for the time being, and he had just scored a hit with Renny Harlin’s Cliffhanger earlier in the summer, but prior to that he had some misses with the underperforming and poorly-received Rocky V, the John Landis-directed stage comedy Oscar, and the butt of nearly every Sly joke for years to come, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Strong comparisons were being made to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mostly successful turn at making comedies, and Sly needed to gain back some of his box office ground. Meanwhile, Wesley Snipes’ star status had been achieved with White Men Can’t Jump and Passenger 57, and besides Demolition Man, it was the year of Snipes with other high profile films Sugar Hill, Boiling Point, and Rising Sun also hitting theaters. It was safe to say that Demolition Man, depending upon its execution, could have gone in either direction upon release, but had plenty of popular, muscle-bound star power to back it up.
In the “far distant” future of 1996 in Los Angeles, crime is at an all time high, with one of the world’s most deadliest criminals, Simon Phoenix (Snipes), forever escaping the grasp of the police. John Spartan (Stallone), known among fellow cops and the media as the “Demolition Man,” has been hunting him for two years; but when Phoenix kidnaps a bus full of civilians, Spartan finally nails him before the building they’re in implodes. In the immediate aftermath, Spartan is blamed for the destruction, with Phoenix revealing that the civilians were in the building, as well. Both Spartan and Phoenix are tried and convicted, sentenced to the California Cryo-Penitentiary, wherein they are cryogenically frozen and given rehabilitation signals subliminally. 36 years later (2032), Los Angeles has become San Angeles, a world in which all crime has been eliminated and its citizens lead a peaceful existence. Within this environment, Phoenix is unfrozen for his parole hearing, upon which he escapes, shockingly and mysteriously stronger than before with complete knowledge of the city’s inner workings, passwords, and other cryptic information. Unable to deal with such a threat, the police force, at the direct insistence of 20th century-obsessed Lieutenant Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), thaws out John Spartan, reinstating him to once again find and stop Simon Phoenix, but in a new world that he doesn’t know or understand. The film also features Denis Leary, Bill Cobbs, Nigel Hawthorne, Benjamin Bratt, Bob Gunton, and Glenn Shadix (with appearances by Troy Evans, Rob Schneider, Jack Black, Jesse Ventura, Grand L. Bush, David Patrick Kelly, Adrienne Barbeau, and Steve Kahan).
Much has been made of Demolition Man’s so-called “predictions” of the future, in the positive and the negative. In truth, it all feels like jokes or ideas put forth by screenwriters Peter N. Lenkov, Daniel Waters, and an uncredited Fred Dekker, all of whom weren’t necessarily trying to predict anything, but envisioned a highly compromised, oppressive, and ultimately conservative future society that would be fish-out-of-water material for the film’s two leads. Obviously, all restaurants didn’t become Taco Bell, nor is society completely free of guns, but it’s interesting and refreshing to see a future on film that features self-driving cars instead of flying ones, optical disc-based media still in use, voice-controlled mechanisms, meat-based food being basically frowned upon (hence illegal), and video-based communication. None of it was intentional, of course, but many films that attempt to have a window into the future often go far too big and obvious. I tend to liken Demolition Man’s version of the future to Back to the Future Part II’s take, with Robert Zemeckis on record as saying that all of it was for plotting and for jokes. That seems to be the case here, although in a post-pandemic approaching authoritarianism-based world, Dr. Cocteau’s reference to a previous time in history in which citizens were afraid to come out of their homes and wanting the madness to end is eerily familiar.
On the other hand, Demolition Man was never meant to be taken this seriously. It was, and still is, nothing more than a backdrop with some plotting to get two big American action stars on the screen together, mano a mano. You can pick apart aspects of the plot at length if you so choose, especially the idea that Dr. Cocteau would unleash a super criminal on society instead of a super cop with the full support of the police in order to take down a single current day criminal, but then again we’re talking about someone who’s a complete madman and will do anything to enshrine his self-created “perfect” society. Regardless, director Marco Brambilla, who only made a handful of films in his short tenure, mostly keeps things focused on character and action. At the time, Demolition Man seemed very slick and cool, backed up by an excellent score from Elliot Goldenthal, and it still is in many ways. It’s not perfect and it feels like alternate history at this point since the setting isn’t all that far into the future, not to mention that the initial 1996 future was too soon even during its initial release, but it’s very well-made popcorn entertainment.
Demolition Man was shot by cinematographer Alex Thomson on 35mm film using Panavision Panaflex cameras and anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Arrow Video presents the film on Ultra HD a new 4K restoration of both the domestic and international versions, approved by director Marco Brambilla, and presented via seamless branching. Both have been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and presented on a single, triple-layered BD-100 disc. Alex Thomson’s excellent cinematography has been given a fine overhaul, appearing much more crisp and more evenly reproduced on disc here than the previous Blu-ray. A mild photochemical grain structure is on display, mostly solid from end to end with some exceptions, with a healthy bitrate that reaches into the 90 and 100Mbps range, and even beyond. Some of the film’s opticals, particularly in the opening scenes and credits, still appear soft, but they’re inherent to the way the film was made at the time. The Dolby Vision grade deepens black levels and improves shadow detail, evening out contrast, while also boosting the film’s sometimes limited color palette. Flesh tones are much improved, as well. Everything appears clean throughout and wholly organic to the original source. The only other notable visual discrepancies are laid within the Pizza Hut overlays, which leads us to the audio...
...options of which include English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, as well as a new Dolby Atmos (7.1 Dolby TrueHD compatible) mix, with optional subtitles in English SDH. The film was released in Dolby Stereo, and both the 5.1 and 2.0 offer fine approximations of that experience. However, it’s the new Dolby Atmos track that gets the most obvious attention. It’s a very powerful track, adding some height, without fundamentally overhauling the intended soundtrack. All of the original sound effects and dialogue exchanges are clear and intact. However, the Atmos track makes one small change in the score during the opening scene when it’s revealed that the bodies of the bus passengers were in the building that just exploded. The cue that normally starts on John Spartan’s reaction to this news starts a few seconds later, and bleeds over into the opening credits shot of him being escorted into the cryo-prison. There are otherwise no alterations that I could spot. In any case, there’s plenty of low frequency activity on all of the tracks, adding to making this finest presentation of the film to date.
The Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD release of Demolition Man sits in a black Amaray case alongside 6 postcard-sized art cards. Also included is a double-sided insert and poster featuring the original theatrical poster artwork on one side and new artwork by Laurie Greasley on the other; two stickers featuring three seashells artwork on one and “Life Is Hell” graffiti on the other; and a 60-page booklet with cast and crew information, the essays Demolition Man: Getting Dirty in Utopia by Martyn Pedler, The Brave New World of Demolition Man by Priscilla Page, I Love to Hate This Place: The Inner Conflict of Demolition Man by William Bibbiani, “Buzzed by Its Brutality”: The Textural Pleasures of Violence in Demolition Man by Clem Bastow, restoration details, and a set of production credits. Everything is housed in a rigid slipcase featuring the same new artwork by Laurie Greasley and a thin slipcover with the same theatrical artwork. The following extras are included on the disc:
- NEW Audio Commentary with Marco Brambilla and Daniel Waters
- NEW Audio Commentary with Mike White
- Audio Commentary with Marco Brambilla and Joel Silver
- NEW Somewhere Over the Rambo (HD – 17:01)
- NEW Demolition Design: Production Designer David L. Snyder on Demolition Man (HD – 14:14)
- NEW Cryo Action: Stunt Coordinator and Second Unit Director Charles Picerni on Demolition Man (HD – 5:53)
- NEW Biggs’ Body Shoppe: Special Makeup Effects Artist Christopher Biggs on Demolition Man (HD – 5:46)
- NEW Tacos and Hockey Pucks: Body Effects Set Coordinator Jeff Farley on Demolition Man (HD – 9:55)
- Theatrical Trailer (Upscaled SD – 2:06)
- NEW Image Gallery (HD – 84 in all)
One of the new audio commentaries features director Marco Brambilla and screenwriter Daniel Waters, who were obviously recorded separately via Skype or Zoom. It’s a tad awkward as the two don’t exactly have the strongest rapport, but they’re game to provide plenty of information about the film. The next commentary features film historian Mike White of the Projection Booth podcast, who offers a trivia-based track filled with quotes from the filmmakers and other aspects of the production. Last is a DVD-era audio commentary by Marco Brambilla and producer Joel Silver, which is a very nice and very fast-paced commentary as the two men furiously offer some of the same information and dissertation about the film.
Somewhere Over the Rambo is a visual essay by film scholar Josh Nelson, who examines Sylvester Stallone’s career up leading up to the film, the real-world violence that informs the story, the many novels and films that it draws upon, its satirical elements, and its fascist and conservative overtones. Next is a set a new interviews from Reverend Entertainment. Demolition Design features production designer David L. Snyder, who discusses how he got involved with the project, the sets and locations the film was shot on, and his drive to create a utopia on film after working on Blade Runner, which was the complete opposite. Cryo Action features stunt coordinator and second unit director Charles Percini, who talks about his background in television and his work designing action sequences in the film. Biggs’ Body Shoppe features special make-up effects artist Christopher Biggs speaking about his initial involvement with the film and details the effects created for it. Tacos and Hockey Pucks features body effects set coordinator Jeff Farley talking about how the frozen body models at the beginning of the film were created. Last is the film’s Theatrical Trailer (which features many alternate takes, unused angles, and deleted bits of dialogue) and an Image Gallery containing 84 images of behind-the-scenes stills, promotional photos, lobby cards (with a surprise appearance by Jackie Chan), and posters.
As encompassing as this material is, there’s yet to be a long-form documentary about the making of the film, which feels warranted as it began as a spec script and morphed over time between different writing, producing, and directing entities before it took shape and became the film that it is. None of the deleted scenes have surfaced, including the subplot about Spartan’s daughter, who you can briefly see in a couple of scenes from the final film, but no comments are made about her. Even so, Arrow’s 4K Ultra HD presentation of Demolition Man offers a substantial audio and video upgrade of a film that seems to have aged a little better than I expected. If you’re a fan of it like I am, this one’s a no-brainer. Highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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