5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
An artist witnesses a Mafia hit and calls the police. At the police station she realizes that the Mafia has a man in the force, so she runs. Trailed by the police, who need her testimony, and a hit-man hired by the Mafia, she goes to Mexico, where eventually she meets the hit-man, who has become infatuated after studying her art and life to prepare for the hit.
Starring: Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, Dean Stockwell, Vincent Price, John TurturroCrime | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Dennis Hopper's "Backtrack" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox and screenwriter Tod Davies and two vintage trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Hot target
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Backtrack arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
It is pretty easy to tell that at some point this film was remastered because most of it looks quite nice, even very good. It can look fresher, plus some ranges of nuances -- mostly in darker areas where shadow definition is not optimal -- can be improved, but the visuals have a fine organic appearance. It is just not the consistently solid organic appearance that a proper brand new 4K master, for instance, would have ensured. Regardless, delineation, clarity, and depth are usually very pleasing. When fluctuations emerge, they are never overly distracting. (You can see an example in screencapture #3 where light black crush sneaks in). Color balance is very good, too. A few darker primaries could have been managed a bit better but they still look good and the supporting nuances appear healthy. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is good. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I am a little surprised to see that Backtrack does not have a 5.1 track because it feels like there is a lot material that would have benefited from one. The 2.0 track is decent. However, there are several areas where depth clearly isn't optimal and the dynamic range feels weak. I viewed the Director's Cut and do not know whether this would have made a difference, but I suspect that if the original audio is properly remastered with modern equipment there will be several noticeable improvements. The dialog is clear and always easy to follow. I did not encounter any distortions, pops, or audio dropouts to report in our review.
It would have been interesting to see the rough cut of Dennis Hopper's Backtrack because in a new audio commentary that is included on this release Alex Cox and screenwriter Tod Davies describe it as a very different film. Backtrack is a fine 1990s neo-noir film, but it is very easy to tell that it is a reconstructed director's cut of another film. In it, some of Milo's antics -- like his saxophone performances -- look too artificial, plus the transitions between different episodes are not as smooth as they should have been. However, I think that the main appeal of many of these neo-noir films that emerged during the late 1980s and 1990s was that they were offbeat films with memorable atmospheres and an unfiltered sense of humor. While it could have turned out better, Backtrack is that kind of a different and enjoyable genre film. If you decide to pick it up for your collection, you should bundle it with Hopper's The Hot Spot, which is a masterpiece of the great Neo-Noir Renaissance. RECOMMENDED.
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