Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Bound Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 9, 2014

The Wachowski Brothers' "Bound" (1996) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers and TV spots; new video interviews with Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly, Joe Pantoliano, and Christopher Meloni; new featurette with new interviews with director of photography Bill Pope, editor Zach Staenberg, and composer Don Davis; stills gallery; making of featurettes; and more. The release also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring James Oliver's essay "Two Girls and a Gun: Bound Reconsidered", as well as reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Smith. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Corky

The text below was first used for our review of the French Blu-ray release of Bound in 2009.

A good friend of mine, who writes for a popular French magazine, once told me: "Bound is so sexy, if it was filmed fifty years ago, it would have become an instant noir classic.” Having just revisited the Wachowski’s film on Blu-ray, I have to agree. Bound has not lost its sex appeal one bit.

The story that is told in it is simple. Corky (Gina Gershon, Picture Claire) is a beautiful female ex-con who makes ends meet as a plumber. She is sent to an apartment building in downtown Chicago to do a job. In the lobby of the building, Corky meets Caesar (Joe Pantoliano, Bad Boys II), a local mobster, and his girlfriend, Violet (Jennifer Tilly, Bride of Chucky). While riding the elevator together, Violet looks at Corky in a way most men look at women. The three get off on the same floor. The apartment Corky is sent to work on is right next to Caesar and Violet’s place.

Soon after, Violet comes knocking on Corky’s door. She tells her that she dropped her ring in the sink, and because Caesar has stepped out, she needs help. Corky already knows why Violet is there, but decides to play her game. She goes to her place and helps Violet get her ring. Then, she gets her.

A few hours later, Caesar comes back. He has absolutely no idea what the two women have been doing. He invites Corky to have a drink and pays her for the help. At first, Corky protests, but then accepts the money. Then, she finishes her drink and goes back to work.

When the two women meet again, Violet reveals that she is sick of living with Caesar and ready to start a new life. She also tells Corky that someone (Barry Kivel, Body and Soul) is about to bring Caesar a case with two million dollars, which he must give to Gino Marzzone (Richard C. Sarafian, Bugsy), a big mafia boss. It is a lot of money that can permanently reset one's life -- or a couple's future. Is Corky interested in helping her steal the moeny and then runnnig away with her?

Bound was the Wachowski’s debut as film directors. It was released a year after they contributed to Richard Donner’s Assassins, a high-octane action thriller starring Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, and Julianne Moore. It received good reviews in North America, but it disappeared into oblivion due to a surprisingly poor support from its distributor. After it was released on DVD, it became something of a cult classic.

In Bound the sex is explicit but delicious. That famous sex scene between Gershon and Tilly (fully intact on this release) remains amongst the best I have seen in contemporary American cinema. The lines the two women utter before they start making love are fantastic.

There is plenty of violence in Bound as well, and Joe Pantoliano’s character is in the middle of it all. Similar to the sex, the violence is also wonderfully shot. A lot of it is mixed with a good dose of humor as well, which keeps it fresh. During the second half, for instance, there is a rather long scene where a man is badly tortured, but his misery is hilarious. I am convinced Quentin Tarantino has studied it, as different versions of it have appeared in a couple of his films.

You would either love or hate Bound. It is that type of film. I like it because it tells a good story and has a lot of style. I also like how deliciously naughty it is. Nowadays, we rarely see an R-rated Hollywood film where the sex is exciting. Typically, it is boring and tasteless. If you decide to see Bound, you may not like it, but I guarantee you won’t be bored.

Bound Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bound arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

Bound initially appeared on Blu-ray in France, courtesy of local distributors M6. A few years later, Olive Films released the film on Blu-ray in the United States. These releases use very different high-definition transfers.

Arrow Video's release uses a high-definition transfer that is similar to the one M6 used for their release of Bound. The framing of the two high-definition transfers is virtually identical (the framing on the Olive Films release is slightly wider). Contrast and clarity settings are also very similar -- Arrow Video's high-transfer is slightly darker, but the difference is indeed very small (compare screencapture #3 with screencapture #4 from our review of the M6 release). Colors are marginally richer, with the reds and browns in particular appearing a bit stronger. Furthermore, because the high-definition transfer comes from a pre-existing master, there are some inherited age-related limitations. For example, the same light halo effects that are present on the M6 release are also visible here (see screencapture #8). A bit of very light noise sneaks in as well. Still, the overall look of the film is quite pleasing. Lastly, the encoding here is clearly superior. As a result, both depth and clarity are better. All in all, even though Bound can clearly look better on Blu-ray -- and for this to happen at the very least a new 2K scan is needed -- but the current technical presentation is certainly more than satisfying. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Bound Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless 5.1 track is very good. I did a few direct comparisons with the 5.1 track from the M6 disc and in terms of clarity and depth the two seem practically identical. I viewed the entire film with the lossless 2.0 track and I actually like it slightly better than the 5.1 track. The sound is better balanced and I think that generally the two channel audio serves the film better. I encourage you to experiment with both and see which one you prefer.

Bound Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - three original trailers for Bound. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• TV Spots - two original TV spots for Bound. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Stills Gallery - twenty eight original stills, lobby cards, and posters.

• Making of Featurettes - in English, not subtitled.
  
  1. U.S. Featurette - standard short featurette with raw footage from the shooting of Bound and comments from Joe Pantoliano, Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, and the Wachowski Brothers. (5 min).
  
  2. International Featurette - a slightly longer version of the U.S. featurette. (6 min).

• Cast Interviews - in English, not subtitled. All three interviews were produced by Arrow Video and Red Shirt Pictures.
  
  1. Gina Gershon & Jennifer Tilly - Femme Fatales - in this brand new video piece, the two actresses discuss their initial reactions to the Wachowski Brothers' script for Bound and directing methods, the shooting of the film, the unique qualities of their characters (Corky and Violet), the lovemaking sequences, the film's cult status, etc. (27 min).
  
  2. Joe Pantoliano - Hail Caesar - in this new video interview, Joe Pantoliano recalls how he was approached to play Caesar in Bound and discusses his interactions with the Wachowski Brothers before and during the shooting of the film. (14 min).
  
  3. Christopher Meloni - Here's Johnny! - in this new video interview, Christopher Meloni (Johnnie Marzzone) discusses the character he plays in Bound. (10 min).

• Modern Noir: The Sights & Sounds of Bound - in this brand new featurette, director of photography Bill Pope, editor Zach Staenberg, and composer Don Davis discuss their contributions to Bound and explain what makes the film unique. The featurette was produced by Arrow Video and Red Shirt Pictures. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• Cover work - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Smith.

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring James Oliver's essay "Two Girls and a Gun: Bound Reconsidered".

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary with the Wachowski Borthers, Jennifer Tilly, actors Gina Gershon, and Joe Pantoliano, editor Zach Staenberg, and consultant Susie Bright also appears on the French Blu-ray release of Bound. It is fantastic, and I actually consider it one of the very best done to date. It is incredibly informative and very entertaining at the same time.

Bound Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you do not yet have Bound in your collections, I strongly recommend importing Arrow Video's Blu-ray release. It has an excellent selection of supplemental features, including new video interviews which have been produced exclusively for this release. The film is a minor masterpiece, arguably one of the Wachowski Brothers' best. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.