Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Breakdown Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 2, 2021

Paramount has released one of the most underrated films of the 1990s, Director Jonathan Mostow's 'Breakdown,' to Blu-ray as part of the studio's prestigious 'Paramount Presents' line. The Blu-ray includes a newly remastered 1080p transfer, a fine lossless soundtrack, and plenty of extras new for this release.

For a full film review, please see Dr. Svet Atanasov's writing accompanying the 2021 Australian release by clicking here.

Breakdown Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount's long-awaited 1080p Blu-ray release of Breakdown is anything but, well, broken down. Paramount touts the transfer as being "a director-approved remaster from a new 4K film scan" and the results are simply breathtaking. The picture enjoys an abundantly fruitful textural front. Grain is retained in full. It's a light, tight, and well defined field, yielding a wonderfully filmic façade that compliments the desert visuals, big rig truck details, and the like with elegant accuracy. It does spike a bit in intensity in darker scenes (the climax in particular) but is otherwise very stable and true. Details are sharp and precise, particularly those aforementioned big rig exteriors but also, of course, facial close-ups, clothing lines and stitches, and the vast, empty desert environment that is, of course, not only prevalently seen in the film but vital in supporting the sense of hopeless dread and endless mystery. It cannot be overstated how natural, clean, and efficient this image is. Colors are likewise well defined. Of course, the movie is very beige and flat by design. It takes place in a nondescript stretch of empty desert country, but splashes of blue big rigs, Kurt Russell's polo, and some other colors offer plenty of impressive tonal depth and accuracy. There's no mistaking the fine-tuned color fidelity at work and satisfying balance and dialed-in neutral contrast at play. Black levels are every bit as deep as they should be and skin tones find agreeably accurate stability and lifelike vitality. The print is free of obvious speckling and wear and the encode is efficient as well with no artificial problems to report. Breakdown couldn't look much better than this.

Breakdown Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Breakdown rumbles onto Blu-ray with a high quality Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is stout and organic, certainly lacking the intensive sound design of a modern AAA blockbuster but presenting the material for all it's worth, which can be quite a bit. Vehicles zoom down desert roads with impressive feel for movement across channels, and when it's a big rig, these feelings for power and depth surge into action with impressive low end output and stability that complements relevant scenes without overpowering music, dialogue, or surrounding effects. The end chase sequence is a delight, obviously lacking the full-on commanding mayhem from other high energy vehicular films like F9 but handling the crunching metal, overturning vehicles, and overall power with great efficiency and immersion. Gunfire, whether handgun shots or shotgun blasts, hit appropriately hard. Natural atmosphere is slight but well defined in the otherwise quiet and sparsely populated exteriors. Music is satisfyingly rich and presented with impressive width with balanced, albeit light, surround content. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and grounded in the front-center channel.

Breakdown Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Paramount brings Breakdown to the Blu-ray format with a laundry list of special features, many of which Paramount touts as new for this release. Note that the isolated score and commentary tracks are accessible via the "Settings" menu tab, not the "Extras" tab. This release is the 26th in the "Paramount Presents" line and includes the slipcover with fold-open poster artwork. A digital copy code is included with purchase.

• NEW! Filmmaker Focus: Director Jonathan Mostow on Breakdown (1080p, 10:46): The filmmaker discusses project origins, cast and performances, making various scenes, Kurt Russell's physical performance, critical and audience response, and more.
• NEW! Victory Is Hers: Kathleen Quinlan on Breakdown (1080p, 4:22): The actress reflects on making the movie.
• NEW! A Brilliant Partnership: Martha De Laurentiis on Breakdown (1080p, 8:17): Martha's work with Dino and specifically her memories in the making of this film. She shares much of the same information from Mostow's supplement.
• NEW! Alternate Opening (1080p, 11:40): With a director's intro.
• NEW! Alternate Opening with Commentary by Director Jonathan Mostow (1080p, 11:54): The same as above with Mostow speaking over the scene.
• Trailers (480i): Trailers for Breakdown (4x3, 2:10), Kiss the Girls (window box, 2:17), and Hard Rain (window box, 2:23).
• NEW! Audio Commentary: Director Jonathan Mostow and Actor Kurt Russell discuss the film in detail.
• NEW! Isolated Score: The film plays with only the musical score in accompaniment; much of the film, then, is silent.

Breakdown Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It seemed like Breakdown would never make it to Blu-ray, and for years it felt like it if it did release it would be some second-rate, featureless disc. Thankfully not only is the film on Blu-ray, it is rightly part of the "Paramount Presents" line. It's well deserving as one of the tightest, most intense Thrillers of the 90s, and really from any decade. It's a marvelous film considering its story, the performances, the photography, and the tension. It's unpredictable and horrifying even on repeated watches and is well worth owning, particularly considering that this disc looks and sounds terrific and includes a nice collection of brand-new supplemental content. Very highly recommended.