Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Cruising 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 21, 2025

With tongue perhaps planted pretty firmly in cheek, it might be suggested based on a new supplement included with Arrow's 4K version of Cruising that it's probably a good thing that one Bruce Springsteen had a red cap in his right back jeans pocket on the cover of Born in the U.S.A. rather than a red handkerchief. That's because there was a rather labyrinthine and maybe hilariously arcane "hanky code" that this supplement states was used extensively by gay men in the 1980s (not so coincidentally pretty much in the same general time frame when Springsteen's album first appeared) in order to delineate their particular sexual tastes. This "code" extended not just to colors and/or patterns, but which back pocket was used as "storage", and for any further information, there's that aforementioned supplement waiting for you on a second (1080) disc included in this set, a release which has an almost staggering array of bonus features (just take a gander at the list below). That joking reference aside, Arrow released Cruising on 1080 Blu-ray several years ago (see the link to my 1080 review, also below), and the label is now revisiting the title with a new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative (in a recent visit to London, I was treated to an exclusive preview of the restoration process at Silver Salt Studios). That aforementioned bevy of new supplementary content, along with quite a bit of archival material, may help at least in part to contextualize what has always been one of William Friedkin's more controversial properties.

As mentioned, Arrow offered a generally great looking and sounding 1080 release several years ago. Those interested can head over to my Cruising Blu-ray review of that release for my thoughts on the film and its technical presentation, along with a listing of supplements included with that release.

Cruising 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 presentation of the film, so these screenshots are taken from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate, and I recommend those interested to look at some of the screenshots in my 1080 review linked to above for a probably better representation of the palette. While this is a bit of an outlier in that there is a 1080 disc in the set, it consists entirely of bonus features, so the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank since there is no 2K presentation of the feature.

Cruising is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. I typically try to reproduce the often quite interesting and informative verbiage Arrow includes in their insert booklets about their transfers, but in this case, there's a fascinating multi page essay about Arrow's efforts written by Arrow's James Pearcey and James White. I can cut to the chase by simply repeating the back cover's "brand new 4k restoration from the original 35mm camera negative" as a baseline description of the restoration, but for those interested, I highly recommend reading the piece by Pearcey and White. This presentation offers some clear improvements from a generally excellent if now probably somewhat dated 1080 presentation by Arrow a few years ago. While fine detail can definitely see some upticks, to my eyes it was the improved shadow detail and especially some of the luscious blue to purple grading that show the biggest differences from Arrow's older 1080 version, courtesy of HDR / Dolby Vision. It's probably arguable that there are still some moments of minor crush and murkiness in some of the darkest material, but a lot of the nighttime scenes and especially some the club sequences have noticeably improved shadow definition, along with a more vibrant palette. Grain can be understandably gritty looking in many of these darker moments, but on the whole the grain field resolves beautifully without any issues.

Cruising 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This new release adds a mono track offering the original theatrical experience in addition to the previously released stereo and 5.1 options on Arrow's 1080 disc, this time all via DTS-HD Master Audio codecs (the 1080 disc featured LPCM 2.0 for its stereo version). I frankly didn't hear any difference between the stereo and surround offerings on this disc when compared to the older 1080 presentation, something that is probably due at least in part to the advertised fact that both the stereo and 5.1 mixes here were originally created for the 2007 remaster. It is kind of fun to toggle between the mono, stereo and surround options especially during some of the ubiquitous diagetic scoring choices, where you can literally sense the soundstage opening up and midrange and low end becoming exponentially more vibrant. The crowded club scenes also offer consistent engagement of the side and rear channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Cruising 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Commentaries and Alternative Audio

  Archival Audio Commentary by Director William Friedkin (2007)

  
  

  Archival Audio Commentary by Director William Friedkin, moderated by critic and broadcaster Mark Kermode (2019)

  
  

  There Were Cops, a Dark Bar, and Al Pacino. . . is a compilation of interviews discussing the soundtrack with Don Bolles, Kenny Margolis, Louis X. Erlanger, Carole Pope, Madelynn Von Ritz, Shawn Casey O'Brien and Jonathan Hertzberg. This is newly produced.

  
  

  'Heavy Leather' Alternate Score is from a Pentagram Home Video release from 2019, and is presented here for the first time as a feature length soundtrack. In DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

• The Backroom — Cut, Alternate and Deleted Scenes

  Deleted Scenes

  Why Take the Job? — Deleted Scene (HD; 00:56) is in black and white.

  
  

  Night Stick — Deleted Scene (HD; 3:35) is an illustrated audio only scene.

  
  

  Porno Booth Scene — Additional Footage (HD; 2:40) is in black and white.

  Original On Set Audio

  A Piece of Work (HD; 10:38) is an interview with on set sound mixer Kim Ornitz.

  
  

  On Set Audio — Protesters (HD; 1:48)

  
  

  On Set Audio — Club Scenes (HD; 00:33)

  
  

  On Set Audio — Killer's Voice (HD; 00:21)

  
  

  On Set Audio — Apartment Audio (HD; 1:29)

  Alternate Elements

  French Disclaimer Card (HD; 00:59)

  
  

  French Credit Roll (HD; 4:02)

  
  

  Spanish Disclaimer Card (HD; 00:37)

  
  

  Alternate English End Credits (HD; 1:09)

  
  

  Alternate Introduction — Comparison (HD; 1:13)

  
  

  Alternate Introduction — 2006 Restoration (HD; 1:09)

  
  

  Alternate Introduction — 2018 Restoration (HD; 1:11)

  Censored Material

  Censored Scene Reel 02a — Comparison (HD; 1:38)

  
  

  Censored Scene Reel 02a — Complete (HD; 1:42)

  
  

  Censored Scene Reel 03 — Comparison (HD; 1:55)

  
  

  Censored Scene Reel 03 — Complete (HD; 2:11)

• Archival Extras

  The History of Cruising (HD; 21:05)

  
  

  Exorcising Cruising (HD; 22:31)

• Trailers and Promotional Items

  Trailers

  Teaser (HD; 1:13)

  
  

  Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:29)

  TV Spots

  TV Spots (HD; 2:13)

  
  

  Test TV Spots (HD; 2:38)

  
  

  TV Spot Optical Test (HD; 2:35)

• Photo Galleries

  Promotional Items (HD) are rather incredibly split into national subcategories, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, UK, USA and Yugoslavia.

  
  

  Key Art (HD)

  
  

  Musical Releases (HD)

  
  

  Jane Wechsler On Set Sketch Gallery (HD)

  
  

  Set Items Gallery (HD)

1080 Disc

• I Want to Be the Curator (HD; 38:29) is an engaging new interview with Karen Allen.


• Walking the Line (HD; 11:13) is an interesting new interview with actor and police advisor Randy Jurgensen.


• Cut Offs (HD; 55:00) is an archival 2017 interview with editor Bud S. Smith. This is subtitled in English, I'm assuming because Smith can be a little hard to understand.


• Who's That Guy? (HD; 13:42) is an archival 2017 interview with actor Jay Acovone.


• Pounding the Beat (HD; 46:57) is an archival 2017 interview with actor Mike Starr.


• The Boy on the Bus (HD; 37:30) is an archival 2017 interview with actor Mark Zecca.


• Mineshaft Memories (HD; 33:41) is an archival interview with Wally Wallace, manager of the Mineshaft.


• BeyondFest Q & A (HD; 41:10) features William Friedkin in 2022.


• Breaking the Codes (HD; 13:02) is the above mentioned "style" supplement, with David McGillivray exploring not just handkerchiefs but a whole host of other fashion statements, some of which might hilariously suggest that the studded belt Springsteen wears on the album cover referenced above may have held a subliminal meaning for a certain demographic.


• Production Stills (HD)


• Stop the Movie (HD; 11:51) is a silent short from Jim Hubbard capturing the protests that arose around the production of the film. This has an optional commentary from Hubbard.

Additionally, this is another handsomely packaged release from Arrow. An O card slipcase encloses a sturdy slipbox which itself encloses the keepcase and a really outstanding perfect bound 120 page booklet. The slipbox also houses a fold out mini poster. The keepcase encloses a mini reproduction of several pages of the screenplay. The keepcase also has a reversible sleeve.

Cruising 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I mention William Friedkin's well publicized revisionism in my review of Arrow's 1080 release, and in that regard it's notable that the film's original disclaimer (removed by Friedkin for the 2007 release) states:

This film is not intended as an indictment of the homosexual world. It is set in one small segment of that world which is not meant to be representative of the whole.

The problem with that statement is that is obviously alludes to the fact that Cruising offers some pretty provocative and probably exploitative depictions of a supposed "gay lifestyle". I frankly still find the film on the smarmy side, a reaction which frankly may have only increased with this latest viewing, but this is one of those releases where even those who don't have a particular liking for the actual film will probably still be bowled over by some amazingly in depth and informative supplements. For those who do have a particular liking for the film, Arrow provides stellar technical merits. With caveats about the actual film noted, Recommended.