Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Enemy Mine Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 21, 2016

Wolfgang Petersen's "Enemy Mine" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and a gallery of exclusive stills and essay from Fangoria writer Lee Gambin. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The enemies

It is not easy to praise Wolfgang Petersen’s Enemy Mine. It is a fine looking film but it is loaded with carefully scripted political messages that make it awfully difficult to endure. During the Cold War era the Soviets produced quite a few similar films that preached their versions of the Truth, but because they knew that they couldn’t outdo Hollywood they rarely promoted them in the West. They poured their resources elsewhere and their powerful censors simply did not allow the films they did not like to enter the country.

Enemy Mine is set in the not so distant future, after the humans and the Dracs (alien creatures with strange heads whose bodies are covered with thick leather-like skin) have emerged as the two dominant races. They have also started clashing in different corners of the galaxy while trying to colonize foreign planets so that they can use their resources.

After an intense battle, Willis Davidge (Dennis Quaid, Wyatt Earp) crashes his damaged spacecraft on an unknown planet and somehow survives. Shortly after, he discovers that the Drac pilot Jeriba Shigan (Louis Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman) has landed in the same area and that his spacecraft is also wrecked. Davidge follows his instincts and immediately tries to kill his enemy, but fails miserably and becomes Jeriba’s captive.

A dangerous meteor shower makes the two enemies realize that they must help each other if they want to stay alive. Rather reluctantly they warm up to each other and then built a small igloo where they can stay warm until their comrades discover them. But the more time passes by, the more they begin to realize that they may never be able to leave the planet.

When eventually Jeriba gives birth to his son Zammis (Bumper Robinson) and dies, Davidge vows to protect and teach him everything that he has learned from his former enemy. For a while they live like father and son, but then a group of intergalactic bounty hunters capture little Zammis and threaten to kill his “uncle”.

The similarities with Byron Haskin's classic film Robinson Crusoe on Mars are fairly obvious. After the crash Davidge slowly begins to reevaluate everything that he has been taught to believe and embraces life in an entirely different way -- which is exactly what Kit Draper does in Haskin’s film.

But this film goes a few steps further when it begins comparing the ideologies of the two superpowers (because this is precisely what the humans and the Dracs have become) with those of the real superpowers that still had our planet divided during the mid- ‘80s. The entire second act where the two enemies slowly warm up to each other and discover that they actually have a lot in common is filled with ‘important’ messages about tolerance, acceptance and solidarity, and then the final act endorses the idea that despite their differences they can trust each other and coexist in peace.

This very obvious politicizing of the narrative makes the entire film look incredibly silly. The film oversimplifies everything, from politics to religion, and expects the viewer to accept its messages because its version of the Truth is the answer to all of humanity’s problems. It is all a bit too much, really. Films can have good intentions, but when they are delivered with messages that are so oversimplified and oversanitized as the ones in this film, the end result is always questionable.

Enemy Mine Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wolfgang Petersen's Enemy Mine arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian label Umbrella Entertainment.

The release has been sourced from the same Fox master which Eureka Entertainment worked with when they prepared their release of the film for the UK market. I could not see any discrepancies to mention in our review. Detail and clarity are very good, though there is clearly some room for improvement. While watching the film I felt that shadow definition, in particular, can be improved as some of the darker footage does have a tendency to collapse existing detail. Colors are stable, but saturation could be better and there should be a wider range of healthy nuances. There are no traces of recent degraining or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is also very good. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Enemy Mine Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 is not identical to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 track that is found on the British release from Eureka Entertainment. I went back and forth between the two release to compare select sequences and it appears that the distribution of certain effects is different. It is difficult for me to tell which one is more suitable for the film as I have not done a complete breakdown, but from the comparisons that I did it is clear that the mixing/distribution is very good. The dialog is clean, clear, stable, and easy to follow.

Enemy Mine Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original U.S. theatrical trailer for Enemy Mine. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Image Gallery and Essay - a gallery of exclusive stills and an essay from Fangoria writer Lee Gambin. (20 min).

• Cover - reversible cover.

Enemy Mine Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This Australian release of Wolfgang Petersen's Enemy Mine is sourced from the same Fox master which British distributors Eureka Entertainment worked with when they prepared their Blu-ray release of the film in the UK. I think that it might be a good alternative for fans of the film residing in North America as it is Region-Free. If you want the film in your collection, consider importing it.