Fear City Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Fear City Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 3, 2024

Abel Ferrara's "Fear City" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 101 Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Kevin Lyon and trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

A psychopath is stalking strippers in New York City. The girls' booking agents, Matt Rossi (Tom Berenger, In Praise of Older Women, Someone to Watch Over Me) and his partner Nicky Parzeno (Jack Scalia, TV's Remington Steele), suspect that the psychopath could be someone sent by their competitors to shake things up. Angry cop Al Wheeler (Billy Dee Williams, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) is almost certain that Matt and Nicky are behind the drama, he just can't figure out why. A local Italian crime boss (Rossano Brazzi, The Italian Job) does not care where the psychopath has come from or who is paying him. He just does not want him on the streets.

A series of flashbacks reveal that Matt was once a professional boxer. He stopped boxing because he accidentally killed one of his opponents. Now he often thinks of the man, especially late at night, when he tries to fall asleep. Matt also thinks of his former girlfriend, Loretta (Melanie Griffith, Body Double, Working Girl), who dances in a striptease club in Manhattan. Loretta has started seeing another woman, but their relationship is not yet serious.

While Matt and Nicky try to figure out how to continue booking beautiful girls and work with their clients, Wheeler warns them that it is only a matter of time before they get busted. Shortly after, the psychopath attacks Nicky and nearly kills him. Barely able to contain his anger, Matt then decides to see the Italian boss and ask for advice. After the meeting, he goes out on the streets looking for the psychopath.

Abel Ferrara’s Fear City offers a fascinating trip to a city that no longer exists -- a dirty, dangerous, and quite unfriendly New York City full of strange characters who become visible as soon as the sun goes down. Like most of the American director’s films, Fear City is also full of raw energy, one that effectively elevates it to an entirely different level.

The plot is fairly straightforward. There are no serious twists or surprising character transformations. This isn’t to imply, however, that Fear City does not excite. On the contrary, because Ferrara’s style is so uncompromising, the hunt for the psychopath leaves quite an impression. Indeed, Ferrara and his camera visit all sorts of different striptease clubs, bars, and back alleys that most other directors would have simply ignored. As a result, Fear City easily evolves into quite the special time capsule.

The cast is appropriately loose and comfortable with edgy material, which is why shortly after it was completed Fear City was heavily cut and eventually sold by Twentieth Century Fox Entertainment.

The majority of the nighttime sequences look terrific. The bright neon lights of Manhattan and the back alleys with the heavy long shadows have the trademark Ferrara touch. Fear City was lensed by cinematographer James Lemmo, who also collaborated with Ferrara on The Driller Killer and Ms .45.

This release presents the uncut and R versions of Fear City. The uncut version runs at approximately 97 minutes, while the R version runs at approximately 95 minutes. The cut footage is mostly from longer, more violent and explicit sequences.

Fear City Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.57:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fear City arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 101 Films.

This release presents the uncut and R versions of Fear City. The uncut version runs at approximately 97 minutes, while the R version runs at approximately 95 minutes. Do not waste your time with the R version, which is not the film Abel Ferrara shot. Also, on this release, the R version is not presented properly. It is stretched on the sides to make it appear as if it is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. Its visuals are in the 1.78:1 ratio, but the master was framed differently, likely in a 1.66:1-ish ratio. In other words, the framing is off.

The uncut version, which is the same reconstruction job with the standard definition inserts that Shout Factory introduced with this release in 2012, does not have the stretching/framing issue and looks as it should. You can find it in the bonus features section of the release.

While the quality of the presentation varies, I like it quite a lot. Why? There are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. Grain can be under/overexposed, but all limitations are inherited, while the standard definition inserts are what you would expect them to be. Color balance is quite nice, in some areas even very good, so while you would observe the same color fluctuations as the inserts appear, there are no odd anomalies, or at least given the nature of the reconstruction job that was done. Image stability is very good. A few nicks and tiny scratches can be spotted, but there are no large cuts, damage marks, or damaged frames. Obviously, the inserts look rough. All in all, considering the history of Fear City, I think that its fans should be very happy with how it is presented on Blu-ray. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Fear City Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both versions of Fear City are presented with English LPCM 2.0 tracks. Both versions can be viewed with optional English SDH subtitles. (Shout Factory's out of print release did not have optional English SDH subtitles).

The lossless track is very nice. I think that folks that have not seen Shout Factory's release will probably be quite surprised that it is as good as it is. Obviously, on the uncut version, which is the one you want to see, some unevenness is present during the inserts. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

Fear City Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Uncut Version - presented here is the reconstructed uncut version of Fear City, which Shout Factory introduced in the United States in 2012. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (97 min).

• Extended Trailer - in English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Kevin Lyon.

• Cover - reversible cover with original vintage poster art for Fear City.

• Booklet - 34-page illustrated booklet featuring Rich Johnson's essay "Seeing Red: A Neo Noir Guide", Brad Stevens' essay "Return to Fear City", and credits.

Fear City Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In an ideal world, Abel Ferrara's Fear City should have been given the royal treatment a long time ago. Instead, it appeared on Blu-ray only because the folks at Shout Factory managed to reconstruct it from multiple sources. It is a great neo-noir film, but an even better cult film from the 1980s. I will pay big bucks to have it -- and Romeo Is Bleeding -- on 4K Blu-ray. However, in the real world, with this Blu-ray release from British label 101 films, you are likely looking at a final opportunity to pick up Fear City for your library. If you decide to do so, keep in mind that the Blu-ray release is Region-B "locked". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.