6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Kiefer Sutherland is uptight, 26-year-old FBI agent John Buckner, who's been assigned to escort an aging counterculture radical named Huey Walker to Oregon for trial on a charge that's decades old. Buckner finds Huey's lifestyle and beliefs irresponsible. Once the two are bound for their Pacific Northwest destination, Huey begins to play psychological mind games with the straight-arrow Buckner, convincing him that he's tripping on hallucinogenic drugs, getting him drunk, and setting him up with a hooker named Sparkle. Huey trades places with his captor and soon a game of cat-and-mouse is afoot as the agent pursues the one-time radical, with surprising revelations abounding regarding Buckner's childhood and Huey's motivations for allowing himself to be captured.
Starring: Dennis Hopper, Kiefer Sutherland, Carol Kane, Paul Dooley, Cliff De YoungDrama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Dennis Hopper was in a strange place during the 1980s. An actor and director who helped to change the course of the film industry with his work on 1968’s “Easy Rider,” Hopper gradually rode such fame into the ground, embarking on a longstanding battle with alcohol and other vices, sending him on a weird creative path where he worked with top directors (including Francis Ford Coppola, Sam Peckinpah, and Robert Altman) and participated in various B-movies. A plan towards sobriety really returned Hopper to the mainstream, working on himself while offering memorable turns in “Hoosiers” and “Blue Velvet,” making himself known to the business in a different way. 1990’s “Flashback” is representative of the new Dennis Hopper, with the thespian clearly inspired to work on a studio picture, perfectly cast as an aging countercultural figure reconnecting with his past, dealing with all the baggage involved in such self-reflection. If Hopper had a tail, it would be wagging throughout the feature, delivering an energetic performance that mixes elements of his past with traditional servings of action and comedy, handed a decent scene partner in co-star Kiefer Sutherland. It’s difficult to imagine what “Flashback” would’ve been without Hopper’s participation, as he’s working hard to make the material work, adding something special to an endeavor that’s engaging, but needs his energy to work through some lazy screenwriting from David Loughery (who would go on to disappoint with rough scripts for “Fatale,” “Nurse,” “The Intruder,” and “Shattered”).
Originally released on DVD decades ago, "Flashback" makes the jump to Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory, who apparently only have a DVD-era master to work with. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is older, without fine detail during the viewing experience, but a general understanding of characters and costuming is available. Interiors offer a softer sense of decoration, and exteriors are equally muted. Colors show some fatigue, but brighter primaries on clothing and signage are appreciable. Greenery is passable. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Source is in good condition.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix supplies a clear understanding of dialogue exchanges, handling the bigness of arguments and the softness of more emotional purges found later in the movie. Scoring supports with satisfactory levels and instrumentation, and soundtrack selections handle with a larger aural presence, offering some low-end beats. Surrounds aren't demanding, pushing out musical moods and mild atmospherics.
There is no supplementary material on this release.
"Flashback" can be a blunt instrument at times, filling the soundtrack cuts with jams from the '60s to set the mood, and there's the aforementioned problem with Hightower, who's a ridiculous baddie, bringing gunplay to the story's climax, and that's wholly unnecessary. Unwelcome ideas occasionally make their way to the screen, but "Flashback" remains buoyant, largely due to Sutherland's straight man work and Hopper's excitability, almost channeling Woody Woodpecker at times. Hopper is interesting to watch, clearly having a ball playing with the details of counterculture years and his own place in it, bringing some authenticity to a role he's a perfect match for, gifting the production bursts of enthusiasm it needs when the writing falters.
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