Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 30, 2021

Bill Lustig's "Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence" (1993) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary; original trailer for the film; deleted and extended scenes; making of featurette; poster and still gallery; and more. In English, with optional yellow English SDH, French (Canadian), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, French (Parisian), German, Italian, Mandarin (Traditional), Mandarin (Simplified), Korean, Japanese, and Russian subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Some things should stay dead.

Beautiful Police Officer Kate Sullivan (Gretchen Becker, Ed Wood, The Elevator) is seriously wounded during a hostage situation. The entire incident is captured on video by a TV crew, but later on only a portion of it is broadcast. While in a coma, Sullivan becomes the target of a smear campaign that angers her best friend, Detective Sean McKinney ((Robert Davi, City Heat, Raw Deal). It also brings back from the dead Mat Cordell, the "Maniac Cop" (Robert Z'Dar, Tango & Cash, Shadow of the Dragon).

In the hospital where Sullivan and the man who shot her are kept, someone kills a cocky doctor and an administrator who has agreed to stop her life support. Assisted by a third, much nicer doctor (Caitlin Dulany, Spike Lee's Oldboy), McKinney begins searching for clues to solve the killings and soon after ends up in the hospital’s massive basement. There he meets a strange character named Houngan (Julius Harris, King Kong, Live and Let Die), who knows a thing or two about black magic.

This film really is quite wild, but it is nowhere near close to being the total disaster director Bill Lustig insists it is. (Watch the long and truly fascinating featurette included on this release to find out why Mr. Lustig dislikes it so much). Yes, it is easy to tell that different people with different ideas worked on it, but the final result is very much on par with the material in the previous two Manic Cop films.

The most 'problematic' aspect of the film is the new atmosphere. Unlike Maniac Cop and Maniac Cop 2, both intense action films with an attitude, Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence is a very gloomy film that almost feels like it might have been inspired by Fernando De Leo’s Slaughter Hotel and Alan Parker’s Angel Heart. Indeed, there are large portions of the film where the long shadows and spooky noises seem far more important than the sporadic action sequences.

The final third, however, effectively reminds that one is still watching a Maniac Cop film. Indeed, the stunt work in the last chase sequence is actually far more complex and effective than that seen in the Sing Sing sequence from the second film. According to producer Joel Soisson (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure), the work that was done here was so challenging and so dangerous that even the smallest mistake could have easily collapsed the entire project.

Ultimately, it is difficult not to agree that the narrative is a bit uneven and that there are obvious plot holes, but these are flaws the first two films also have. Frankly, the darker and more subdued tone of this film actually makes it look far less dated. In fact, my feeling is that if the rumored Maniac Cop remake materializes soon -- Mr. Lustig is on record now that he will be teaming up with Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn and will likely produce it -- it will share many of the same qualities Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence has.

There is good chemistry between Davi and Dulany. Some of the supporting actors, however, do not look overly convincing in front of the camera. Doug Savant, in particular, who plays one of the two doctors that meet Cordell, looks and sounds terrible.

Note: During the shooting of Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence, Mr. Lustig and producer Soisson repeatedly confronted each other. Eventually, Mr. Lustig walked off the set, and all of the additional photography was completed by producer Soisson.

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 4K Blu-ray release of Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence is a combo pack with 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray copies of the film. Both are sourced from the 4K restoration of the film that was supervised and approved by director Bill Lustig in 2013. The same restoration was initially introduced on Blu-ray. You can see our listing and review of this release here.

The screencaptures that are included with this article are from the 4K Blu-ray disc, but are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, when you view them, you should keep in mind that they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

This was the only Maniac Cop film that was shot in the wider 2.39:1 ratio, and now that I have seen it in native 4K, I think that some of the flashy action footage definitely benefits from it. In what way? The original cinematography leaves the impression that many backgrounds can produce more nuances, with darker footage in particular offering the most obvious examples. I realize that this description likely sounds a bit strange to you now, but I felt that it was worth mentioning after viewing Maniac Cop 2 in 4K. You will see what I mean after you view these films in native 4K on your system.

The overall quality of the visuals is outstanding. Delineation, clarity, depth, and fluidity are as good as I expected them to be because they were already very impressive in 1080p as well. However, my guess is that the majority of viewers will see the most striking upgrades in the manner the 4K presentation handles the film's colors. For example, a lot of the nighttime footage, which is the majority of the film, has incredibly vibrant colors and with HDR enabled it feels like they fill up the screen with some quite remarkable intensity. Shadows and highlights are fantastic too, especially where some color lighting is used. Image stability is excellent. The entire film look spotless as well. All in all, I think that the 4K presentation offers a very solid upgrade in quality over the 1080p presentation that a lot of people will be very pleased with.

*The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases are Region-Free.

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this 4K Blu-ray release: English Dolby Atmos and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. On the Blu-ray release there are two standard audio tracks as well: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional white English SDH, French (Canadian), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, French (Parisian), German, Italian, Mandarin (Traditional), Mandarin (Simplified), Korean, Japanese, and Russian subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Dolby Atmos track was prepared exclusively for the 4K Blu-ray release, so it is the one I used when I viewed the film in 4K. I compared it to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track from the Blu-ray. (By the way, keep in mind that on the old Blu-ray release of Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence the two-channel track was lossy. On the Blu-ray copy that is included in this release the Dolby Digital 2.0 track is replaced with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track).

Dynamic intensity is superb, and because there is so much action footage where the Dolby Atmos track can impress, I think that it can be used to test the muscles of your audio system. The sound is very rich and very intense, but I don't think that there are any exaggerated spikes or drops in dynamic activity. It just feels like it handles everything with excellent precision. The 'problem' is that I get the same feeling when listening to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, which is pretty aggressive as well. So, I think that most viewers will end up utilizing the Dolby Atmos track because there is so much dynamic variety in the film's original soundtrack that some nuances will likely be better appreciated it on it, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is flawless and, in my opinion, just as effective.

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Audio Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, Bill Lustig and Joel Soisson unload a lot of truths about the production of Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence and the various serious disagreements the two had at the time when the film was being put together. It is a very, very candid commentary and this is why it is so good. You will hear some stories in it that I guarantee would not have surfaced a couple of decades ago, so even if you do not think too highly of this film, find the time to hear everything these gentlemen have to say. The commentary was recorded in June 2021.

• Trailer - fully restored original trailer for Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• Audio Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, Bill Lustig and Joel Soisson unload a lot of truths about the production of Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence and the various serious disagreements the two had at the time when the film was being put together. It is a very, very candid commentary and this is why it is so good. You will hear some stories in it that I guarantee would not have surfaced a couple of decades ago, so even if you do not think too highly of this film, find the time to hear everything these gentlemen have to say. The commentary was recorded in June 2021.

• Trailer - fully restored original trailer for Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Wrong Arm of the Law: The Making of Maniac Cop 3 - an absolutely fascinating featurette which focuses on the very difficult production history of Maniac Cop 3. There are some illuminating comments by Bill Lustig addressing the funding of the film and his (at the time of shooting) displeasure with producer Joel Soisson. Mr. Lustig also mentions that there is a good chance that he will be teaming up with Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn on a brand new Maniac Cop film. Also included are interviews with writer Larry Cohen, director of photography Jacques Haitkin, stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos, actors Robert Davi, Robert Z'Dar, Caitlin Dulany, and Gretchen Becker. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Deleted and Extended Scenes - in English, not subtitled. (1080p).
  
  1. Hospital Hallway (1 min)
  2. A Statement (2 min)
  3. Chinese Restaurant (2 min)
  4. Wedding Nightmare (2 min)
  5. Defibrillator (2 min)
  6. Perverted Justice (2 min)
  7. Motives for Murder (2 min)

• Poster & Still Gallery - a collection of posters, DVD covers, and color stills. The gallery was compiled by Gregory Chick. (1080p).

• Original Synopsis - original synopsis for the film. In text-format.

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It would be very silly to argue that Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence is as good as the second Maniac Cop film. It just isn't. Why exactly? Well, there are all kinds of very specific reasons why it fails to match the quality of the previous film, but I like Bill Lustig's short summation -- everyone got to piss in the pot. However, a bad film can still be entertaining, and I think that if seen at the right time, which for me is usually very late at night, Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence can be that kind of a film. Believe it or not, I think that it has the best atmosphere of the three Maniac Cop films. This upcoming 4K Blu-ray release offers a superb technical presentation of Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence. Also, it has a very cool new audio commentary by Mr. Lustig and director Joel Soisson, as well as an exclusive new Dolby Atmos audio track. RECOMMENDED.