Midnight Run Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

Midnight Run Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 1, 2015

Martin Brest's "Midnight Run" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Second Sight Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival promo piece as well as exclusive new interviews with Charles Grodin, Joe Pantoliano, John Ashton, George Gallo, and Yaphet Kotto. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Is this moron number one? Put moron number two on the phone."

Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro, Heat) is an ex-Chicago cop who struggles to make ends meet as a bounty hunter in LA. When bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano, The Fugitive) hires him to find Jonathan Mardukas a.k.a. the Duke (Charles Grodin, Ishtar), an accountant who has stolen $15 million from the mafia and given the majority of it to the poor, Walsh concludes that he is one job away from retirement. With the $100,000 fee Moscone promises to pay him, Walsh plans to open a small coffee shop. But the Duke is also wanted by the FBI and Las Vegas-based mafia boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina, Snatch). So before Walsh starts looking for him, he is approached by FBI special agent Alonzo Mosely (Yaphet Kotto, The Running Man) and told not to get involved with him, and a couple of Serrano’s goons (Richard Foronjy & Robert Miranda) who offer to reward him handsomely if he brings them the accountant.

Walsh quickly discovers the Duke in New York City, phones Mascone to tell him to prepare his check, and then the two board a plane to LA. However, when the Duke causes a scandal, Walsh is forced to change his plan.

Meanwhile, after Moscone learns that Walsh and the Duke have missed the plane to LA, he hires rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton, Beverly Hills Cop) to finish the job. Mosely and his boys also go after Walsh, hoping to get the Duke and with his help put Serrano behind bars.

Martin Brest’s thriller Midnight Run follows a familiar formula -- two very different protagonists go on the road and discover that they have a lot in common. As time passes by, they begin to respect each other because they realize that life has been equally unfair to both of them. The bonding process is what makes the film so fascinating to behold. There is a terrific chemistry between the two men that makes even seemingly ordinary sequences quite fascinating to behold.

George Gallo’s script is outstanding. The dialog is very fresh, clever and hugely entertaining. The exchanges are also remarkably well distributed between the different characters. In fact, some of the best lines are uttered by secondary characters (see Farina and Ashton) whose time in front of the camera is limited.

The editing is equally good. The action quickly moves from one location to another and the film maintains a very steady tempo. Additionally, the mass sequences are timed very well -- it never looks or feels like they were shot simply to fill up gaps.

Brest and cinematographer Donald Thorin carefully chose a number of picturesque locations throughout the United States that make the film look very beautiful. For one specific sequence -- the river shootout -- they had to travel to New Zealand. (A few years later, the two also collaborated on Scent of a Woman, a remake of Dino Risi's classic film Profumo di donna).

The film’s soundtrack was created by Oscar nominated composer Danny Elfman (Good Will Hunting, Planet of the Apes).

Midnight Run Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Martin Brest's Midnight Run arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Second Sight Films.

The high-definition transfer has been sourced from an older master that is quite problematic. There are obvious traces of filtering corrections that have collapsed detail and seriously affected clarity. Additionally, there are traces of sharpening corrections that have further destabilized image depth. As a result, the film has a rather harsh digital appearance that could be quite distracting at times (see screencaptures #3, 5, and 8). Generally speaking, colors remain stable, but the healthy nuances one should expect to see are missing. Overall image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no large cuts, debris, stains, or damage marks to report in this review. To sum it all up, the current presentation of Midnight Run is quite problematic. Clearly, there is room for substantial improvements in all of the major areas we typically address. If the master Second Sight Films accessed is the best one Universal Studios has at the moment, then the film needs to be rescanned and a new master created so that there is a proper Blu-ray release. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).

Midnight Run Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles have been provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the English LPCM 2.0 track. While clarity is quite good, depth seems a bit inconsistent. Danny Elfman's score also does not open up the film as easily as it should. (If the soundtrack is fully remastered, the film will have a much better range of nuanced dynamics). The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

Midnight Run Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• We Got the Dike - Interview with Charles Grodin - in this brand new video interview, actor Charles Grodin recalls how he was approached by Martin Brest to play the Duke in Midnight Run and discusses his contribution to the film. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Moscone Bail Bonds - Interview with Joe Pantoliano - in this brand new video interview, actor Joe Pantoliano explains how he entered the film business and how his life changed after he did, and discusses the character he plays in Midnight Run, his interactions with Robert De Niro and Martin Brest, etc. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Hey Marvin! - Interview with John Ashton - in this brand new video interview, actor John Ashton remembers how he became an actor, how he was approached to play Sgt. Taggart in Martin Brest's Beverly Hills Cop, and how he was cast to play Marvin Dorfler in Midnight Run, and discusses the shooting of key sequences from the film. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Midnight Writer - Interview with screenwriter George Gallo - in this brand new video interview, recalls how Midnight Run came to exist and his interactions with Martin Brest. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• I'm Mosely! - Audio interview with Yaphet Kotto - in this brand new audio interview, actor Yaphet Kotto recalls how he approached to play FBI agent Alonzo Mosely in Midnight Run and discusses Martin Brest's directing methods. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Original "Making Midnight Run" Promo - an archival promo piece with raw footage from the shooting of the film and clips from interviews with cast members. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

Midnight Run Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is easy to tell that British distributors Second Sight Films wanted to have a nice Blu-ray release of Martin Brest's Midnight Run as they produced some excellent exclusive new supplemental features for it. However, the master they accessed via Universal Studios is quite problematic. If you like the film, consider getting this release for the new supplemental features, but keep in mind that the technical presentation should be a lot more convincing. RENT IT.