7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
Jack Walsh is a tough ex-cop turned bounty hunter. Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas is a sensitive accountant who embezzled $15 million from the Mob, gave it to charity and then jumped bail. Jack's in for a cool $100,000 if he can deliver The Duke from New York to L.A. on time. The FBI is after The Duke to testify, the Mob is after him for revenge, and Walsh is after him to just shut up.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis FarinaCrime | Insignificant |
Comedy | 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 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Among the odd cinematic bedfellows the vagaries of show business have thrown together is the pairing of Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in Midnight Run, but it could have been even odder — namely, Robert De Niro and Cher. Yes, ladies and germs, because Hollywood is stuffed to the gills with “experts” who “know better”, at some point during pre-production and casting for this still ebullient and often very funny film it was suggested that it would really make more sense for Robert De Niro’s bounty hunter character Jack Walsh to be escorting a female prisoner back into the arms of justice. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and director Martin Brest’s favorable reaction to (evidently extended) readings by Charles Grodin got him the part of nerdy and neurotic accountant Jonathan Mardukas, a nebbish who has nonetheless walked away with a cool $15 million stolen from mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina). Up until that point Grodin was probably best recognized as the hapless Lenny Cantrow in Elaine May’s wonderful The Heartbreak Kid, though it’s notable that Grodin had essayed several rather dark character supporting turns in such disparate films as Roman Polanski’s Rosemary's Baby and Mike Nichols’ Catch-22. One way or the other, Grodin’s comedy chops were probably better known than De Niro’s at that point, and one of the most wonderful surprises about Midnight Run is how undeniably funny De Niro is in the role, even if much of the humor stems from his reactions to the tics of Grodin’s character. Midnight Run helped cement if not actually form a subgenre that has become known as the “action comedy”, and it consistently fulfills both sides of that formulation, with laugh out loud bits interspersed with some tenser chase aspects.
Midnight Run is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Select, a new imprint from Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in
1.85:1. Shout's product page and the sleeve of this release advertise a new 2K scan off of the interpositive, and the results have helped to ameliorate if
not
totally eliminate some of the issues addressed by Svet in his reviews of the previously released British and German Blu-rays of the film.
Taking the evidently substandard Second Sight release out of the equation for the moment, this release certainly has a mostly well resolved grain
structure, but perhaps unavoidably (at least given Svet's remarks about the German release), there are still variabilities in the fineness and/or coarseness
of the grain on display. Contrast, for example, screenshots 11 (an intentionally dark capture) and 19, two of the grittier looking moments, with the more
subtle texture of screenshot 1. There are even what I might term "interim" levels of coarseness as shown in examples like screenshots 7 and 10. That
heterogeneity aside, this presentation boasts a generally (if variably) very organic look, and there are no apparent issues with any filtering, something
Svet mentioned was a major detriment to the British release. There's quite
appealing fine detail in close-ups and the palette is rather vivid at times as well (reds are especially well suffused). Finally there are no major issues with
age related wear and tear, and similarly no problems with image instability. Some who prefer a more completely homogeneous appearance may want to
downgrade my score, if only slightly, while those willing to cut the appearance even more slack than I have may conversely want to up the score a bit, but
one way or the other my hunch is this presentation will please the film's many fans.
Note: I've attempted to come close to recreating at least a couple of screenshots from the above linked British and German versions so that
those interested can do a side by side compare and contrast.
Midnight Run features lossless DTS-HD Master Audio tracks in both 5.1 and 2.0. The surround track has some rather surprising depth in the low end, with what sounds like low frequency strings or maybe synths augmenting a few cues in Danny Elfman's score, moments which really reverberate rather forcefully and spread through the side and rear channels very effectively. The surround track also provides nice immersion in the many more adventure themed moments in the film, like the chase between the helicopter and car and resulting firefight. Both tracks offer problem free accountings of dialogue and effects. Fidelity is excellent and the 5.1 track especially has some nicely varied dynamic range.
I hadn't seen Midnight Run in several years when I revisited it again in preparation for this review. I had forgotten what an expertly funny comedy this film was, from Grodin's annoyingly lovable (lovably annoying?) complaining to De Niro's growing curmudgeonly acceptance of his "captive" (who's captured whom is one of this film's little twists), and (especially for me) Kotto's hilarious apoplexy over having his identity stolen. Some of the late machinations, especially the final showdown, are a bit overly calculated, but Midnight Run is a fantastic combination of buddy comedy, road movie and chase adventure. Technical merits are generally strong, the supplementary package appealing, and Midnight Run comes Highly recommended.
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Warner Archive Collection
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Limited Edition to 3000
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