Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 15, 2026

Lee Tamahori's "Mulholland Falls" (1996) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Ryan Verrill and Will Dobson; new video essay by author and critic Dr. Clayton Dillard; archival featurette; archival cast and crew interviews; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"This is not America, Jack. It's LA."

If, for some odd reason, the American directors from the 1940s and 1950s had the cameras of their counterparts from the 1990s and the ability to shoot in color, their film noirs would have looked almost exactly like New Zealander Lee Tamahori’s Mulholland Falls. This film brilliantly reproduces the visual aesthetic and atmosphere of the classic film noirs with incredible colors. Also, it has a massive cast of legitimate Hollywood stars, just like so many of the classic film noirs.

Mulholland Falls goes back to the 1950s. In Los Angeles, Max Hoover (Nick Nolte), Elleroy Coolidge (Chazz Palminteri), Eddie Hall (Michael Madsen), and Arthur Relyea (Chris Penn) are members of a special LAPD detective unit that goes after the worst of the worst with the deepest pockets and the best connections. While wearing police badges, the four have almost unlimited powers to solve cases that their colleagues cannot.

When the badly crushed body of a beautiful woman (Jennifer Connelly) is discovered at a remote construction site in the desert region outside Los Angeles, the four detectives begin following different clues that quickly link her to several powerful men and secretly taped footage of their sexual encounters. However, while they closely examine the woman’s relationship with a U.S. Army General (John Malkovich) running the Atomic Energy Commission, Hoover is also exposed as one of her lovers, and then someone attempts to blackmail him with a compromising tape to end the investigation. When Hoover chooses to stay on the case, his marriage collapses, and shortly after, the FBI pressures the LAPD to force him to change his mind.

Despite quickly creating the impression that it would be a fascinating reconstruction of a complicated murder case, Mulholland Falls is actually a hybrid film noir juggling two contrasting identities. Somewhat ironically, the second, which emphasizes melodramatic material that explores Hoover’s compromised marriage to a woman (Melanie Griffith) who genuinely loves him but cannot forgive his betrayal, is most effective. The crucial factor here is Nolte’s performance. It gives Hoover and his misery undeniable credibility, which, once again, makes Mulholland Falls very easy to compare to the classic film noirs.

The production qualities are first-class, possibly even better than those of Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential, which occasionally tries too hard to transform Los Angeles into a glamorous character. In Mulholland Falls, Los Angeles and the surrounding areas retain a more casual, organic appearance.

The supporting cast includes several wonderful character actors like Treat Williams, Ed Lauter, Andrew McCarthy, Bruce Dern, and William Petersen.

Last but certainly not least, Mulholland Falls greatly benefits from one of Oscar-winning maestro Dave Grusin’s lushest scores. It is a true masterpiece.

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mulholland Falls arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

I have Kino Lorber's original release of Mulholland Falls in my library. I think that it offers a somewhat acceptable presentation of the film, but it is encoded with improper gamma levels. Also, a lot of the visuals it produces have seriously underwhelming high-frequency information, which is why they tend to look quite dated.

This release is a revelation. It is sourced from an older master, but it produces very good, frequently even excellent visuals. I do think that in select panoramic shots sharpness could be improved a bit, but I like the overall quality of all visuals a lot. Delineation, clarity, and depth were consistently great on my system. Also, this master handles darker areas with various darker nuances extremely well. Yes, the entire film could look a little fresher, but there are no distracting anomalies of the kind that older masters are known to produce. Also, there are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. Color reproduction and balance are wonderful. All primaries and supporting nuances are properly set. Lastly, I did not see any large cuts, marks, debris, stains, warped or torn frames to report in our review. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Mulholland Falls 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 are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This track handles all action material and Dave Grusin's outstanding score extremely well. It easily produces terrific dynamic contrasts and its management of balance in the trickiest areas -- like the footage with the plane at the end of the film -- is great. All dialogue and dialogue is sharp and very easy to follow. I cannot see how a newly remastered 5.1 track can introduce any meaningful improvements.

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Ryan Verrill and Will Dobson of Someone's Favorite Productions. I thought that the commentary was outstanding. The two gentlemen have some particularly interesting comments about the flexible genre identity of Mulholland Falls and its use of Cold War paranoia, its spectacular cast and unique qualities of the key characters, the film's underwhelming box office performance and critical reception, and the great neo-noir renaissance of the 1990s. If you enjoy the film, find the time to listen to the commentary in its entirety.

• From Noir Lineage to Phantom Source: Rethinking Mulholland Falls - this new video essay was created by author and critic Dr. Clayton Dillard. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Featurette - this archival program gathers several short interviews with Nick Nolte, Michael Madsen, Chazz Palminteri, director Lee Tamahori, and producer Richard Zanuck, amongst others, as well as raw footage from the filming of Mulholland Falls. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Cast and Crew Interviews - presented here is a collection of interviews with several cast members addressing their contribution to Mulholland Falls. Some bits of these interviews are used in archival featurette detailed above. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• B-Roll Footage - presented here are various B-roll bits. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Mulholland Falls. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• TV Spots - presented here are several vintage TV spots for Mulholland Falls. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Hardback Booklet - an exclusive 126-page hardback booklet containing production stills and essays from Walter Chaw on Wild At Heart, Travis Woods on Unlawful Entry, Patrick Bromley on The Getaway, Blake Howard on Mulholland Falls, Jerry J. Sampson on Freeway, and Roxana Hadadi on City of Industry, as well as technical credits.

Mulholland Falls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Critics and a lot of filmgoers got it all wrong. Mulholland Falls is everything a great neo-noir thriller should be. While it is an original project, it very much looks and feels like a passionate, ultra-stylish variation of Chinatown, but with a surprising Cold War twist. One more thing. Mulholland Falls greatly benefits from one of Dave Grusin's lushest scores. This recent release offers a lovely organic presentation of it with several exclusive new and archival bonus features. It is included in Australian label Imprint Films' After Dark: Neo-Noir Cinema Collection Four box set. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.