Narrow Margin 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Narrow Margin 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 5, 2024

Peter Hyams' "Narrow Margin" (1990) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer for the film; audio commentary by the director; audio commentary by critic Peter Tonguette; archival featurette; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Peter’s Hyams’ Narrow Margin is a remake of Richard Fleischer’s The Narrow Margin, but these films are actually quite different. Indeed, Hyams borrows elements from a couple of different genres and produces a tense and very twisty thriller that looks every bit as fresh today as it did a few decades ago. Fleischer does not overstep the classic boundaries of film noir, which is why his film is more predictable and remains representative of the era it emerged from.

After agreeing to follow her blind date (J.T. Walsh) back to his hotel room, Carol Hunnicut (Anne Archer) witnesses how a prominent underworld boss (Harris Yulin) and his executioner murder him over a financial dispute. The killers then exit the room, completely unaware of her presence. A few weeks later, LA District Attorney Robert Caulfield (Gene Hackman) and his colleague Sgt. Dominick Benti (M. Emmet Walsh) travel to a secluded cabin high up in the Canadian Rockies where Hunnicut has been hiding, hoping to convince her to testify against the underworld boss so that they can finally put him behind bars. While the visitors attempt to explain to the stunned Hunnicut that in exchange for her testimony she would be placed in a federal witness protection program, a helicopter with a sniper emerges and in the ensuing shootout Benti is killed. Caulfield and his precious witness barely manage to escape and get on a train heading toward Vancouver. A couple of executioners reach the train as well, but because they don’t know what the fugitives look like, for a while Caulfield is able to stay a few steps ahead of them and protect Hunnicut. But eventually Caufield runs out of tricks and the executioners identify their targets.

In a very interesting audio commentary that is included on this release, Hyams discusses a number of changes he made in the script for his film so that he can enhance the suspense in some very particular ways, which make it crystal clear that he wasn’t just trying to produce a modern replica of Fleischer’s film. These changes actually introduce entirely new characterizations and relationships, and they work really well for Hyams’ style. This is why his film has such a flexible personality -- the noirish concept behind it is just a starting point for what is essentially a brand new project.

The film maintains a truly relentless tempo, which is not at all as easy as it appears. There is a lot happening on the moving train, and yet somehow Hyams does not rehash identical or similar situations while trying to impress. Exactly the opposite happens. Each situation leads to a new situation, plus there are multiple tiny twists and turns that make the film quite unpredictable. (Perhaps the only entirely predictable aspect of the narrative is the fact that Hackman and Archer’s characters will eventually find a way to emerge unharmed). So, there is an avalanche of fast action and suspense on display that gets bigger and stronger by the minute.

The visual appearance of the film is also quite striking. Early on, but also later on the train, Hyams plays with light and shadow in ways that certainly provide his film with a fitting neo-noirish atmosphere. Also, there is an abundance of glorious panoramic footage from the Canadian Rockies and during the action sequences some equally outstanding camera movement that would be perfect in any serious contemporary action thriller. In other words, this is a fast and tense but also quite beautiful film.

What spoils an otherwise outstanding film are sporadic splashes of light humor that feel entirely unnecessary. Hyams should have made the action grittier, especially in the second half, which is a move that undoubtedly would have earned the film a cult status.

*This new release of Narrow Margin is sourced from an exclusive 4K master, which was supplied by StudioCanal.

Narrow Margin 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Narrow Margin is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "losked".

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

This release introduces a native 4K presentation of the recent 4K restoration of Narrow Margin that was prepared on behalf of StudioCanal. The same 4K restoration was first released on Blu-ray in 2020. You can see our listing and review of this release here.

The native 4K presentation of the 4K restoration cannot be viewed with Dolby Vision or HDR grades. However, I do not think that it matters because it looks sensational as is. I also think that it looks excellent in 1080p, but on a very large screen, you will know that you are looking at a 1080p presentation. The native 4K presentation produces very tight and nicely balanced visuals boasting wonderful fluidity, so on the same very large screen the entire film looks simply outstanding. I paid very close attention to the darker areas to see how finer nuances are handled in native 4K and thought that everything looked great. Also, while I do not like speculating, I just cannot see how a Dolby Vision or HDR grade would have introduced meaningful improvements in the color palette because the current range of primaries and supporting nuances is terrific. Image stability is excellent. There are no distracting cuts, damage marks, stains, or other similar age-related imperfections.

Narrow Margin 4K 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 DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

While viewing the film in native 4K, I once again used the 5.1 track. I did not encounter any issues to report. The comments below are from our review of the Blu-ray release.

I viewed the entire film with the 5.1 track. I thought that it was outstanding. Clarity, sharpness, depth, and balance were excellent. However, even though there is quite a bit of action, from time to time it felt like there could be greater surround movement, especially during shootouts.

Narrow Margin 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Audio Commentary One - in this audio commentary, director/cinematographer Peter Hayms explains how Narrow Margin was conceived and how his vision for the film evolved, and discusses the shooting of some of the more challenging footage (Gene Hackman apparently had a bad knee but was very easy to work with), the different lighting choices, Bruce Broughton's soundtrack and the perfect 'resolution' at the end of the film, etc.

• Audio Commentary Two - this audio commentary was recorded by journalist and critic Peter Tonguette, who has some very interesting comments about the visual appearance of the film (including the great opening sequence), its tone, Peter Hyams' style (and why it should be compared to Michael Cimino's), the use of music, etc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Audio Commentary One - in this audio commentary, director/cinematographer Peter Hayms explains how Narrow Margin was conceived and how his vision for the film evolved, and discusses the shooting of some of the more challenging footage (Gene Hackman apparently had a bad knee but was very easy to work with), the different lighting choices, Bruce Broughton's soundtrack and the perfect 'resolution' at the end of the film, etc.

• Audio Commentary Two - this audio commentary was recorded by journalist and critic Peter Tonguette, who has some very interesting comments about the visual appearance of the film (including the great opening sequence), its tone, Peter Hyams' style (and why it should be compared to Michael Cimino's), the use of music, etc.

• Featurette - presented here is a vintage EPK with short clips from archival interviews with cast and crew members. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Selected Sound Bites - short clips from archival interviews with cast and crew members. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• B-Rolls - in English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Narrow Margin. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Narrow Margin 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The only thing that I don't like about Narrow Margin is the presence of the sporadic splashes of light humor in its second half. Peter Hyams should have gone in the opposite direction and made it darker and grittier, and where appropriate perhaps more cynical. It is still a hugely entertaining and very beautiful film, which I believe deserves to be ranked higher than Richard Fleischer's The Narrow Margin.

This combo pack release offers a native 4K presentation of StudioCanal's excellent recent 4K restoration of Narrow Margin, which had its Blu-ray debut in 2020. The native 4K presentation is not graded with Dolby Vision or HDR, but I honestly think that this is a meaningless detail because it looks sensational. If you enjoy Narrow Margin, give yourself a present. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.