7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Tom Farrell is a dedicated Navy officer who, after an act of valor, gets posted to the Pentagon and is assigned to the Secretary of Defense David Brice. Prior to this, he had become involved with a young woman named Susan Atwell, not knowing that she was Brice's mistress. When Susan is found dead, Tom ironically is assigned to the case of finding the killer who is believed to be a KGB mole code-named "Yuri." Tom could soon become a suspect in her murder when a indiscernible Polaroid negative of him is found at Susan's place. He only has a few short hours to find the killer before the negative can be processed. Also to make matters worse, he must contend with the ever-shrinking noose of the relentless dragnet put in place to find the ever elusive "Yuri"!
Starring: Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton, Howard DuffThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Mystery | 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
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Roger Donaldson's "No Way Out" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include arhcival audio commentary by Roger Donaldson; new audio commentary by filmmaker/critic Steve Mitchell and writer/actor Richard Brewer; archival audio interview with Roger Donaldson; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, No Way Out arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
No Way Out made its high-definition debut with this Blu-ray release produced by Shout Factory in 2016, which is one of two releases of this wonderful film that I have in my library. (The second is an old DVD release). Unfortunately, it was sourced from an old master with obvious traces of digital corrections. The most harmful of these corrections was digital sharpening.
For this Blu-ray release, No Way Out has been remastered in 4K. The 4K makeover is also available on 4K Blu-ray, which is part of a combo pack release. You can see our listing and review of the combo pack release here.
I like how the 4K makeover looks in 1080p a lot. All visuals have a much healthier and more attractive organic appearance, and on a large screen the difference in quality between the previous and new presentations of the film is frequently quite dramatic. The elimination of the sharpening adjustments from the previous presentation and the superiority of the new presentation are very easy to recognize and appreciate during well-lit footage, but even in darker footage the strength of the new 4K makeover is undeniable. Color balance is very good. It is similar to that of the previous presentation, too, which is a good thing. Brighter ranges of supporting nuances appear better balanced and are expanded. Darker ranges are solid too, and I think that in some areas they are more convincing in 1080p. I did not notice any encoding anomalies, but I do think that grain could be even better exposed. Image stability is excellent. All in all, No Way Out definitely needed to be properly redone in 4K, and whether you choose the Blu-ray release or the 4K Blu-ray release, you will get a wonderful organic presentation of it. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
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.
The comments below are from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of No Way Out.
I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. It is a very good track. All exchanges are very clear, stable, and easy to follow. There are no distracting age-related anomalies to report. However, I feel that in a couple of areas, usually when music is used or has been used, balance is somewhat uneven. I also mention this in our review of the Shout Factory Blu-ray release of No Way Out. Perhaps this is how the soundtrack was finalized, but I feel that a few minor tweaks can make meaningful improvements.
Everything that you will see in Roger Donaldson's No Way Out is still part of American political reality -- the kabuki theater and deadly games controlled by high-ranking government officials, the chameleons and the traitors, the illusion that there is a reliable system in place that can prevent bad things from happening at the highest echelons of government. It is a tremendous thriller, and I consider it one of the best American films from the 1980s. Kino Lorber's combo pack introduces a wonderful new 4K makeover of it that looks very good in native 4K and 1080p. A separate 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack release is available as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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Warner Archive Collection
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