No Way Out Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

No Way Out Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 21, 2016

Roger Donaldson's "No Way Out" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and audio commentary with director Roger Donaldson. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"I need to talk to you..."

There is a very good audio commentary on this release with director Roger Donaldson in which he explains how shocked he was when many years ago he learned that No Way Out was a remake of The Big Clock. Mel Gibson told him that it was after the film’s premiere. Initially, Donaldson had simply assumed that Robert Garland had given him a very good script to work with.

Indeed, the script is very good, but the film is even better. And it is probably not that difficult to argue that it is as good as it is because Donaldson wasn’t trying to deliver a ‘better’ modernized version of The Big Clock.

The film is set in Washington D.C.’s political melting pot where hundreds of thousands of people are working hard to keep the nation safe and strong. It is here, during a lavish party, that the handsome Navy commander Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner) meets the elegant socialite Susan Atwell (Sean Young) and the two begin a passionate affair. For a very short period of time they both assume that their affair can evolve into something a lot more serious. Around the same time Farrell is also invited to work as a liaison for Secretary of Defense David Brice (Gene Hackman), who needs a smart man that he can trust while dealing with a powerful senator who has been sabotaging his projects. Farrell is told that he will report to Brice’s personal assistant, Scott Pritchard (Will Patton), who will oversee his efforts and, if needed, manage them. Assuming that this is a good career move that in the future will open plenty of doors for him and help him move even higher up the ladder, Farrell accepts the job and immediately begins working for Brice. Soon after, however, he discovers that Susan is Brice’s mistress and goes berserk. Brice also learns that Susan has a lover, and while arguing with her, accidentally kills her. Pritchard then invents a brilliant cover-up that introduces a mysterious Soviet spy that becomes Susan’s killer. With time running out and investigators asking questions that can hurt Brice’s reputation and send him to jail, Pritchard and Farrell begin looking for their imaginary target.

The film is full of excellent twists that effectively redirect it literally until the final credits roll. There is a solid logic that explains their existence and the manner in which everything comes together at the end is absolutely brilliant.

Costner is perfectly cast as the jealous Navy commander. A lot depends on his ability to convince that he is facing some truly dangerous dilemmas and his excellent performance really does give the film a lot of credibility. Hackman has a very different personality but is equally persuasive. Before and after the murder he very much looks like a powerful politician whose ego is bigger than the Grand Canyon. Patton is excellent as his loyal puppet and always has the right answers to make his master feel safe and invincible. There are a couple of sequences where Young slightly overplays her character but is nevertheless convincing. There is also a great cameo by George Dzundza, who becomes a handicapped computer specialist with an impressive arsenal of passwords.

The film is dedicated to the great cinematographer John Alcott, who passed away shortly after it was completed and edited.

The dramatic orchestral score was created by another true legend, the Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago).

No Way Out 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, Roger Donaldson's No Way Out arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.

The release is sourced from an old master with some quite obvious sharpening adjustments that make different parts of the film look disappointingly harsh. These distracting effects are visible during close-ups as well as during panoramic vistas (see screencaptures #4, 5, and 10). Grain is also unevenly exposed and as a result there are some noticeable density fluctuations. Colors are stable, but some nuances are missing. Image stability is good. A few minor flecks and small scratches pop up here and there, but there are no distracting large cuts, damage marks, or torn frames to report in our review. All in all, while parts of the film look somewhat decent, the organic appearance we expect to see when older films transition to Blu-ray is missing here. (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).

No Way Out 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.

I viewed the film with 2.0 track and tested some sequences with the 5.1 track. Depth and clarity are very good. Maurice Jarre's dramatic score probably benefits the most from the lossless treatment as there are entire sequences where dynamic intensity is drastically different now, but there are also a few action sequences with notable improvements. I felt that there is some room for improvement in terms of balance, but there are no serious anomalies to report. The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow.

No Way Out Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this audio commentary, director Roger Donaldson discusses in great detail how different actors were cast to play the key characters in No Way Out, the script for the film (Mr. Donaldson apparently did not know that he had shot a remake of The Big Clock until after the film was finished and edited), his interactions with Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman, the shooting of specific sequences (the storm sequences were shot in New Zealand), the plot, etc.

• Trailer -original U.S. theatrical trailer for No Way out. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

No Way Out Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Roger Donaldson's No Way Out is not just a great thriller, but arguably one of the best American films from the 1980s. I like everything about it -- the direction, the acting, the magnificent score from Maurice Jarre, this film has it all. To be honest, I was secretly hoping that it will enter the Criterion Collection and we would get a beautiful remaster with a fantastic selection of supplemental features. There is so much that could have been done for the film's Blu-ray premiere. Shout Factory's release is sourced from an old master that is quite inconsistent. The good news here is that it comes with a wonderful commentary by Roger Donaldson, which was not included on the old DVD release of the film.