Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Red Rock West Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 19, 2022

John Dahl's "Red Rock West" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Plan B Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include new program with the director; new program with editor Scott Chestnut; new program with actor Dale Gibson; archival audio commentary; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Somewhere in rural Wyoming, Texan Michael Williams (Nic Cage) is denied a good-paying job because he has a busted leg. He has been stuck with it since he came back from Lebanon. He can walk and run, but his leg is weak and often hurts.

In the small town of Red Rock, Michael enters a lousy bar and asks for a cup of coffee. He gets one but the man behind the counter, Wayne (J.T. Walsh), tells him that he is running late and invites him to his office to discuss his assignment. Surprised but desperate to make a few bucks, Michael follows Wayne and pretends to be “Lyle from Texas,” the man for the assignment. Wayne hands him a picture of a beautiful woman, confirms that she is his wife, and calmly states that he wants her taken out. Then he hands Michael five grand, the fee for the assignment which they have discussed over the phone.

Shortly after, Michael tracks down Wayne’s wife, Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle), and after she makes love to her secret boyfriend (Dale Gibson) in a trailer somewhere in the fields reveals to her that Wayne has hired a hitman from Texas to take her out. At first, Suzanne has a hard time believing him but then offers to double his fee if he takes out Wayne.

Meanwhile, the real “Lyle from Texas” (Dennis Hopper) arrives in Red Rock, connects with Wayne, and the two realize that Michael is an impostor. Wayne, who happens to be the sheriff of Red Rock, greenlights an official search, while Lyle loads up his gun and requests an increase to get rid of Suzanne and the slick impostor.

John Dahl’s first three films -- Kill Me Again, Red Rock West, and The Last Seduction -- are some of the best to emerge from the great neo-noir renaissance of the 1990s. They are incredibly well written and directed and impeccably acted. Even if Dahl’s career had ended immediately after the third, he would have been remembered as one of the decade’s most influential American directors.

While thematically quite different, the wit, wicked sense of humor, and visual aesthetics of Red Rock West are very similar and in some ways identical to those of Kill Me Again and The Last Seduction. It is because Dahl’s fondness for great characters and desire and ability to engage them in truly unique stories are identical in all three films. A few of Dahl’s later films replicate certain aspects of the same creative enthusiasm, but they do not quite match the quality of his first three films.

In Red Rock West, the brilliant twists and turns are seemingly endless and only a few are somewhat easy to predict. As a result, viewing Red Rock West, especially without any familiarity with vintage promotional materials that contain a few minor spoilers, is quite the roller-coaster.

Another important reason that makes the viewing experience exciting is the terrific management of the main character arcs. How good are they? Each of the four leads -- played by Cage, Boyle, Hopper, and Walsh -- can be considered a star. Indeed, Red Rock West keeps shifting the viewer’s point of view and rearranging the balance of power in such effective ways and so often that it produces numerous legit opportunities to crown one of these leads as its star. Hopper and Walsh, for instance, quite easily could have taken Red Rock West in a very different direction and its drama still would have been excellent.

Dahl’s understanding of style is impeccable, too. The dusty country roads, the thick black shadows, the thick neon lights, everything comes together incredibly well. Truly, by the time Cage gets out of his car and finishes shaving, which is only a few minutes after the opening credits disappear, it is already crystal clear Red Rock West is heading into a classic neo-noir territory.

The predictably brilliant soundtrack mixes original music by William Olvis, much of it mimicking the work of Ry Cooder, and classic tunes by Johnny Cash, Shania Twain, Toby Keith, and Dwight Yoakam, amongst others. The latter has a small cameo as well.

Red Rock West 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, Red Rock West arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Plan B Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an old master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. Unfortunately, this is a problematic master that has many of the classic shortcomings we have come to expect from older masters that emerge from the major's vaults. For example, excluding a few quite dark close-ups, all visuals look very harsh and occasionally even smeary. Why? Because there are very obvious traces of sharpening and digital smoothing, so the surface of the visuals has lost its organic appearance. I do not think that you would need a very large screen to recognize these manipulations. Furthermore, while colors are stable, a lot of the supporting nuances are compromised because of crushing and blooming. To be clear, the color temperature of the master is fine, and so are the saturation levels of many primaries, the sharpening and smearing destabilize plenty of supporting nuances. Image stability is good. I noticed a few dirt spots and blemishes, but there are no distracting large cuts, warped or torn frames to report. So, regrettably, this master gives Red Rock West a very digital appearance that I found quite distracting. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Red Rock West Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is excellent. Part of me was somewhat surprised that it was so good, but part of me was not. Many older masters that were prepared at Universal have shaky video but very good or excellent audio. his particular audio track was clearly finalized with great care because it has a terrific range of nuanced dynamics and is very, very healthy. Is there any room for meaningful improvements? At the moment, my answer would be no.

Red Rock West Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with John Dahl - in this exclusive new program, John Dahl explains how Red Rock West materialized and discusses his state of mind at the time he made the film, some of the unique themes that are intertwined in it and their relationship to the reality he knew while growing up in Montana, the casting choice he was able to make, some very interesting difficult decisions he and his team made during the shooting of the film, etc. It is an excellent program. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

• Interview with Editor Scott Chestnut - in this exclusive new program, editor Scott Chestnut explains how he became involved with Red Rock West (he grew up with John Dahl in the same town in Montana and they reunited in Los Angeles) and what it was like to work with Dahl and cut the film in a way that met his expectations. Apparently, Red Rock West was cut on videotape. Mr. Chestnut also has some very interesting comments about the film's canceled theatrical release by Propaganda Films and some troubles he experienced at the mixing facility. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Interview with Actor Dale Gibson - in this exclusive new program, actor Dale Gibson, who played Lara Flynn Boyle's lover, recalls his interactions with John Dahl and Nic Cage during the shooting of Red Rock West. Mr. Gibson also discusses his work as a stunt performer. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Petros Patsilivas Talks Nicolas Cage's Performance - in this new program, critic Petros Patsilivas discusses Nic Cage's career and performance in Red Rock West. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Audio Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by director John Dahl and producer Rick Dahl. The commentators recall what it was like growing up in Montana during the 1960s and how a lot has changed since then, both culturally and economically, as well as how Red Rock West came to exist. Also, there are plenty of very interesting comments about the shooting of key sequences and the way in which they were cut and ended up in the final version of the film. The commentary was recorded for Columbia Tristar/Sony Pictures.

• Still Gallery - a collection of vintage promotional stills and a poster for Red Rock West.

• Booklet - a 36-page illustrated booklet featuring writings on Red Rock West by critic Ian Schultz.

• Poster - a mini-poster for Red Rock West.

Red Rock West Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is bizarre that years ago top brass at Propaganda Films concluded that Red Rock West was a giant misfire and sold it to HBO. Like a lot of people, I did not see it at my theater and discovered it on VHS. I think that Red Rock West is every bit as good as John Dahl's directorial debut, Kill Me Again, and the film that came after it, The Last Seduction, and I consider these three films some of the best to emerge from the great neo-noir renaissance of the 1990s. Unfortunately, this recent Blu-ray release from British label Plan B Entertainment is sourced from a problematic old master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. It might be worth picking up because it has a few very good exclusive new bonus features, one of them a long program with Dahl, but only when it goes on sale. Hopefully, the label that eventually releases Red Rock West on Blu-ray in America will properly remaster it in 2K or 4K so that it looks as it should. Next year, the film will celebrate its 30th anniversary, so to be honest, I would not mind seeing it treated right on 4K Blu-ray.