Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Repo Man 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 19, 2024

Alex Cox's "Repo Man" (1984) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include interviews with musician Keith Morris and actors Dick Rude, Olivia Barash, and Miguel Sandoval; interview with Harry Dean Stanton; deleted scenes; the edited TV Version of the film; archival audio commentary; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Harmless punk Otto (Emilio Estevez) becomes a repo man after he is tricked by old timer Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) to steal a car for him. The job isn’t perfect but pays enough to make Otto forget about a slutty girl who has recently dumped him and his obsessed with a local televangelist parents. Soon after, Bud begins teaching Otto important lessons about the real world.

While taking a break from ‘school’, Otto befriends a good-looking UFO conspiracy theorist (Olivia Barash, Patty Hearst) who refuses to help him get rid of an apparently mind-altering amount of semen his body has produced. However, she does help him get on the radar of a few government agents looking for an old Chevy Malibu last seen in Roswell, New Mexico.

Eventually, the wanted car is spotted somewhere in L.A. and the feds quickly announce that they are willing to pay $10,000 for it. Otto and Bud immediately begin looking for it and soon cross paths with the Rodriguez brothers, the area’s most feared repo thugs.

Meanwhile, some of Otto’s old punk friends decide to hit a couple of liquor stores to get cash. While having fun, they run into the Rodriguez brothers, who have managed to steal the wanted car from a sweaty mad scientist. The punks take the car and disappear into the city, parts of which are soon after peppered with unusually large hail stones.

British director Alex Cox’s Repo Man is a wildly unpredictable film that oozes a type of nihilism that was prominent during the Reagan era. The film is extremely cynical but never offensive; rather it is entertaining, and it produces excellent observations about a culture and a way of thinking that were greatly influenced by the Cold War and the nuclear arms race America was obsessed with during the ‘80s.

Occasionally it may seem like the main protagonists are unconventional rebels, but eventually it becomes clear that they are in fact active supporters of the system they are supposedly unhappy with. They simply do not realize that the system is the biggest repo man around, allowing one to lead a normal life only if one keeps supporting it. Some, like the televangelist Otto’s parents have made richer with their savings, have learned to play the system, but others, like Otto’s friend Bud, have been completely brainwashed by it to believe that their country is falling apart because the poor have turned their backs on it. (There is an excellent sequence in which Otto and Bud pass through a very poor area of L.A. and Bud begins speculating that the city has been brought to its knees because the bums have stopped paying for the privilege to live in it).

Despite the random political overtones, however, Repo Man is not a political film. It is an honest film that simply does not see America through rose-tinted glasses like most Hollywood produced films do. Its honesty, however, is eventually replaced with LSD inspired madness that pushes it into a territory reserved for an entirely different crop of films.

Estevez is convincing as the young punk looking to find his place in a world full of crooks. The film, however, belongs to the iconic Stanton, whose cynical lessons are beyond entertaining.

Repo Man has a cracking soundtrack, featuring now considered classic punk tunes by Iggy Pop, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, and The Circle Jerks, amongst others.

Repo Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Repo Man is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, The Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

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, including the actual color values of this content.

The combo pack introduces a new 4K makeover of Repo Man that is graded with Dolby Vision and HDR. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision, and then performed numerous comparisons with the 1080p presentation of the film from the first Blu-ray release.

There are three significant improvements. First, the entire film looks strikingly fresh. I am not exaggerating. I still like the 1080p presentation a lot, but now all visuals sparkle and have a wonderful, very stable, very fresh organic appearance that is incredibly attractive. Second, transitions between daylight, well-lit indoor, and darker indoor and nighttime footage are superior. In what way exactly? They are smoother, more natural, so you most likely won't be noticing them as easily as you would on the 1080p presentation. (This is the only way I can explain what I saw on my system). The overall superior fluidity of the visuals is a factor, too. As a result, the native 4K presentation acquires a solid cinematic quality. The 1080p presentation looks wonderful, but it always has the appearance of a home video presentation. Third, the dynamic range of the visuals is better, and the difference is very easy to appreciate. However, there are multiple smaller improvements that are responsible for the difference. For example, in some areas, it is the expanded color gamut that has the greatest impact, while in other areas there are unique improvements in delineation and sharpness.
Darker areas look good with Dolby Vision. I did not see any issues with shadow nuances. Intense lighting, like the one from the tunnel, looks terrific as well. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks impeccably clean.

Repo Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very healthy. All exchanges are clear, sharp, and stable. You will not encounter any age-related imperfections in different registers, either. However, Repo Man has a great soundtrack, and I always felt that some of the music could have been mixed a little bit better. Obviously, this is an inherited limitation, but now that we have Dolby Atmos, I would not have objected having a new mix and Dolby Atmos audio track.

Repo Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this audio commentary, recorded in 1999, also appears on Anchor Bay's Limited Edition Tin DVD release of Repo Man. It features Alex Cox, executive producer Michael Nesmith, casting director Victoria Thomas, and actors Sy Richardson, Zander Schloss, and Del Zamora.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this audio commentary, recorded in 1999, also appears on Anchor Bay's Limited Edition Tin DVD release of Repo Man. It features Alex Cox, executive producer Michael Nesmith, casting director Victoria Thomas, and actors Sy Richardson, Zander Schloss, and Del Zamora.

• The TV Version - Alex Cox and Dick Rude's re-edit of Repo Man for American network television. It features alternate scenes, material deleted from the theatrical version, and overdubs of some unfriendly for family viewing dialog. Presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, in English, not subtitled. (97 min).

• The Missing Scenes - Alex Cox, executive producer Michael Nesmith, and neutron bomb inventor Sam Cohen discuss various deleted scenes from the film. The discussions were recorded in 2005. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Harry Zen Stanton - in this video piece, Harry Dean Stanton discusses his life philosophy and work with producer Peter McCarthy. The piece was filmed in 2005. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Repossessed - in this video piece, recorded in 2005, Alex Cox, producers Peter McCarthy and Jonathan Wacks, actors Del Zamora, Sy Richardson, and Dick Rude discuss Repo Man and its production history. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Iggy Pop - in this new video interview, the Godfather of Punk recalls his first encounter with Alex Cox, his contribution to the soundtrack of Repo Man, and his first impressions of the final version of the film. The interview was conducted in 2012. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Plate O' Shrimp - a video piece featuring interviews with musician Keith Morris and actors Dick Rude, Olivia Barash, and Miguel Sandoval. The interviewees discuss the film's influential soundtrack, its unique themes, the audition process, the main characters in the film, etc. The interviews were conducted in 2012. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Trailers -
  
  1. Original trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).
  2. Original trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Booklet - a booklet featuring an essay by critic Sam McPheeters; an illustrated production history by Alex Cox, with the original comic and film proposal; and a 1987 interview with real-life repo man Mark Lewis.

Repo Man 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Repo Man is still a very fresh, very funny film, and some of its preaching is even more relevant today, but for completely different reasons than the ones that are supposed to validate its existence. From time to time, it produces some striking visuals, too. It is undoubtedly Alex Cox's best work. Criterion's combo pack release introduces a terrific new 4K makeover of it, so consider an upgrade. (For a double dose of punk oddities and adventures, also consider picking up The Boys Next Door). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.