7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.4 |
A down-and-out young punk gets a job working with a seasoned repo man, but what awaits him in his new career is a series of outlandish adventures revolving around aliens, the CIA, and a most-wanted '64 Chevy.
Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash, Sy RichardsonDrama | 100% |
Dark humor | 28% |
Crime | 13% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Alex Cox's "Repo Man" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc inlcude original trailers for the film; new video interview with the Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop; new video 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; audio commentary with director Alex Cox, executive producer Michael Nesmith, casting director Victoria Thomas, and actors Sy Richardson, Zander Schloss, and Del Zamora; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated 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, In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Incredible
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alex Cox's Repo Man arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"Approved by director Alex Cox, this new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Image Systems' Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise reduction, flicker, and jitter.
Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline.
Colorist: Joe Gawler/Harbor Post, New York."
The new and approved by director Alex Cox high-definition transfer is not identical to the one Eureka Entertainment used for their Blu-ray release of Repo Man in the United Kingdom. In addition to the framing -- the Criterion transfer is framed in 1.78:1 but actually has more information on the top and bottom -- brightness levels and color saturation are also different. Generally speaking, Criterion's high-definition transfer is also slightly darker (or the UK release has elevated brightness levels). Compression is also marginally better on the Criterion release. The most obvious discrepancies are during close-ups where light isn't severely restricted (compare screencapture #18 with screencapture #14 from our review of the UK release). In most cases, image depth is marginally better on the Criterion release. The color discrepancies are also very easy to spot. On the Criterion release the greens, browns, blues, and grays are richer and better saturated (compare screencapture #1 with screencapture #15 from our review of the UK release). Furthermore, grain is visible throughout the entire film, but as it was the case with the UK release there is light noise that is occasionally mixed with it. There are no traces of problematic sharpening corrections. Also, there are no large damage marks, debris, cuts, or warps. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. All in all, I think that the Criterion release of Repo Man is the all-around better looking release, but the UK release is also very healthy. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless audio track impresses with strong depth and very good fluidity. It will not test the muscles of your audio system, but if you appreciate organic sound more than likely you will enjoy its good range of nuanced dynamics. The great soundtrack also gets a decent boost and further enhances the unique atmosphere. The dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.
A true cult film with a legendary punk soundtrack, Alex Cox's Repo Man is finally coming to America. I think that this excellent Blu-ray release has the potential to become many people's favorite release this year. The film looks very good and there are plenty of outstanding bonus features to complement it, including a brand new video interview with the Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
1947
Limited Collector's Edition
1976
1985
2011
2013
2006
2014
1984
1971
1976
2016
1992
기생충 / Gisaengchung
2019
2001
1968
Il Conformista | 4K Restoration
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2019
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2013