Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Running Scared Blu-ray Movie Review

Hot Cocoa. Petite Marshmallows. What More Could a Cop Want?

Reviewed by Michael Reuben December 9, 2014

Can you imagine a time when casting Billy Crystal in a comedy was considered risky? Everyone has to start somewhere, and Crystal had never made a studio film when director Peter Hyams came up with the unlikely pairing of Crystal and Gregory Hines as Chicago detectives in the 1986 action comedy Running Scared (which should not be confused with the 2006 pulp noir of the same name starring the late Paul Walker). Hines, who was best known as a virtuoso of tap dancing, got top billing, due to his greater exposure in such films as The Cotton Club and White Nights, but the chemistry between the two actors was so spontaneous and electric that they instantly became equals, as if they had been the long-time partners they were portraying, even though they had never worked together previously. Hyams was directing his first comedy, but he was smart enough to trust the cast that he had hired. Much of what makes Running Scared a classic of buddy cop movies was improvised by Crystal and Hines on the spot. In the commentary newly recorded for this Kino Video Blu-ray release, Hyams points out numerous moments where he simply asked one or the other of his stars to invent something—and it's in the movie.

It was also Hyams who changed the location of the much-revised screenplay by Gary DeVore (Raw Deal) and Jimmy Huston (My Best Friend Is a Vampire) to Chicago, where the streets and skyline would provide a visual contrast from the usual police story venues of L.A. and New York. The Windy City obliged the production with one of its coldest winters on record, testing the endurance of both the cast and crew, as they filmed elaborate scenes outdoors, including a never-before-seen—and, as far as I know, never since duplicated—chase on Chicago's elevated train system, locally known as "the El". The bone-chilling conditions for which the city is famous may have made shooting a chore, but they "read" in the performances and provide a palpable incentive for the allure of retiring to Florida, which is a key part of the plot. Long before Danny Glover's Sgt. Murtagh spent four Lethal Weapon films debating whether to turn in his shield, Crystal and Hines had already weighed the options.

Dets. Ray Hughes (Hines) and Danny Costanzo (Crystal) are the two daredevil hotshots of the Chicago P.D. They take wild chances, never call for backup and always crack wise while getting their man (or woman). Their Wild West ways may get them sued regularly—"Another satisfied customer!" says Hughes in disgust, after being served by an attorney—but it does have its funny side, such as when they put a suspect in a lineup with four uniformed cops. As their captain, Logan (Dan Hedaya), says to two newly assigned detectives he's just ordered Hughes and Costanzo to train: "Don't ever let me catch you doing anything they teach you!"

The pair's current target is a major coke dealer named Julio Gonzalez (Jimmy Smits), whose self-professed ambition is to become the first Hispanic godfather of Chicago. Every time Hughes and Constanzo put Gonzalez behind bars, he miraculously makes bail. Staking out a neighborhood game of hoops in the freezing cold (something that Costanzo, despite his short stature, cannot resist leaping into), the detectives spot Gonzalez making a deal with a low-life known as "Snake" (Joe Pantoliano, who is deadpan hilarious). They give chase, and the result, after many complications, wisecracks and routines, including the aforementioned "lineup", is a deadly shootout that leads Captain Logan to conclude that his two top detectives are dangerously close to burnout. Over loud protests, he orders Hughes and Costanzo on vacation.

Finding themselves in Key West, Florida, the two adrenaline junkies need time to adjust to the slower pace and hedonistic lifestyle. But then Costanzo begins thinking: Maybe this isn't such a bad way to live? Undoubtedly fueling his desire for a change is the recent announcement by his ex-wife, Anna (Darlanne Fluegel), that she's remarrying—to a dentist, no less, which prompts an endless string of barbs from Constanzo ("Do they play the same music at home that they do in the office?"). Using funds from Costanzo's recent inheritance, plus Hughes' pension money, the pair buys a derelict bar, flies back to Chicago and hands in a 30-day notice to their startled captain.

But Gonzalez is still at large, and the partners are determined to close the book on that unfinished business before they leave. By the time Hughes and Constanzo bring the drug lord to justice, they will intercept a major coke shipment (and then have to steal it from the police property lockup); engineer the false arrest of a law-abiding attorney; impersonate a superior officer; place Anna's life in jeopardy (and then, of course, have to rescue her); deeply offend the Catholic Church; lose their pants; steal a Mercedes; get shot repeatedly; and violate the laws and regulations of the FAA, the State of Illinois and the Chicago Transit Authority. It's all in a day's work for Chicago's finest, especially when they're about to retire. (Or are they?)

Anna can't believe that her ex-husband is moving to Florida to lead such a boring life. "Hey, you are marrying boring", he replies—which pretty well sums up who the ex-marrieds are and how they feel about each other. So why did they break up? The answer is tucked into one of the many quick exchanges casually tossed away in Running Scared. In the Chicago bar that is the off-duty hangout for Hughes and Costanzo, they meet a pretty lady named Maryann (Tracy Reed), who, having established that Hughes and Costanzo are both divorced, ends up going home with Hughes. When Costanzo awakens them the next morning bearing doughnuts, Maryann's exasperated reaction is: "I now know why you have an ex-wife!"—and she could be talking to either Hughes or Costanzo. With these two, a woman will always have to settle for third place.

Running Scared Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hyams served as his own cinematographer on Running Scared, as he has on most of his films. Although he did not oversee the transfer used for Kino Video's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, he observes on the commentary that the presentation looks accurate. He also notes many specific elements of lighting, color palette and even exposure that renew one's appreciation for the challenges of accurately translating film into digital data.

Even without Hyams' reassuring endorsement, the quality of the image on Kino's Blu-ray would be evident. The source material is in excellent shape, with no obvious damage or wear-and-tear. The image is detailed and sharp, although it should be stressed that "sharp" for a Hyams film isn't the same thing as for a film by, e.g., Michael Bay. As Hyams notes in the commentary, he loves darkness, shadow and silhouette, and he frequently softens lights by wrapping them in gauze or other filters. Anyone looking for crisp, hard edges in a Hyams film will be disappointed, but the detail is there nonetheless—in the station house, on the city streets, on the piers and sidewalks of Key West and, most impressively, in the climactic sequence in the ornate State of Illinois Building, which is a demonstration piece on how to convey a sense of monumental scale with a carefully lit and focused 2.35:1 frame. (None of the sequence was done with effects.)

The Chicago scenes are predominantly gray, to match the color of the sky (gray being the color that is most likely to appear overhead during a Chicago winter), while the Key West sequence is an orgy of warm pastels that results in an interesting contrast when Hughes and Costanzo return to Chicago wearing their vacation outfits. Odd flashes of color like "Snake's" hair, or Costanzo's various official sports caps and shirts, or the too-new yellow of the taxicab that becomes their unmarked cop car, pop out of this landscape, which is by design.

Because all of the extras are in standard definition, Kino was able to devote most of the BD-25 to the film itself, which is only 107 minutes long and has a 2.0 soundtrack. The result is an average bitrate of 23.95 Mbps, which, while nothing special, is certainly up to the demands of the film's action scenes. The black letterbox bars help conserve bits, as does the fact that Hyams shoots in anamorphic Panavision and lights sufficiently to maintain a fine-grained image.

Running Scared Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's original stereo track has been encoded as lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0. It's a strong presentation of the musical soundtrack by songwriter Rod Temperton, whose single, "Sweet Freedom", sung by Michael McDonald, is the only hit song that Hyams ever had from a film (and, as he confesses in the commentary, was included over his objection at the insistence of his music supervisor). Several other songs play memorable roles, including the title track sung by Fee Waybill over the opening credits and "Man Size Love" by Klymaxx, and both these and Temperton's synth-dominated instrumental score play with broad dynamic range and solid bass extension. The dialogue is clear, and while the gun battles don't have Michael Mann-style reverberation, they make enough of an impact to create excitement.

Running Scared Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

MGM's 2001 DVD of Running Scared contained only the trailer and the so-called "outtakes" listed below. Kino has added a vintage featurette, which is welcome, even though much of it overlaps with the outtakes, plus a series of EPK scenes that are merely excerpts from the film. Still missing are the music video for Michael McDonald's "Sweet Freedom", in which Crystal and Hines appeared, and a hilarious teaser that hasn't been seen since MGM's laserdisc release of the film, where Crystal and Hines, as Hughes and Costanza, shoot up the wrong apartment for a bust, then casually walk away.

• Commentary with Director Peter Hyams: Internal references indicate that this is a newly recorded commentary. Hyams notes that he cannot bear to watch his own films, so that he hasn't watched Running Scared since he made it. Nevertheless, his recall for details of locations, improvs, logistics, even specifics of lighting and film stock, is remarkable. There are only a few points where he either becomes confused or confesses that he can't remember. He lavishes praise on the cast's contributions (not just those of Crystal and Hines, but also the supporting players') and repeatedly expresses gratitude to Chicago and Illinois authorities for allowing him complete freedom to shoot on the transit system and in the State of Illinois Building, which had just opened. He also offers some interesting observations on how visual styles have changed in the almost three decades since Running Scared was made.



• Featurette (480i; 1.33:1; 6:39): Entitled "On Location", this EPK was shown on HBO and other media outlets when the film was in theaters. The most interesting line is Hyams' description of directing comedy as creating the atmosphere for a series of "controlled accidents".



• Billy Crystal Outtakes (480i; 1.33:1; 4:35): Many of these outtakes have been incorporated into the featurette.



• Selected EPK Scenes (480i; 1.33:1; 6:12): All of these scenes are excerpts from the film. If nothing else, they illustrate the extent of the cropping necessary for creating a pan 'n' scan version.



• Trailer (480i; 2.35:1, enhanced; 1:30): So brief that it's almost a teaser, this trailer does capture the film's goofball tone.

Running Scared Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After the success of Running Scared and its soundtrack album, efforts were made to reunite Crystal and Hines for a sequel, but none of the proposed scripts were deemed good enough by either actor. Each proceeded with a successful career in movies and TV and on Broadway, although Hines's was cut short by his untimely death from liver cancer at age 57 in 2003 (a loss that Hyams still finds too painful to discuss in his commentary). Running Scared remains their only pairing, which gives the film the glow of a magical one-off that could never be repeated. Kino's Blu-ray presentation is excellent and highly recommended.