Steel Arena Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Steel Arena Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 31, 2019

Mark Lester's "Steel Arena" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Code Red. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive video interview and audio commentary by the director, as well as a gallery of trailer for other titles from the label's catalog. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"Living wild, living free made a better man of me, although I lived my life alone"

Someone has to make a documentary about the making of Mark Lester’s directorial debut, Steel Arena, because the stories he shares in the new interview that the guys from Code Red conducted with him for this release are so wild they can’t possibly be fake. I want to hear even more details, and then everything else that Lester did not mention in the interview. Once you see the interview, you would too. Believe me. Here are a few samples:

In the early 1970s, not too long after Lester had hooked up with the guys from Circus of Death, who actually made a living as daredevils and basically agreed to play themselves in his directorial debut, he had a casting session because he was trying to find one more actor for a particular role. So, a guy named Ed Ryan walked into his office, auditioned for the part, and he hired him on the spot. When production of his film started, the two became such good friends that one day Ryan asked if he can stay in his apartment in Berkeley for a few months and if Lester agreed he would fix his car for free. Lester did not mind, Ryan moved in, and then as agreed a few months later packed up his bags and left. Shortly after, FBI agents came knocking on Lester’s door and told him that they were looking for Ryan because he had escaped from the Wisconsin State Penitentiary where he was previously held for armed robbery. When the agents asked Lester if he had seen Ryan, he told them the truth -- that he had lived with him for months, and that he used him in his film. When the FBI eventually tracked down and recaptured their man, the warden of the prison in Wisconsin called Lester to see if he could send him a print of his film because the prisoners could not believe that after Ryan had escaped he went straight to Hollywood and got hired as an actor. His story sounded way, way too crazy. So, Lester arranged for a copy of the film to be shipped to Wisconsin, and when the prisoners started watching it and realized that Ryan had been telling them the truth, the entire prison went bonkers. Around that time, Rolling Stone officially declared that Steel Arena was the most original film of the year.

How about this crazy story: When Lester finished shooting Steel Arena, he started editing the raw footage with a guy named David Peoples. (Yep, that David Peoples). Though he did not have much on his resume he was really good and had some terrific ideas, but Lester did not trust him much, or at least not as much as he should have, so he basically did a lot of what the young director was asking. Then one day, while taking a break from the editing job, Peoples pulled out a finished script for a western that he had written and asked Lester to take a look at it. But Lester was too focused on his film and told Peoples that he wanted him to finish the job that he had hired him for. Now fast-forward a few years. The same unknown guy, Peoples, found a very well-known guy named Clint Eastwood who read his script and shortly after directed that rather special western called Unforgiven. A few months after the film opened in America, Peoples earned an Oscar nomination for the script that Lester did not have the time to read. (Just a reminder: Peoples also did the scripts for Blade Runner and 12 Monkeys).

There are other fascinating stories in the interview, and even more interesting bits in the audio commentary that Lester recently recorded, so if there is an aspiring young documentarian that is trying to figure out how to get noticed, a documentary about Steel Arena and the career of its creator could be the winning ticket. In fact, I am quite certain that it is.

Now, back to Steel Arena. It follows closely an ambitious pro-driver named Dusty Russell who joins a gang of daredevils who make ends meet by staging dangerous shows all across the country. He quickly makes a name for himself and begins doing some of the group’s riskiest stunts, but his success eventually sends him on a collision course with a dirty competitor who is determined to take his spot. Predictably, their rivalry becomes so intense, and then so dangerous, that it is only a matter of time before disaster strikes.

The nature of the rivalry, however, is largely unimportant because Steel Arena was initially intended to be a documentary, so the focus of attention is actually on the incredible stunts that the daredevils do. And trust me, there is some breathtaking footage in this film because what Lester shot is absolutely real -- Russell and his buddies, all non-professional actors, basically went to work, and knowing that Lester’s camera was rolling did their best to impress. A remarkable piece of Americana, arguably one of the very best of its kind.

*Sam Durrance sings a wonderful song titled "Living Wild, Living Free" which I was not familiar with. The melancholy it oozes could not have been any more appropriate for the film.

**Jack Hill’s Pit Stop offers some similar thrills, but Steel Arena is a better film. Simply put, the driving and stunts are on an entirely different level.

Steel Arena Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.55:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mark Lester's Steel Arena arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Code Red.

The quality of the transfer that was created and used to produce the Blu-ray is what I would typically expect from the folks at Criterion. Lester mentions that the original elements that were used were apparently discovered in a lab in Italy, so I am assuming that there was important work that was done on both sides of the Atlantic. Either way, considering the strange history that the film has, I think that the end result is outstanding. Everything from depth to clarity to delineation and fluidity looks terrific, while on a larger screen the density levels are again on par with what I would expect to see in a Criterion release. The color grading is also excellent. The primaries are solid, very healthy, and nicely balanced, and there are equally strong and healthy ranges of nuances. I don't know why the transfer if framed in 2.55:1 as opposed to 2.39:1, but maybe the adjustment was needed. In fact, I am quite certain that even though the film looks as good as it does, the elements that were stored in Italy were not exactly in perfect condition. For example, there is one very strange edit that pops up in the second half that almost looks like a digital glitch, but it appears that someone simply made a quick edit and that's how the film was printed (see screencapture #21). It is so quick that I had to go back multiple times to catch it and then analyze it, and it is definitely not something that an encoder would introduce. It was done a long, long time ago and left that way. There are also a a few white specks, but nothing else to actually worry about. All in all, I think that this is a pretty remarkable restoration and presentation of a film that has 'lost cult classic' written all over it. Well done, Code Red. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Steel Arena 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 not provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean, stable, and free of age-related anomalies. Because the film was shot with a modest budget and has a lot of organic footage where the daredevils are seen performing their stunts, some minor unevenness exist, but it is what you will encounter on every other '70s American film. Dynamic intensity is also modest, but the lossless track recreates the native qualities of the original soundtrack.

Steel Arena Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - a gallery of trailers for other Code Red releases.

• Interview with Director Mark Lester - in this brand new video interview, Mark Lester recalls how Steel Arena came to exist, and shares some very interesting stories involving people that he worked during the production process. The director also addresses the recent restoration of his film. The interview was conducted by Bill Olsen, Andrew Sterling, and Elle Schneider exclusively for Code Red in 2018. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - in this new audio commentary, director Mark Lester discusses in great detail the conception of Steel Arena, its evolution (it was initially meant to be a straightforward documentary), the unique characters that made it happen, the various locations where important footage was shot, the film's visual styles, etc. The commentary was recorded exclusively for Code Red.

Steel Arena Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Wow, what a film. I can see why Mark Lester was so excited after the guys at Code Red showed him the new restoration that was completed for it -- Steel Arena is the unique piece of Americana that its director describes in the new interview he recorded, and at times it does look insanely dangerous. And of course Lester is right when he says that a film like Steel Arena can never be made again, because not only there are no more steel cars like the ones that the daredevils drive in his film, but there isn't a single insurance company that will even contemplate a project like it. I don't have any detailed information about the restoration work that was done for the film, but I am incredibly impressed with the end result. Also, I really enjoyed the exclusive content that Code Red did with the director. So, if you have even the slightest interest in period American genre films, please consider adding this recent release to your collection. I just can't imagine a scenario where you would walk away from it disappointed. On the contrary, I am quite certain that after the end credits roll, you will agree with me that Steel Arena is a genuine cult classic that has been given a new life. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.