Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Target Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 20, 2024

Arthur Penn's "Target" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry as well as vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Target is the twin brother of Gotcha!. The two tackle the same material, look equally ridiculous, and are equally entertaining. Both were released in 1985. One of them has a slightly bigger ego, but this is a typical flaw with many twins. Am I shooting in the dark here by declaring that these films have an unmissable bond? No, and it makes perfect sense that they do. I will explain why shortly.

The fun begins in a small town in Texas where the Lloyds are living the good life. Well, sort of. They are all busy making other people happy and most of the time openly share their frustration with the mismanagement of the little things that should make their lives worth living. They are a functional family, but all three are looking in different directions.

One of the Lloyds is heading in a different direction, too. Donna (Gayle Hunnicut) is packing her bags to go to Paris, a city she has always wanted to explore. It would have been better to do it with her husband, Walter (Gene Hackman), but after wasting numerous opportunities waiting for him to stop working and join her, she is going alone. Well, not entirely alone. She is going with several coworkers, some of whom she considers good friends. Donna is not going to Paris on vacation either, but to work, so she will be mixing business with pleasure. However, shortly after Donna lands in Paris, Walter is informed that she has been kidnapped. He panics but then regains his composure and several hours later, together with his twentysomething son, Chris (Matt Dillon), boards the next plane heading her way.

In Paris, at the overcrowded airport, while Chris is away talking to a beautiful stranger, someone attempts and fails to kill Walter. At the very busy American embassy, Walter then uses several tricks to get in touch with Taber (Josef Sommer), an old friend and colleague, while the utterly perplexed Chris gradually begins to realize that his father may not be the man he grew up loving in Texas. In the days ahead, as a plan is put together to free Donna, various shadow figures emerge and Walter once again becomes a target. However, this time, Chris is next to his father and helping him stay alive.

For approximately twenty minutes, Target works hard to convince that it might be a legit thriller whose understanding of crime and its consequences is as good as those of the many similar films that emerged from the 1970s. But by the time Hackman initiates the irreversible transformation of his character, a former CIA employee who has reset his life in Texas while using a new identity, it is already painfully obvious that neither screenwriters Don Petersen and Howard Beck nor director Arthur Penn wanted it to be that kind of film. Indeed, Target was always meant to be like Gotcha!.

What does this mean exactly? It means that it was supposed to be a crowd pleaser first and then everything else, and during the 1980s crowd pleasers did a lot of very silly things to entertain. For example, all such films that recognized the ideological division of our planet produced very goofy characters that had practically nothing in common with the rough and tough characters that ruled the films from the previous decade. Also, the goofy characters enthusiastically engaged in silly material that made it virtually impossible for 1980s films to appear authentic. MTV had a lot to do with this dramatic change because many of these films began capitalizing on the popularity of the content it aired. By the late 1980s, MTV then evolved into one of the best platforms where these films were promoted.

The MTV influence is not as obvious in Target as it is in Gotcha!, which proudly blasts huge hits like Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax and Two Tribes and Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy, but its depiction of the supposedly deadly spy game is full of the same silly surprises. For example, both films have very sexy female spies that accidentally bump into their male targets and then enthusiastically go to bed with them.

Hackman and Dillon are an awkward pair, but this makes the silliness more effective. The former takes his character very seriously and is predictably good, while the latter is clearly miscast and stumbles throughout the entire film. The wild contrasts, which are practically everywhere, are absolutely hilarious.

Target Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and grated a 1080p transfer, Target arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The film has a solid organic appearance. Excluding several small surfaces imperfections, such as nicks and blemishes, and a couple of darker indoor areas where grain becomes a tad loose, I think that everything looks as good as it should. Delineation, clarity, and depth, for instance, remain very pleasing throughout the entire film. Color balance is convincing, too. All primaries are healthy and stable, while the supporting nuances appear properly balanced. Saturation levels can be improved a bit, but I think that the difference will be much more effective in native 4K, where color gamut is wider as well. Image stability is very good. For what it's worth, I also upscaled the film to 4K and thought that it looked lovely, so if you can do so on your system, give it a try. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Target Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. It is good but in a couple of areas, like the long chase through the city, it feels like it needs to be a bit more potent. I did not notice any anomalies to report, it just felt like during the long chase and a few other places the audio was a slightly dated. Then again, it could very well be that this is how the soundtrack was finalized. The dialog is always clear, clean, and easy to follow.

Target Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Target - presented here is a vintage trailer for Targets. It is sourced from a VHS. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry.

Target Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gene Hackman acts in a legit '70s Cold War thriller, while Matt Dillon acts in a '80s parody where just about anything is possible. This makes Target an awkward film, but a pretty entertaining one, too. I think that it will be appreciated by folks that enjoyed Gotcha!, which competed with it in 1985. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a good organic master that was supplied by Paramount Pictures. RECOMMENDED.