The Big Sweat Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Big Sweat Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 26, 2023

Ulli Lommel's "The Big Sweat" (1991) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new program with production manager Jeff McKay. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

I am free, and I am back.

In about an hour or so, the sun was going to come out, but I was not tired and knew exactly what I was seeing. It was very strange. A lot of the footage with Eleanor being followed by the mad cops was stolen from H.B. Halicki’s cult film Gone in 60 Seconds. And I mean a lot, not just a few scenes here and there.

The film that I was viewing in the wee hours of the night was The Big Sweat, which German filmmaker Ulli Lommel completed nearly two decades after Gone in 60 Seconds. Actually, completed might not be the correct word to use when describing what Lommel did because I have serious doubts he simply stole the footage from Gone in 60 Seconds, shot some random filler material, and delivered his film. Lommel was a very interesting character that did some strange things but he was not a nobody, so his name would have been noticed and other people would have made the connection I did. So, how exactly did The Big Sweat come to exist?

There is only one scenario that I could think of that logically links Lommel to The Big Sweat but someone will have to dig up evidence to validate it. In 1991, Lommel desperately needed cash and a shady American company convinced him to shoot the filler material that was used to create The Big Sweat. After Lommel did his part, The Big Sweat, which was a straight-to-video production, was sold to distributors around the world and he was paid the money he needed. Why am I speculating? Because even the original cover art that AIP used for the VHS release of The Big Sweat is very strange and appears to be using borrowed material. Right in the middle of it is a sexy woman with a gun looking at something that should be between her legs but she is nowhere to be seen in The Big Sweat. How utterly bizarre.

The current version of The Big Sweat, which I assume is the complete version that AIP distributed on VHS, is a predictably bizarre film, too. Its star is the fresh-out-of-jail thief Marco Donnelly (Steven Molone) who returns home to Southern California and immediately agrees to do a risky job. If Marco and his partner do everything right, they will get rich and move to Mexico, while the powerful local gangster Joe Rinks (Peter Sherayko), who screwed up the former six years ago, will finally get a dose of his own medicine. Before Marco and his partner go to work, however, FBI agent Troudou (Robert Z’Dar) appears with a most interesting offer.

The Big Sweat does not look as coherent as the summation of its plot above suggests. It is not a confusing film either, but approximately fifteen minutes into it you will realize that the filler material Lommel shot is exactly that -- one hundred percent filler material. Unsurprisingly, while the upcoming job is discussed and set up a lot of random things happen. As a result, there isn’t a proper buildup, only transitional material that leads to the famous racing footage from Gone in 60 Seconds.

The best compliment I can pay Donnelly is to write that he looks a lot like Ken Wahl. He delivers plenty of his lines quite nicely, too. I liked him because occasionally he makes The Big Sweat look like a very low-budget Americana. Z’Dar is the most experienced actor and appears in the most important scenes. Unfortunately, he just looks cool in a few and completely wasted in the remaining ones.

So, what is the final verdict on The Big Sweat? Is it worth seeing? It is a legit oddity with some amazing racing footage that comes from a legendary cult film. If I were to judge it strictly as a time capsule, I would say that it is probably worth seeing. Not because there is special original period footage in it, but because in the early 1990s, while VHS releases were selling like hotcakes, someone made it and thought that it could get away with it. If only the racing footage sounds attractive to you, then pick up a copy of Gone in 60 Seconds and see all of it.

The Big Sweat Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Big Sweat arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment.

It is very easy to tell that the release has been sourced from a brand new organic master. Apparently, this master was struck from the original camera negative, and even though there are some small traces of fading on it, it is quite clear that the film has never looked this good before. Now, you need to know that even some of the original footage conveys density fluctuations that are not part of the original cinematography as well as minor color fluctuations. But the overall quality of the visuals is very good and very attractive. Why? Because there are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. Color balance is very convincing. Yes, saturation could be superior, and in a few spots some of the light fading affects color values, but the primaries and the supporting nuances still look very good. They have proper organic qualities, too. The most obvious fluctuations in terms of density are during the borrowed footage, which is hardly surprising. Various minor spots and blemishes can be seen, but there are no large cuts, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, even though there is room for cosmetic improvements, I think The Big Sweat looks good on Blu-ray. (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).

The Big Sweat 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 dialog is clear and very easy to follow. However, there are many areas of the film with small but noticeable unevenness. I think that this was probably an unavoidable limitation given how The Big Sweat was put together. The same can be said about dynamic intensity. It is mostly decent but you will never be fooled that you are watching a big-budget film.

The Big Sweat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Production Manager Jeff McKay - in this exclusive new program, production manager Jeff McKay shares a lot of interesting information about the home video market in the 1980s and 1990s and how films like The Big Sweat were funded, made, promoted, and sold to various parties around the world. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Trailers - vintage trailers for the following titles from Dark Force Entertainment's catalog:
  
  1. Stingray
  2. Holy Wednesday a.k.a. Fangs
  3. Ride the Hot Wind

The Big Sweat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Had The Big Sweat been made by an Italian director during the 1980s, I would not have been surprised that it exists. However, when the Italian directors made these types of copycats they shot their own material and made sure that they had proper theatrical distribution, so an Italian version of The Big Sweat would have looked quite different. The current version of The Big Sweat shamelessly borrows material from the original Gone in 60 Seconds film and merges it with some filler material that Ulli Lommel apparently shot, which I find beyond bizarre. The finished film is one of the strangest pieces of Americana that I have seen to date, and I have seen some pretty strange ones. This is the only reason I think it is worth a look. RECOMMENDED.