Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

The Limey 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 5, 2022

Lionsgate continues to baffle with its 4K UHD release regimen with The Limey. Despite receiving some considerable acclaim at the time of its release, and even a passing whisper or two that Terence Stamp might get an Academy Award nomination for the film (he didn't), The Limey has been a curiously underappreciated gem in the filmography of both Stamp and perhaps especially Steven Soderbergh, which admittedly might account for the lack of even a 1080 Blu-ray release on this side of the pond (until now). That said, the UK branch of Lionsgate released The Limey around two years ago, without any fanfare that I'm aware of (I receive PR from global firms on a daily basis). Now the stateside branch of Lionsgate is releasing The Limey in both 4K UHD and 1080, with SteelBook packaging just to make this all the odder (for those who pay attention to how releases are marketed, anyway). Kind of interestingly in that regard, Lionsgate has done some marketing outreach for this release, which is not always the case with this studio when they partner with Best Buy for exclusive SteelBook packages (as those who have read Randy Miller III's Dirty Dancing 4K Blu-ray review may recall).

For anyone needing a plot recap of The Limey, Svet Atanasov's The Limey Blu-ray review of the UK Lionsgate release should more than suffice. I will add a couple of additional thoughts, including a perhaps contrarian perspective to Svet's comment that the film succeeds "without any unnecessary tricks". Now, I completely agree with the "unnecessary" part, but as evidenced even by the "meta"-tastic (pun and new compound word adjective intended) commentary by Steven Soderbergh and writer Lem Dobbs included on both the 1080 and 4K UHD discs in this package perhaps allude to and in fact overtly mention, The Limey at times is nothing but tricks in terms of a presentational aspect that deliberately refracts everything from the timeline to the soundtrack. As such, the film is an almost unavoidably psychedelic hallucinatory experience, one that is only aided and abetted by further stylistic flourishes that include a huge variety of "looks", as hopefully the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review may help to elucidate.

The result is an experience that almost demands re-viewing, since the pieces of this particular puzzle have been deliberately scattered on the floor, so to speak, and it's up to the viewer to reassemble them once they've all been presented. Stamp is an amazing presence (again), offering a steely depiction of a man, kind of like Liam Neeson's character in Taken , with a "particular set of skills", but who has tragically been unable to put them to use before his daughter's death. Suffice it to say, he doesn't hesitate to put them to use in a desire for vengeance, and in that regard, the film has an underlying simplicity that perhaps helps it to elide its presentational quirks.

The Limey 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

The Limey is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 1.78:1. This is yet another Lionsgate release that offers a debut 1080 release on this side of the pond, and so this section will address both formats. Though Lionsgate's press packet accompanying this release didn't really provide much in the way of technical information, Svet's review mentions that the UK Lionsgate release was sourced from a 4K restoration supervised by Steven Soderbergh, and I have to assume that this same source was utilized for this release. Whatever the weirdnesses of Lionsgate's 4K UHD releases have been, they at least occasionally hit it out of the park, and I'd argue that both the 1080 and 2160 releases included in this package are stupendously enjoyable. Svet understandably mentions the incredible range of tones the palette of this film offers, and which I've attempted to give even more examples of here in addition to the screenshots included in Svet's review, and while the 1080 version is just flat out tantalizing virtually all of the time, the 4K UHD version's HDR and/or Dolby Vision add an entirely new luster to things, and the wider range of tones is clearly discernable. I found it especially noticeable in a wide range of green framings (pay attention to some of the scenes with Guzman in particular), and additionally there are some almost ice cold blue highlights in some sequences in the 4K UHD version that aren't quite as prevalent in the 1080 version. On the warmer end of the spectrum, there's an almost autumnal burnt orange quality to some of the yellow graded material in the 4K UHD version. Already superb detail levels in the 1080 version enjoy at least a marginal upgrade in the 4K UHD version. The wide variety of grain structures is beautifully resolved, and this is a great example of 2160 resolution not providing a kind of "dirty" looking grain field even when things get positively chunky at times. There are some brief archival excerpts of a young Terence Stamp in Ken Loach's Poor Cow that are presented in a kind of quasi-sepia tone despite having been shot in color (see screenshot 17).

The Limey 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While the menus on both the 2160 and 1080 discs have only a generic "Dolby 5.1" descriptor, thankfully it's Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and the audio presentation, while arguably not quite as consistently gobsmacking as the video side of things, is still nicely robust and very immersive. From the very get go, before imagery even starts, there's a nice wash of what sounds like the ocean and Stamp's inimitable voice, and then the first of several great source cues clearly engages the surround channels. Over and over again the deliberate layering and refraction of isolated bits of dialogue can be offered in discrete channels, offering the sonic equivalent of a spaced out drug experience. Fidelity is excellent throughout and dynamic range is very wide for what amounts to a film where the "action" elements are almost presented as throwaways in the background. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Limey 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both the 4K UHD and 1080 discs included in this package offer the same supplements:

• Audio Commentary with Director Steven Soderbergh and Writer Lem Dobbs has something other than a mere commentary going on, unless I'm severely misinterpreting things.


• Audcio Commentary with Steven Soderbergh, Lem Dobbs, and Actors Peter Fonda, Terence Stamp, Barry Newman and Lesley Ann Warren is a bit more straightforward.


• Isolated Score is sadly presented in only Dolby Digital 2.0 on both discs, and also kind of oddly, this isn't available by using the Audio button on your remote to toggle between tracks and instead needs to be selected directly from the Special Features menu.


• A Digital Copy is included.

Additionally, as mentioned above, this features exclusive SteelBook packaging which offers a really cool black and white photo of Terence Stamp on the front cover with wisps of smoke drifting up over his face. The back cover seems a good deal more abstract, with a kind of forested black and white image covered by red stripes that have a face hidden in them. The slipcover repeats this red strip motif on the front, with the "black and white" sections being see through so that the Stamp photo is visible.

The Limey 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Limey didn't really seem to connect with audiences very substantially when it was originally released, but after a couple of decades of other, less substantial, ADHD-esque productions, it comes off as decidedly more literate and compelling, even if its presentational disjunctive qualities are almost an intentional obstacle at times. This is a film that pretty much demands absolute surrender, with an understanding that it's in its own way attempting to provide "simultaneous" streams of information from a variety of timeframes. The result is almost as baffling as Lionsgate's 4K UHD release strategy, but in my estimation, more consistently entertaining (and, yes, that's a joke). Technical merits are first rate, and the commentary by Soderbergh and Dobbs in particular is quite interesting. The SteelBook packaging will simply be the icing on the cake for some prospective purchasers. Highly recommended.