The Package Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The Package Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 20, 2023

Andrew Davis' "The Package" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by Andrew Davis and Joanna Cassidy; interview with Joanna Cassidy; vintage promotional materials for the film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It is awfully difficult not to speculate that The Package was an early blueprint for The Fugitive. In an archival filmed introduction, Andrew Davis reveals that during the shooting of The Package he developed a special friendship with Tommy Lee Jones that was extremely beneficial for their seemingly inevitable reunion on The Fugitive. But there is plenty more that was transferred from The Package to The Fugitive and improved, like the very good tempo, energy, and atmosphere that give the former its identity.

The events that are chronicled in The Package take place during the early days of the perestroika. In East Berlin, top U.S. and U.S.S.R. diplomats are finalizing an agreement that will prohibit the use of nuclear weapons. Once all details are ironed out, the President of the United States (Ray Allen) and the Soviet General Secretary (John D’Amico) are expected to sign the agreement and officially present it to the rest of the world. However, against all odds hardliners on both sides have teamed up to prevent the historic denuclearization of the two superpowers.

While keeping the area where the negotiations are held safe, veteran Green Beret Johnny Gallagher (Gene Hackman) loses one of his boys in an odd terrorist attack and immediately becomes a target for Col. Glen Whitacre (John Heard). Shortly after, he is ordered to escort detainee Thomas Boyette (Tommy Lee Jones) from East Germany to the United States where he is to be tried in a military court. However, shortly after landing at Dulles International Airport, while confronting a couple of strangers, Gallagher loses his “package”.

Determined to recapture the “package”, Gallagher requests help from his ex-wife Eileen (Joanna Cassidy), a service woman, and discovers that Boyette is not an ordinary troublemaker but a highly skilled assassin working for powerful shadow figures. While tracking down Boyette, Gallagher and Eileen then end up in Chicago and team up with good friend and police detective Milan Delich (Dennis Franz). As they come closer to Boyette, it is announced that the President of the United States (Ray Allen) and the Soviet General Secretary (John D’Amico) will attend a lavish event in downtown Chicago.

Several elements of the story are very dated and even flat-out ridiculous. For example, while searching for the “package” Hackman gets mixed up with neo-Nazis that are freely operating in Chicago and stage a public protest with hours left before the high-profile meeting. Also, Cassidy’s trusted contact (Pam Grier) accesses secret military information and is immediately killed but no one among their colleagues can quickly scan the latter’s final hours of work. This is happening during the Cold War era. Also, meetings like the one that is held in East Berlin were just theater. The Kremlin determined the scope of what could and could not be done in advance, so rogue elements would not have been allowed in the orbit of the Soviet leader.

But Hackman, Jones, and Frantz are predictably good, and Davis reveals some terrific locations from downtown Chicago. So, despite the unbelievable secret relationships and developments, there is still plenty to like.

The Package 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 Package arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a very old master that most likely comes from the DVD era. In case you are wondering, this is the same master that was used to produce this out of print release. However, the presentation here is different. This time the gamma levels are properly set, though as I have suspected for some time now, the encoder pushes the blacks a tad too far and begins to introduce light crushing. Regardless, there are bigger issues. For example, grain exposure is very unconvincing. Most of the time the grain looks like conventional video noise, plus there are numerous areas where it begins to look smeary as well. Light edge enhancement can be spotted, too. Predictably, delineation, clarity, and depth are often mediocre. Color balance is stable. However, there is a lot of room for substantial improvements. Many primaries need to be better saturated and healthier. Entire ranges of nuances and darker nuances in particular need to be recalibrated as well. Image stability is good. However, at the beginning of the film there is shakiness that some viewers will easily notice. I spotted minor dark spots and blemishes popping up here and there, but there are no large cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. (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).

The Package 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 provided for the main feature.

The dialog is clear and easy to follow. However, I think that the audio needs to be remastered so that it is as good as it can be because there are a couple of areas where James Newton Howard's score is expected to do a lot and dynamic balance is shaky. Indeed, there are spikes in dynamic activity that feel unnatural. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report.

The Package Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - presented here is a short archival video introduction by Andrew Davis. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Interview with Joanna Cassidy - in this recent program, Joanna Cassidy recalls how she became involved with The Package, and what it was like to work with Andrew Davis, Gene Hackman, and Tommy Lee Jones. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Andrew Davis and Joanna Cassidy. It was included on the previous release of The Package.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Package. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• TV Spots - presented here are a couple of vintage TV spots for The Package. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

The Package Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A lot of the relationships and developments in The Package are utterly unbelievable. However, the stars are quite good and there is some terrific footage from frigid Chicago. This reissue of The Package is sourced from the same old master that was used to source the previous, now out-of-print release of the film. It offers a different technical presentation of The Package, but I think that the master is so mediocre that it does not make sense to consider upgrading.