Unlawful Entry 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Unlawful Entry 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

There have been three standalone 1080p editions and three two-disc 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/standard Blu-ray versions of Jonathan Kaplan's twelfth big-screen feature (and fourteenth overall), Unlawful Entry (1992), released worldwide. German label Concorde Video put out a BD-25 in 2017. Two more releases followed seven years later: a limited edition BD-50 from Scream Factory and a bare-bones BD-50 from UK label Icon Film. This year, there have been three 4K UHD/BD editions: one by Australian label Imprint Films (part of the box set, After Dark: Neo-Noir Cinema Collection Four), another by French label L'atelier d'images, and this package courtesy of Scream Factory. My colleagues Brian Orndorf and Dr. Svet Atanasov covered two of those releases. Brian reviewed Scream's 2024 website exclusive while Svet wrote about the Imprint discs. For their analyses of the film and critiques of the two releases' a/v/extras, please consult the linked reviews.

Can't the three of us be friends?

Unlawful Entry 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Unlawful Entry appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on the UHD's triple-layered disc and the Blu-ray's BD-50. Imprint gave some misleading info that the transfers on its two discs are "restored from the original 35mm negative". Scream has corrected this by specifying that the 2160p and 1080p presentations are based on a "4K scan from the 35mm internegative". (The original camera negative must be missing.) I own Fox's 1993 letterboxed LaserDisc and the studio's progressively-encoded, anamorphically-enhanced US DVD from 2001. I will comment on the color timing of those transfers compared to the picture on the latest Scream discs, but first, I offer some observations about the older master used for Blu-rays produced between 2017 and 2024. The German BD contains heavily noise-managed video with an aspect ratio that's opened up to 1.78:1. I don't have the Icon BD but it seems struck from the same master and is even worse because it's encoded in 1080i. The limited edition disc that Scream printed two runs of is probably sourced from the same transfer as it also contains significant filtering. The 2001 disc I have shows some grain management but also retains some grain.

The good news is that the Imprint release Svet reviewed and this late-summer release from Scream boasts (by far) the most grain and texture of any edition on home video. Scream has used the same restoration that Imprint undertook. The UHD and most recent BD sports very small white specks that appear periodically throughout the picture. (The DVD has larger speckles on it [and in different shots/scenes than the 4K and Blu-ray].) I spotted a tiny piece of source-related dirt on the side of Officer Pete Davis's (Ray Liotta) nose on the Scream discs. (See frame enlargement #s 27 and 28.) The dirt doesn't appear on that shot on the LD and DVD. To Imprint's credit, the Australian label has been very careful not to apply any excess filtering to the image. The 4K and Blu-ray do have some issues, though. I share some of our community members' criticisms on this title's forum that David B. Nowell's daylight aerial photography of Los Angeles, which is shown during the opening credits, appears underexposed. It has appeared brighter on other disc releases. Moreover, while the hues of the Carrs' swimming pool are an improvement over how they looked on the DVD, the shades of blue appear arguably in their purest form on the LaserDisc (see Screenshot #33). The color in the pool is near teal on the DVD (#34). It's closer to a natural blue on the recent restoration (capture #s 35 and 36). Please note that the LD and the Scream transfers have a short vertical scratch towards the right side of that overhead shot in an identical frame. (I did not see a scratch on the same shot on the DVD.) The DVD generally displays warmer colors, pink skin tones, and extra brightening in spots (e.g., #22). The recent restoration has made some color corrections.

All that said, colors on the 4K restoration will look under-saturated whether you view the film in Dolby Vision or HDR10. Granted, Unlawful Entry is not a movie where colors will really "pop" whether it receives an HDR application or not. But perhaps if Imprint would have had access to an OCN for a fresh scan, hues could appear denser and richer than they do here. This is not to say that DV and HDR10 doesn't bring out any highlights with the colors. Indeed, the bright colors shining on marquees throughout downtown LA are accented well by the HDR formats. (See a downsampled example in #20.) My video scores for the two transfers are 3.75/5.00 apiece. Please note that the feature seen on the Blu-ray in this set is based on the 4K restoration and not a recycling of Scream's disc from a couple years ago.

Screenshot #s 1-20, 24, 28, 32, 36, & 40 = Scream Factory 2026 Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD BD-100 (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 21, 25, 29, 33, & 37 = Fox Video 1993 LaserDisc (Special Wide Screen Edition) (resized to 720p)
Screenshot #s 22, 26, 30, 34, & 38 = 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 2001 DVD (resized to 720p)
Screenshot #s 23, 27, 31, 35, & 39 = Scream Factory 2026 Collector's Edition BD-50 (from a 4K restoration)

The 111-minute feature receives the standard twelve chapter breaks on both discs. You need to manually skip to a chapter on your remote since the menus don't have any chapter listings.

Unlawful Entry 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (2120 kbps, 16-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1560 kbps, 16-bit). Our users who commented in the the tread for Scream's 2024 release have been wondering whether the 2.0 is merely a fold-down of the 5.1 or a native mix of OGA. I listened to the 2.0 on the most recent release and compared it to the PCM Stereo (16-bit) track on the LD. The two sound very similar to my ears. I gather that this is not a downmix. Dialogue definitely sounds softer on the 2.0 compared to the 5.1. I had some difficulty making out all spoken words for some scenes inside the Carrs' home. I listened to the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track on the DVD, which sounds like both a remaster and an upgrade over audio on the LD. Dialogue is brighter and pitched a tad higher. (It never sounds whiny or distorted.) The mono surrounds on Scream's 2.0 really come to life when Michael Carr (Kurt Russell) goes on a "ride along" with Officer Davis and his partner, Officer Roy Cole (Roger E. Mosley). Panning sounds are effectively used when trains, buses, and other vehicles pass by. The 5.1 opens up the soundscape more than the 2.0, beginning with the main titles where James Horner's primary theme plays.

I have been a fan of Horner's work since I was eight. It has taken me a long time to fully appreciate his score since I first heard it at least a couple decades ago. Horner's main theme is terrific. It contains a pretty yet foreboding piano alternating with what Jeff Bond identifies as an EWI (electronic wind instrument) in the liner notes of La-La Land Records' expanded Unlawful Entry score album. The EWI sounds a lot like a saxophone, which makes a lot of sense for this year since Horner wrote the instrument extensively in for his score to Sneakers. The parts that I feel still don't sound right or work that well is when Horner composes scenes expressly for synths. I agree with Bond that the electronics reflect the coldness of Liotta's character, but the synth drones don't really do anything for the film's overall sound design. Bond argues that the low synths imitate double basses and cellos, which are part of this thriller score's genre associations. But the film would have been better served if Horner would have chosen strings (or even brass) instead to heighten the suspense and underscore moments of climatic action.

Scream's optional English SDH capture the gist of the dialogue, but miss a word or two here and there.

Unlawful Entry 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scream has ported over all extras (including archival bonus features from the R1 Fox DVD) from its 2024 BD and added a recent commentary track. The early '90s interviews with the film's cast/crew members and B-roll footage that appear on the Imprint Blu-ray are not included here.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joe von Appen - this is a very good feature-length commentary by von Appen. He does an excellent job of defining and explaining what an exploitation movie is and offers several examples. Von appen also describes and unpacks the genre traits of exploitation pictures in cinema since the late '70s. In addition, he presents a mini-essay on the "Characters from Hell" series of films that Hollywood began releasing in the late '80s which continued well into the '90s. Von Appen cogently explains how Unlawful Entry fits within this genre and the topical/cyclical production of films. The commentary is also screen specific when he gives his own reading of scenes and the characters' motivations. The second half of the track contains more gaps. Von Appen speaks in both a relaxed and engaging tone. He doesn't bring in a ton of concrete facts about the production, though, and is sketchy about some details. He discusses Kaplan's Over the Edge fairly often and errors when he states that Lawrence Gordon was involved in producing that cult film. Neither Lawrence nor brother Charles Gordon were involved as producers. George Litto was. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary by Director Jonathan Kaplan - in this feature-length track recorded ca. 2001, Kaplan spends a lot of time narrating and describing what's occurring on screen and a viewer's possible interpretations of the movie's story events. The commentary becomes really good, however, when the director shares anecdotes about the filming of Unlawful Entry and what happened to a pivotal sequence in the editing room. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joe von Appen - this is a very good feature-length commentary by von Appen. He does an excellent job of defining and explaining what an exploitation movie is and offers several examples. Von appen also describes and unpacks the genre traits of exploitation pictures in cinema since the late '70s. In addition, he presents a mini-essay on the "Characters from Hell" series of films that Hollywood began releasing in the late '80s which continued well into the '90s. Von Appen cogently explains how Unlawful Entry fits within this genre and the topical/cyclical production of films. The commentary is also screen specific when he gives his own reading of scenes and the characters' motivations. The second half of the track contains more gaps. Von Appen speaks in both a relaxed and engaging tone. He doesn't bring in a ton of concrete facts about the production, though, and is sketchy about some details. He discusses Kaplan's Over the Edge fairly often and errors when he states that Lawrence Gordon was involved in producing that cult film. Neither Lawrence nor brother Charles Gordon were involved as producers. George Litto was. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary by Director Jonathan Kaplan - in this feature-length track recorded ca. 2001, Kaplan spends a lot of time narrating and describing what's occurring on screen and a viewer's possible interpretations of the movie's story events. The commentary becomes really good, however, when the director shares anecdotes about the filming of Unlawful Entry and what happened to a pivotal sequence in the editing room. In English, not subtitled.

• Unrestrained Realism: Inside the Films of Jonathan Kaplan – Interview with Director Jonathan Kaplan (28:27, 1080p)

• Too Tightly Wound: Inside the Filming of UNLAWFUL ENTRY – Interview with Cinematographer Jamie Anderson (17:41, 1080p)

• Symphonic Intruder: Inside the Thriller Scores of James Horner – Interview with Film Music Historian Daniel Schweiger (18:49, 1080p)

• Making-of Featurette (4:35, upconverted to 1080i)

• Theatrical Trailer (1:45, upconverted to 1080p)

• Two TV Spots (1:09, upconverted to 1080p)

Unlawful Entry 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Unlawful Entry is the type of stylish and lurid thriller that Hollywood used to make, but doesn't anymore. Ray Liotta's interpretation and execution of the character Lewis Colick scripted for his police officer is impeccable. The movie works best when there's a psychological interplay going on between the Russell, Stowe, and Liotta characters. I feel that the first half of the picture is the stronger of the two. But Colick and Kaplan skillfully toy with the viewer's expectations of what this thriller sub-genre can (and cannot) deliver during the climax.

I want to be clear that, along with the Imprint package, Scream Factory's 4K UHD/Blu-ray set is a major upgrade over all BDs that preceded it. No DNR has been applied. I just feel that the color palette is underwhelming and that a few additional color corrections could also make it better. The 5.1 Surround is definitely the preferred track of the two. If you're a fan of Unlawful Entry and haven't gotten one of the 4Ks yet, it makes significant financial sense to pick up Scream's package since you won't have to spend well into the triple figures to get it in a box set (which doesn't have any other 4Ks included). A SOLID RECOMMENDATION.