7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
When the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
Starring: Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae, Deborah HarmonDark humor | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
1980’s “Used Cars” represents a “strike three” of sorts for co-writers Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis (who also directs). The pair were hot stuff in Hollywood for a short time, managing to befriend Steven Spielberg, using such partnership to make movies. However, nobody was particularly responsive to those movies, with Gale and Zemeckis’s careers hit with the failure of their first endeavor, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” (a sublime comedy), and they accepted part of the blame for the underperformance of Spielberg’s “1941” (an underappreciated film), handling scripting duties. “Used Cars” was meant to build the boys back up (with assistance from Spielberg, here as an executive producer), handling a slapstick comedy about used car salesmen and their love of unscrupulous business practices, and while they provide a wild ride of one-upmanship and crazed antics, the feature’s dismal box office performance kept Gale and Zemeckis out of work for years, finally claiming industry success together in a major way with 1985’s “Back to the Future.” The fourth at-bat changed everything.
Screencaps are collected from the Blu-ray.
"Used Cars" was previously issued on Blu-ray with two separate releases, most recently in 2019 via Shout Factory. The company returns to the title with
a UHD release, sourced from a "New 4K" scan, "remastered from the original camera negative." The Dolby Vision presentation brings decent life to the
film's use of color, delivering bright primaries on automobile paint jobs and decorative signs. Richer hues are also found on costuming and lighting, and
Arizona sights are handled with vivid desertscapes and big blue skies. Skin tones are natural. Detail captures facial surfaces and skin particulars,
exploring age and illness, and costuming is fibrous, offering a tour of polyester suits. City tours retain depth, and office spaces are loaded with
appreciable decoration. Highlights are decent, but a few blown-out areas of lighting are encountered. Delineation is
satisfactory, retaining deep blacks with evening events. Grain is heavy and somewhat inconsistent, possibly reflecting original cinematography. Encoding
also slips a bit from time to time. Source is in good condition, but there's one shot at the 9:13 mark that appears damaged.
Perhaps this is an inherent issue.
This "Used Cars" release defaults to a 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix, which seems to be the more appropriate option for the film. There's a 5.1 DTS-HD MA track as well, hoping to satisfy home theater fans, but the 2.0 handles with appealing clarity and frontal force, capturing sharp dialogue exchanges and excitable performance choices, with nothing slipping into distortive extremes. Scoring is distinct, delivering comedic support with sharp instrumentation, and orchestral swells for the big finale registers with authority. Sound effects are snappy, and atmospherics are appreciable.
"Used Cars" carries on for a bit too long, but Zemeckis and Gale do manage to revive a slightly sagging feature with an energetic and heroically stunt- heavy final act, which involves a "cattle drive" of cars across the desert. The sequence delivers cheeky mayhem the writers are known for, but Gale and Zemeckis have a big imagination for their endeavor, sustaining a sense of goofiness and anarchy that's wildly appealing, even when it slips out of their control at times. "Used Cars" isn't quite as joyous as "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," but it's such a rascally, spirited demolition derby of egos, idiocy, and predatory behaviors.
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