Where do you go after completing an epic trilogy of sci-fi/action films that kicked off with the groundbreaking debut of The Matrix and then continued through two fairly maligned sequels?
If you're the Wachowski sisters, Lana and Lilly, you update a favorite from your childhood and bring Speed Racer into the 21st century. It was mostly ignored on release, but the years have seen more and more defenders step up to praise the high-octane film for families of all ages.
The Racer family has already lost one son to the dangerous world of auto racing, but their other son, Speed (Emile Hirsch), is carrying on the family name -- and the world is taking notice. They're an independent outfit, and nefarious corporate interests soon come sniffing around, but when the Racers defy the request to metaphorically sell their souls, those interests turn up the heat. It all comes down to one big race, and Speed puts it all on the line for his family, himself, and the sport itself.
A confession -- this is my first watch of Speed Racer. I've tried a couple times before, but the aesthetic just left me indifferent to the point that I cut out early. This new 4K UHD release from Warner Bros. gave me another shot at a first-time watch, and it's arguably the best possible way to experience it.
The sharpness of the animation, the stylistic blend of live-action and green screen, and the colors... the colors! The film is gorgeous, and it stuns to the point that it delivers such vibrant colors that I really didn't think my TV was capable of, and now I'm wondering why other films are so lacking.
This is a disc that I will wholly recommend to every 4K player owner -- even though it's pretty underwhelming in the script and character departments. Again, it's a family film and will absolutely delight kids interested in car antics, but us older viewers will have to settle for a lightweight movie elevated by reference grade video and audio presentations. Seriously, the last film to wow like this on the visual front was Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (although that one delivers with its characters and emotions).
Warner Bros.' new 4K release doesn't include a Blu-ray, but that's okay as you'll only want to be playing the UHD with Dolby Vision and the new Dolby Atmos sound mix. You expect sharp details and bold colors, but this disc blows away even the highest expectations. The entirety looks fantastic, but it's during the race scenes -- particularly the Grand Prix finale -- where the screen shoots a joy-filled rainbow into your eyes. As mentioned above, I'm fairly indifferent to the script and characters, but these scenes alone make the film irresistible.
The extras include "Fast Future Family: Speed Racer Revisited," a new interview with the Wachowskis recorded shortly after they completed a rewatch, and it's a terrific sit down with the filmmakers. Their emotional connection to the film even years later is as clear as their intellectual choices when making it. Other extras include older featurettes focused on young Paulie Litt, the challenge and thrill of adapting the original cartoon into something far bigger, the vehicular action sequences, and a scripted bit about the Racer family.
Ned Racine (William Hurt) is a small-town lawyer sucked into the sweaty vortex of a lonely and very wealthy housewife named Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner). To be clear, it's her husband's money, but if Ned will only help her, the two of them can come together as millionaires free to fool around without having to hide their affection. Help her how? By murdering the husband, obviously.
Kasdan updates the noir genre in one very specific way -- he's made a noir that is hot as hell. The expected bits are there, from the double and triple-crosses to the morally challenged characters caught up in bad behaviors, but the sexuality is fully charged, drenched in perspiration (to be fair, every character here is sweating their ass off), and sensually explicit. The nudity is technically fairly limited to boobs and butts, but it all feels dangerous and authentic. You believe that Ned is in way over his head, but you can see, smell, and feel why that's the case. It's incredible stuff.
The plotting of it all goes in fairly expected directions, but it's no less effective, engaging, and entertaining for it. We're pulled in, almost as deep as Ned, and the various character moves find an energy of their own that you just know is leading us down a road to ruin. It's a journey you'll be happy to take.
Criterion's new 4K release captures the film's hazy beauty with beads of sweat being clear and detailed, even as the softness of the lens maintains a dreamy atmosphere. It's a sultry picture given its due with this release. The extras include a brand-new interview with Kasdan about his script, his direction, the production, his love of film noir, and more.
We also get a new interview with editor Carol Littleton and film scholar Bobbie O'Steen about her work on the film, her ongoing collaborations with Kasdan, how "characters reveal themselves in the scenes" rather than through exposition, and more. Also included are older featurettes on the three stages of production, a pair of interviews with Hurt and Turner from 1981, and nearly ten minutes of deleted scenes.
Walker (Lee Marvin) is a thief pulling a three-person job, but he's left for dead when his partners in crime shoot him full of lead and take his cut. He survives, though, and he's determined to get the ninety-three grand that he's owed -- and if that means he has to blast his way all the way to the top of a criminal organization, so be it.
This is just such a beautifully simple and effective setup, and it makes Walker -- Parker in the book and in the later adaptations -- an undeniably charismatic and appealing character. There's an honor to him, as he only wants what he's owed and is very matter of fact about getting it back. Marvin excels here with fairly minimal dialogue and a no-nonsense tone, and the supporting cast is equally strong. It's an incredibly fun thriller, and this recent rewatch is enough to get me to finally seek out Westlake's novels. (He wrote 24 Parker books!)
Criterion's new release gives the film an already controversial 4K restoration. It was supervised by Boorman himself, but the color grading varies noticeably from the original release and even from the previous Warner Archive Blu-ray. It's rough in a head-to-head comparison, but I'm of the opinion that it's not a deal breaker for viewers who aren't comparing it to that earlier version. It's perfectly fine on its own, again, provided you don't compare it to the earlier Blu-ray. That said, it makes it hard to recommend this release over the previous Blu...
The UHD includes a commentary track from 2005 with Boorman and Steven Soderbergh. New extras on the Blu-ray include author Mark Harris providing some thoughts on the film and its director, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch talking about his love for the movie and Marvin, a location tour with film historian Alison Martino, and a 2023 conversation between Boorman and film critic Geoff Dyer. We also get older extras including a short documentary on Alcatraz Island and a 1970 episode of the Dick Cavett show with guest Lee Marvin.
Ding On (Vincent Zhao) is a blacksmith who's offered the chance to take over as boss, but he chooses a different path instead. He's discovered that his father was murdered and sets off to avenge him, but a scuffle to save a damsel in distress leaves him one arm short and left for dead. He recovers, learns a one-armed sword fighting style, and returns to his quest for revenge.
As mentioned, Tsui's stylized nod to the wuxia genre was not well-received on release, and it's easy to see why, even as you watch the film and recognize it as a classic. People were expecting something more traditional, and Tsui wasn't interested in giving it to them.
Instead, he delivers a wuxia that presses viewers' faces into the blood, mud, and action. Characters are captured up close, colors are used affect tone and atmosphere, and its riff on The One-Armed Swordsman takes unexpected detours that feel intentionally off kilter. It's another fantastic piece of Hong Kong cinema finally getting the treatment it deserves.
Criterion's new dual disc release features the expected 4K digital restoration, and the results are undeniably strong. It helps that the film was only available previously in disc releases that left a lot to be desired, but the picture here is bold and detailed with depth to the darkness and a richness to the colors.
Both discs include a new commentary track by Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng, and other extras are on the Blu-ray. We get a new video essay by filmmakers Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou on the wuxia genre, and the older extras include a 2006 documentary on the film's production and a 2011 film festival Q&A with Tsui.