Demolition Man [Limited Edition] 4K Ultra HD Review

1993’s Demolition Man, the directorial debut for Marco Brambilla, is a sci-fi action film starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, and Nigel Hawthorne.

A dystopian sci-fi action/comedy film, Stallone plays John Spartan, officer with a reputation for causing damage wherever he goes, hence he becomes known as “the demolition man.” In the opening scene we meet Spartan in 1996 as he is trying to rescue hostages from super criminal Simon Phoenix (Snipes), and it goes sideways. The building he raided explodes in flames, the hostages are found buried under rubble, and Spartan is in serious trouble with his superiors. Although he did manage to apprehend Phoenix, Spartan is sentenced to be cryogenically frozen.

In 2032, Phoenix manages to escape during one of his annual parole hearings when he is awoken from being cryogenically frozen and at once begins a murderous onslaught that the people of this now utopian authoritarian society where all aggressive behavior and culture are banned, including cursing, weapons, even pop music are banned, are unprepared to deal with him. They turn to John Spartan who they awaken to capture Phoenix and they partner him with Lt. Lenina Huxley (Bullock), a naïve law enforcement officer with an obsession with all things having to do with the 20^th century.

The film alludes to many science fiction works such as Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World and H. G. Wells’ The Sleeper Awakes. As far as other genre films from the era that took on the rise of fascism and dystopian societies, the film that most closely resembles Demolition Man, and more successfully conveys its subversive messaging is 1997’s Starship Troopers from Paul Verhoeven.

Demolition Man did help to resurrected Sly Stone’s career which had been heading into a slump coming off of the big Rocky and Rambo films of the 1970s and 1980s, but the market was shifting, and he hadn’t been able to transition as well as his box office rival Schwarzenegger. With its outlandish action and ridiculous dialogue (“We’re police officers! We’re not trained to handle this kind of violence!”) give the film a lot of popcorn entertainment value.

This Limited Edition release from Arrow Video contains both the Domestic and International cuts of the film. The International cut removes references to and logos for Taco Bell and replaces them with Pizza Hut as they are both owned by the same company and producers felt overseas audiences would be more familiar with the latter brand.

Purchase Demolition Man [Limited Edition] 4K Ultra HD on Amazon.com

The Video

Arrow Films have exclusively restored both the Domestic and International versions of Demolition Man. The 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K 16 bit at Warner Bros./Motion Picture Imaging. Additional film material was scanned for the sections unique to the International version. The film was restored in 4K and color graded at Silver Salt Restoration. Director Marco Brambilla approved the newly restored master.

The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 in an HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement. The grain looks natural across the entire transfer although it does vary in density and crispness and so does detail sometimes waver. That is not to say this ever looks smooth, unnatural, or intolerably soft. On the contrary, Demolition Man on 4K looks amazing for a film of this nature from 1993. The Dolby Vision grading also provides extended shadow details and good pop in the highlights. From the very opening scene, the flames as Stallone and Snipes are going at it look three-dimensional and have good gardients of color and detail.

The Audio

Demolition Man comes with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes sourced from Warner Bros. and an Atmos mix produced by Arrow Films completed at Deluxe Audio, London. The Atmos Mix has a good balance of effects and height awareness with little noise and strong dynamics. It sounds weak in the low-end to my ears, but so does the 5.1 mix. The 5.1 mix has subtly more extension in the lower frequencies. In the opening scene, as an example, as the explosions go off, there is very little impact where you would expect it. There are other areas as well, such as during the scene where Stallone crashes his police cruiser. In the Atmos mix there is barely a thud, and it is slightly deeper on the 5.1 mix.  Compared to some of the recent Atmos remixes of even older films such as North by Northwest and Blazing Saddles, this remix for what is an action film with plenty of opportunity to let loose is somewhat disappointing. Arrow’s sound designers have played it a little too conservatively with this mix, changing very little from the 5.1 mix and in fact, making it a little more anemic in the low end.

The Supplements

Arrow shines as always in the inclusion of special features and extras with this release, including a host of new interviews, two new audio commentaries, and more.

Limited Edition Contents:

• 60-page perfect bound collector’s book featuring new writing by film critics Clem Bastow, William Bibbiani, Priscilla Page and Martyn Pedler
• Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
• 6 postcard sized artcards
• ’Three Seashells’ and ‘Edgar Friendly graffiti’ stickers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
• Domestic and International Cuts of the film, both fully restored in 4K from the original 35 mm camera negative.

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Director Marco Brambilla & Screenwriter Daniel Waters (2024) (NEW)
• Audio Commentary by Film Critic Mike White (2024) (NEW)
• Audio Commentary with Director Marco Brambilla & Producer Joel Silver
• Somewhere Over the Rambo (NEW) (1080p; 00:17:01) – A new visual essay by film scholar Josh Nelson. Recorded exclusively for Arrow Video in 2024.
• Demolition Design (NEW) (1080p; 00:14:14) – An interview with production designer David L. Snyder. Filmed exclusively for Arrow Video in 2024.
• Cryo Action (NEW) (00:05:53) – An interview with stunt coordinator Charles Percini. Filmed exclusively for Arrow Video in 2024.
• Biggs’ Body Shoppe (NEW) (1080p; 00:05:46) – An interview with special make-up effects artist Chris Biggs. Filmed exclusively for Arrow Video in 2024.
• Tacos and Hockey Pucks (NEW) (1080p; 00:09:55) – An interview with body effects set coordinator Jeff Farley. Filmed exclusively for Arrow Video in 2024.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 00:02:06)
• Image Gallery (1080p)

The Final Assessment

Arrow Video delivers the goods for this 1990s action classic starring three of the biggest stars of the era. It looks great and the sound is acceptable even if a little boring for an action film of this nature. The solid restoration and abundance of bonus features make recommending this a no-brainer.

Demolition Man [Limited Edition] is out on 4K Ultra HD December 17, 2024 from Arrow Video

Purchase Demolition Man [Limited Edition] 4K Ultra HD on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: R (for non-stop action violence, and for strong language)
• Studios & Distributors: Warner Bros. | Silver Pictures | Arrow Video
• Director: Marco Brambilla
• Written By: Peter M. Lenkov | Robert Reneau | Daniel Waters
• Run Time: 115 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• Primary Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible)
• Secondary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 | English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Street Date: 17 December 2024