DEMOLITION MAN (1993)
3 stars
Arrow Video. 4K UHD. Out Now
Cool opening – it is 1996 and the Hollywood sign in flames. A maniac has hijacked a bus with 30 passengers on board. A helicopter carrying Detective John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone) is in pursuit as he thinks it is one Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) who is the perpetrator. Leaping from the chopper, gunplay and fighting ensues. He arrests him but the building they were in explodes, with the hostages inside, so it is not difficult to see why Spartan has the nickname ‘Demolition Man’.
Our ‘hero’ is blamed for the deaths and is sentenced (alongside Phoenix) to a long stretch in a sub zero prison facility where they are both put into cryo-stasis and whilst they are frozen their behaviour will be altered to rehabilitate them.
Spin forward to 2032: the seemingly utopian San Angeles has been formed from LA, San Diego and Santa Barbara. The police still exist but have little or no crime to deal with in this apparently peaceful community. Lt Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock) is an enthusiastic officer with the SAPD, who is fascinated by the 20th century (she even has a poster of Lethal Weapon 3 up in her office space).
Phoenix is up for a parole hearing – and of course he manages to escape. He commits a code 187 – Murder. Death. Kill. So clearly the rehabilitation has failed. The officers are shocked, as this kind of thing never happens and these modern cops can’t cope with such a violent criminal.
The only way to combat this murderous miscreant… you guessed it, to thaw out Spartan.
An entertainingly daft slice of action sci fi, this has Snipes really relishing his role (despite his silly hair), Stallone being prime Stallone and a perky Bullock, just before she hit big with SPEED the following year. The film, the directorial debut of Marco Brambilla, looks fab in 4K – you get both the US version and the International Version (where they swapped out Taco Bell for Pizza Hut). There’s a nice line of humour, including a good Schwarzenegger joke, and Bullock’s character mangling old sayings from the previous century, plus Spartan being constantly penalised for swearing.
Steve Kirkham
EXTRAS
Three audio commentaries – director Marco Brambilla and screenwriter Daniel Waters; film historian Mike White of the Projection Booth podcast; Archival one with Marco Brambilla and producer Joel Silver
Somewhere Over the Rambo – a visual essay (which seem to be the in thing these days) by film scholar Josh Nelson (17 mins)
Demolition Design – interview with production designer David L. Snyder (14 mins)
Cryo Action – interview with stunt coordinator Charles Percini (5 mins)
Biggs’ Body Shoppe – interview with special make-up effects artist Chris Biggs
Tacos and Hockey Pucks – interview with body effects set coordinator Jeff Farley (9 mins)
Theatrical trailer and Image gallery
Plus with this Limited Edition you get 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 and reversible sleeve featuring original and 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
