3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

In both its content and execution, Repo Man succeeds at capturing a mood, an attitude, the vibe of the era and the place where it was created, and is without a doubt the most punk movie I’ve ever seen. (Liquid Sky comes pretty close, but I don’t want to start a whole East Coast/West Coast feud.) An eighteen-year-old bad boy (Emilio Estevez) is lured by an old-timer (Harry Dean Stanton) into the wild world of repossessing cars from L.A. drivers past due on their loans, and a spree of music, mayhem, and motor vehicles is soon underway.

One much-sought-after vehicle in particular has a trunkful of rapidly decaying extraterrestrial cadavers that emit a deadly glow, imparting a sci-fi twist and a sense of dramatic urgency while also whimsically indulging writer/director Alex Cox’s fondness for Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly.

Repo Man has lost none of its charm 40 years on, a comedy that keeps viewers off-balance as we never know what people will say or do next and what (if anything) it all means. A great many lines are eminently quotable, too.

Criterion’s new disc release is born of a fresh 4K restoration from the original camera negative, approved by Cox and presented at his preferred screen-filling 16:9 aspect ratio rather than the theatrical 1.85:1. Film grain is significant throughout and the mild video flicker inherent to the opening credits is faithfully maintained. Focus is seldom razor-sharp but colors, especially in the magic-hour photography, can be quite lovely. Blacks can appear noticeably crushed in some scenes, compromising an otherwise enjoyable 2160p image.

Somewhat surprisingly considering the many wicked tunes on display--including Iggy Pop’s title track in regular and instrumental flavors--the only audio option is true mono (1.0) LPCM, yet it works just fine. The dialogue, music and effects are perfectly balanced, and all of these elements are given room to breathe without feeling clipped.

The respectable list of bonus content matches that on Criterion’s 2013 Blu-ray with no new additions. The vintage 2000 audio commentary with the director, executive producer Michael Nesmith and others appears on both the 4K and HD discs in this set, with all of the featurettes and so forth on the HD platter. The standout for me is the 97-minute, 4:3 TV version of Repo Man, padded with deleted scenes and with the profanity swapped out plus all of the drug references removed. The companion booklet includes Cox’s elaborate, illustrated history of this fascinating production.

Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray
Criterion Collection, 1984
ASPECT RATIO: 1.78:1
HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
AUDIO FORMATS: Linear PCM 1.0
LENGTH: 92 mins.
MPAA RATING: R
DIRECTOR: Alex Cox
STARRING: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash, Sy Richardson, Susan Barnes