Arrow Video
4K UHD Release: December 17, 2024
Video: 2.40:1/2160p (HDR10/Dolby Vision)/ColorÂ
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Run Time: 115:02
Director: Marco Brambilla
In 2032, arch criminal Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) awakens from a 35-year deep freeze in CryoPrison to find a world where crime is almost non-existent – a serene utopia ripe for the taking. With the police no longer equipped to deal with his 90s-style brutality, they revive 'Demolition Man' Sgt. John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), the no-holds-barred police officer unjustly sentenced to CryoPrison, who originally took Phoenix down. Old-school cop against old-school criminal, settling their scores on the streets of San Angeles? The future won't know what's hit it. (From Arrow’s official synopsis)
The general pattern of Hollywood dystopian fiction throughout the decades has been to acknowledge, criticize, and/or satirize the current political culture, erring on the conservative side of the political paradigm. Late ‘60s and early ‘70s dystopian movies tended to depict glittering futuristic paradises harboring horrifying secrets and spectacular human rights abuse. During the Reagan era, movies about post-apocalyptic, nuclear hellscapes sat side-by-side with movies about extreme Neoconservative dystopias, like Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop (1987) and Paul Michael Glaser’s The Running Man (1987). ‘90s science fiction tended to exploit fears of developing internet and robotics technologies, but there was at least one movie that gave us a glimpse of a possible Neoliberal dystopia – Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man (1993).
In Demolition Man, unbridled capitalism has allowed Taco Bell to completely monopolize the food industry, all televised entertainment is now commercials, the political vacuum has been filled with pointless nanny-state policies, and the streets are flooded with ineffectual, but polite cops who issue citations for hurtful language. It’s a funny appraisal of left and right wing critiques of the Clinton era. This world is unprepared for the ‘Superpredators’ of the 1990s (a now debunked concept) and that the only way to fight a psychopath like Simon Phoenix is a good, old-fashioned hero cop from an era when American culture celebrated fascist vigilantism. It’s a genuinely compelling basis for a sci-fi action movie, especially one with an attempted satirical edge, and the filmmakers have plenty of constructive things to say about San Angeles' ignorance of dire socio-economic problems.
Given screenwriter (or screen-re-writer) Daniel Waters’ pedigree as the writer of Heathers (1989) and the fact that he reportedly pitched his version of Demolition Man as the action movie version of Woody Allen’s Sleeper (1973), it seems unlikely that he intended to make the case for police brutality, especially one year after the L.A. Riots. More likely, he intended it as satire fodder, in the spirit of Verhoeven’s RoboCop and Total Recall (1990), and I suspect that there was a version of Demolition Man that was more comfortable making fun of its hero, rather than treating him as the straight man to an entire world of politically correct dweebs. This might be confirmed with the knowledge that Night of the Creeps (1986) writer/director Fred Dekker’s uncredited rewrite added the entire 1996 prologue that establishes John Spartan’s bold gallantry (i.e. useful violence).
Demolition Man has always felt like a movie existing in the shadow of Verhoeven’s era-defining work, which is all smarter, more vibrant, and more rewarding on a character level. While Brambilla’s slick direction, beautiful production design, and well-executed action scenes (the car chase and Spartan & Phoenix’s final fight are both particularly good) help keep the film’s head above water, the key ingredient is definitely Wesley Snipes, at the height of his popularity, positively devouring every scene he’s in. Sandra Bullock is also good and I’m glad Demolition Man led her to greater things, but Snipes really gives the movie a reason to exist and the film suffers anytime he’s not on screen.
Headliner Sylvester Stallone was still a proper action hero in 1993 and plays a good straight man, when he’s not mumbling his way through unnecessary exposition. He went back to the sci-fi dystopia well in 1995 for a big budget adaptation of 2000 A.D. comics character Judge Dredd. That film is uncannily similar to this one – everything from its tone to its production design, its climax, and Rob Schneider in a comic relief role – and Demolition Man itself fits the ironic vibe of other 2000 A.D. titles, albeit with a friendlier Hollywood shell (again, similar to Stallone’s Judge Dredd). Of course, RoboCop was also heavily inspired by 2000 A.D., so who knows if this was a case of Stallone trying to make his own RoboCop or if he really had Dredd in mind from the beginning? Did he read a lot of British comic books?
A conceptual video artist and commercial director by trade, Demolition Man was Brambilla’s feature debut, to be followed by only one other theatrically released film, the Alicia Silverstone crime comedy Excess Baggage (1997). Funnily enough, he followed that up with a miniseries based on James Gurney’s Dinotopia (2002), which depicts, as the title indicates, a utopian world where dinosaurs and humans live in harmony. His most recent contributions to popular culture have been Metaverse VR projects and NFTs, which seems perhaps too on the nose for the director of Demolition Man.
Video
Demolition Man debuted on special edition DVD in 1997 and (nearly) barebones Blu-ray in 2011. Both editions appear to be OOP. This UHD debut, which coincides with a new Blu-ray collection, was made using a new 4K restoration of the original 35mm camera negative, approved by Brambilla, and presented in 2160p, 2.40:1 with an HDR10/Dolby Vision upgrade. I wasn’t sent a Blu-ray copy and cannot get screencaps from a UHD, so the images on this page are taken from an older Warner Bros. Blu-ray transfer and are included only for editorial purposes.Â
Cinematographer Alex Thomson’s colorful and eclectic photography is a nice fit for the extra added dynamic range of Dolby Vision, offering nice contrast between moody shadows and searing explosions. The brightest shots sometimes exhibit a slight blockiness and composite shots are particularly gritty, but overall grain appears accurate for an early ‘90s 35mm production. Details aren’t oversharpened and leave plenty of room for Thomson’s diffused lighting techniques and occasional soft focus. For fun, this collection includes both the domestic version of the movie, in which Taco Bell is the final restaurant, and the international version, where Pizza Hut fills the role.
Audio
Demolition Man is presented with two main audio options – the original 5.1 in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio and a new Dolby Atmos remix. The film was made in the early days of mainstream digital audio mixing, back when sound designers were cramming as much directional noise as they could into the stereo and surround speakers. It’s sometimes a little silly, but also always fun to revisit this era and the Atmos remix expands the scope just a tad. Elliot Goldenthal’s score helps class-up the joint with a big fusion of orchestral and electronic sounds. The cues that underline Snipes’ character’s antics would all make great Joker themes.
Extras
Commentary with director Marco Brambilla and screenwriter Daniel Waters – This overall informative look at the production is a surprisingly defensive track. I suppose it makes sense, given the struggles the team had making the film and the initially acrimonious critical reception.
Commentary with Mike White – The Projection Booth podcast host generally celebrates the film, exploring its references, inspirations, and wider careers of the cast & crew, while digging into interview archives to give us a better idea of earlier renditions of the film, specifically original screenwriter Peter Lenkov’s extremely dark version.
Commentary with Marco Brambilla and producer Joel Silver – This track was recorded for the original DVD. There’s some overlap with the new director/screenwriter track, but Silver tends to take control of the conversation and Brambilla isn’t free to talk a little shit.
Somewhere over the Rambo (17:01, HD) – Senses of Cinema critic Josh Nelson discusses the film’s connections to the L.A. Riots, the stories and movies that inspired it (including references to Wizard of Oz and Playtime), and Stallone’s screen persona informing the roleÂ
Demolition Design (14:14, HD) – An interview with production designer David L. Snyder, who also worked on Blade Runner, looks back on the era, being hired by Silver, his work on the film, and various production hardships.
Cryo Action (5:53, HD) – Stunt coordinator Charles Percini talks about his career and considerable responsibilities on the film, given Brambilla’s lack of experience.
Biggs' Body Shop (5:46, HD) – Special make-up effects artist Chris Biggs quickly discusses his contributions, specifically Snipes’ hair, the severed eyeball, and Sandra Bullock’s briefly glimpsed breast augmentations.
Tacos and Hockey Pucks (9:55, HD) – The Arrow-exclusive interviews come to an end with ‘body effects set coordinator’ Jeff Farley, who walks us through the process of making a giant, naked Sylvester Stallones and Wesley Snipeses.
Image gallery
Theatrical trailer
The images on this page are taken from Warner Bros.' original Blu-ray – NOT Arrow’s 4K UHD – and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.
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