Repo Man (Criterion Collection): 4K UHD Review
A year before becoming a star with The Breakfast Club, Emilio Estevez got his first leading role in writer/director Alex Cox’s satirical sci-fi/dark comedy, Repo Man, which co-starred Harry Dean Stanton. While it was not a box office hit, since the studio didn’t have a confidence in Cox’s film to give it much of a marketing push, Repo Man earned nearly universal praise from critics. It would go on to earn a following on VHS and cable and has since gone on to become a cult film. Earlier this month Criterion released Repo Man on 4K UHD for the first time.
Los Angeles punk, Otto Maddox (Estevez) just got fired from his job. His girlfriend cheated on him with his friend and his parents gave the money they were saving for him to a televangelist. Needless-to-say, he is not all that happy with the way his life is going. One day Otto gets tricked into repossessing a car by seasoned Repo Man, Bud (Stanton) and winds up being offered a job in the process. Otto clearly doesn’t think much of the profession, but it’s hard for him to ignore the seemingly easy cash. So, Bud takes Otto under his wing and starts to teach him lessons about not only the job, but life as well. Otto learns from fellow repo man Lite (Sy Richardson) and Miller (Tracey Walter).
When a $20k bounty comes up on a Chevy Malibu, Otto and Bud try to locate the vehicle and collect the payout. However, another group of repo men, the Rodriguez brothers are also on the lookout for that car, and they are a much more aggressive group. What none of the repo guys realize is that government agents put up the bounty and in the trunk of that car is some sort of radioactive alien object that will kill anyone who opens it. The alien elements of the story are the least interesting here. Repo Man is a Reagan era film with a handful of political realizations. The further along we get into the narrative, the clearer things get and not everything is what we were being led to believe. While Estevez is good here, it is Stanton that steals every scene, and he is also the funniest.
While punk rock was never really my thing, the soundtrack is truly impressive, featuring the likes of The Plugz, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies and Iggy Pop. While Criterion’s 2013 Blu-ray release delivered a solid presentation, the new 2160p presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR is a huge step up. We are given a clear and natural looking image. The Los Angeles locations look detailed and sharp. A perfect example of how great this new 4K presentation looks is in an early scene within Otto’s job at the grocery store. Another sequence in the deserted fashion district in downtown Los Angeles looks fantastic. As for audio, we only get an English LPCM 1.0 audio track. While nothing really stands out, aside from the crystal-clear dialogue, I hoped we could have gotten some sort of audio upgrade. While not being much of a punk music guy, I can’t say I was missing out on a blasting soundtrack. The 1.0 audio is serviceable. The big selling point for this release is the incredible visual presentation.
Bonus Content:
- New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Alex Cox, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary featuring Cox, executive producer Michael Nesmith, casting director Victoria Thomas, and actors Sy Richardson, Zander Schloss, and Del Zamora
- Interviews with musicians Iggy Pop and Keith Morris and actors Dick Rude, Olivia Barash, and Miguel Sandoval
- Deleted scenes
- Roundtable discussion about the making of the film, featuring Cox, Richardson, Rude, Zamora, and producers Peter McCarthy and Jonathan Wacks
- Conversation between McCarthy and actor Harry Dean Stanton
- Cox’s “cleaned-up” television version of the film
- Trailers
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Sam McPheeters, an illustrated production history by Cox, and a 1987 interview with real-life repo man Mark Lewis
By: Marc Ferman