The Fugitive: 4K UHD Review
Celebrating its’ 30th anniversary this year is director Andrew Davis’ 1993 action-thriller, The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. In the 90’s, we got a lot of movies based on 1960’s television shows. There were the bad ones like, Wild Wild West, My Favorite Martian, The Avengers (the other one), there were mildly entertaining ones like The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Flintstones and there were the great ones like The Addams Family, Mission: Impossible and of course, The Fugitive which arrived on 4K UHD this week for the first time.
Set in 1992 Chicago, Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) has just been handed a death sentence for the brutal murder of his wife, Helen (Sela Ward). The thing is, Kimble is innocent. His wife was killed by a one-armed home intruder. However, all evidence pointed to Richard. While being transferred to Death Row via prison bus, some of the inmates try to make a break for it, causing the bus to collide with a train. After Kimble helps one of the wounded guards to safety, one of the prisoners helps unchain the doctor and he proceeds to run for his life.
In comes Deputy US Marshall Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and his team, which includes the awesome Joe Pantoliano as Deputy U.S. Marshal Cosmo Renfro. They take over the investigation since the local authorities don’t seem to take their job too seriously. This is where the manhunt for Richard Kimble begins. While Gerard will stop at nothing to find the escaped prisoner, Kimble will stop at nothing to find his wife’s killer and clear his name.
The Fugitive is truly an awesome movie, and it makes sense that it was nominated for 7 Academy Awards. Jones won for Best Supporting Actor and even got his own not-as-successful spin-off, U.S. Marshalls six years later. The 90’s was a great time for action-thrillers, and this was definitely one of the best ones. It also has held up incredibly well over the last three decades.
The new 4K restoration was overseen by director Andrew Davis and was sourced from the original camera negative. This new 2160p with HDR10 presentation looks quite glorious. The location shots around Chicago look incredibly detailed and cinematographer Michael Chapman’s eye gets quite a refresher here. However, it is Davis who knew best where to film in the city. The city view outside the U.S. Marshalls’ office window also looks crystal clear. The new Dolby Atmos mix is also impressive. From the train crash to the iconic water dam dive to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade chase, the new audio mix slightly improves on the already great DTS-HD 5.1 mix.
Included on the disk are some legacy bonus features that were included in the previous Blu-ray. Nothing new in the form of extras. However, the presentation alone is worth the upgrade. If you are a fan of The Fugitive, this new disk is definitely worth adding to your collection.
Bonus Features:
- Introduction by Andrew Davis and Harrison Ford
- Commentary by Andrew Davis and Tommy Lee Jones
- “The Fugitive: Thrill of the Chase”
- “On the Run with the Fugitive”
- “Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck”
- Theatrical Trailer
By: Marc Ferman