1994 Movies

‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Movie and 4K/Blu-ray Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

As of this writing, “The Shawshank Redemption” is the #1 rated movie on IMDB. I know it has been #1 many times in the past, and it has also been #2 right below “The Godfather.” It is based on a short novel by Stephen King called “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.”  This film is now 27-years-old and has not aged a bit.  It is the same with any great film. The more you watch it, the more you grow to appreciate it. The term “feel good” movie might sound overdone when it comes to certain movies, but this is one which does give the viewer hope and make you happy.  Hope, after all, is a big theme present in this film.

“The Shawshank Redemption” introduces us to Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a banker who is serving two-life sentences in prison after being convicted of killing his wife and her lover.  He claims to be innocent, but one of the running gags in the film is everyone in prison thinks they are innocent. Andy, however, does not seem like the type of individual who would commit murder as there is something about him which does come off as snobby and rather cold to the inmates.  He does endear himself to Red, played by the great Morgan Freeman. Red is the guy who knows how to get things for people in prison.  If you need a pack of smokes, chewing gum, or anything else, Red is the guy who is going to get it for you.

Red takes an interest in Andy because he sees there is more than meets the eye with him.  Andy is smart, well-spoken and really takes in his surroundings. The two of them have great conversations about life in prison, life in general, and regrets. The film, of course, is narrated by Freeman.  His narration is not overdone, however, as it adds to the film and enhances the story.  The Shawshank prison is run by a warden who believes in the Bible and discipline, and he is played by Bob Gunton.  The warden is ruthless, but he sees the value in having Andy at the prison because he’s running the prison’s books, doing taxes for the guards and is a very good hand who works cheaply.

For Andy, it is a chance to be able to create a library for Shawshank, allow certain freedoms for the prisoners there, and a chance to pass the time.  Time is something which goes by incredibly slow when an individual is in prison.  Time also allows the friendship and bond between Red and Andy to grow over the course of the film.  Red keeps getting rejected for release and he believes hope is a dangerous thing, and he is not sure if he will be able to survive outside of prison.  For many of the inmates, all they know is prison.  By the time they get out, they wonder what use they will have in the outside world.  It provides structure for them, even if it comes with the beatings, mental anguish and boredom.

There is a lot to like about “The Shawshank Redemption,” and it starts with Robbins and Freeman. They are the engine which keeps this film moving as it runs at almost two and a half hours.  The film is never, ever boring, and there are also interesting supporting characters such as Brooks (James Whitmore), an elderly man who has spent nearly fifty years in prison and works in the library. There is also the wild and out of control Heywood, played with manic energy by William Sadler. There is Tommy, a young hot-shot who keeps getting in trouble, played by Gil Bellows.  Even though the film is set in prison, there is no shortage of interesting characters to spend time with.

“The Shawshank Redemption” is a film with a huge heart that holds up very, very well nearly thirty years later.  I would most certainly put it in my top ten favorite films of all time. It has heart, humor and a lot to say about the prison system and if it really helps those behind their walls.  It also talks about the adjustment period from prison to the real world.  There is a reason why so many end up back in prison after they are released.  It’s also a gorgeous-looking film with a great sense of time and place.  I’m very happy Warner Brothers decided to upgrade this film to 4K.  The Blu-ray, which I also watched, looks better than the original release. This is a film that really makes one think about their life and how they are living it, each and every single day.

* * * * out of * * * *

4K/Blu-Ray Info: “The Shawshank Redemption” is released on a two-disc 4K/Blu-ray Combo Pack from Warner Brothers. It also comes with the digital copy of the film. The film has a running time of 142 minutes and is rated R for language and prison violence.

Video Info: For the 4K, the transfer comes in 2160p Ultra High Definition while the Blu-Ray comes on a 1080p High-Definition transfer.  The 4K adds rich color and texture to the film.  It makes the film really pop off the screen and shine. This is a tremendous improvement over the Blu-Ray.

Audio Info: For both the 4K and Blu-ray, it has DTS-HD MA: English 5.1 and Dolby Digital: French and Spanish Audio tracks. Subtitles are in English, French and Spanish.  The audio is also very easy to understand and stands out on both the 4K and the Blu-ray.

Special Features:

Commentary by Frank Darabont

“Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at The Shawshank Redemption”

“Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature”

“The Shark Tank Redemption”

Stills Galleries

“Bogs Takes a Fall” Storyboards

“New Fish Arrive” Storyboards

Should You Buy It?

Even though the special features are basically the same as the original Blu-ray, this film is worth owning for the upgrade to 4K.  Almost three decades later, this film is still incredibly moving.  I could watch this film at least once a month, and I’d still enjoy it and get something out of it.  This is one of those films where you are swept up in what is happening on screen from start to finish.  There is not a dull or wasted moment on screen. It starts with the acting, as I mentioned, but major credit must also be given to Frank Darabont. He knows how to really slow things down and let them play out in a meaningful way.  Did I mention the stunning cinematography by Roger Deakins? This is a must own for any film collector out there! I cannot recommend it enough.

**Disclaimer** I received a Blu-ray copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

‘Beverly Hills Cop III’ Felt Like the End of Eddie Murphy

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Beverly Hills Cop 3 movie poster

There’s a scene early on in “Beverly Hills Cop III” where we see Detroit Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) walking down a tunnel located beneath the Wonder World amusement park. It’s almost a silent movie scene as Axel just walks and says nothing. In moments like these, Murphy is quick to come up with something very clever to make things lively, let alone funny, but here he does nothing but walk, and it represents the lack of passion he appears to have had for reprising one of his most famous cinematic characters. Murphy was paid $15 million for this long-awaited sequel, and watching him in it made me feel like he just took the money and ran.

When “Beverly Hills Cop III” came out in 1994, the same year I graduated from high school, I was very excited to see Murphy bring Axel Foley back to the silver screen as the first two movies in the franchise were among my favorites to watch over and over as a kid. But after watching him in this second sequel to Martin Brest’s 1984 smash hit, I felt like giving up hope of his career ever making a much-needed comeback.

As with the previous two movies, Axel Foley heads over to Beverly Hills following the death of a friend, in this case his boss, Inspector Douglas Todd (the late Gill Hill). Once there, he is reunited with his friend Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) who has since become promoted to the role of DDO-JSIOC, Deputy Director of Operations for Joint Systems Interdepartmental Operational Command. His partner John Taggart has since retired, and he now partners with Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo) who already knows all about the trouble Foley causes whenever he drops by. Unsurprisingly, Foley raises all kinds of hell as he infiltrates Wonder World, a Disneyland-like amusement park, where the criminal link he is seeking out resides.

The big news about “Beverly Hills Cop III” is it reunited Murphy with John Landis, the director who helmed two of his best movies, “Trading Places” and “Coming to America,” the latter which had them coming to blows to where they promised they would never work together again. Through the graces of the movie gods, they overcame the differences to work together again, but the end result proves to be infinitely depressing as their efforts cannot equal the comic genius which preceded it. Sure, there are some good moments like the mechanics we see singing “Come See About Me” by The Supremes, the hilarious blunder of a police raid at the movie’s beginning and a scene where Foley rescues kids on a ride which has malfunctioned, but they all feel half-realized. Having re-watched this sequel recently, I keep thinking of all the ways this sequel could have been improved, and the list of those improvements is depressingly long.

Years after its release, Landis described the making of “Beverly Hills Cop III” as being “a very strange experience.” He said the screenplay, written by Steven E. de Souza of “Die Hard” fame, was terrible, but he believed Murphy could save it with his unique brand of humor. But while we have come to know Axel Foley as a wise-cracking cop, this sequel sees him become a more mature character. This proved to be a big mistake as I went into this believing Murphy would not hesitate in bringing his unique sense of humor to this project. But in taking Axel Foley in a different direction, Murphy ends up subverting our expectations in a negative way. Some franchises thrive on evolution, but this one is the kind which thrives on familiarity as “Beverly Hills Cop II” did nothing to change the formula of the original.

Seriously, it feels like Murphy isn’t even trying here. Perhaps we have asked too much of him over the years as screenwriters feel they don’t need to provide him with much material because everyone believes Murphy can come up with comedy gold no matter what. Maybe the man who became a star on “Saturday Night Live” and in “48 Hrs.” felt it necessary to remind his fellow filmmakers of how he cannot always come up with the goods. Still, it looks like he is coasting on his ego and fame to get this sequel to the finish line, and he just ends up looking like a fool in the process.

Indeed, there is much about “Beverly Hills Cop III” which feels lacking. The first two movies were produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson, but they both bailed on this franchise and were replaced by Mace Neufeld and Robert Rehme, best known for bringing the novels of Tom Clancy such as “The Hunt for Red October” to the silver screen. They seem an ill fit when it comes to the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise as they make this particular sequel feel bland and infinitely uninspired.

Also missing this time out is Harold Faltermeyer who famously composed the score for the first two movies and made the “Axel F” theme one of the most popular to come out of the 1980’s. In his place is Nile Rogers, but his presence only exacerbates what is not present here. John Ashton was unable to return, so his part was more or less rewritten for Hector Elizondo. Ronny Cox failed to return as Captain Bogomil, but he explained why during a 2012 interview:

“They wanted me to be in ‘Beverly Hills Cop III,’ but…I read the script.”

It is nice to see Reinhold back as Billy Rosewood, but he really doesn’t get much to do here. As for Elizondo, his character of John Flint is essentially John Taggart, and the only thing which has changed here is the last name. The fact these characters share the same first name should give you an idea of how hard the screenwriters worked at distinguishing the characters from one another (which is to say, not at all). For what it’s worth, Elizondo does have this sequel’s best line of dialogue:

“I got a wife and three kids. I haven’t seen a fifty (dollar bill) in twelve years.”

As for the villains of “Beverly Hills Cop III,” they are a bland bunch with little in the way of dimension to make them the least bit interesting. Timothy Carhart has given memorable performances in “Thelma & Louise,” “Ghostbusters,” “Witness” and “Working Girl,” but as Ellis DeWald, he doesn’t get much to work with. His character is essentially the one-dimensional villain who might as well tell the audience, “Hate me! I’m the bad guy and I am greedy. I live for money and nothing else!” Steven Berkoff, Jürgen Prochnow and Brigitte Nielsen had more to work with in the previous “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, so it makes me feel bad for Carhart here.

Did anyone escape the aftermath of “Beverly Hills Cop III” in one piece? Well, Bronson Pinchot does return as Serge in a cameo, and he is a very welcome presence as his character has gone from working in the art gallery to hosting the “Survival Boutique” which features a massive weapon which is even capable of making coffee, something I know a future version of the iPhone will be able to do. Theresa Randle also has some nice moments as Wonder World employee Janice Perkins, and she shares a good deal of chemistry with Murphy which, in retrospect, this sequel could have built more upon. I also remember audience members cheering loudly when Randle punched a bad guy in the face, and this reminds me of how this sequel came out in a time where we didn’t see enough women kicking ass like that. Thankfully, times have changed.

When “Beverly Hills Cop III” reaches its final act, it feels so lazily put together to where you wonder if anybody involved here just gave up before the production wrapped up. The defeat of the bad guy feels completely unfulfilling, and the revelation of another character seems just tacked on for no particularly special reason. Once the end credits came up, I found myself walking out of the theater very disappointed. The first two movies in this franchise were some of the most entertaining of my youth, but this one felt inescapably underwhelming.

Looking back, this seemed like the ending of Eddie Murphy’s career as the wisecracking comedian we came to love so quickly seemed to have disappeared forever. Granted, he scored a huge comeback with the remake of “The Nutty Professor” and went on to score an Oscar nomination for his performance in “Dreamgirls,” but “Beverly Hills Cop III” really felt like the end. We have seen Murphy go through so many ups and downs, and this one felt like the final straw.

As I write this review, the possibility of a “Beverly Hills Cop IV” is still in the air despite many false starts. Murphy has long since admitted how the third entry in this franchise was “atrocious,” so here’s hoping the next entry not only redeems the character of Axel Foley, but is also made with a lot of heart and thought. It’s not enough to please an audience. You need to give them a reason to pay for a movie ticket instead of just banking on their nostalgia. While you are at it, bring back Harold Faltermeyer. His music would be a very welcome addition, and it will serve as a reminder of how the 1980’s never left us.

* ½ out of * * * *