5 Star

Boom! And The Utopia Was Gone.

It’s time to go back to 1993 and see the blockbuster Demolition Man, directed by Marco Brambilla (Destricted, Excess Baggage). This is his first feature film, in a short career of feature films, but what a Sci-fi legacy he has left in this twist on the dystopian future. Where all is fine and dandy with the future, until the twentieth century turns up and spoils it all. This Arrow Video release is packed with special features (See Below, and Featured Image) and will please any action fan in your home.

Los Angeles and it is a war zone as criminals rule the streets. The meanest of them all is Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes, Final Recall, Blade), who has hijacked a bus and its thirty passengers and is holed up in an abandoned warehouse. While the police are reluctant to move in, one man is on a mission to get this maniac, ‘Demolition Man’ Det. John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone, Rambo, Cliffhanger). Who has done a thermal scan of the warehouse and there is no sign of the hostages, but he can see Phoenix and his eight men. With a daring drop from his Chinook, he sets about removing Phoenix’s men until he is face to face with the kidnapper.

Send a maniac to catch one.

But Phoenix isn’t giving anything away and he sets the place alight as the pair battle it out. He lives up to his nickname as the building comes down, but it is all down to Phoenix. With no idea where the hostages are, Spartan thinks they must be hidden elsewhere, that is until a fireman comes out saying he has found thirty bodies. The now captive Phoenix frames Spartan by saying that he knew the hostages were in there, but blew the place anyway. The police believe the story and charge Spartan with involuntary manslaughter and both end up in the new cryo-prison to serve out their time whilst being reeducated with subliminal messages.

Skip forward to the year 2032, the city of San Angeles – a megalopolis formed from the merger of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara, and all seems peaceful as Lt. Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock, The Lost City, Gravity) goes about her boring day, dreaming of the action packed twentieth century. (Lots of nods to 1990s with posters etc, lots of ‘Easter Eggs’). The peace is momentarily broken when the ‘Sparks’ an underground movement led by Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary, Hostile Hostages, The Thomas Crown Affair) try and deface buildings with their graffiti, but the automated systems remove it as quickly as it goes on.

But everything is about to change and Utopia is about to be shattered as Dr. Raymond Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne, The Madness of King George, Yes Minister (TV Series)) has arranged for Phoenix to have a parole hearing, even though he is sentenced to a full life term. All this time, Cocteau has been talking to Phoenix, telling him he has a job to do and that is to kill the thorn in the side of his Utopia, Edgar Friendly. He has also provided him the skills to do it, as he easily escapes the prison.

We’re police officers. We’re not trained to handle this kind of violence!

They don’t know what to do with Phoenix’s type of behaviour and it is veteran officer Zachary Lamb (Bill Cobbs, That Thing You Do!, Oz the Great and Powerful), who says that they need an old style cop to catch an old style villain. So emerges John Spartan to educate the future on how to catch a mad man.

He’s finally matched his meet. You really licked his ass.

That’s *met* his match and kicked… *kicked* his ass…

A classic action film with loads of action and a Smorgasbord of quotable lines and all those Easter Eggs for the eagle-eyed viewer.

Demolition Man Limited Edition is available on 4K Blu-ray

4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Marco Brambilla
Includes both the domestic “Taco Bell” and international “Pizza Hut” versions of the film, presented via seamless branching
4K Ultra HD (2160p) presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Dolby Atmos audio options
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand-new audio commentary by director Marco Brambilla and screenwriter Daniel Waters
Brand-new audio commentary by film historian Mike White of the Projection Booth podcast
Archive audio commentary by Marco Brambilla and producer Joel Silver
Demolition Design, a new interview with production designer David L. Snyder
Cryo Action, a new interview with stunt coordinator Charles Percini
Biggs’ Body Shoppe, a new interview with special make-up effects artist Chris Biggs
Tacos and Hockey Pucks, a new interview with body effects set coordinator Jeff Farley
Somewhere Over the Rambo, a new visual essay by film scholar Josh Nelson
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
60-page perfect bound collector’s book featuring new writing by film critics Clem Bastow, William Bibbiani, Priscilla Page and Martyn Pedler
Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
6 postcard sized artcards
‘Three Seashells’ and ‘Edgar Friendly graffiti’ stickers
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley