DARKMAN (1990)
4K UHD + Blu-ray Collector’s Edition
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), A (Blu-ray)
Rating: R
Duration: 96 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080op HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels, Larry Drake, Danny Hicks, Nicholas Worth
Years before Sam Raimi (Evil Dead 2) helmed the big-budget Spider-Man blockbuster he poured his creative juices into an original project that was spawned at least in part by The Shadow, a noir inspired superhero origin story/Gothic love-story by way of the kinetic actioner Darkman (1990). In it Los Angeles-based Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson, The Haunting) is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough, a synthetic skin covering to help treat burn victims. The only problem is that the synthetic skin is light sensitive and begins to breakdown after 99-minutes when exposed to light. Meanwhile his attorney girlfriend Julie (Frances McDormand, Fargo) has uncovered the corruption of her real estate developer employer Louis Strack (Colin Friels, Dingo) via the 'Belisarius Memorandum', a document which proves that Strack has been involved in the mass bribing of members of the zoning commission to build his empire. After she confront Strack about the document he sends his crime boss henchman, Robert Durant (Larry Drake, Dr. Giggles), to retrieve the incriminating doc from Westlake's lab, with order to kill everyone on site.
Arriving at he lab Durant and his henchmen Rick (Ted Raimi, Skinner), Pauly (Nicholas Worth, Don't Answer the Phone), Skip (Dan Hicks, Intruder) who has a prosthetic leg that hides a machine gun!, and the cackling Smiley (Dan Bell, Wayne's World), kill Peyton's lab assistant and then disfigure the Peyton by throwing him face first into a vat of boiling acid and burning his hands to the bone. They then blow up the lab, sending his disfigured and charred body into the river.
While assumed dead by the authorities he survives the horrific lab attack he ends up comatose in the hospital as a John Doe, where surgeons (look for a cameo from Jenny Agutter from An American Werewolf in London) perform a procedure to sever the nerves that register pain, which we are told also gives him enhanced strength due to adrenaline overload caused by the sensory deprivation, the procedure also causes Westlake to become mentally unstable. Waking from his coma he escapes the hospital and sets up a makeshift laboratory in an abandoned factory, using his still imperfect synthetic skin technology to create disguises. This allows him to impersonate and infiltrate Durant's gang and get his revenge for ruining his life, he also reunites with his former lover Julie, keeping his disfigurement a secret, not wanting her to see what kind of monster he's become.
Darkman has all the kinetic and inventive camerawork of Raimi's Evil Dead 2 with the benefit of a much bigger budget, allowing him to go all out for this visually kick-ass, noir-tinged superhero flick that is chock full of pulpy awesomeness, a lot of which Raimi resurrected for his big-budget Spider-Man franchise. The electrifying camerawork from cinematographer Bill Pope (The Matrix) is outstanding with all manner of colorful and visually vibrant flourishes that catch the eyes, plus we get a terrific score from Danny Elfman (Spider-Man) that is typical Elfman in that it's bombastic, moody and a bit quirky, as well as sounding a bit like his Batman score.
The cast is inspired, Drake is wonderful as the crime boss who collects fingers of his victims by cutting them off with a cigar-cutter; Friels as Strack is quite charming as the evil-yuppie real estate developer, and Liam of course is perfection as the man out for revenge, a role which he seemingly has perfected in the decade. I love his tragic love story with McDormand, trying to hide his freakish disfigured appearance and newly emerged violent tendencies from her. Their scene at the carnival where he destroys a crooked carnival barker who won;t give him a stuffed animal prize by bending his finger back 180-degrees is well-executed, if a bit rubbery looking, with comic book panel flourishes that are dazzling and intense.
The set-pieces here hold up quite well, the initial lab assault, Darkman's helicopter ride through the city dangling from a cable, the finale atop an under construction high-rise, all of it looks fantastic. A few of the optically effects have not held up to perfection, but they're still terrifically fun, I also love the comic book panel esque visual flourishes and lighting that brought to mind Creepshow.
Audio/Video: Darkman (1990) arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory in 2160p UHD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, advertised as a new 4K restoration from the original negative with Dolby Vision/HDR color-grading, approved by both Sam Raimi himself and Director of Photography Bill Pope. Wow, this is a massive upgrade over the previous Blu-ray Collector's Edition from Scream Factory, which was sub-par even for Blu-ray with drab colors, poor contrast, DNR and edge enhancement. This new UHD has load of organic grain giving it a very filmic appearance with beautiful texturing and pleasing detail throughout. There's are few nicks in spots but they are few and far between, and close-ups of facial features, charred skin and clothing reveal nicely resolved nooks and crannies not seen since I saw this projected at the cinema in my teens. The WCG color-grading offers both HDR and Dolby Vision, color saturation is spot-on, the boost from the Dolby Vision/HDR is quite pleasing and not overdone, the black levels are deep and inly, and contrast, depth and clarity deliver on all fronts, this is a total knock-out from Scream Factory. The accompanying Blu-ray is also sourced from the new restoration and looks solid even without the benefit of the 4K resolution and WCG color-grading, this look fars superior to the previous releases.
Audio comes by way of both English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround with optional English subtitles. The tracks are clean and free of distortion, the stereo track is excellent while the surround sound nicely opening up the sound stage for a modestly immersive experience, the Danny Elfman (Batman) score sounds quite terrific with a solid low-end to it.
Onto the extras, Scream Factory carry-over all the terrific extras from their 2014 Collector's Edition Blu-ray, and add a few more to sweeten the UHD deal. First up is a new super-fan Audio Commentary With Filmmaker And Darkman Superfan Josh Ruben, the director of Scare Me and Werewolves Within, and he just gushes all over it, which makes for an enthusiastic listen. The best new extras are 37-minutes of deleted scenes - which as someone who has watched this film at the cinema, and on all home video formats since VHS it's just cool to these newly discovered deleted scenes includes, and look pretty solid as well - worth the price of admission alone right there.
The 2-disc UHD/Blu-ray arribes ina dual-hub black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie poster, as the does the first-pressingly only Slipcover.
Special Features:
DISC 1 (4K UHD):
- NEW! 4K Restoration From The Original Camera Negative In Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) Approved by Director Sam Raimi And Director Of Photography Bill Pope
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- NEW! Audio Commentary With Filmmaker And Darkman Superfan Josh Ruben
- Audio Commentary With Bill Pope
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- NEW! 4K Transfer From The Original Camera Negative Approved By Sam Raimi And Bill Pope
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- NEW! Audio Commentary With Josh Ruben
- Audio Commentary With Bill Pope
- NEW! Deleted Scenes (37 min)
- “Dissecting Darkman” – An Interview With Actor Liam Neeson (7 min)
- Interview With Actor Frances McDormand
- “The Name Is Durant” – An Interview With Actor Larry Drake (16 min)
- “The Face Of Revenge” – Interview With Makeup Designer Tony Gardner (13 min)
- “Henchman Tales” – Interviews with Actors Danny Hicks and Dan Bell (13 min)
- “Dark Design” – An Interview With Production Designer Randy Ser And Art Director Philip Dagort (17 min)
- Vintage “Making-Of” Featurette – Featuring Interviews With Sam Raimi, Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, And More… (6 min)
- Vintage Interviews With Sam Raimi, Liam Neeson And Frances McDormand (83 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
- TV Spots (4 min)
- Still Galleries – Posters And Production Stills, Behind The Scenes, Make-Up Effects And Storyboards
DISC 1 (4K UHD):
- NEW! 4K Restoration From The Original Camera Negative In Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) Approved by Director Sam Raimi And Director Of Photography Bill Pope
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- NEW! Audio Commentary With Filmmaker And Darkman Superfan Josh Ruben
- Audio Commentary With Bill Pope
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- NEW! 4K Transfer From The Original Camera Negative Approved By Sam Raimi And Bill Pope
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- NEW! Audio Commentary With Josh Ruben
- Audio Commentary With Bill Pope
- NEW! Deleted Scenes (37 min)
- “Dissecting Darkman” – An Interview With Actor Liam Neeson (7 min)
- Interview With Actor Frances McDormand
- “The Name Is Durant” – An Interview With Actor Larry Drake (16 min)
- “The Face Of Revenge” – Interview With Makeup Designer Tony Gardner (13 min)
- “Henchman Tales” – Interviews with Actors Danny Hicks and Dan Bell (13 min)
- “Dark Design” – An Interview With Production Designer Randy Ser And Art Director Philip Dagort (17 min)
- Vintage “Making-Of” Featurette – Featuring Interviews With Sam Raimi, Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, And More… (6 min)
- Vintage Interviews With Sam Raimi, Liam Neeson And Frances McDormand (83 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
- TV Spots (4 min)
- Still Galleries – Posters And Production Stills, Behind The Scenes, Make-Up Effects And Storyboards
Darkman is just a blast from start to finish, I still think it's an underrated superhero flick that doesn't get brought up enough when folks are talking about their favorite superhero movies, or even the films of Raimi himself. Kudos to Scream Factory for finally giving it the release it deserves, the A/V on this UHD/BF set is except and the extras are terrific.
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