Why So Blu?

Darkman (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Oscar® nominee and Golden Globe Awards winner Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List, Taken) and Oscar® winner Frances McDormand (Fargo, Nomadland ) star in Darkman – the explosive, action-packed thriller from director Sam Raimi (the Spider-Man trilogy). Dr. Peyton Westlake (Neeson) is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in the creation of synthetic skin when his laboratory is blown up by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with his former love (McDormand). Darkman is available now on 4K UHD Blu-ray! 

 

Film

Darkman is the Sam Raimi film starring Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand. Liam Neeson plays Dr. Peyton Westlake. He’s the cusp of creating a synthetic skin program for accident and burn victims. Frances McDormand plays Julie Hastings. She’s a shark of a litigator herself and they’re both together and in love.

When the hornets’ nest of the criminal underworld gets shaken up, led by the sinister Durant (Larry Drake), Peyton is paid a visit and things do not go well for him. He is burned alive and his laboratory is reduced to cinders. Thanks to the miracle of advanced medical science, he is spared death. Escaping from the hospital he sets out to exact his revenge against those that have wronged him.

Watching Darkman for the first time in at least 20 years. I never did get the Blu-ray edition that Scream Factory released back in 2014. Firing this up, pardon the pun, I was transported back to that dusty year of 1990. Darkman is a batshit superhero film of sorts, with a dark avenger out there to set the wrong things right. Sam Raimi and Darkman wear their hearts on their respective sleeves. I caught glimpses of homages to Robocop, Phantom of the Opera, The Invisible Man, and even Alfred Hitchcock. Check out Julie at the cemetery – the dissolve is right out of an Alfred Hitchcock.

The action itself is also insane and in trademark Raimi fashion, goes off the charts, as he incorporates early CGI, rear projection, and traditional/physical special effects. Sure, some of the effects are rough, but it’s done in a gleeful way. Watching some scenes of carnage I started laughing maniacally like Darkman does when he kills his intended targets.

Darkman is a fun romp of a film, with awesome performances by Neeson, McDormand, and Drake. It has stellar direction by Sam Raimi (and is less polished than when he finally made it in film). Raimi would go on to do Army of Darkness a couple of years later.

 

Video 

NOTE: Stills are provided for promotional use only and are not from the 4K or HD Blu-rays

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10

Layers: BD-100 / BD-50

Clarity/Detail: Contrast and sharpness levels are superb.

Depth:  Darkman was shot on 35mm back in the day and this 4K restoration supervised by Sam Raimi and cinematography Bill Pope keeps the gorgeous grain structure intact. Sure, the grain levels might get a bit pronounced during some of the wonky rear projection, but that’s due to the special effects processes of the time.

Black Levels: Darkman is not just a clever title, the transfer basks in the glory of deep blacks, without crush. This lends itself to how Darkman navigates his lab and the outside world – crush-free.

Color Reproduction: Color levels reproduce nicely, even in Los Angeles smog. The more colorful scenes are set during the daylight exterior scenes. Scenes that have fire and flame are usually kept to night time scenes and dark interiors. We do get some colorful explo0sions during the final act’s chase sequence.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones look above average. There are times when folks have a bit too much base-tone make-up caked on. You can almost tell when the scenes involving the synthetic malfunctions will appear due to the off-skin color tone.

Noise/Artifacts: This is a noise-free 4K disc, but one nagging artifact I noticed was this annoying hair line going right down the middle during the opening credits featuring the creepy montage. I guess that hair might just be embedded on the source and could not be removed without using CGI. It’s by no means a deal breaker but does keep this 4K disc from being reference.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)

Subtitles: English

Dynamics: Darkman on 4K UHD Blu-ray comes with a 5.1 & 2.0 DTS lossless soundtracks. I went with the 5.1 and it’s fine. Danny Elfman’s aggressive Batman-on-acid score fares the best. It fills the front stage more than anything else. I think this is one of those 4K discs that should have gotten an Atmos mix but that’s just me. It seems that the majority of the sound mix is in the service of the film’s music score.

Height: N/A

Low-Frequency Extension: The LFE subwoofer channel is fine. It plays well enough, but doesn’t quite engage during some of the explosions, where you would expect it to. The scene where Peyton is launched into the water by the explosion sounded a bit flat and had next to nothing in terms of rumble.

Surround Sound Presentation: The rear channels are also not as aggressive as I was hoping they would be. There are some cool “swooshing” effects back there during the helicopter chase scene but that’s mainly it.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue levels are nicely balanced and free from clipping.

 

Extras  

Most of these extras have been previously published on the original Blu-ray that Scream Factory released in 2014. This new 4K UHD Blu-ray set includes a new audio commentary track and 37-minutes of deleted scenes. Yes, the infamous rolling-around-naked-on-gold-coins-in-bed-scene is included. The extras on this disc, nonetheless, elevate the overall supplemental package. This is how you do it right when whipping up some decent special features.

• Audio Commentary with Filmmaker and Darkman Superfan Josh Ruben
• Audio Commentary with Bill Pope
• Deleted Scenes
• Dissecting Darkman: Interview with Actor Liam Neeson
• Interview with Actor Frances McDormand
• The Name Is Durant: Interview with Actor Larry Drake
• The Face of Revenge: Interview with Makeup Designer Tony Gardner
• Henchman Tales: Interviews with Actors Danny Hicks and Dan Bell
• Dark Design: Interview with Production Designer Randy Ser and Art Director Philip Dagort
• Vintage “Making-Of” Featurette: Interviews with Sam Raimi, Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand and More…
• Vintage Interviews with Sam Raimi, Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Still Galleries: Posters & Production Stills, Behind the Scenes, Make-Up Effects and Storyboards

Summary 

Darkman on 4K UHD Blu-ray is a stellar release. The new video (in Dolby Vision) looks the best it has ever looked. The sound is average to slightly above average. The supplemental materials kick it up several notches and completes the overall package. Highly recommended!

 

 

 

Darkman is now available on 4K UHD Blu-ray!

ORDER NOW!

 

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