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2-Disc Blu-ray
Released by: Shout! Factory
Release Date: May 19th, 1989 (Theatrical)
Sept. 6th. 2016 (Blu-ray)
Production Year: 1989
Region Code: A (locked)
Run Time: 1h 54m
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video: 1080p (2.35:1 Aspect Ratio)
Disc #1: The Film
Audio Commentary #1:
Director Rowdy Herrington
This is a very informative, if very dry, commentary. We get a bunch of nice stories about the making of the film and working with the cast. This is a good commentary, but not the best.
This is a very informative, if very dry, commentary. We get a bunch of nice stories about the making of the film and working with the cast. This is a good commentary, but not the best.
Audio Commentary #2:
Road House Super Fans Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier
Kevin Smith loves the sound of his own voice so you can tell who does the most speaking. Smith and Mosier are really big fans of the film and poke fun at it while also admiring it. The banter between the two is really fun and they make for a good commentary track. Don't expect a lot of info about the film, but do expect a lot of laughs.
Disc #2: The Special Features
I Thought That You’d
Be Taller: The Making of Road House (1h 3m, HD)
The first that I thought when I saw the run time of this doc
was “Wow. I didn’t think that we would get an hour long making of.” I figured
that we would be in for a treat. As the minutes started counting down on the
doc, I realized that quantity does always mean quality. Now, I am not saying
that this is a terrible making-of; we still get the behind the scenes stories
that we get from all making ofs, but the doc doesn’t do too much deeper than
the stories. I know that Road House is not a deep film, but there is just something
missing here. It could be that they didn’t get some of the people involved with
the film, like Sam Elliott or Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, to be a part of this
doc. It could also be that some of the stories told really aren’t that good.
I think that the biggest culprit is the editing. They say
that everything comes down to the editing. A single film can be saved with the
right editing. I think that this applies to this doc. The editing is all over
the place. The doc is setup like a bunch of mini featurettes put together and
this kills any type of pace that the filmmakers were trying (or not trying) for
and it hurts the overall doc. I really wish that they had gone back and put the
“chapters” into an order. First they will talk about Dean Cundey and the
photography of the film, then we get a story about a fight that happened, then
we get something on the music, then we get something about Patrick Swayze.
There is no flow and everything is all over the place.
I really wanted to like this doc more than I did. Like I
said, this is all bad. There are some nice stories hidden inside this labyrinth
of a documentary. It is ok. I just wish there was a little bit more editing.
Conversation with Director
Rowdy Herrington (29m 38s, HD)
Herrington goes over his career, starting with him working
on films as a gaffer and moving up the ranks to director. His first film, Jack’s Back, was seen by Joel Silver and
that landed Herrington a meeting. He turned down Silver many times before he
finally accepted. We also learn that the producers wanted James Garner for the
role, but he turned them down.
One thing that Herrington insisted on was that the actors
who fight in the film had to know martial arts, or in Sam Elliott’s case,
boxing. This was a detail that struck me. Not very many American directors,
especially in the 80’s and 90’s, would give two shits about whether the actors
could fight or not. I like that Herrington did that because it shows that he was
paying more attention than other directors would have.
With this being an action film, there are going to be a lot
of stunts and fighting. There were two people who would oversee these two
aspects of the production.
Charlie Picerni was given the stunts for the film. There
aren’t that many big stunts in the film, but he gave his son, Steve, his first
big stunt. Steve had the car stunt towards the end of the film and, even though
he didn’t pull it off one hundred percent the way it was supposed to go, it did
turn out to be a really good stunt.
The fight trainer was Benny “The Jet” Urquidez. Benny “The
Jet” has worked on a ton of films, but my introduction to his work was in the
Jackie Chan-Sammo Hung-Yuen Biao martial arts comedy Meals on Wheels. He is the bad guys number one hunch man and he
fights Jackie Chan in what is considered one of the best fight scenes of all
time. “The Jet” would have a round two with Jackie in Dragons Forever. “The Jet” has been working on John Cusack films
for twenty years now and he is a very gifted martial artist, so it was a shame
that he is not interviewed for this or the main doc on the disc. We see a
little bit of him in some behind the scenes photos and he is mentioned a number
of times, but we never see him talk about the film. A real shame.
Pretty Good For A
White Boy Band: The Music of Road House (9m 23s, HD)
We get to hear some great stories about Jeff Healey and his
band. Healey would play during the scenes the songs that were in the scene, but
afterwards he would play for the cast and crew. There is a mention of Michael
Kamen and his score, but the majority of the talk is about Jeff Healey.
Swayze’s widow tells us the story about how they first met
and then we hear about their history together. We also get stories by the
people who were in the main doc. Not a bad word is said about Swayze and I hear
that is how was like to everyone. Not the most comprehensive look at the man’s life
and career, but a nice sentiment anyways.
On Road House (17m
23s, Upscaled SD)
This is the main featurette from the special edition dvd.
Almost everything said here is said elsewhere on the disc. The only noteworthy
thing here are the comments by Swayze himself. These moments are the reason to
watch this featurette.
What Would Dalton Do?
(12m 26s, Upscaled SD)
Here we get to hear some stories from real bouncers and
coolers (of which Dalton is both). These interviews are intercut with footage from
the film. There is one or two stories here that are worth the time. From the
special edtion dvd.
Some nice fly on the wall footage from some of the fight
scenes. A little too brief, but sometimes you have to take what you can get.
From the special edition dvd.
Patrick Swayze
Profile (2m 41s, Upscale SD)
A very brief promo where Swayze talks about the film. Fluff
piece. From the special edition dvd.
Selected Soundbites
(11m, Upscaled SD)
This is footage, shot on set, of the cast and crew answering
questions. Another fluff piece. From the special edition dvd.
Photo Gallery (3m
20s, HD)
Photos taken during production played to a Jeff Healey song.
Theatrical Trailer
(1m 57s, HD)
Standard trailer. Nothing much stands out about the film.
THE PACKAGING: [2.5 out of 4]
This
is the first Shout! Factory blu-ray where I was disappointed with in terms of
packaging. The cover is the theatrical poster with photos from film on the
interior instead of another poster. I know that they do this with some of the
lessor films, but this is a Collector’s Editon that is the fourth release in
their newly minted Shout! Select line. There is also no slip cover either. I figured
that Buckaroo Banzai got a slip that Road House would get one too. This is
the first time, I believe, that a Collector’s Edition has not gotten, at the
very least, a slip
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Road House is a cult film. The film was not that big of a hit in the 80’s and it wasn’t until the film was released on home video that it got the following that it has now.
Knowing that, I am a fan of the film, but not biggest. I
appreciate the film for what it is: a western in a modern setting. The film
plays out the way a corrupted small town film should play out.
So why am I not head over heals for the film? I think that
it has to do with the film already having its cult status by the time I got
around to watching the film. I was too busy watching the Lethal Weapons, the Die Hards,
the Craig R. Baxley films to be too concerned with this film. I knew of it but
I really didn’t care. It wasn’t until the dvd was on sale for a ridiculous
price that I had to pick it up.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the film. I can get behind it
with its cheesy one-liners and tough guy attitude, but the whole film felt like
a farce to me. I felt that the filmmakers were laughing at the audience the
whole time. The one-liners are a little bit too cheesy, and the action isn’t as
good as it should be.
That being said, I would recommend the film to action fans,
but not to anyone outside of that genre. I wouldn’t even suggest this to
hipsters because the film isn’t bad enough for that to happen to it.
The Shout! Select blu-ray is a mixed bag as well. The film looks amazing with its new 2K transfer. I have never seen the film look this good. The depth of field is nice and the color pallet looks natural.
The special features are decent, but nothing to yell about.
The two commentary tracks are good with the Road
House Super Fans one being the standout.
The doc, on the other, is not that great. There is more
wrong with it than right and I would recommend skipping it entirely.
The featurettes fair better because the focus is just on
certain aspects of the film. There is a lot more meat in the featurettes than
in the main doc.
There are also a lot of deleted scenes that are talked about
in the doc, yet are not on this disc. Where are they?
Would I recommend this blu-ray? Yes, but I would give the
person the breakdown real quick, so they know before they buy. That is why I
write these reviews. I want people to know what they are getting outside of the
websites who claim to review the blu-ray, but it is just a film review with the
special features listed, or websites who get screener copies so you know that
they are kissing enough ass to keep them coming.
If you are buying the blu-ray, wait for a sale. That is my
final word on the matter.
 Blu-ray Review + Screenshots){kind=link}
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