Arrow Video 4K releases
Fans of 90s action and physical media collectors, gather as we take a look at a new release from Arrow Video. Arrow is responsible for some of the latest upgraded titles of the past. Lately, we’ve gotten pristine remasters of gems like Cobra, Deep Blue Sea, In The Mouth of Madness, Outland, Lost in Space and Spawn, and their January slate includes a few heavy hitters. One of their more recent titles is what is usually touted as the best film from martial artist Steven Seagal — 1992’s Under Siege, which also co-stars Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busy and Erika Eleniak and is directed by The Fugitive‘s Andrew Davis.
Under Siege
I agree with the consensus that this is probably Seagal’s best film. It’s a movie with a little bit more going on than his usual “police crime story” films and he shares the spotlight with the likes of Tommy Lee Jones, with the plot having the hook of being “Die Hard on a battleship.” Director Andrew Davis is interviewed in one of the special features on this 4K Blu-ray and he reveals some pretty cool, candid tidbits about the film. According to Davis, Warner Bros. hired Pretty Woman writer J.T. Lawton to do a movie that takes its cue from Die Hard. Lawton and Davis decided to give the plot certain relevant issues of the time. The movie touches on former President George H.W. Bush and his relationship with foreign powers, as the U.S.S. Missouri carries Tomahawks that would be useful for North Korea to present a threat.
When watching this film, you’ll see that Seagal doesn’t occupy too much screentime because he’s the John McClane equivalent — hiding out of sight and sneakily throwing a wrench in the terrorists’ plans from the shadows. Much of the film splits time with Jones and Gary Busey as they attempt to turn traitor for a boatload of money (pun intended). The movie holds up well, thanks to Jones’ energetic performance as Strannix, a former CIA operative who executes the siege on the Missouri. Whereas Die Hard has Alan Rickman being the cool, calculated, but still charismatic villain, and Bruce Willis having the smart-ass personality, in Under Siege, the dynamics are switched. Seagal, although he shows some personality in this film, is as self-serious and stoic as he usually is in his other films, and Jones does the heavy lifting by chewing on the scenery like he’s starving…and you love every minute of it! It’s almost like a test run for his U.S. Marshal character in Davis’ The Fugitive, which Jones would win the Academy Award for.
The movie goes through the usual motions of a Die Hard movie, but it would somewhat break the mold by teaming Seagal up with an exotic entertainer, played by Erika Eleniak. The odd coupling of Seagal’s Navy SEAL and Eleniak’s showgirl brings more levity to his scenes.
For fans of Seagal’s martial arts, his Aikido is, unfortunately, not as prominent this time around. It’s more of a military-focused film with the group of mercenaries targeting Seagal, and gunplay and explosions dominate the action scenes. However, the film does a good job of varying the action up enough to switch over to more close-quarters combat where Seagal’s techniques can shine.
Along with Davis’ Above the Law, which introduced Seagal to audiences, there are shades of important themes that are tied to the action story. Strannix and Seagal’s Casey Ryback call their loyalty to their governments into question when moral issues become grey. Strannix becomes disgruntled while Ryback has faith in his superiors. Elements like these help to make Under Siege more timeless and is likely a principle reason people continue to gravitate to this film out of all the others in Seagal’s resume.
How’s the Blu-ray?
Arrow continues to remaster the pictures of these 4K releases to great results. This is a title that has been restored from its original negative and has gotten approval from Andrew Davis. It’s presented in DolbyVision and DolbyAtmos and the movie looks great. The DolbyAtmos makes the action sound dynamic. The gunshots and explosions pop with intensity and makes you feel as if you’re watching it at the theater.
The special features aren’t too plentiful, but provide enough for fans to get new information about the movie. I, for one, enjoy listening to Andrew Davis being incredibly honest and candid about making the film. Eleniak credited Davis for running a tight ship (pun intended again) and making a big action film run smoothly. Davis is hilariously honest about Seagal without talking much trash on him. There’s a commentary with Davis and Lawton and when Seagal appears in his first shot, Davis jokingly remarks, “And there’s a skinny Steven Seagal.”
Additionally, Davis describes working with Seagal on both Above the Law and this in his new interview. He recalls that, by this time, Seagal had gotten “arrogant” and the studio thought that he would be the best director to rein him in. Eleniak also explained that Davis was good at managing egos on set and that there were a lot of egos. Eleniak has her own new interview as a special feature on this release. She describes her iconic “topless cake dance” scene and how it was actually uncomfortable for her, but the studio pushed for it. She reveals that Davis, Jones and Busey went above and beyond to ease her tension and that she would’ve handled the situation differently today.
Other special features include an interview with Blood In, Blood Out star Damian Chapa, who had a supporting role in the film. Plus an interview with the Visual Effects supervisor and the original theatrical trailer.
Final verdict
Under Siege holds up well for me. It’s still an entertaining action movie and Seagal’s best. Tommy Lee Jones really elevates the film and proves the rule that “an action movie is as good as your villain.” This 4K Blu-ray from Arrow is another good release from the label. As far as special features go, there aren’t too many to sink your teeth into, but you get a lot of good insights from some of those involved, especially Andrew Davis. If you’re a fan of the film or a UHD physical media collector, it’s a welcome upgrade. You can check out this release on Arrow’s website HERE.
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Source:
JoBlo
