As 2018 comes to a close I thought it would be a good time to share my favorite physical releases of the year. I am a big supporter of physical media and will continue to support it. I like owning my movies that I can hold, not in some cloud somewhere. I love box art. This year was a great year for exclusive Steelbooks at Best Buy. Some of them will make my list. In deciding the number I fell on the most obvious one, 18.
Number 17 is a great release of a 90’s horror/action film, Deep Rising!
Deep Rising came out at a time when studios were starting to use CGI more and more in movies. Director Stephen Sommers seemed to be one of the directors who not only excelled at making these films but also made them a ton of fun.
Deep Rising follows the maiden voyage of a luxurious cruise ship, the Argonautica. But, the ship is under siege. Not only from a band of hijackers but also something that is lurking in the deep, something monstrous!
Deep Rising has all the trappings of its late 90’s appeal. Some truly cringe worthy jokes and some cringe worthy CGI, both of which haven’t aged well. Underneath all of that however, is a fun B-movie thrill ride. Treat Williams is a captain of a ship that will take any job if the price is right. Of course he has a heart of gold that puts him at conflict with the leader of the hijackers, Wes Studi. Then there’s Famke Janssen’s clever thief Trillian St. James (yes, that’s her character’s name) who picks the wrong ship to rob. All of this shouldn’t work, somehow though Sommers is able to pull it all together in one fun, jet ski ride through flooded corridors of the damaged ship. The monster is a fun tentacle menace that terrorizes the ship. It is pretty awesomely gory that earns its R rating. It might fall apart in the end with some truly awful CGI, but I forgive it. The cruise there is worth the trip.
The video presentation is solid not spectacular. It’s a little soft and lacks some detail. The blood looks great however it pops with some nice ruby red gore.
The audio is awesome. Like a lot of these films, Deep Rising is really loud. However the sound mix is impressive delivering a movie theater like quality.
Kino Lorber absolutely packs Deep Rising with some truly great interviews and making of features. You also get a commentary from director Stephen Sommers and editor Bob Ducsay. While it is always fun to have actors talk about the film, my favorite interviews involve one with second unit director Dean Cundley and cinematographer Howard Atherton. All told Deep Rising is packed with about two hours of bonus content. The new box art is stunning as well, so much better then the garbage that was the films theater poster.
Deep Rising is a movie that swims onto Blu-Ray and it delivers. Kino Lorber should be commended for bringing this 90’s cult classic to high definition. They also could’ve phoned it in on the release, but they did not, they made it one of the must own titles of 2018.
Film: B-
Video: B-
Audio: A
Extras: A+
Overall: A