Paramount’s Escape From Alcatraz (1979) has been remastered from a new 4k scan of the original camera negatives for release on 4k Blu-ray. The disc release from Kino Lorber’s KL Studio Classics line features Dolby Vision/HDR10 for improved color depth with 10-bit color capability.
This should be a good test of what HDR can do for older negatives that were exposed for darker scenes. Escape From Alcatraz, if one recalls, has many night scenes both outside and inside Alcatraz that utilized high-speed film to capture the image. High-speed film tends to be more grainy and limited in details in shadow areas, so the new 4k scans present a great opportunity to bring out lost details (if the source material is good enough).
In addition, Escape From Alcatraz has a subdued color palette (typical of its time) and so it will be interesting to see how Dolby Vision can enhance the color range to be realistic but not overly aggressive in saturation. Other films from the same time period that were restored and showed excellent improvements, such as Alien (1979) and the recently released Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition.
The audio in Escape from Alcatraz is provided in 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Stereo with optional English subtitles.
Special Features
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
-HDR/Dolby Vision Master by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative
-NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
-5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Stereo
-Triple-Layered UHD100 Disc
-Optional English Subtitles
DISC 2 (Blu-ray):
-HD Master by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative
-NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
-THE GHOSTS OF ALCATRAZ: NEW Interview with Screenwriter Richard Tuggle
-TALES FROM THE CELLBLOCK: NEW Interview with Actor Larry Hankin
-Theatrical Trailer (Newly Remastered in 2K)
-Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
-Optional English Subtitles
Escape From Alcatraz on 4k Blu-ray has a suggested retail price $39.99 US. (Street Date: Nov. 8, 2022) Order on Amazon
Synopsis: Screen legend Clint Eastwood (Coogan’s Bluff, Dirty Harry) and director Don Siegel (Two Mules for Sister Sara, The Beguiled) re-team for their fifth and final film in this fascinating account of the only three men ever to escape from the infamous maximum-security prison at Alcatraz. In 29 years, the seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and “Birdman” Robert Stroud, was only broken once—by three men never heard of again. Eastwood portrays Frank Morris, the cunning bank robber who masterminded the elaborately detailed and, as far as anyone knows, ultimately successful, escape. Patrick McGoohan (Ice Station Zebra, TV’s The Prisoner) is a superb counterpoint as the suspicious warden. Filmed on location in Alcatraz, this gritty and realistic reenactment of a true story has all the power one expects of an Eastwood/Siegel movie. The stellar cast includes Fred Ward (Remo Williams), Roberts Blossom (Deranged), Jack Thibeau (Sudden Impact), Paul Benjamin (Across 110th Street) and Larry Hankin (Running Scared). Screenplay by Richard Tuggle (Tightrope), based on a book by J. Campbell Bruce.
