Review: Johnny Handsome 4K UHD
Mickey Rourke plays Johnny Sedley, a criminal born with severe facial disfigurements, and after being betrayed during a robbery and sent to prison, Johnny undergoes reconstructive surgery and is offered the chance of a new life. Unfortunately, revenge proves considerably more tempting than honest employment.Rourke is excellent, giving Johnny a mixture of vulnerability and barely contained menace. He even worked with a speech therapist to make the character’s voice change gradually following surgery. It’s a performance far more thoughtful than the pulpy storyline really demands.
Ellen Barkin and Lance Henriksen have great fun in the most over the top way as the thoroughly horrible pair responsible for Johnny’s predicament, while Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker and Elizabeth McGovern help make this a ridiculously strong cast for a 94-minute crime thriller.
Director Walter Hill (always a favourite director of mine) keeps everything mean, moody and moving at a decent pace. The sweaty New Orleans locations, Matthew F. Leonetti’s cinematography and Ry Cooder’s bluesy score give the film plenty of atmosphere, even when the narrative becomes a little uneven during Johnny’s rehabilitation.
StudioCanal’s new 4K restoration presents the film in its original 1.85:1 ratio with Dolby Vision and HDR10. Detail is particularly strong on faces, clothing and the grimy locations, while the neon lights and deep blacks give the nighttime scenes some extra punch. Film grain is retained, though it occasionally looks slightly uneven in darker shots.
The extras are generous, including four audio commentaries, interviews with Walter Hill, screenwriter Ken Friedman, makeup artist Michael Westmore and stuntman Allan Graf, plus a new interview with Elizabeth McGovern. There is also a 12-page booklet featuring a new essay by Peter Raleigh.
Johnny Handsome may not be top-tier Walter Hill (The Warriors and Streets of Fire being 2 of my particular favourites of his), but it is a lean and entertaining neo-noir elevated by Rourke’s performance and a cast seemingly competing to see who can be the most dangerous person in New Orleans.
This worldwide 4K debut gives an underrated crime thriller a very handsome makeover…sorry!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- NEW Interview with Elizabeth McGovern
- NEW Audio commentary by filmmaker Edgar Pablos with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger
- NEW Audio commentary by film critics Alain Silver and James Ursini
- Audio commentary with film critic/author Walter Chaw
- Audio commentary with film historians Daniel Kremer and Scout Tafoya
- Codes to Live By (2020): Walter Hill on Johnny Handsome
- Wordsmith: Interview with writer Ken Friedman
- Eye of the Beholder: Interview with makeup artist Michael Westmore
- Action Man: Interview with stuntman Allan Graf
- Trailer
The 4K UHD and Blu-ray both include a 12 page booklet with new essay from Peter Raleigh.
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Studiocanal via Fetch Publicity.
