{jatabs type="content" position="top" height="auto" skipAnim="true" mouseType="click" animType="animFade"}

[tab title="Movie Review"]

Into the Night: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

Movie Review

5 beers“My name is Diana. Like Princess Diana. Diana.”

Once again, the critics killed a classic with their negative reviews. Into the Night is full of comedic marvel, memorable lines, a solid cast, and great Los Angeles vistas. And it begins as a passenger plane touches down with B.B. King’s atmospheric (and totally 1980’s sounding) song, “Into the Night” and, damn, if this killer song doesn’t totally capture the spirit of this comedic chase thriller through the nocturnal side of LA.

Sure, this is director Jon Landis being footloose and fancy free behind the camera and (possibly) off script with the countless cameos in this film, but, honestly, if this is Landis unhinged then I need more. With a main cast that features great performances from Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer as a mismatched couple on the run from four killers through a very magical night in LA LA Land.

Into the Night is about an aerospace engineer, Ed Okin (Goldblum), who is a down in the dumps insomniac. In an effort to catch up on his sleep, he goes home from work one afternoon and discovers his wife shagging her co-worker in his bed. OUCH. He doesn’t even bother to confront her. He just leaves that night, following his friend’s (Dan Aykroyd) advice, and heads to LAX.

"Thankfully, Shout Select rescues this classic from obscurity and polishes it with a brand new AND RESTORED HD transfer. The results will please fans of this little known feature and, if you are knee-deep in the rising synthwave community, potentially bring more fans to its table."


Upon arriving in the parking garage, a beautiful blonde lands on his hood. She’s fleeing from some pretty shady characters as they’ve just stabbed the person she arrived with for smuggling jewels and, as Landis plays one of the henchmen, these goons, well, are exactly that: goons. And all Okin can ask is, “where’s a cop,” while the doe-eyed, pouty lipped Diana (Pfeiffer) begs him to keep driving away from the Iranians after her.

What begins with a chance encounter and an unexpected rescue becomes a continuous night of run-ins with some very interesting characters, including bodybuilder Jake Steinfeld as a stripping bodyguard, Bruce McGill as an Elvis impersonator, Dedee Pfeiffer as a hooker, and Richard Farnsworth. Everyone slides into these roles with ease, but the two main characters, Goldblum and Pfeiffer, sell this adventure with a balanced effort as Goldblum’s dark humor brushes against Pfeiffer’s expressive glamour and their chemistry together – as they drive the city in a stolen car and go from one place to another in an effort to make sense of the events and people stalking them.

Released in between Trading Places and Spies Like Us, it is possible that Into the Night just faded all too soon, overpowered by Landis’ own output. The critics, of course, didn’t help. It died a quick and violent death thanks to all the negative words that pierced its heart.  Doesn’t matter, though, because the surreal comedic moments – first starting when Diana’s strange route through the city lands them on the set of a film – keep the film feeling fresh.

Into the Night, with a strong lift from the many cameos and its nods to classic films, lives and breathes on its own merits thanks to the fun and intrigue of it all; it is truly worth revisiting. It is, if you ask me, one of the lost masterpieces of cinema, criminally underappreciated. Thought Scorsese’s After Hours was ignored? Wait until you dust off this jewel.

This classic chase comedy also features cameos from a bunch of famous directors – including Don Siegel, Jim Henson, Jonathan Demme, David Cronenberg, and Amy Heckerling (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg) – and David Bowie as a British hitman. And, with Robert Paynter as cinematographer (once again), the film easily fits in with the look of many of Landis’ 1980s output.  

Thankfully, Shout Select rescues this classic from obscurity and polishes it with a brand new AND RESTORED HD transfer. The results will please fans of this little known feature and, if you are knee-deep in the rising synthwave community, potentially bring more fans to its table. The A E S T H E T I C is strong with this one; mood AND mayhem. There’s enough to go around, folks. Finally. With this release, the gifts are infinite.

And it is all for six perfect emeralds. Smuggler’s Blues indeed.

 

[/tab]

[tab title="Details"]

Film Details

Into the Night: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 115 mins
Director: John Landis
Writer: Ron Koslow
Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stacey Pickren
Genre: Drama | Thriller
Tagline: From John Landis, the maker of Blues Bros, American Werewolf in London, and Trading Places.
Memorable Movie Quote: "If he's still there, you better let him go if you ever want to see those stones alive... a-again... ever."
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: February 22, 1985
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 7, 2017
Synopsis: Unhappily married, unsatisfyingly employed and unsurprisingly depressed, aerospace engineer and insomniac Ed Okin needs to get away. But getting away proves to be no easy feat when Ed drives to the airport and a gorgeous smuggler, Diana (Michelle Pfeiffer), leaps his car, pursued by four killers! Chased across the landscape of a "truly mythical" (Time Out) Los Angeles, Ed and Diana encounter an endless array of intriguing nocturnal characters (played by a bevy of famous directors) and a charming English hitman (David Bowie). But will they escape their relentless pursuers? The only way to find out is by diving Into The Night!

 

[/tab]

[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Into the Night: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - November 7, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc;  single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

With Shout Select, Into the Night gets to be brand new all over again. Maybe now it will find the right audience. The new 2K scan of the original film is crisp and bright, adding a lot of pop to the LA locations used throughout the adventure. Colors absolutely pop. Neon-lit locales are vibrant. The city at night is full of depth and well-defined shadows. Black levels as solid and deep. Presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the 1080 transfer looks great. The all-new DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is a must-hear. Fans won't be disappointed.

Supplements:

Commentary:

None

Special Features:

John Landis is still proud of this film. The new interview is a great addition to the release. We even get a new interview with Goldblum about the movie. This release also features the award-winning documentary that Landis directed with B.B. King, who is all over this soundtrack with wonderfully moody pieces of synth-driven blues.

New: Back Into The Night

New: Requiem For An Insomniac

B.B. King Into The Night Documentary

Original Theatrical Trailer

 

[/tab]

[tab title="Trailer"]

[/tab]

[tab title="Art"]

Into the Night: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

[/tab]

{/jatabs}