There were a number of hits in the Summer of 1987 – Paramount’s “Beverly Hills Cop II” and “The Untouchables”; Warner’s “Witches of Eastwick”; Universal’s “Dragnet”; Fox’s “Predator”; Orion’s “Robocop” and MGM/UA’s James Bond entry, “The Living Daylights,” all competed strongly at the box-office. There were also a number of sleeper hits (“Can’t Buy Me Love,” “La Bamba,” “Stakeout,” “Adventures in Babysitting”) and one mammoth late-season surprise blockbuster in “Dirty Dancing.” Of course, there were also some casualties – two of which, “Harry and the Hendersons” and INNERSPACE (119 mins., 1987, PG; Arrow) – were produced by Steven Spielberg, who ultimately generated more commercial disappointments under his Amblin production banner than smash successes.
It didn’t start out that way, of course, for movies branded with “Steven Spielberg Presents”: “Gremlins” and “Back to the Future” had been huge hits back-to-back in the summers of 1984 and ‘85, respectively, yet Spielberg’s midas touch took on some water with the merely-okay performance of “The Goonies” (a movie that did well, but was expected to be much bigger than it was) in Summer ‘85 and outright failure of “Young Sherlock Holmes” at Paramount during Christmas later on that same year.
Spielberg responded with two Amblin films in theaters during summer ‘87: Universal’s Bigfoot fantasy “Harry and the Hendersons,” directed by William Dear, and “Innerspace,” a big-budget Warner Bros. effort that reunited Spielberg with director Joe Dante and much of his “Gremlins” crew. In the end, both movies barely generated $26 million each domestically, ranking as certified underachievers – particularly in the case of “Innerspace,” which Time’s Richard Corliss heralded as the best movie of the summer, and which had been projected to be one of the biggest pictures of the entire year.
In “Innerspace,” Dennis Quaid plays a Navy pilot who takes a gig at a top-secret laboratory where scientists have devised a miniaturization plan that will send Quaid’s Tuck Pendleton into a lab rabbit. A competing group of nefarious scientists, however (including Kevin McCarthy and Fiona Lewis), have other plans, which forces a dying colleague of Tuck’s to inject him (and his minuscule capsule) into the body of an unwitting grocery store clerk named Jack Putter (Martin Short), who is able to hear Tuck but has to tap deep to find a heroic streak that will save his life.
Dante’s film is a thoroughly likeable movie, no question, but having seen it a few times over the years, each viewing tends to reveal more of its shortcomings, which is mainly that it’s overstuffed to the point where it never quite finds a comfortable rhythm.
The script by Jeffrey Boam (“Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade,” “Lethal Weapon 2″) and Chip Proser (whose only other major credit was work on the 1984 Timothy Hutton picture “Iceman”) tries to be so many different things – a “Fantastic Voyage”-like science-fiction fantasy; madcap comedy; tech thriller; romantic comedy; and a vehicle to launch comedian Martin Short’s career in features – that it never fully satisfies in any one of those individual components. There are some effective ILM effects, but the picture never really utilizes them – or the gimmick of Tuck being able to “guide”/”control” Jack – to an engaging degree. Meg Ryan appears as Tuck’s love interest, but outside of the duo sharing a scene at the beginning of the picture, the audience doesn’t feel any connection between them, lowering the overall dramatic stakes. McCarthy and Lewis’ villainy – as well as Vernon Wells’ Arnold-esque, sunglass-wearing, one-armed henchman – is too lightweight as well, and there’s just too much of them – and not enough of the Quaid/Short dynamic – at times.
Short certainly generates some laughs here and there, even in moments (like a Sam Cooke dancing bit) that strain to play off his talents. Obviously intended to launch the former SCTV/SNL star’s big-screen career, “Innerspace” later makes an inexplicable decision to spend an inordinate amount of time with a character named “The Cowboy” just as the movie seems to be building up a head of steam. Played by Robert Picardo, this would-be Casanova is seduced by Ryan in a sequence that seems to go on forever, culminating in a Rob Bottin face-shifting special effect that’s a precursor to his work on “Total Recall.” Sadly, this bit also takes Short off-screen and grinds the movie to a halt – prolonging its already bulging two-hour running time.
There’s also the issue of multiple endings, chase sequences, villains being shrunk – all of it wrapped up in a light, frothy Dante brew with appearances from his repertory company (in addition to Picardo, Wendy Schaal, William Schallert, Henry Gibson, Dick Miller, and Kenneth Tobey also appear), but it needed a rewrite or two to pare the material down, and there’s just no center holding it all together.
That issue is likely one of the reasons Jerry Goldsmith’s score never lands on a central, memorable theme that grabs us: Goldsmith’s music effectively runs under the FX sequences (much like his evocative underscoring for “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”) and nobly underscores Tuck’s character, but curiously fails to generate a real musical hook for listeners to latch onto. The use of pop tunes, particularly at the end with Rod Stewart’s cover of Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away,” likely didn’t help either.
“Innerspace” was a movie I first saw in the summer before entering 7th grade, and I recall liking it but being mildly underwhelmed. As the years passed it was never a film I had much of a desire to see again, quite unlike Dante’s other films which I grew up on.
Arrow’s limited-edition 4K UHD (1.85) presents a terrific new transfer with Dolby Vision HDR, restored from the original 35mm negative. The image, as you’d anticipate, offers a more natural and expanded color pallet over the older Blu-Ray with better resolved grain and detail as a result. Three different audio options include the original 70mm 6-track mix in a 4.1 DTS MA container, along with 2.0 DTS MA stereo and a new Dolby Atmos remix.
The release offers a number of newly produced extra features which lean heavily on the VFX side. These are highlighted by an hour-long doc “Shrinkage: The Making of ‘Innerspace’” which includes comments from Joe Dante and his long-time producer Michael Finnell, plus ILM vets Dennis Muren, Harley Jessup and Bill George, along with Robert Picardo. Though unsurprisingly devoted to mostly dissecting ILM’s Oscar-winning effects, the doc does include some candid comments about the movie’s disastrous box-office returns: Dante blames the studio for what he calls the “worst” movie advertising campaign of all-time, relaying that they thought the film – which played great in test screenings – would sell itself, and didn’t. Finnell, on the other hand, thinks the movie’s title alone was a disaster and prevented the film from finding an audience until it debuted on home video.
Other goodies include video tape archives of Dante’s on-set camcorder recordings plus a separate ILM video archive, both of which provide a candid, “you are there”-type look behind the scenes. Polaroids, still galleries, the trailer, the DVD commentary with Dante and friends, and a new commentary by Drew McWeeny are also included, along with a fold-out poster, Arrow’s customary hardbound packaging, and booklet notes featuring writing by Charlie Brigden, Michael Doyle, Josh Nelson, Jessica Scott, and Andrea Subissati.
In attempting to juggle so many different elements, the amiable “Innerspace” nevertheless proves to be less than sum of its parts – but it’s still a fun ride while it lasts, and packs, as Dennis Muren notes here, some great individual moments along the way.
Also new from Arrow this month is SOLDIER (99 mins., 1998, R; Arrow), the 1998 Kurt Russell box-office bomb that cost nearly $75 million and returned only a quarter of that amount.
In spite of its dismal commercial performance and obvious signs of pre-release cutting (Warners dumped it into theaters without much fanfare in the middle of October ‘98), “Soldier” is fairly watchable and even entertaining in stretches for sci-fi fans. The film stars Kurt as a mostly-silent futuristic killing machine who finds himself stranded on a remote planet, where he ultimately battles the genetically-engineered, superior “super soldiers” (including Jason Scott Lee) who hunt him down, protecting the planet’s other survivors (Connie Nielsen among them) in the process.
Hot at the time given the over-performance of “Stargate,” Russell netted some $15 million for a role that required 79 total words (11 of which, according to Wikipedia, are “sir”), and perhaps in the hands of a director other than “Resident Evil”’s Paul (W.S.) Anderson, “Soldier” might’ve been the legitimate sci-fi epic that “Blade Runner” and “Unforgiven” scribe David Webb Peoples intended when he penned the screenplay. The film starts off badly with a jumbled first third and even a Loreena McKennitt song montage to cover over gaps in the script, but moderately improves as it goes along, with reasonably exciting action scenes and a decent Joel McNeely score to boot. While no kind of classic, the very western-like “Soldier” is better than its rep suggests, and even concludes with a strong McNeely orchestral flourish running under a memorable concluding shot.
Soldier’s remastered 4K UHD (2.39) offers Dolby Vision HDR and a robust 5.1 DTS MA soundtrack. Extras include an archival commentary and new interviews with actor James Black, assistant director Dennis Maguire, associate producer Fred Fontana, production designer David L. Snyder, VFX supervisors Craig Barron and Van Ling, plus miniature supervisor Michael Joyce, and fan/author Danny Stewart. There’s also a tribute from podcaster Heath Holland, EPK interviews, vintage interviews, trailers and booklet notes from Priscilla Page.
Also new from Arrow is the WANDERING GINZA BUTTERFLY COLLECTION (Arrow) presenting a Blu-Ray double-bill of WANDERING GINZA BUTTERFLY (86 mins.) and its sequel SHE CAT GAMBLER (86 mins., both 1972). These slickly-shot, widescreen thrillers offer Meiko Kaji as Nami “The Red Cherry Blossom,” who heads back to Ginza afer a prison term for knocking off a Yakuza leader. There, she and a fellow yakuza attempt to take control of a club, while in “She Cat Gambler,” Kaji co-stars with Sonny Chiba as a streetwise rogue who helps Nami avenge her father’s death.
Lossless Japanese audio and English subtitles are on-hand for both 1080p (2.35) presentations; extras include a new commentary on the first picture by Patrick Macias and Matt Alt; an archival commentary on the first movie by Chris D.; new interviews with Patrick Macias and Matt Alt; an archival interview with J-Taro Sugisaku; trailers; and writing on the films by Camille Zaurin.
The Pang Brothers’ THE EYE (98 mins., 2002) ranks as one of the defining Asian horror films of its era. Angelica Lee plays a blind musician whose sight is miraculously restored by a corneo transplant – but is soon affected by haunting, disturbing images of death to come. Lawrence Chou plays the compassionate shrink who tries to help her in a movie elevated by Lee’s performance, and restored in a new Dolby Vision HDR transfer in Arrow’s 4K UHD (1.85, 5.1/2.0). The Limited Edition release includes Cantonese audio with English subtitles; a new interview with producer Peter Ho-Sun Chan; a visual essay from Heather Wixson; archival featurettes; trailers; and Arrow’s limited-edition packaging with a booklet featuring writing from Asian cinema critic Hayley Scanlon.
Radiance, on April 21st, releases Johnnie To’s ROMANCING IN THIN AIR (112 mins., 2012). This moving drama stars Louis Koo as a movie star left behind at the altar by his would-be bride when he heads into – and gets lost in – a remote forest. He’s found and nursed by a still-grieving widow (Sammi Cheng), leading to a shared sense of reconciliation and redemption in To’s well-crafted 2012 picture. Radiance’s Limited Edition Blu-Ray boasts a 1080p (2.35, 5.1/2.0) transfer with a new commentary by HK expert Dylan Cheung and an interview with writer Ryker Chan. There’s also extended behind-the-scenes footaghe, a Making Of featurette, the trailer, and a limited-edition booklet sporting writing from Jake Cole and archival material by David Bordwell.
Also due out April 21st is Damiano Damiani’s CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (104 mins., 1974), an Italian drama that tried to find an international following through the casting of Martin Balsam. Here, the veteran American character actor plays a Sicilian police captain whose release of an inmate leads to the quick murder of a local, important businessman. Franco Nero essays the idealistic D.A. who investigates him and the corrupt local scene in Damiani’s well-reviewed 1974 picture, scored by Riz Ortolani and restored by Radiance in a 2K (2.35) presentation preserving its original widescreen cinematography. Extras include new interviews with Franco Nero, co-star Michele Gammino, editor Antonio Siciliano plus “film score expert” Lovely Jon. A limited-edition booklet with archival Damiani interviews is included in Radiance’s latest release, presented in either English or Italian with English subtitles.
Also New from MVD
Todd Norris’ THE PARANORMAL (70 mins., 1998) sends a paranormal investigator into a haunted movie theater where the cheapie zombie flick it’s playing somehow comes to life. Well directed considering its scant, shot-on-video budget, “The Paranormal” is worth a view for horror fans, with Visual Vengeance’s Blu-Ray (1.33, 2.0) sporting an upscaled, director-supervised transfer from tape elements; two commentaries, both featuring the director; cast/crew interviews; deleted scenes; some of Norris’ short films and a fold-out mini-poster…Also new from Visual Vengeance is Tom Berna’s 8mm body-horror film COLONY MUTATION (83 mins., 1995), a grizzly tale of a genetic scientist who poisons her philandering husband, leading to his body parts to separate from his torso and have a mind, and thirst, of their own. A new 2K transfer (1.33, 2.0) from original Super 8 elements is on-hand here along with Berna’s commentary, an interview with the director, another commentary with critic Tony Strauss, archival interviews, an alternate 2013 DVD version of the movie, booklet, a mini-poster and more!
Coming next month from Liberation Hall and Reelin’ in the Years is SOUL TO SOUL (100 mins., 1971), a restoration of a concert film from director Denis Sanders that captured a dozen American R&B, soul and jazz artists – including Ike and Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, Carlos Santana, the Staple Singers and others – as they traveled to Ghana to perform in a landmark concert. Each sequence was restored in 2K (4:3) from original film elements for this new Blu-Ray, which also offers a Ike and Tina outtake song, four different commentary tracks, the trailer, and a 32-page booklet with informative notes by Rob Bowman…Coming on DVD later this month is WATCH ME SLEEP (91 mins., 2023; Wild Eye Releasing), an independent horror picture from writer-producer John Williams and his co-director Steve Wood, one which profiles what happens when a grieving son decides to install a “coffin cam” to see what transpires after his mother’s passing. Guess what happens next! Wild Eye’s DVD includes an image gallery, trailers, and a 16:9 transfer (2.0).
New & Noteworthy
PRIMATE Blu-Ray (88 mins., 2026, R; Paramount): A barebones, no-nonsense horror movie about a human-raised chimp who gets rabies and decides to attack the family that raised him — along with all the college age friends the eldest daughter brings home, just in time for spring break terror — “Primate” pushes all the expected buttons and does so with reasonable efficiency.
There’s scant back story here and little development of the characters, which is probably fine since nearly all of them are poised for simian executions anyway. Director Johannes Roberts has mostly been a B-grade genre director to this point and he does a serviceable job with what amounts to a basic “Creature on the loose” plot. That holds particularly for the capable performances, including Troy Kotsur, the father from “Coda” who gets a decent role here, and most especially lead Johnny Sequoia, whose warm smile and general personality seem like they will be better suited to a movie where a monkey isn’t ripping the jaw off an idiot college kid.
Paramount’s Blu-Ray (2.39, Dolby Atmos) is out April 21st sporting commentary from Roberts and producer Walter Hamada, several featurettes, and a Digital HD code.
MERCY 4K UHD (99 mins., 2026, PG-13; MGM/Alliance): Feeble sci-fi thriller recycles from all sorts of superior genre efforts, most notably “Minority Report,” as detective Chris Pratt – in a future where an AI judge (Rebecca Ferguson) handles criminal proceedings – has just 90 minutes to clear his name before he’s found guilty of murdering his wife. There was a time when Tim Bekmambetov looked like a director on the rise, but he comes off as more of a hack with this pedestrian effort MGM released to few takers at the box-office this past winter. “Mercy” has been fast tracked to 4K UHD in a good-looking, no frills disc with both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound.
DIE MY LOVE 4K UHD/Blu-Ray (119 mins., 2025, R; Mubi): Adaptation of Areiana Harwicz’s novel about the unwinding of a typical young wife and mother (Jennifer Lawrence) who moves with her partner (Robert Pattinson) to the country where Pattinson starts to be absent from their day-to-day existence. With a young baby in tow, Lawrence’s Grace starts to lose it in a psychological breakdown that ranks among her better performances but still reminds you of other films where she’s played similarly unhappy “domestic” women; Lynne Ramsay’s film otherwise tries to provide doses of humanity in a downbeat story co-starring Lakeith Stanfield, Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek. Mubi’s 4K UHD (1.37) includes 5.1/2.0 DTS MA sound and a copy of the Blu-Ray.
SUSPENDED TIME DVD (106 mins., 2025; Music Box): Olivier Assayas helmed this winning character study about a filmmaker (Vincent Macaigne) who heads to his French countryside home during the pandemic where he meets up, reestablishes and reworks relationships with his girlfriend, brother, and his girlfriend. Funnier than anticipated, “Suspended Time” received solid reviews on the art-house circuit and Music Box’s DVD offers a 16:9 (1.85) transfer, 5.1 French audio with English subtitles, interviews with Assayas and the cast, the trailer, image gallery and featurette.
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