Schwarzenegger 4-Film Collector’s Set (Red Heat/Running Man/Terminator 2/Total Recall/Lionsgate DVD)

 

Picture: C/C+/C/C+     Sound: B-/B/B-/B-     Extras: C+/C/C/B-     Films:

 

Red Heat C+

 

Running Man C

 

Terminator 2  Extended Cut: B+ / Theatrical Film Cut: B

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8553/Terminator+2:+Judgment+Day

 

Total Recall B-

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4298/Total+Recall+(1990/Blu-ray)

 

 

As part of a new blitz to push Arnold Schwarzenegger titles and ride the hoped-for wave of Terminator success with the fourth feature film, Lionsgate is boxing some older DVD versions of his films.  Red Heat is here with an older Lionsgate logo, Running Man, Total Recall and even Terminator 2 have the Artisan logo, though that is the mixed Extreme edition without DTS but with a Windows Media Player 9 HD edition of the film.   You can read about it and Total Recall in their Blu-ray reviews at the links above. 

 

Red Heat was Walter Hill’s expensive redo of his then-recent hit 48 HRS (1982) with Schwarzenegger as a Soviet police detective teaming with James Belushi as a U.S. cop to solve a case that involves a drug czar.  The money is on the screen, but it bombed and has not aged very well, though a few moments are amusing.  The Running Man offers Schwarzenegger as a cop forced to play a televised death sport with no less than host Richard Dawson as the bad guy.  Populist, Right-wing fun a few years after the death sport cycle of the 1970s ended has its fans and is easily the best film Paul Michael Glazer will ever direct, but has aged in odd ways.

 

All four films are anamorphically enhanced and all show their age in these older transfers, including T2 in the face of several HD transfers.  All have surprisingly decent Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes for their age, though Running Man (the best sounding film in this set) has DTS ES 6.1 when T2 does not.  Playback on all is passable at best, but Red Heat and Running Man are going to need more work before good Blu-rays are possible.

 

Extras on all four include making of featurettes and audio commentary tracks.  Red Heat adds TV spots and trailers, Terminator 2 adds the THX Optimizer and that early 1080p/24 HD version of the film for PCs and Total Recall has text and stills sections.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo