Bringing Out The Dead - Paramount Presents 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is about Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead that continues to fascinate and haunt the back of my mind since first watching it in theaters twenty-five years ago. And perhaps, that's always been the point. It's a visually haunting meditation on our seemingly bankrupt existence as it enters the 21st century — lifelessly meandering through the congestion of depravity and breathing the sickening air of meaninglessness while barely hanging on a thread of sanity. At least, that seems to be the nihilistic viewpoint of paramedic Frank Pierce, played by the always-reliable Nicolas Cage really committing to the role by looking sickly frail and disheveled as though he genuinely suffered some rough, sleepless nights for months in preparation. For the next 48 hours, Frank's attempts to save lives are also futile attempts to save the city, the reason he wanted to be an EMS, maybe. 

Or, perhaps, I'm reading too much into this story, which was adapted from Joe Connelly's novel of the same name by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, American Gigolo, Raging Bull). At the end of a strenuously draining night shift, this could just be a straightforward tale about a depressed paramedic in a midlife crisis or complete burnout slowly losing his grip on reality. Cage's infrequent voiceover interruptions are the disturbing rambling musings of someone struggling to see the point of it all, let alone his career. He is our unreliable narrator, and we see the wickedness of the city at night through his eyes, witnessing the grimy streets rampant with homelessness, drugs and senseless violence. Much of what we see are ghostly hallucinations of a dead young homeless teen Rose (Cynthia Roman), who Frank failed to save now tormenting him in the faces of Manhattanites, and Frank's nightmarish phantasmagoric delusions.

The few moments of respite — primarily from Franks' hallucinations, not the job, which never seems to give him any pause, even affecting his sleep — are bizarrely interesting conversations with fellow paramedics at various stages and outlooks of their careers. Larry (John Goodman) has grown unbothered and apathetic treating it as just a job while the smooth-talking Marcus (Ving Rhames) offers a religious, saintly spin to their efforts, but the sadistic Tom Wolls (Tom Sizemore) takes pleasure in the suffering of others, even inflicting it himself as a stress reliever. More consequential is Frank spending his off-hours with Mary Burke (Patricia Arquette), the estranged daughter of a cardiac arrest patient and former junkie. She searches for redemption and to make amends with a dying father who gave up on her, aligning her rehabilitation with Frank wanting to alleviate his disillusionment but sadly finding solace in the cause of the problem.

Watching Cage and Arquette, who were married at the time of this production, talking about nothing of real significance, sharing little to practically nothing of themselves with each other, offers some oddly vague feeling of hope in Bringing Out the Dead. But again, their conversations are ultimately of little consequence. At its heart, this is essentially Taxi Driver updated for a world that may have advanced in many ways, but the people have failed to progress from feeling demoralized, disenfranchised, alienated and abandoned by that same world. Travis Bickle would still feel right at home. Better yet, this is essentially Taxi Driver meets The Stranger, Luchino Visconti's adaptation of Albert Camus's novella. In fact, that would also make for a fascinating watch — seeing Robert De Niro, Marcello Mastroianni and Cage walking and driving around the streets, navel-gazing about our contemporary, post-pandemic reality. (Movie Rating: 4.5/5)

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, Paramount Home Entertainment brings Martin Scorsese's Bringin Out the Dead to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack with a Digital Copy code, granting users access to the 4K HDR10 version with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio. The dual-layered UHD66 and Region-Free, BD50 discs sit on the opposing panels of a clear case, which is itself tucked in Paramount Presents' signature flip-up slipcover featuring a two-panel reproduction of the original poster art. At startup, viewers are taken directly to a static screen with the usual selection along the bottom and music playing in the background.

Scorsese's horror drama is given another lease on life, finally making its way back to home video since the days of DVD and LaserDisc in 2000, the latter of which is notable as the last film to be pressed in that format in the U.S. So, by some measure, this UHD edition could be considered as its home video debut — a 25-year hiatus is enough reason to declare that, I should say. But the results are somewhat of a mixed bag because the highly-stylized cinematography is not the sort to impress most viewers, let alone convince any fence-sitters. Nevertheless, fans of the movie will be more than happy with this 4K video, which comes from a new restoration and remaster of the original 35mm camera negatives and approved by director Martin Scorsese. 

On the whole, the HEVC H.265 encode can be said to be a faithful representation of the filmmakers' aesthetic choices — largely dreary, low-key photography drenched in silky, ebony shadows with limited-to-no visibility in the darkest portions of the 2.39:1 frame. Awash in a thick, noticeable layer of natural grain, the Dolby Vision HDR presentation boasts inky rich, stygian blacks throughout, but there is very little variation between the various shades. This creative approach also affects the contrast balance, which is very toned down and restrained, giving the visuals a melancholic mood, yet whites are intensely radiant and surprisingly squeaky-clean while the few specular highlights are crisp and beaming without washing away the finer details. The color palette is drab, subdued and washed-out by design to keep with the plot's dispirited theme, but primaries nonetheless appear fuller than its HD SDR counterpart. As with everything else, skin tones appear deliberately pale and sickly but highly revealing nonetheless, exposing pores and negligible blemishes. Overall, the native 4K transfer falls on the softer side of things, but it is sharper and more detailed than the accompanying Blu-ray, making this video a fascinating watch that is faithful to the filmmakers' artistic intentions and perfectly complements the story. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 78/100)

The dead are resuscitated with a healthy injection of Dolby Atmos, but like the video, the creative intentions of the filmmakers take precedence, focused on creating a more quiet and understated atmosphere augmenting the visuals. The broad and welcoming front-heavy presentation is continuously active with the noise and constant commotion of the city smoothly moving between the three front channels and into the top heights, generating a highly engaging half-dome soundstage. Elmer Bernstein's subtle yet haunting score is also evenly spread across the fronts while lightly bleeding into the surrounds and overheads, exhibiting a superb midrange that maintains excellent distinction and clarity during the louder segments. A hearty and occasionally vigorous low-end supplies some appreciable weight and presence to the visuals and music. For the majority of the runtime, the rears are mostly silent and reserved for a few key moments, such as Frank's more surreal delusions towards the end, suddenly surrounding the listener with the chatter of disembodied voices, the racket of city traffic or Bernstein's music. Overall, the object-based design is a faithful representation of the filmmakers' creative choices and makes for a great listen at home. (Dolby Atmos Audio Rating: 82/100)

For this UHD edition, Paramount has not only ported over the legacy supplements, but they have also added a host of new bonus material, which are all housed in the accompanying Blu-ray.

• NEW A Rumination on Salvation (HD, 15 min) is a recent conversation with star Nicolas Cage sharing various anecdotes about what attracted him to the film, the story and the opportunity of working with Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader.
• NEW Filmmaker Focus (HD, 12 min) sees legendary director Scorsese reminiscing on the production, from origin and adaptation to the characters and performances.
• NEW City of Ghosts (HD, 9 min) features cinematographer Robert Richardson explaining his creative approach and thought process behind photographing the film.
• NEW Cemetery Streets (HD, 6 min) gives Schrader a few minutes to share his thoughts on Cage, the novel, his research for writing the screenplay and Scorsese's filmmaking style.
• On Set with . . . (HD) is actually a small collection of vintage EPK interviews with the cast talking about various aspects of the production. They all have been upscaled to high definition.
• Patricia Arquette (6 min) 
• John Goodman (6 min) 
• Ving Rhames (3 min) 
• Tom Sizemore (3 min) 
• Marc Anthony (5 min) 
• Exclusive Cast & Crew Interviews (1080i/60, 11 min) is precisely as the title implies, made of various conversations, film clips and BTS footage, all pieced together like an EPK piece.
• Trailers (1080i/60, 6 min) houses a pair of theatrical previews.

Twenty-five years later, Martin Scorsese's horror drama Bringing Out the Dead continues to baffle me, yet it has sustained a strange, mysterious fascination that extends beyond its miserably bleak outlook on modernity. Starring Nicolas Cage and Patricia Arquette, the film feels like a cross between Taxi Driver and Visconti's The Stranger as it follows a depressed paramedic suffering occupational burnout and an existential midlife crisis. Paramount Home Entertainment celebrates the film's 25th anniversary with a two-disc 4K Ultra HD package, featuring a highly-stylized yet beautiful Dolby Vision HDR video and a strong, satisfying Dolby Atmos soundtrack. With a healthy collection of brand-new bonus material, now is the time to pick up this Recommended UHD edition, coming to home theaters for the first time since DVD.

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