Drop Zone - Cinematographe Limited Edition 4K UHD

Win, lose, or draw, you’ve got to hand it to any filmmaker who just goes for it their way, reception be damned. John Badham is one of those directors who seemed to pick jobs and projects at random, if for no other reason that it looked like a fun thing to work on. There's a difference from a "John Badham Film" and a "John Badham Movie." That tracks from Saturday Night Fever and Dracula to War Games and Blue Thunder to Short Circuit and Stakeout. Comedy, drama, action films, family flicks - it’s difficult to pin Badham’s career down to one type of feature. If there’s one true thing, Badham could shoot an action film. Now 1994’s Drop Zone won’t be taking flight as one of the greatest genre films of the decade, but the high-flying stunt work, zanny plot, and wild performances from the likes of Wesley Snipes, Gary Busey and Michael Jeter keep the flick moving at a breezy clip.

Our movie opens with U.S. Marshal brothers Terry (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) and Pete Nessip (Blade) on assignment to transport brilliant super hacker Leedy (Jeter) to trial. During the flight to D.C. hijackers lead by former corrupt DEA agent Ty Moncrief (Gary Busey) kill some passengers and Terry, grab Leedy, blow the door and parachute outta there at 30,000 feet. When no one believes Pete that the hijackers are alive, he’s suspended. But suspension doesn’t keep him from investigating. Teaming with upstart jumper Jessie Crossman (Yancy Butler), Pete imbeds himself in the skydiving counter culture to find Leedy, catch the bad guys, and clear his name. 

So yeah, there’s a lot going on in this film and considering all of the beats that need to happen in a specific order for this flick to fly. It requires a lot of plot armor. Drop Zone isn’t the type of 90s action film to earn points for originality or high concept. If anything this film is equal parts Point Break and run-of-the-mill tech thriller stuffed into a high-speed blender. We get Snipes as fish-out-of-water cop character inserted into another fringe extreme sport sub-culture tracking down what is essentially another high-stakes heist. Trading banks for computers, surfboards for air planes and parachutes, and swapping Patrick Swayze for Gary Busey, you have the typical 90s action movie formula with fresh wrapping paper. 

But that doesn’t keep this flick from being fun. At its core, Drop Zone is a stunt show. The skydiving is the driving force of the film and to Badham’s credit, these sequences are captured with some intense camerawork. Unfortunately due to insurance bonding the principal cast couldn’t do their own diving stunts and had to be faked against projection or on wires with a blue sky background. Some of the quick cuts of any given actor in front of a screen doesn’t quite gel with the true stunt footage, but the sequences still hold tight. Apparently the second unit didn't care about insurance boding so Michael Jeter got to do his tandem jump for real. 

But this wasn’t the only parachuting film of 1994. As Hollywood loves to milk a concept to death, Charlie Sheen got to pretend to jump out of an airplane whilst driving a convertible with the woefully terrible Terminal Velocity. Now I’m not saying Drop Zone is some kind of misunderstood classic, but Terminal Velocity movie is a dog. The combination of Snipes’ pre-Blade leading man swagger, Yancy Butler’s sassy performance, another insane turn from Gary Busey, and some incredible aerial stunts keeps Drop Zone aloft to be entertaining. And sometimes that’s all you need to pass the time. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Drop Zone makes the format jump to 2160p with a two-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray release from Vinegar Syndrome’s Cinematographe imprint label. The 4K version is pressed on a BD66 disc with a Region A BD50 supporting the 1080p version and the bulk of the bonus features. True to the Cinematographe label, we have another sharp-looking piece of deluxe packaging. The two discs are held in the very comfortable mediabook without being stacked alongside the 40 pages of photos and essays. The hardcover slipcase featuring new artwork from Tony Stella. The discs load to static-image main menus with basic navigation options.

Drop Zone flies off to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with an often impressive 2.39:1 2160p Dolby Vision transfer. Really when you get down to the brass tacks of “defects” the only issue I have with the transfer is the higher resolution only highlights the mismatch of the stunt performers doing the drops and the actors safe and secure in a studio. That’s always been a knock against the film, but when everything is live and in camera, the image shines. Fine details and facial features are clean and clear. Film grain is well resolved, a tad more noticeable for some of the effects shots, but nothing I’d say was distracting. The HDR grade is right on target lending to the natural vibrancy of the colors, bright crisp whites, and strong black levels. For the true skydiving stunt sequences, the sense of depth is striking. I already have an issue with vertigo and a fear of falling and some of these stunts really triggered those flop sweats. When the one diver corcscrews down, that’s the end for me! All round a great transfer that serves the film nicely.

This release of Drop Zone blasts away with a thunderous DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. I never bought the Lionsgate disc from 2010 so I don’t have that to compare, but I like what I’m hearing with this one. From the big airplane highjacking to the big aerial stunt action sequences to the Hans Zimmer score blasting through the soundscape, this is a very active track. It’s also fun to hear some of that late 1980s - early 1990s gunshot and explosion sound effects again, where every blast sounds like a howitzer. Dialog is clear without issue. Imaging is active enough to impress, especially for the skydiving sequences where wind gusts and wisps zip through the channels. Levels are spot on and nice and loud.

True to form for any Vinegar Syndrome release, let alone a Cinematographe one, this set for Drop Zone throws in for a ton of great well-produced new extra features. At the top of the pack is an entertaining and very informative commentary with director John Badham and his cinematographer Roy H. Wagner. The two offer plenty of info and trivia with Justin LaLiberty moderating the track so there isn’t any dead time or too many breaks. Film journalist Max Evry chimes in for the second track followed by a great interview with casting director Wallis Nicita. There’s a great look at Hans Zimmer’s score for the film and the action music he delivered for a variety of Badham films. Last but not least is a solid video essay from Daniel Kremer giving an honest look at the catalog of titles Badham delivered. 

• Audio Commentary featuring John Badham and Roy H. Wagner moderated by Justin LaLiberty
• Audio Commentary fearuing Max Evry
• Interview with Wallis Nicita (HD 15:53)
• A Symphony of Skydiving: Scoring Drop Zone (HD 9:12)
• Whose Films Are These Anyway? Video Essay By Daniel Kremer (HD 14:17)
• Book Essays

I guess there are going to be a number of folks out there questioning the how and why a film like Drop Zone is being treated with such due respect with such a high quality release, but my answer is “why the hell not?” No, Drop Zone isn’t the greatest film ever made but it’s far from terrible. It’s simple entertainment for the sake of having a good time. Badham has always had a knack for looking at interesting subcultures and he gives the same awe and attention to skydiving that he gave to disco two decades earlier. On 4K UHD, Drop Zone joins the deluxe catalog of Cinematographe titles with an excellent Dolby Vision transfer, great audio, and a nice package of brand new and insightful bonus Recommended.