Innerspace - Arrow Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Innerspace is one of those movies I hadn’t seen in, gosh, maybe thirty years, but when I rewatched it, for the purpose of this review, I remembered everything. It all came flooding back to me, and I was amazed at how much of it lay dormant in my memories. Part of it, I’m sure, is that Innerspace was on TV a lot back in the day, and if it happened to be on during some lazy Sunday afternoon, I’d pause my channel surf and watch whatever I had left. If I caught it early, I’d luck out and get to watch the whole thing.

Getting to watch it in its remastered format, courtesy of Arrow Video, lovingly restored in 4K, with a new, immersive Dolby Atmos mix, I really had a chance to admire how detailed its spectacle is. How deranged and imaginative it is. Joe Dante at his most inspired is a sight to see - in a lot of ways, his directorial trademarks remind me of Sam Raimi’s. They’re both high-energy adult children who love frenetic camerawork, and they’re both the kind of filmmakers who aren’t about to sacrifice their filmic visions to appease the studio. Their creations will be successful, or they won’t, studio notes be damned.

In the case of Innerspace, we get something of a modern (modern for the 1980s anyway) telling of Fantastic Voyage. Dennis Quaid plays Lt. Tuck Pendleton, an ace pilot who has issues with authority, coupled with one hell of a drinking problem. He’s not one to be reigned in, but if you need the best of the best, he’s your man. His mission? To be shrunk down to roughly the size of a blood platelet and injected into a rabbit, for scientific discovery, as part of a demo for the shrink-tech. Alas, things don’t go quite as planned after a violent bout of corporate espionage, and instead of a bunny, Pendleton is injected into a human—the regular, everyday nervous wreck of a man named Jack (Martin Short).

It doesn’t take long for the bad guys to find the man Pendleton is floating around inside of, so they go after him to retrieve the microscopic pilot, along with the technology used to miniaturize him. Pendleton taps into Jack’s senses, can see what he sees and can communicate with him, so he teaches Jack how to become an action star extraordinaire. Jack learns how to kick some ass—before he knows it, he’s kicking ass all on his own, believing the mini-man inside of him is giving him superhuman strength, but it’s all him, built on the confidence he’s earned. Pendleton even learns a few life lessons along the way, too, realizing the importance of responsibility and how to behave like a grown-up. 

Innerspace is terrific fun. The special effects are a pure marvel to behold, a combination of in-camera practical effects like miniatures, animatronics, and post-production optical effects. And as impressive as they are, they’re never used for the sheer spectacle alone; they’re all in service of bringing a story to life. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
There's nothing minuscule about Innerspace on 4K UHD Blu-ray from Arrow Video. The film and its special features are contained on a single disc, housed in a standard case, with reversible cover art: Classic poster artwork on one side, and newly commissioned artwork by Doug John Miller on the other side. The standard case, along with a double-sided fold-out poster featuring two original artwork options, are enveloped by a hard case. Last, but not least, inside the hard case is a collector's perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing by film critics Charlie Brigden, Michael Doyle, Josh Nelson, Jessica Scott and Andrea Subissati, a short guide to Joe Dante's stock company by Scott Saslow, plus the original exhibitors' pamphlet.

One of the pleasures of seeing cult classics like Innerspace get the boutique label treatment from Arrow Video is that it makes a gem of a film become an event all over again. Long after its theatrical run, viewers at home have the opportunity to see it, and hear it, in a way audiences haven't experienced in almost forty years. Innerspace was shot on film by cinematographer Andrew Laszlo, and for this release, the team at Arrow Video has restored it from its original 35mm negative and graded it in Dolby Vision HDR.

Innerspace is a feast for the senses, and especially so in its visual presentation. Boasting clever filmmaking on every level, from the optical effects, miniatures, and practical sets used to simulate the human body or, in other cases, to create forced perspective to give the illusion that actors are a mere fraction of their actual height (later perfected in the Lord of the Rings films). This level of excellence extends to the cinematography, in all its moody shadows and deep, saturated colors. The HDR grading allows those bright, cartoony colors to pop, and sequences involving the miniaturized, microscopic vessel exploring Jack's body, its surroundings illuminated only by its headlights, look amazing. Innerspace has always been a good-looking movie, but now it looks as brilliant as it always deserved to.

Innerspace comes equipped with three audio options for viewers: The 2.0 stereo and 4.1 surround options are both encoded in DTS-HD MA, and there is also a newly remixed Dolby Atmos track available. The 4.1 track is built off the original 70mm 6-track mix--I'm not sure what elements of that original track were used for the Atmos remix, but I toggled back and forth between the two and, depending on your preference(and your equipment), you are in for a treat.

The Atmos mix feels like an extended version of the 4.1 track, spaced out and widened through the side and height channels, effortlessly expanding upon what's already a stellar and clever surround sound design. With the 4.1 mix, rear-surround activity is frequent through Jerry Goldsmith's wonderful, zany score, and a never-ending barrage of sound effects once the action shifts to a microscopic scale, like the rushing of human fluids around Tuck Pendleton's vessel. The key difference between it and the Atmos mix (beyond the added spaciousness in the design) is that, in utilizing a 3D soundscape, there is pinpoint realization in effects placement. There were even a few effects that took place off-screen that sounded like they were coming from another room in my house. Your subwoofer is bound to get a workout from the LFEs simulating a human heartbeat during those sequences in and around the cardiovascular system.

Not all Atmos mixes are created equal, and in fact, there are times when a solid DTS-HD surround mix is the better one for the job, but damn if this Atmos mix isn't a work of art. This is terrific work all around.

As per Arrow Video's usual offerings, Innerspace is loaded with special features. Most of the supplements are newly-produced for this release, but there is an archival audio commentary that was brought over from its original DVD release. There is a ton to make your way through, it's enough you wish you could shrink yourself down and enter the disc directly.

• Audio Commentary - Brand-new audio commentary by film critic Drew McWeeny
• Audio Commentary - Archival audio commentary with director Joe Dante, producer Michael Finnell, visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren and actors Kevin McCarthy and Robert Picardo from 2002
• Shrinkage: The Making of Innerspace (HD 58:53) - A brand-new hour-long documentary featuring newly filmed interviews with director Joe Dante, producer Michael Finnell, visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren, visual effects artists Harley Jessup and Bill George and actor Robert Picardo
• Joe Dante's Behind-the-Scenes Video Compilation (HD 23:32)
• Behind the Scenes at ILM (HD 20:16) - Previously unseen footage shot by visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren during production
• Storyboard Gallery
• Polaroids: Continuity & Behind-the-Scenes Gallery
• Production Stills
• Poster Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer

Innerspace is a wild, fun, inventive movie that feels untethered--it freely detours whenever the plot feels like it's getting a little boring and does something else. The plot is as boundless as the filmmaker's imagination and whatever they want to do with their premise. Arrow Video's release looks and sounds terrific, and is loaded with wonderful new supplements to explore. For most folks, or for people doing a blind purchase, an essential pickup for fans, Innerspace is going to be Highly Recommended.