Demolition Man

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The plot of this action film begins in 1996, with Los Angeles in a violence-crazed conflagration. One of the LAPD's most notorious cops, John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), known as "the demolition man," is in hot pursuit of blonde-haired psychopath Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), who is so nasty he even kills sometimes just because he feels cranky. John captures Simon, but not before Simon kills innocent hostages. John is blamed for the deaths of the hostages, and both he and Simon are cryogenically frozen to remove their brand of ultra-violence from a society that is simply just too violent. The film shifts to the future world of 2032, where Los Angeles has become a megalopolis called San Angeles. There is no poverty, Arnold Schwarzenegger was (at one time) president of the United States, and Taco Bell is the sole survivor of the Franchise Wars. Into this peaceful and bland society, Simon is summarily defrosted by reigning benevolent dictator Dr. Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne) to have Simon murder Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), the leader of a group of underground rebels. But Cocteau bites off more than he can chew when the melted-down Simon proceeds to go on a murder-and-looting spree. Reluctantly, Cocteau defrosts John to hunt down his old adversary. As John adjusts to self-driving cars and having sex wearing helmets, he pairs up with Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), a bored cop with a nostalgic fascination for 20th-century culture. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope), 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Pan and Scan
• Subtitle: Spanish, French, English
• Features:
  • Interactive menus
  • Production notes
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Scene access
  • Languages: English, Espanol
  • Subtitles: English, Francais, Espanol

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Marco Brambilla

• Producer:

  Howard Kazanjian, Michael Levy, Jeffrey Silver, Joel Silver

• Screenwriter:

  Steven E. de Souza

• Screen Story:

  Robert Scott Reneau

• Screenwriter:

  Robert Scott Reneau, Daniel Waters, Peter M. Lenkov

• Screen Story:

  Peter M. Lenkov

• Cinematographer:

  Alex Thomson, Tom Priestley Jr.

• Composer (Music Score):

  Elliot Goldenthal

• Songwriter:

  Sting

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Tim Cooney

• Editor:

  Stuart Baird

• Production Designer:

  David Snyder

• Art Director:

  Walter Paul Martishius

• Co-producer:

  Jacqueline George, James Herbert, Steven Fazekas

• Associate Producer:

  Tony Munafo

• Executive Producer:

  Steven J. Bratter, Aaron Schwab, Faye Schwab, Craig Sheffer

• Set Designer:

  Carl Stensel, Mark Poll, Natalie Richards, Etta Leff

• Set Decorator:

  Robert Gould

• Costume Designer:

  Bob Ringwood

• Makeup:

  Scott Eddo

• Special Effects:

  Alec Gillis, Michael J. McAlister, Tom Woodruff, Jr., Kimberly K. Nelson

• First Assistant Director:

  Louis D'Esposito

• Stunts:

  Jim Halty, Steve Picerni, Charlie Picerni, Pete Antico

• Casting:

  Joy Todd, Ferne Cassel

• Stunts Coordinator:

  Charlie Picerni

REVIEW:

• Two years before Sylvester Stallone tried his hand at a real comic-book franchise with the somewhat dreadful Judge Dredd, he'd already hit the nail on the head with Demolition Man, an action romp that has a kind of outrageous playfulness that is inherently tied to the comic format. Sly knows exactly how to pull off this material and does so with the help of a star-studded supporting cast that includes Nigel Hawthorne, Benjamin Bratt, and another charming performance from Sandra Bullock. Clocking in at completely over-the-top speed is Wesley Snipes, whose Simon Phoenix villain might as well be The Joker for all intents and purposes. Though set in the future, the flick does seem a bit dated, if only because of Denis Leary's old rehashed ramblings that tend to take one out of the movie's universe. Still, with the film's satirical nods to a politically correct utopia where Taco Bell rules all and government machines bill citizens for cursing, the filmmakers had more on their mind than just big explosions and one-liners (which they gratuitously threw in as well). For a shoot-'em-up to work on that kind of level while still being a pleasingly fun time at the movies it must command some sort of respect -- though not that much, since it is, after all, just Demolition Man. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi