MIDNIGHT RUN [1988 / 2015] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] The FBI Wants Him to Talk! The Mob Wants To Silence Him! Robert De Niro Just wants Him to Shut Up!
Bounty hunter Jack Walsh has got a new assignment, one that could set him up for retirement. He's just got to get bail-jumping accountant Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas back to L.A. by midnight on Friday. But he's not the only one on his trail. The Duke's just embezzled $15 million from the mob who want him dead, trying to get him first are the FBI who wants him to testify, five minutes in his company and Jack just wants him to shut up. It's going to be a long journey from New York to L.A.!
With a razor-sharp script and performances to match, Martin Brest's cult road movie sees Robert De Niro give one of his greatest comic performances, equally matched by his co-star Charles Grodin.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1988 National Board of Review, USA: Win: Top Ten Film. 1988 Valladolid International Film Festival: Win: Best Actor for Charles Grodin. Nominated: Golden Spike for Best Film for Martin Brest. 1989 Golden Globes: Nominated: Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical. Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical for Robert De Niro. 1989 American Comedy Awards: Nominated: Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) for Robert De Niro.
FILM FACT No.2: To research for his role, Robert De Niro worked with real-life bounty hunters and police officers. As Jack Walsh un-cuffs Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas on the train, the latter says, "Thanks, 'cause they're starting to cut into my wrists.'" In fact, Charles Grodin has permanent scars resulting from the handcuffs he had to wear for most of the film. The scene where Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas falls off a cliff, this was shot on location in the Salt River Canyon in White Mountain, Arizona and the conclusion, taking place in rapids, was shot in New Zealand because the water was too cold in Arizona. Martin Brest was impressed by Charles Grodin's audition with Robert De Niro, however, feeling that there was a real chemistry between the two actors.
Cast: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Foronjy, Robert Miranda, Jack Kehoe, Wendy Phillips, Danielle DuClos, Philip Baker Hall, Tom McCleister, Mary Gillis, John Toles-Bey, Thomas J. Hageboeck, Stanley White, Scott McAfee, Linda Margules, Lois Smith, Fran Brill, Michael Hawkins, John Hammil, Lou Felder, Frank Pesce, Paul Joseph McKenna, Matt Jennings, Rosemarie Murphy, Jack N. Young, Robert Coleman, William Robbins, Wilfred Netsosie, Sherman L. Robbins, Dale Beard Jr., Thomas Nez, Pete Jensen, Andy Charnoki, Tracey Walter, Robert Vento, Joe 'Tippy' Zeoli, James Portolese, Armando Muniz, Dan York, Rowdy Burdick, Tom Irwin, Jimmie Ray Weeks, Martin Brest (uncredited), Lisa Burnett (uncredited), George D. Miklos (uncredited), Robert Minkoff (uncredited) and Jock L. Schloss (uncredited)
Director: Martin Brest
Producers: Dan York, Martin Brest and William S. Gilmore
Screenplay: George Gallo
Composer: Danny Elfman
Cinematography: Donald E. Thorin (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
English: 5.1 DTS HD-Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Region: Region B/2
Running Time: 126 minutes
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Universal Pictures / Second Sight Films UK
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: In 1988 Universal Pictures released ‘MIDNIGHT RUN,’ as a high-profile action comedy. It contained several elements that were unusual for a film of its type and genre and now is finally available on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK of this seminal action film. For starters, Robert De Niro was the lead. The idea of this brooding method actor playing it light was virtually unthinkable at the time, especially with the film ‘Analyze This’ a decade a go. It found great success at the box office, though perhaps it’s inevitable the result ended up as more of a cult offering, never quite getting the critical attention it deserved. As it rolls into town on Blu-ray, there’s never been a better time to reappraise the production as one of the most underrated buddy films of all time.
Jack Walsh [Robert De Niro], a cop-turned-bounty hunter, who is given an easy assignment, the “midnight run” of the title in escorting former mob accountant Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas [Charles Grodin] across country after he skipped a sizeable bail. Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas ran off with millions belonging to the fearsome Jimmy Serrano [Dennis Farina], giving the money to charity and becoming a national hero of sorts in the process. A smooth operation goes pear-shaped when Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas [Charles Grodin] tells Jack Walsh [Robert De Niro], he can’t fly, and from there on in everything that can go wrong does go wrong, leading to an epic road trip packed with pitfalls such as raging rivers, a rival bondsman and bullet-spewing helicopters. Everyone it seems wants Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas captured or whacked before Jack Walsh can turn him in and collect his own reward.
The main thing to say about this action packed film is that despite of its high octane antics it has an easy-going likeability other films would kill for. This is down to the offbeat chemistry between Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, a masterstroke of casting from director Martin Brest and his team. Jack Walsh’s tough guy exterior gets the slow burn treatment from a laconic but mischievous Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas, and gradually he is worn down until the pair become friends. The other factor is George Gallo’s excellent script, which bursts at the seams with memorable lines, like “Is this Moron No.1? Put Moron No.2 on the phone?” is a particular favourite. Every character talks like a screwball comedian, but under Martin Brest there is grit and an intimacy that makes it all seem natural.
Because you have Robert De Niro and Dennis Farina in the frame, it also means the serious scenes carry a mighty punch. The scene where Jack Walsh is briefly reunited with his wife and daughter, who he lost contact with following a bribery scandal at his former job and is beautifully-played and Serrano and Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas’s fleeting scene together is a sliver of ice among the pratfalls. The biggest surprise is perhaps Yaphet Kotto as Alonzo Mosely, an FBI agent who falls foul of Jack Walsh early on, enduring humiliation after humiliation. This is a great film about hard men losing their dignity, from Serrano’s exasperation over his lackeys’ incompetence to the stripping of Jack Walsh’s rough-house shell by Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas.
Danny Elfman’s rock-blues soundtrack is an absolute triumph and a shock if all you’ve never heard from him with his thundering strings like he did for Tim Burton films. There’s a bit of distortion on the opening music for this 1080p transfer, but despite this minor quibble, it still is an absolute triumph. What is also brilliant about this Blu-ray release is the spectacular vista of visions of the dusty life on the road, which took place in a location shoot in New Zealand, and the neon signs of Las Vegas look even crisper and spectacular.
Maybe the biggest compliment you can pay is that when it’s time for the journey to end, you feel genuinely sad that these guys have to part. The door was open for a sequel, and TV series follow-up were made without Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin being involved. But it’s probably it was best that this remained a one-off. Think 1980s films about mismatched buddies are old hat? Stick this in your Blu-ray player and prepare to be totally amazed, especially of the comic interplay between Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ is a delight as well as pure gold. Two more stand-out performances come from Yaphet Kotto, as FBI Special Agent Alonzo Mosely, and John Ashton, as rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler and when the FBI chief steals Marvin's cigarettes again, he quips: "Why don't you quit? It'd be cheaper for both of us." ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ builds to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion, with a wonderful closing line. A timeless treat!
Blu-ray Image Quality – Second Sight UK has released ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ a really good stable 1080p image transfer and a serious step up all round and enhanced with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The image itself is spotless, the picture rock solid in frame, the sharpness and picture detail crisp and the colour largely naturalistic. The contrast is punchy throughout and when the lighting is favourable this results in a really pleasing image, but in darker scenes this can result in some of the detail being sucked in to get those solid black levels, though no more so than on Universal Pictures previous inferior DVD. On the whole, this is a very fine job all round. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Second Sight UK bring us ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ with two alternative audio soundtracks, which consists of 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio and 5.1 DTS HD-Master Audio, and the 2.0 LPCM track is the closest to how the film was originally shown in the cinema. Surprisingly, I much preferred the 2.0 LPCM Stereo track, which has a brightness and clarity that feels a tad subdued with the 5.1 track, where a little too much to the lower frequency sound ended up in the subwoofer. But if you do prefer to view it with the 5.1 track, a word of warning, as the lip syncing is totally out sync and is very uncomfortable to watch, but most importantly the dialogue and music come across particularly well; though neither have quite the dynamic range of more modern studio features.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: We Got the Duke – Interview with Charles Grodin [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [12:24] Here we find Charles Grodin who is much older and really shocked me, but is much slimmer wearing a baseball cap. The still instantly recognisable Charles Grodin, and there's something about that voice and remembers how he landed a role that plenty of actors wanted and Paramount Pictures apparently wanted Cher to play his part in the film. Yes, you read that right, Cher the singer turned actress who was flying high at the time off the success of ‘Moonstruck,’ can you imagine, and so when Martin Brest would not do what they say, Universal Pictures took up the rights to the film because Martin Brest and George Gallo wanted Charles Grodin. Charles talks about his unconventional first marriage and his current long-lasting one and reveals that his favourite exchange in the boxcar scene and the aforementioned comment that was a sexual put down comment that is too extreme to reprint here and one was the result of him being asked by director Martin Brest to improvise an exchange that would allow the two characters to re-bond. I particularly liked Charles Grodin's comment about when he was in a Broadway play entitled “Sometime Next Year” and Sir Lawrence Olivier came to his dressing room and because the way you see him talk in this interview, he also spoke the same way to this English actor, and got told off the way he spoke to Sir Lawrence Olivier, but he says he could not understand the negative comment. We also hear that Charles Grodin also does a lot of directing and also loves doing “One Man Shows.” Charles talks specifically about that specific scene in the film where Robert De Nero and himself were going down the dangerous rapids and says it was in Arizona and the water was freezing cold and if they had stayed in too long, they would have ended up seriously ill, so eventually they finished the rapid scene in New Zealand and the water was much warmer. As we get near the end of the interview, Charles mentions that he has just watched ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ again, and feels it was a brilliant film to be in and was very proud of his work on the film and was also proud of all the people he worked with. Director: David Gregory. Producer: Carl Daft. Executive Producer: Chris Holden. This was a Severin Films, Inc. Production.
Special Feature: Moscone Bail Bonds – Interview with Joe Pantoliano [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [14:24] Adorned in a jacket, a beret and a silver neck chains, the ever so slightly bohemian and a much older looking Joe Pantoliano and recalls how he got into acting, and how he landed the role of Eddie Moscone of the Bail Bond establishment and informs us that director Martin Brest was initially not convinced he would be right for the part, because being too young and too slim for the role as originally envisaged, and reading and working with Robert De Niro. Joe Pantoliano outlines the importance of nailing the audition and too many came in and just gushed at Robert De Niro, and has the highest of praise for Charles Grodin, who he also informs us that he was "a genius comedian," whose performance he claims is the glue of the film. We find out that Joe Pantoliano in his early years grew up poor and had dyslexic with attention deficit and was encourage to seek an acting career. Joe Pantoliano praises George Gallo for producing a brilliant script that was a rollercoaster type film with lots of twists and turns and was really proud of being in the film. Interviewer: Josh Johnson. Director: David Gregory. Producer: Carl Daft. Executive Producer: Chris Holden. This was a Severin Films, Inc. Production.
Special Feature: Hey Marvin! – Interview with John Ahston [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [17:27] Sporting a flat cap and a sizeable cigar, the hugely entertaining and good natured John Ahston who provides some brilliant anecdotes about the making of ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ and the interview is also surprisingly moving, and even poignant as John Ashton sincerely explains why he became an actor, and he never looked back. John also talks about remembering landing the role of Taggart in the film franchise of ‘Beverley Hills Cop,’ and being prompted to adlib by director Martin Brest, but after the third film felt he had got into a rut and through circumstances found out about the role in ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ and auditioning with Robert De Niro and his story confirms Joe Pantoliano's claim that your acting career can depend on what you do in that few minutes you spend in the audition room. John Ahston claims that had he not got into acting that he'd probably be dead by now and says, "I was a bit of a juvenile delinquent" and reveals that Dorfler was a real scumbag in the script and was originally killed off, but a rewrite was forced when it was realised that he was becoming so likeable. The funniest bit has John Ashton recalls that he and Robert De Niro's with their use of what he calls a very over the top expletive swear words, to judge whether they were overdoing the excessive swearing, and he gets surprisingly emotional when he talks about why he became an actor. John Ahston also gives great praise about screenwriter George Gallo and felt it was the best script he had ever read and also gives great praise about the director Martin Brest. Like just about everyone else interviewed here, he has nothing but fond memories of the shoot itself and regards it as "the best film I ever did, best film experience I ever had, bar none," even thought it was a 6 month shoot and a 14 hour a day shoot. I must say this is one of the best interviews I have ever seen and John Ashton is a very funny man and was filmed at the Verrado Golf Club, Buckeye, Arizona. Director: David Gregory. Producer: Carl Daft. Executive Producer: Chris Holden. This was a Severin Films, Inc. Production.
Special Feature: Midnight Writer – Interview with Screenwriter George Gallo [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [24:44] Here we have a fascinating interview with the screenwriter George Gallo, and we find out he was either 21 or 22 when he wrote his first script, and felt it was the only way of getting into movies. We find out that the thoroughly engaging George Gallo covers in some detail how ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ came to be with regards to Bounty Hunters, and confirms that Paramount Pictures were pushing Martin Brest hard to cast Cher as Mardukas, whereas "Paramount Pictures wanted the star for the movie," and suggests that Martin Brest's refusal to give in to this was what led them to take the project to Universal Pictures instead. George discusses his working relationship with Martin Brest, his dizziness at being a 31-year-old newcomer and hanging out with Robert De Niro, and reveals that a key sequence in the film stems from his own fear of flying, one that came close to losing him the gig when he refused to travel by plane with Martin Brest from Chicago to New York and the whole project was very draining, but also very enjoyable at the same time, as he put his heart and soul into the project. All in all this was another brilliant interview, especially the fact that George Gallo is a very likeable person and was very interesting to view and listen to. Director: David Gregory. Producer: Carl Daft. Executive Producer: Chris Holden. This was a Severin Films, Inc. Production.
Special Feature: I'm Mosely! – Audio Interview with Yaphet Kotto [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [7:36] The wonderful Yaphet Kotto [‘Alien’ and ‘Live and Let Die’] is interviewed by phone and remembers how refreshing it was to get a comedy script after a slew of screenplays for would-be Alien clones had landed on his desk. Yaphet Kotto fondly recalls working with Martin Brest and Robert De Niro, and describes Mosely as his black Inspector Clouseau and "was completely and absolutely out of his fricking mind." This was a Severin Films, Inc. Production.
Special Feature: Original Making ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ Promo [1988] [480i] [1.37:1] [7:26] This Universal Pictures promo is a very typical of its 1980s period, but nonetheless it is a valuable inclusion promotional feature made at the time the film came out, especially with its brief interview bites from Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, John Ashton, Yaphet Kotto, Yaphet Ashton, Dennis Farina and also some of the other cast, and we also get to see director Martin Brest and a young George Gallo [screenwriter], plus behind-the-scenes footage, and a couple of shots that didn't make it into the final film.
Finally, it is easy to tell that British distributors Second Sight Films UK wanted to have a really nice sparkling Blu-ray release of director Martin Brest's ‘MIDNIGHT RUN,’ and is helped that they included some really excellent exclusive new supplemental features for this Blu-ray release. ‘MIDNIGHT RUN,’ is still one of the most sublimely written, performed, directed and scored comedy-dramas of the 1980s and one of my all-time favourite mismatched pair to appear in this particular road movie. It features Robert De Niro's first and finest comic performance, Charles Grodin at his on-screen finest, a pair of pitch-perfect turns from Yaphet Kotto and Dennis Farina, and oh yes, it is just totally funny and utterly terrific film. Second Sight Blu-ray is a huge leap over the previous inferior DVD release in every respect, and thus I have to concur that this is a highly welcome release. With any luck this excellent package will bring this unsung gem to a new audience, and if you were one of the people who wrote it off back in the day then this is the perfect chance to give it another go as it is easily one of the most enjoyable comedy thrillers to have come out of the 1980s, having aged a lot more gracefully than most of its contemporaries. ‘MIDNIGHT RUN’ is again is a very funny and exciting and the actors often improvise their dialogue, but the film is always under control, never over-acted, never ingratiatingly sentimental, and is never played for easy laughs. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
