Trespass - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Trespass




Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
One of the big joys of being in this line of work is getting to watch movies that just aren’t commonly seen anymore. Boutique labels like Shout/Scream, Twilight Times, Kino and the like have the ability to churn out lots of mass market catalog titles (and some new titles), but they also have ability to push out titles that wouldn’t sell well for the majors or titles that would have just been forgotten to time. Trespass is one of the latter, a 1992 film that was a decently popular title back in the VHS days, but ended up just being forgotten about during the DVD boom. The only reason I even came across the titles was a $2.99 Big Lots clearance item right about 2005 or so. The DVD cover art (which is replicated for the Blu-ray) looks very low budget and grungy, with a setup of great looking actors that just reeks of “we’re on the decline of our careers”. The thing is, Trespass was more at the peak of these guy’s careers (well, except for Ice-T. He never really HAD a career), but somehow was pretty much ignored by most critics and buyers alike. While it’s no Aliens, or Friday, Trespass is a very solid thriller made by one of 1980s and 1990s kings of crime stories, Walter Hill himself.

Borrowing a little bit from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and infusing that into an urban 1990s gang vibe, Trespass follows the story of two intersecting groups of people. The first come in form of Vince (Bill Paxton) and Don (William Sadler), two fireman who come across a treasure map from a crazy old man who dies in a burning building. Both men are down on their luck with high mortgages and ex-wives, so they decide to go to the location on the old man’s map and dig up the stole gold that he had buried there. Traveling out of state to the abandoned building that houses the gold, the two men bite off more than they can chew when they can’t find the gold, but do find trouble. That trouble comes in the second group of people to show up at the building. This time it’s in the form of some gang bangers who are there to conduct some business. Business goes south and King James (Ice-T) ends up killing their business partner right in front of Don and Vince.

Realizing that they can be IDed by the two men, King James and his crew of thugs try and get the two men, but not before Don grabs King James’s little brother “Lucky” (De’voreaux White) and dive into a secluded room with a heavy door. Now it’s both sides at war with each other. King James wants Lucky back (and the two white boys dead), while Don and Vince just want to get out of dodge alive. Both sides have something the other wants, but neither side is willing to give.

Directed by legendary action director Walter Hill (48 Hours, Another 48 Hours, The Warriors) and penned by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future trilogy, Forrest Gump), you would have expected a smash hit. While Walter Hill has had a decidedly rocky career, he has put out more good than bad, and usually his films are VERY memorable (even if that’s in a bad way). For some reason Trespass was one of those films that just seemed destined to be forgotten and ignored, even if it really doesn’t deserve to be. Hill’s film is full of very solid performances and is very well done for the most part. Ice-T and Ice Cube were young bucks during the making of this, and while the film is filled with VERY 90s gangster talk, the two do a very good job with King James and Ice Cube’s lone wolf “Savon”. Sadler and Paxton are both at the peaks of their careers during the 90s, and the two play off of each other quite well. Paxton is great as the conflicted Vince, while Sadler eats the scenery with a vicious and self-serving Don. While he’s technically a main character, Art Evans and his role as the innocent bum in the film (Art is mainly known for his role as the air traffic controller in Die Hard 2) is a fairly innocuous and forgettable performance. One that could have been played by anyone.

Trespass plays out quite snappily, with a simple premise and a really obvious ending (there’s no real reason for hiding it). There are huge elements of greed and betrayal, and plays out similar to Treasure of the Sierra Madre, just in an urban setting and a dark building that’s falling apart. However, there are a good 20 minutes of the center that really feel like they could have been cut, maybe 15 minutes. That middle portion drags a bit while the 2 locked up men figure out what they’re going to do. Had they come to a quick decision more decisively I probably would have rated the film a 4/5, but as of now it’s downgraded ever so slightly to 3.5/5




Rating:

Rated R for violence and language




Video:

Trespass has been given a very nice looking encode from Shout Factory. An encode that I really wasn’t expecting considering how poor the old DVD looked. I’m guessing it came from a fairly new looking transfer (comparatively speaking), as the movie looks clean of any dirt, speckles or other print related damage. The movie was shot on film (as was most of the early 90s films), but it isn’t nearly as grainy or rough looking as I expected. Facial detail is very revealing, and clothing shows off some good depth and clarity. Black levels can sometimes get a bit murky, but part of that is due to the very earthy and golden-brown look of the color grading. Primaries pop when necessary, but earthy tones and slightly creamy looking flesh tones give off a very muted look most of the time. Grain spikes during the low light sequences and there were 2 or three short glimpses of banding, but otherwise the image looks clean and free of artifacts.



Audio:

Being a low budget film, Trespass was only given a 2.0 stereo track and that theatrical experience is replicated on Blu-ray in the lossless DTS-HD MA formatting. As such there’s not a whole lot of “spaciousness” that come from the 2.0 experience, but it is a very solid performer. Vocals are crisp and clean, with no distortions or imbalances, and the action scenes get quite bombastic. There’s not a WHOLE lot of LFE, but it does pop up now and again with the gunfire and a few crashes and bangs near the end with the explosions and falling debris. A well-crafted 2.0 track that doesn’t excel, but does everything asked of it without complaint.

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Extras:

• "Fool's Gold" – An Interview With Actor William Sadler
• "Born Losers" – An Interview With Co-Writer Bob Gale
• "Wrongful Entry" – An Interview With Producer Neil Canton
• "Gang Violation" – The Stunts of Trespass
• "Trigger Happy" – The Weapons of Trespass
• Vintage Featurette: "Behind The Scenes of Trespass"
• Music Video
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

While not an INCREDIBLE film, Trespass deserves far more respect on home video than it has ever gotten. Shout Factory’s 24th “Shout Select” film is a solid performer, and looks and sounds really nice on Blu-ray. The inclusion of quite a few new special features is a big perk, and even though Shout doesn’t classify it as a “collector’s edition”, the awesome features and great presentation of technical specs certainly would qualify it as one in my humble opinion (although I’m still cheesed that Shout Factory hasn’t deigned it necessary to give slipcovers to their newer Shout Select films). Definitely recommended as a fun watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Bill Paxton, William Sadler, Ice-T, Ice Cube
Directed by: Walter Hill
Written by: Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 104 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 27th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[Asere]

I remember watching this one at the theater. I forgot the late Bill Paxton was in it.