Natural Born Killers: Collector's Edition - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Natural Born Killers: Collector's Edition



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
While there has always been shock jock style films over the years that have been intended from the get go to make the audience feel revolted and disturbed, those are usually relegated to the horror community. Or oddball directors like Lars Von Trier who make absolutely insane material meant to provoke and act as art house theater. But very few people thought of political film director Oliver Stone as one of those directors. Until he of course shot the Quentin Tarantino written film Natural Born Killers that became the most controversial film of 1994. It’s hard hitting, twisted, and completely revolting. All the while running a theme of razor sharp acerbancy over ideas like the media, our obsession with violent killers, and the affect it has ON society as a whole.

I’m not even sure where to start with Oliver Stone’s twisted tale (or Tarantino if you go by writing credits). The film introduces us to the murderous Mallory (Juliette Lewis) and Mickey Knox (Woody Harrelson), who gleefully murder an entire cafe full of people, only to head off into the sunset to murder once more. Turns out that Mallory and Mickey are on the run from the law, after having recently med/married and murdered Mallory’s parents (played by Rodney Dangerfield and Edi McClurg in a twisted version of I Love Lucy) before heading out on 3 week murder binge that ends up with them in an asylum for the mentally insane, lorded over by the brutal warden McClusky (Tommy Lee Jones with a pencil mustache and a flair for the crazy himself).

But their story doesn’t end there. Dirty cop Det Jack Scagnetti (Tom Sizemore) wants to make sure that Mallory and Mickey are put down for good, but not before the warden decides to let sleaze bag reporter Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr., before his fall from Hollywood grace) gets his 15 minutes of fame interviewing to the whole world the last words of one Mickey Knox.

The entire film is basically a gigantic two hour commentary on our love of trash television, and the sort of glory that it puts on wannabe killers. Something that is actually highly pertinent to our modern era of television, as the nation is plagued by school shooter after school shooter. Each one following the same pattern as Mickey and Mallory in a desire to be the next bit of trash television which is blown up to exponential proportions from their misdeeds. The entire tale is told with a sort of hypnotic and mushroom induced storytelling, with Oliver Stone splicing in bits of 35mm film, 8mm film, animated interstitials, and various other hallucinogenic filming techniques to create one of the most off putting, yet fascinating films to come out of the 1990s.

Ultimately this film is all about Oliver Stone and his directorial choices here. If you haven’t seen the film then be prepare for being overwhelmed with sensory overload, with his zany and disturbing aesthetics acting as the main backdrop for the terrifying story to unfold. The plot itself is nearly meaningless, but each and every scene is simply ripe with backstory and life lessons. Take for example the expository scene near the beginning where we find out about Mallory’s emotional and sexual abuse by her father (with Rodney Dangerfield playing an absolutely SLIMY version of himself) in a sort mocking parody of I Love Lucy. The entire scene is despicable and HORRIFYING to the extreme, but the use of a laugh track and traditional sit-com tropes act as a creepy juxtaposition to the disturbing reality that is playing out in front of our very eyes. The same can be said of the prison escape, where Mickey and Mallory escape with Robert Downey Jr.’s reporter character (which is an obvious representation of trash TV host Steve Dunleavy) where we see his rise to criminal activity, only to be betrayed by the very same monster he thought he had reached. Simply put, the movie is a cornucopia of allegorical tales all wrapped up into a very disturbing hallucinogenic story that literally captivates you from beginning to end.




Rating:

Rated R for extreme violence and graphic carnage, for shocking images, and for strong language and sexuality





4K Video: Video:

Natural Born Killers is a wildly stylized film, with a varying array of film stock styles, shooting styles, and even some video tape shots. As such, it is always worth noting that this is a gritty and viciously over exposed shoot that ranges in clarity from shot to shot depending on what format is used. Some shots are incredibly grainy and blurry, while others are razor sharp and over exposed with a sort of white light halo around character faces. Skin tones and colors lean towards the red end of the spectrum, giving facial tones and primary colors that sort of ruddy “pop” that was so common in the 1990s. There’s some weird softness that follows the image from shot to shot no matter if it’s colorized or black and white, but 4K UHD is a HUGE Step up from the Warner Brothers disc, and a decent step up from the newly remastered Shout Factory Blu-ray as well. The sun baked world of new Mexico is bright and vibrant, with over saturated reds, and a wild amount of visual dalliances that really make this one of the most hallucinogenic films I’ve ever seen.








Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track found on the 4K UHD and both Blu-ray discs seems to be a direct re-encoding of the Warner Brothers 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track from years and years ago. Which isn’t a bad thing as it was a stunner back then. The 5.1 mix makes full use of the surrounds, enveloping you in the garish and over the top sound track that screeches in your ears, intermingled with harsh gunshots and screaming voices. Bass is crisp and cleanly punchy, adding some weight to the shot gun blasts, breaking glass and horn based score that permeates the film. All in all, this is a fantastic sounding legacy mix that really impresses.












Extras:

Disc One: 4K UHD Director's Cut
• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE APPROVED BY OLIVER STONE
• Audio Commentary By Director/Co-Writer Oliver Stone

Disc Two: Blu-ray Director's Cut
• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE APPROVED BY OLIVER STONE
• NEW On Dawn's Highway Bleeding - Editor Hank Corwin On Natural Born Killers
• NEW The Scream of the Butterfly - Producer Clayton Townsend On Natural Born Killers
• NEW A Bloody Pail Of Nitro - Special Makeup Effects Artist Gordon J. Smith On Natural Born Killers
• NEW Wilderness Of Pain - Cinematographer Robert Richardson On Natural Born Killers
• Audio Commentary By Director/Co-Writer Oliver Stone
• Introduction By Oliver Stone

Diesc Three: Blu-ray Theatrical Cut
• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE APPROVED BY OLIVER STONE
• Audio Commentary By Director/Co-Writer Oliver Stone
• Natural Born Killers: Method in the Madness
• Natural Born Killers Evolution: How Would It All Go Down Now? Documentary
• Chaos Rising: The Storm Around Natural Born Killers Documentary
• Deleted Scenes With Introductions By Oliver Stone
• Alternate Ending With Introduction By Oliver Stone
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

I’m going to be honest. I don’t actually like Natural Born Killers. Not in it’s theatrical form now it’s director’s cut edition shown here in 4K UHD. The movie is repulsive and sleazy, and shows some of the aspects of humanity on screen. Every time I view the movie over the last 29 years I end up feeling uncomfortable and never really having enjoyed myself during the 2 hours watch. However I respect the film a great deal. It was a stunning film by both Stone and Tarantino which stabs straight at the heart of the trash television and over obsession of our culture on killers without thinking of the consequences. The movie hits home and INTENTIONALLY makes the viewer uncomfortable with what they’re watching. And no matter how much I wish I could enjoy the film, I understand why I can’t, and also love the fact that it affects me this viscerally. It’s a great attempt, but also a strange and uncomfortable watch by yours truly. Shout Factory has brought the Director’s cut to 4K UHD in this edition, while adding on the theatrical and Director’s cut on Blu-ray as well (each with their own disc) as well as a host of extras to make this one jam packed collector’s edition.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Adam Arkin, L.L. Cool J,. Michelle Williams
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Written by: Quintin Tarantino, David Veloz, Richard Rutowski
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 121 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: September 26th, 2022

Recommendation: Fascinating Watch