Subway (Luc Besson Collection) - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Subway (Luc Besson Collection)



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


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Movie
Well, no, 5 films into the 9 film set, and we finally get to a film that hasn’t had a domestic release yet (although it did have a Studio Canal release a few months back in England, and it looks like Sony has the same transfer that the Studio Canal release carries), and it’s a doozy too. I vaguely remember watching this in a college film class, but I haven’t seen the film in over 22 years, so that memory is VERY fuzzy. Needless to say, 1985’s Subway is a trip and a half, blending action, drama, romance, and a minor heist all into a gigantic mess of a film that feels more like an impressionist painting than it does an actual movie.

28-year-old Christopher Lambert plays Fred, a young vagabond living in the bowels of the Paris subway system, who has stolen some valuable documents from a mark named Helena (Isabelle Adjani), who happens to be married to an oppressive businessman (Constantin Alexandrov). Wanting to be free from his life of thievery and poverty, Fred gets Helena to agree to meet him in the subway, where he intends to swap the documents for a goodly sum of money. Unfortunately for him, another one of his victims catches sight of him before the trade can complete itself, forcing Fred to run off into his subterranean hideaway to escape his pursuers.

While hiding out at the bottom of the Metro tunnels, Fred befriends a series of vagabonds just like himself. The roller skating pick pocket (Jean-Hughes Anglade, best known for being the boyfriend in La Femme Nikita), the florist with a knack for pick pocketing, and a drummer (Jean Reno) who just wants to chill and play his music. And while they may have the run of the subway tunnels, the chief inspector in charge of the subway is hot on their heels and ready to capture the thugs (who hilariously have two officers under his command named Batman and Robin). Now Fred and his ragtag group of minions have to figure out a way to get to Helena and her husband so they pay out, and hopefully leave this life of crime for good and have a semblance of a normal life.

Subway is not meant to be watched with a traditional 3-act story arc in mind. Sure, there’s an underlying story about Helena and Fred’s blackmail scheme, but Luc Besson is crafting a film completely made up of vibes, feelings, and visual aesthetics. It’s a story that is best seen as an experience rather than soaking up a traditional narrative. The film is off-putting at first due to the fact that it dumps you straight into the Helena/Fred meetup without any exposition, and things only get more bizarre from there. The locale of the Paris Metro Subway station (which they shot on location at) is all about capturing the moods and feelings of a very unique situation and translating that into a story. As I said in the first paragraph, Subway feels more like an impressionist painting than a film, as it captures your attention with bright colors, flashy clothing, and flowery dialogue that seems to be more poetic than it is straightforward and intelligible. As such, I can see this frustrating film fans who are not prepared for this impressionist style of filmmaking, and it may be seen as Luc Besson’s weirdest film.

While Subway is by far Luc Besson’s most bizarre film, it is also one of his best films. I love his more pop culture films like The Fifth Element or Leon The Professional, but Subway feels the most raw and personal out of all his films. You can tell that he loves to paint pictures with his visuals, and in this flick, he takes off all of his normal shackles and goes crazy with his paintbrush on screen. Christopher Lambert is surprisingly nuanced instead of his normal cackling and gravely voiced self, and the accompanying supporting cast meshes well with him. His and Helena’s relationship is very fluid and ever-changing, and it’s not till the final 30 minutes that it really meshes, but it’s still one of the most fascinating parts of the film.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

According to everything I could find, this appears to be the exact same transfer as the 5-month-old Studio Canal 4K UHD disc, and that is an amazing thing, as it was given a perfect score by many reviewers. Personally, I can’t refute that 5/5 rating either, as this is the perfect representation of a classic movie shot on film. Heavily grainy and completely organic looking, I can find no flaws with the transfer. Imagery is bright and vivid, with sharp blacks, harsh bleached blonde hair, and punchy primary colors all around in the subway. The film takes place with dim lighting or harsh fluorescent lighting in the subway proper, giving it a very harsh and over-brightened tone, thanks to the highlights being pushed a bit hot. The HDR and Dolby Vision are rather subtle here, enhancing those dark shadows and adding some punch to the colors, but not in an overt way. This isn’t a shock and awe type film that looks all glossy, but rather a picture-perfect representation of good 80s film stock in its best form possible.







Audio:

The film is given 3 audio choices, with an English 2.0 DTS-HD MA track, as well as French 5.0 and 2.0 DTS-HD MA mixes. Naturally, I went straight for the 5.0 original language track, and it’s by far the best experience on the disc. I’m not sure about the English Dub, but I know from the commentaries that this was given a fully remastered audio source for the French tracks, and it sounds gorgeous to the ears. Clear as a belle dialog, some really great surround usage due to the claustrophobic and very ambient nature of the Subway itself, and we even get some baked in LFE (despite there being no .1 track in a 5.0 mix).









Extras:

• The Making of Subway
• Actor Jean-Hugues Anglade
• Assistant Director Didier Grousset
• Co-writer/Editor Sophie Schmit
• Production Assistant Didier Naert
• Composer Michel Jonasz
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Subway is a cult classic Luc Besson film, and widely considered to be one of (if not THE) best works he’s ever done. Honestly, while I don’t revere it as much as others do (maybe that’s because I’ve only seen it twice), but I think that assertion isn’t too far off the mark. The film is heavily stylized, almost dreamy in nature, and pulls you in different directions emotionally and visually. The 4K UHD disc looks and sounds amazing, and the solid extras make for a treat when you wade through them. Highly recommended with the caveat that this is an atypical viewing experience.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert, Richard Bohringer, Jean Reno, Jean-Hugues Anglade
Directed by: Luc Besson
Written by: Luc Besson
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0, French DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Sony
Rated: R
Runtime: 103 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 11th, 2025

Recommendation: Interesting Watch

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