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Boiling Point
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - Australia - Umbrella Entertainment Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (5th February 2025). |
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The Film
 "Boiling Point" (1993) During an undercover sting operation, treasury agents Jimmy Mercer (played by Wesley Snipes) and Brady (played by Dan Hedaya) things go the wrong way when their undercover agent is killed. Mercer is out for revenge and is on the tail of "Red" Diamond (played by Dennis Hopper) and the young man under his wing, Ronnie (played by Viggo Mortensen). While the two criminals are undertaking a major sting with counterfeit money, there are a lot of other emotional tolls that are playing in the way with the women involved in their lives - and that goes for both the criminals and the leading agent. Crime novel writer and former Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich made quite an impact with his first novel from 1984 entitled "To Live and Die in L.A.". The screen adaptation "To Live and Die in L.A." was released the following year and was a critical and commercial success, with its noir elements placed in a modern society. His subsequent novel "Money Men" which took place in a counterfeiting ring and looked at the parallels between the law and the outlaws was picked up for an adaptation by producer and director James B. Harris, known for producing the early noir features directed by Stanley Kubrick and directing the acclaimed but underseen neo-noir "Cop" from 1988. With an impressive cast in the leads with the acclaimed yet sometimes troublesome Hopper and the quick rising name with Snipes, the film adaptation should have been a knockout. Yet the retitled adaptation "Boiling Point" didn't have much of an impact theatrically and became just another film that frequented the video store shelves and runs on cable movie channels over the years. But was it a neglected gem or was it a forgettable piece from many years back? The story did an interesting take by placing both the chased and the chaser in equal light. Lightness and darkness, emotional turmoil, the desire for freedom and a means of escape are going through the minds of both the leads. The character of Mercer is obviously a good guy as it is his job to take down criminals and sometimes in dangerous situations. But at the same time he puts his career first and his personal life second, as seen with his broken relationship with his ex-wife who has moved on and their child caught in the middle of the drama. He takes sexual comfort not from a healthy relationship, but with call girl Vikki (played by Lolita Davidovich) as he dreams about getting away from it all someday. With the death of one of his partners he starts questioning about his direction in life, and his moral compass is swaying on vengeance rather than taking the rules of the law. While his tactics are effective in connecting the dots, the case is much more than a simple manhunt for him. As for Red, he is an elder man in the crime world and has had his time outside as well as in prison to make a name for himself. But with him, he has put crime far ahead of his personal life, as seen with the strained relationship he has with his girlfriend Mona (played by Valerie Perrine) who has a love-hate relationship with him. He has the charm and the wit to sweep her off her feet, but she is always hurt by his ways. Yet she keeps giving him another chance. Red wants to settle down after one last major score in which he needs help with his young protege Ronnie who is very adept at doing the violent and dirty work. In addition, Red is also having a relationship with a call girl, which happens to be Vikki, the woman that Mercer is also having a relationship with. While the two men have plenty of parallels in their lives, they do not know of each other for the most part of the story, only criss-crossing or just missing each other along the way. While the story looked at their characters and the balance between them through emotional sequences as well as violent setpieces involving getaway vehicles and shootouts, American distributor Warner Brothers had a different angle. They wanted more Snipes and less Hopper. Snipes made a major impact in 1992's "Passenger 57" for Warner Brothers, playing the Air Marshal lead proving he was able to carry an action film, His upcoming films in production with "Rising Sun" and "Demolition Man" were hyped titles with major backing, and they were hoping to make Snipes the main star as a cop who was out for vengeance. Due to studio interference and Harris not having the final cut, the balance between the two leads were skewed, making the story feel awkward in its pacing and tone. The relationship between Mercer and Brady was negligible, while the relationship between Red and Ronnie were given more time. Yet Red's scenes with his girlfriend felt lackluster with the limited time given. What goes on further are the interrogations scenes in which Mercer finds the dots to lead to Red's character, and yet there is not much to counterbalance the act. Warner Brothers wanted more action, yet this was not an action driven piece. Things may have become unbalanced, though the most notable aspect of "Boiling Point" is the incredible roster of supporting cast members to be seen on screen, with some being fair names at the time and others becoming much better known in later years. Seymour Cassel as Leach, Jonathan Banks" as Max, Christine Elise as Carol, Tobin Bell as Roth, Paul Gleason as the transaction man that gets run over, James Tolkan as Levitt, and of course Viggo Mortenson as Ronnie. The faces gathered are incredibly impressive, even if some of them only appear for one scene and leaving a strong impression. "Boiling Point" lost its focus in the editing room and it is an unfortunate shame. Hopper even stated it was one of his favorite performances and yet a lot of it was removed from the final version. Deleted scenes or a workprint has never surfaced so who knows if a director's cut even exists anymore. Produced by Canal+ France and distributed by Warner Brothers in America, the film was released theatrically on April 16th, 1993, grossing $4 million theatrically on opening weekend, ranking at #3 behind "Indecent Proposal" and "The Sandlot" which were both in their second week. With negative critical reactions and a lukewarm response from filmgoers, the film quickly fell off the box office charts and went to video and cable soonafter. While there are some positive moments to be found, overall "Boiling Point" feels lackluster due to the skewed balance that affected the tone. Note this is a region ALL Blu-ray
Video
Umbrella Entertainment presents the film in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The transfer comes from rightsholder Studio Canal, as the film opens with their modern logo then has the period Warner Brothers logo to start the film. The picture itself is fair, though not particularly amazing. On the plus side it is a clean transfer with minimal if any damage marks to be found with very good depth and clarity, while also keeping a good amount of film grain intact. Colors are well balanced, and the image is stable. On the minus side, it is a fairly bland looking transfer, with colors being fairly pale and bright with nothing looking particularly bold and crisp with the color palate. It is still easily watchable and much better than any previous home video release with its HD debut, but one should not expect a huge revelation. The film's runtime is 92:29.
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo Originally released theatrically in Dolby Stereo, the 2.0 track is presented in lossless form. The music cues are utilized well with the channel separation while dialogue is basically kept at center and is well balanced. Though some of the effects such as gunfire can be slightly louder than the dialogue and music at times. On the brighter side, there are no issues of dropout, hiss, or other damage to the audio for a clean sounding track throughout. There are optional English HoH subtitles for the main feature which are white in color, are easy to read and well timed.
Extras
Audio Commentary with Writer L. Scott Jose and Writer and Historian Andrew Nette (2024) This new and exclusive commentary has Jose and Nette sitting together to discuss about the film, from information on the impressive cast and their careers at the time, comparisons to "To Live and Die in L.A.", differences between the novel, changes made due to the distributors, the marketing issue affecting the film, Harris' career and his direction and more. It is not always praiseworthy, as they question some of the motivations of characters, the choices made with the underwritten parts, but there are also some positive notes to be heard as well. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Love in the Dark: The Romantic Noir of Boiling Point" 2024 Audio Essay by Sean Hogan (13:07) This new and exclusive audio essay has Hogan discussing about the film's adaptation, the genre, Harris' direction and more. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "The Story of Boiling Point" 2005 featurette (16:49) This vintage featurette includes separately conducted interviews with Petievich, Harris, and Elise on the production, discussing about the book and its noir roots, the adaptation, the title change, the parallels seen between the characters, how Petievich was on set as a technical advisor, the editing choices and trims made from Warner's pressure, and more. While it is short and doesn't have more input from other actors, it has a good amount of information from the writer and the director without holding back too much on their somewhat disappointment with the film's completion and reception. Note this was originally available on the 2005 Studio Canal/Universal DVD releases. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1 / 1.85:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Photo Gallery (1:41) A slideshow gallery of production photos from the film accompanied by the opening and closing credit song “Dream” by the Danny May Orchestra. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.50:1, Music Dolby Digital 2.0 Original VHS Trailer (1:13) The VHS trailer is identical in content to the theatrical trailer from below, though taken from a US VHS source, with the same editing and narration, though the aspect ratio is heavily cropped on the sides yet slightly opened on the top and bottom. The trailer has also been embedded below. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.20:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Theatrical Trailer (1:19) While it starts with a modern Studio Canal logo, it presents the original US theatrical trailer which is oddly in the scope aspect ratio, which is cropped from the theatrical aspect ratio. It is a lot grainier and with darker colors in comparison to the theatrical feature. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 2.35:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles James B. Harris Trailer Reel for "The Killing", "The Bedford Incident", "Lolita", "Cop", "Boiling Point" (9:15) Presented here are a series original trailers of films produced and/or directed by Harris. The "Boiling Point" trailer is the same as the one above in the scope ratio. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in various ratios, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles The film was released on DVD years ago in the US by Warner Brothers, which unfortunately had a fullscreen transfer with no extras. Studio Canal & Universal released the DVD in Europe in 2005 which thankfully had a widescreen transfer and the above produced featurette, but unfortunately the subtitles were forced and non-removable with English audio. This Umbrella Blu-ray is a major step up in every way for the film. Other notable clips: 30 second TV spot 15 second TV spot "Dream" by The Danny May Orchestra
Packaging
The disc is packaged in a clear keep case with reversible artwork. The only difference with the opposite inlay is that the Australian M rating logos are removed. The packaging states region B only, but the disc is in fact region ALL. It is also available with a limited slipcover exclusively at the Umbrella Web Shop. Note that the slipcover has the title printed on the spine in the "French" form, meaning from bottom to top for some odd reason. It is also available in a Collector's Edition exclusively at the Umbrella Web Shop, limited to 500 copies which also includes: - A 48 page book with behind-the-scenes, experiences and art - Custom artwork rigid case by Mutant Design - Custom artwork slipcover by Mutant Design - 8 artcards - A3 reversible poster The booklet starts with the essay "Pulp Fictions: The Films of James B. Harris" written by Sean Hogan on the producer/director's career and his films. Next are reprints of vintage promotional sheets for the film's sales which was still under the original novel's title "Money Men". This section has the story synopsis, biographies and filmographies, and production notes. There are stills from the film within the booklet, as well as a gallery of original poster art and the books that were reprinted with the film's title replacing the original. There are also notes from Mutant Design on the design of this particular release's slipcover and slipcase. The artcards are printed on thick cards, featuring stills from the film. The poster is double sided, with the US theatrical artwork on one side and the French theatrical artwork on the other. The poster is folded and housed in the keep case, which along with the slipcover, fits inside the rigid slipcase along with the book and the artcards. 
Overall
"Boiling Point" has fine performances and an impressive cast, but the studio mandated edits and cuts took away the critical balance against the leads, making it a tonally awkward feature that lacks the punch it was supposed to give. The Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray is a fine release for its HD debut, with a good transfer and a good selection of extras.
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