Unlawful Entry (Blu-Ray) Review

Most of you that have read my reviews know that Kurt Russell is my favorite actor. However, I would like to think that most people when speaking about their favorite movie with Kurt Russell would probably say Escape from New York or The Thing. Maybe Tombstone or more recent films like The Hateful Eight. There is probably even that one person that absolutely loves Kurt Russell as Santa Claus or Coach Herb Books from Miracle. While my favorite film with Kurt Russell probably does bounce from Escape from New York to Breakdown to Big Trouble in Little China to The Thing again, I cannot deny that one of my favorite guilty pleasures is in the form of Unlawful Entry, a 1992 thriller with Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe that explores the themes of home invasion and misplaced trust. I sat down with my wife recently to take a look at the new Shout blu-ray release (my 4th or 5th time with the film, my wife’s first) and see how it fared.

Cue the pensive James Horner score as we open to a flyover with Los Angeles as the backdrop. We hover over about half a dozen police cars as they appear to take someone away from the scene in handcuffs. Unfortunately for someone lying face down on the bridge, it looks like that it will the last thing they ever see. The helicopter then moves on to take a look at the expensive houses in the district with the nice houses and full length pools to swim in. We focus in on one lady in particular swimming in a red swimsuit who is making laps in the pool. That lady is of course, Karen Carr (played by Madeleine Stowe) who will meet a little later. Day becomes night and we circle around to enter the house of the Carr’s. We get to see Karen close up and she’s petting her kitty, Tiny (played by Merv). Hey, it’s a cat people, what kind of review do you think I’m running here? Apparently you know me too well.

Anyway, soon Karen goes to sleep by television when she’s awoken by a strange sound. Downstairs her husband Michael Carr (played by Kurt Russell) is burning the midnight oil trying to strike up a deal for his new club. Karen walks in to tell Michael about the sound when they both now hear a second sound coming from the downstairs. Michael takes one of his golf clubs and decides to investigate. The husband walks down the stairs and turns on a light. He pokes around with the golf club and then turns on another light but it flickers and has trouble staying on. But apparently nothing is really going on and Michael being satisfied that he’s acting as the man of the house pops himself open a beer.

As Michael looks up overhead, he notices that the bay window above him is open. In his haste of grabbing the golf club, he knocks over the bottle of beer and it smashes to the ground. This in turn startles Karen who leaves the office upstairs. There is indeed an intruder in the house in the form of Ernie Pike (played by Johnny Ray McGhee) who enters a melee with the husband. As the two fight, Karen comes down the stairs and runs to the phone to call the police. Ernie realizes that he’s going to be made and breaks away from Michael and runs towards Karen. He grabs her and holds a nearby kitchen knife to her throat. Michael is told to lay down his club which he does as he begs for the man to not hurt and release his wife. However, the intruder does not release her and shuffles off towards the exit with Karen in tow.

Eventually, Ernie Pike does dump Karen in the pool on the way out. She is unharmed but terrified as the couple calls the police to report the break in. A little bit later, two cops show up, Officer Roy Cole (played by Roger E. Mosley) and Officer Pete Davis (played by Ray Liotta). As Michael talks to Roy about the intruder and other details, Karen who was cleaning herself up walks down the stairs. She catches the eye of Pete Davis who watches her as she descends. After the four of them breakdown the case and its scary details, the conversation shifts to security measures and that’s when Pete offers to help with the installation of the home security system. Little do we soon learn that Pete might actually be the one the Carrs need to keep out of their house.

The first half of the movie deals with the break-in and the establishment of trust between the Carrs and Pete Davis. The second half the trust is dissected and comes crumbling down. Each one of the three main characters have multiple layers to them that make them fascinating. The Carrs are very much a “yuppie” couple, a term that was coined in the 80’s to describe people who had some money but often lived well beyond their means. Michael in fact is wheeling and dealing trying to secure a loan to get investors interested in a club that he wants to open. Karen is something of a trophy wife that tends to flirt with Pete until it becomes dangerous to do so.

But certainly the most interesting character belongs to Pete Davis who isn’t as simple as the well meaning cop that turns into an evil one. He has good intentions but also has an unhinged side that resonates probably from his youth but isn’t fully explained here. He is also something of a sympathetic character, at least until the final scenes we do feel sorry for him because the police life is a difficult one to live. Ray Liotta does a fantastic job, probably his best role (either this film or Goodfellas). I wish there was a prequel film with Pete Davis so we can fully understand his troublesome backstory.

On the not so good side, I started to realize how “dated” some of the film elements are this time around. I’m mainly talking about how Michael Carr’s credit cards and other implements of financial access suddenly go poof overnight. Back in the early 90’s, this was a natural paranoia and honestly still is today, but typically a cop can’t mess with something like credit card limits and FICA scores. However, the one thing that these pattern of events suggest is that Michael Carr also has a sketchy past and it further floats the idea that at least in Pete’s head, Michael is not the right man for Karen Carr’s affection.

Video

The video is in 1.85:1 widescreen. Shout, Shout, Shout. This is the old master as many have reported and while it doesn’t look all that bad, it certainly has its fair share of issues. Detail is okay but every scene has this dark and dingy feel, almost a haze. It does not matter if they are inside or outside. Now, I certainly know that part of this is a style and if heaven forbid this movie ever received a 4k release, I wouldn’t want it scrubbed but it really cuts down on detail. It is too much, and I don’t hate the transfer but it sorely needs to be updated (cause I know Shout is probably eyeing these sales as a barometer for a 4k release). On the plus side, I can say without hesitation that this video presentation feels like a late 80’s, early 90’s film. Wait is that a good thing? I really wish Shout would have taken more time with this one.

Comparing it to the previous German blu-ray release, the Shout release is slightly better. It’s the same master but there is a tiny bit of detail and more natural grain on the newer release. I started to notice new things in the shooting locations (the ride along for example) that I had not in the previous discs. Plus you get rid of the German titles found in the international release. What’s more interesting is that the dvd release upscaled doesn’t look all that bad and is certainly watchable in 2024.

Audio

The audio for this one is 5.1 DTS-HD English as well as a 2.0 DTS Stereo Track in English. Subtitles are provided in English SDH. The audio fares much better than the video mostly because the dvd release already featured four and five channel quality sound. Things like rain, car chases and other wonderful implements of surround effects are all on display and sound great within the structure of the sound field. The James Horner score comes through fantastic here and is more noticeable with the audio cues than in previous releases. Dialog has no issues and the subtitles seemed to be on track with the on-screen action.

Previous releases for those keeping score at home had the German release with 2.0/5.1 German dubs (German subs as well) and also sporting a 5.1 English DTS-HD track. The DVD is a little more interesting and had DTS 5.0, Dolby Digital 4.0, and a 2.0 English and French mix. Subtitles were English and Spanish. I know space is a concern, but the original 4.0 track might have been interesting to keep around. A final note, if you do enjoy the soundtrack like I do of this film, there is the original release available in LP and CD along with an update by La La Land in 2017. The updated release includes extra tracks as well as extended versions of a few of the original ones. I really should pick one of those up, fantastic score.

Special Features

Audio Commentary with Director Jonathan Kaplan: This vintage commentary has Jonathan talking about all things Unlawful Entry as well as his career. He speaks quite heavily about his Hitchcockian influences with this film and points out many details that we might have missed. Things such as the children’s wallpaper in Michael’s makeshift office which might indicate that the couple thought about having children at least at some point in the marriage. He talks a lot about how Ray Liotta worked and shares all sorts of wonderful tidbits about the movie. Great, and informative commentary.
Unrestrained Realism: Inside the Films of Jonathan Kaplan 28:27: This new feature (Johnathan joins us on a split screen Facetime type interface) takes us on a journey from Jonathan Kaplan’s softcore origins (no footage, sorry) to diving into the action genre with such films like Heart Like a Wheel (which sorely needs a blu-ray release) and eventually launching into thrillers such as The Accused and Unlawful Entry. Naturally, they spend the most time on Unlawful Entry, but it still works as a great chronology of his films.
Too Tightly Wound: Inside the Filming of Unlawful Entry 17:41: Another new one, this time with Jaime Anderson who was the director of photography on the film. He’s been working with Jonathan Kaplan since Night Call Nurses and talks about his history and relationship with the director while talking about Unlawful Entry as well.
Symphonic Intruder: Inside the Thriller Scores of James Horner 18:49: The last new feature, we are here with Daniel Schweiger (interestingly enough he is a wearing a La La Records shirt) who is a film music historian and shares a lot of history of Mr. James Horner who passed away in 2015. From humble beginnings with films such as Wolfen to his big break with Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, we get a wonderful look into this amazing composer. Daniel talks about how the notes from Horner’s score play with each of the characters from the movie and how that made the films more entertaining and memorable.
Vintage Making of Featurette 4:35: This holdover from the dvd release shows some classic footage and brief interview sessions from the likes of Ray Liotta, Kurt Russell, Jonathan Kaplan, and Madeleine Stowe.
Theatrical Trailer 1:45: The original theatrical trailer, wish trailers were still done like this.
TV Spots 1:09: Two tv spots to round out the extras.
Notes On Previous Releases:
- Concorde German Blu-Ray release: For those of you who are wishing to dump the German disc, you might want to re-think that position. This revolves mostly around the extras which appear to be filmed during the same time as the vintage making of featurette on the US release. There is a making of featurette which oddly is not the same featurette shown on the Shout disc, it runs about 4 minutes and some change. Then a B-Roll that runs for 5 and a half minutes which shows the filming of the scenes around the area where Kurt Russell’s character does his ride along with Ray Liotta and Roger Mosley’s characters. Finally, and what most importantly is 10 and a half minutes of interviews with Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta (who is kinda still in character), Madeleine Stowe, Roger Mosley, Jonathan Kaplan, and Charles Gordon (producer). These features only make up 20 minutes of material but considering that Ray Liotta and Roger Mosley are no longer with us, it is important to keep around.
- Fox DVD release: The commentary, making of featurette, theatrical trailer, and tv spots mentioned in the Shout release reside on the dvd release. I know I’m in the minority, but I sure dig the old classic style of menus found here in the dvd release. There is not much reason to keep this dvd (except maybe as a backup) but it was actually a pretty good release for its time.

Final Thoughts

Unlawful Entry was a success in the theaters. It had a budget of 23 million and brought back over 57 million dollars in the box office. What’s more puzzling though that is despite the success it has had a difficult time in the video market. The DVD didn’t show up until 2001, and the German Blu-Ray release didn’t rear its head until 2017. Now seven year later, we finally have a domestic blu-ray release and honestly (sorry Shout Factory), it’s a rushed one. Seriously, Shout releases this as a limited release with only 1,600 (later revised to 2,600) copies. They basically treat it like some cult film with little to no following. The release sells out in days and the second allotment sells out quickly as well. It’s Kurt freaking Russell. Ray Liotta died a couple of years ago, so people are discovering his films all over again. Throw in Madeleine Stowe who looks unbelievable, and what’s not to like about this film. Of course it sold out, twice even.

The disc is certainly decent with very good audio and some new extras (but not retaining all of the available vintage extras from the German disc). However, the video is from a dated master and this needs a fresh scan in the near future. Hopefully, I’m around to see a 4k release of this film and to have it receive better treatment than the domestic blu-ray release. Maybe the source elements are in bad shape, I’m not sure but I would like to know why this film does not get the attention it deserves. Extremely heavy recommendation for the film, and so-so recommendation for the disc itself, it is a movie worth checking out. Enjoy.