48 HRS (1982) (Paramount Presents) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Walter Hill

Cast: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O’Toole

Release Date: July 6, 2021

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

Nick Nolte is unforgettable as Jack Cates, a rough-edged Inspector on the hunt for two vicious cop-killers. Unlikely ride-along con Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy), is given 48-hour leave from prison to help Cates on the case. The laughs fly almost as much as the punches, as both men pursue two very different goals in a short amount of time.

Please Note: Paramount Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

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You can also check out our reviews for the other releases in the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line by clicking on each title below!

Paramount Presents #1: Fatal Attraction (1987) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #2: King Creole (1958) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #3: To Catch A Thief (1955) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #4: Flashdance (1983) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #5: Days Of Thunder (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #6: Pretty In Pink (1986) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #7: Airplane! (1980) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #8: Ghost (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #9: Roman Holiday (1953) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #10: The Haunting (1999) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #11: The Golden Child (1986) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #12: Trading Places (1983) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #13: The Court Jester (1956) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #14: Elizabethtown (2005) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #15: Love Story (1970) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #16: The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #17: Mommie Dearest (1981) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #18: Last Train From Gun Hill (1959) (Blu-ray Review)

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The original 1980’s buddy cop, action comedy classic ’48 HRS’ follows hardened detective Jack Cates who is on the hunt for a pair of dangerous cop killers, but when his window of time for catching the men starts to run thin and options begin to dwindle, Cates enlists the help of felon Reggie Hammond, an old associate of the killers who just may be his best chance of catching them. Unfortunately, the two men clash from the onset and the dangerous mission to catch these men soon also becomes a test of patience for these two drastic opposites. But if they can avoid killing each other for the time being, they might just stand a chance at catching these dangerous criminals before it’s too late.

The 1982 action comedy ’48 HRS’ joins the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line as the nineteenth entry in the ongoing limited edition, numbered lineup of releases which brings home various classics from the expansive Paramount vault over the decades with each nicely showcasing the releases in collectible packaging, plus new 4K film transfers paired with solid audio presentations and some bonus content on top of it. ’48 HRS’ makes yet another a nice addition to the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line (with its sequel also finally arriving home on Blu-ray the same day separately and receiving the ‘Paramount Presents’ treatment as well) and while some of the content within may seem somewhat dated, it’s still a memorable outing that’s largely responsible for kick starting Eddie Murphy’s memorable film career. Serving up plenty of tense action, funny moments and a surprisingly raw and real exploration of some other elements at the same time, it remains a quite enjoyable action comedy that in many ways helped to kick off a popular concept that’s been borrowed from in some way or another countless times since. At times rough and at others almost silly, but never detracting from the real nature of the gritty aspects within, ’48 HRS’ may not be the best film ever to feature Nolte or Murphy, but it’s certainly not one that will be forgotten over time either.

Overall, the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ’48 HRS’ brings the 1982 buddy cop classic directed by Walter Hill back home on Blu-ray with an upgraded release sporting a wonderful new high definition video presentation restored from a new 4K film transfer and almost surely looking better than it ever has before, paired with an altogether quite solid Dolby TrueHD multichannel soundtrack and some nice (and brand new) bonus content that should be appreciated. Add in the collectible packaging featured on all of the limited edition ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray releases and the end result is one pretty great Blu-ray release that should thrill fans of this 1980’s gem. This new Blu-ray release is definitely recommended for any longtime fans of this Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy led action comedy classic already considering a purchase.

VIDEO:

The ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ’48 HRS’ features a new, full 1080p High Definition presentation of the film restored from a new 4K film transfer with its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. This newly restored presentation looks magnificent as a whole and serves up a clean, gorgeous and richly detailed new presentation that features a nice grain pallet and other welcome artifacts representative of its source material, and never suffering from any unexpected issues or problems along the way. It holds up beautifully even during the various darkly lit and fast moving sequences, never allowing anything onscreen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a wonderful new high definition video presentation that delivers across the board and should thoroughly thrill fans of this 80’s classic.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack provides a crisp, clean and occasionally quite active audio presentation throughout. It consistently takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send some action effects, vehicle and nature activity along with crowd chatter and more throughout the various speakers on numerous occasions, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a highly capable 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that does its job nicely and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ’48 HRS’ features the usual collectible packaging featured on all of the limited edition ‘Paramount Presents’ releases including a slipcase that opens up to feature a larger version of the film’s original theatrical poster, along with more photos on the inside of the interior Blu-ray case (you can view the included beauty shot from the studio at the bottom of the review for a look inside). The disc itself also features a couple of nice extras that fans should enjoy including the new retrospective Featurette ‘Filmmaker Focus: Walter Hill on 48 HRS’ (running approximately 19 minutes in length), in addition to an ‘Isolated Score Track’ and the full ‘Space Kid – Original 1966 Animated Short’ (running approximately 5 minutes) which was glimpsed on a TV screen in one scene of the film. The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (approximately 3 minutes) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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’48 HRS’ is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray, Newly Remastered as part of the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line from Paramount Home Entertainment

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