Bringing Out The Dead (1999) (Paramount Presents) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman

Release Date: September 17, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

Nicolas Cage is Frank Pierce, a paramedic on the brink of madness. Patricia Arquette is the daughter of a man Frank tried to save. Together, they’ll need to confront the ghosts of the past to discover redemption among the living. The powerhouse supporting cast includes John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore.

‘Bringing out the Dead’ accompanies struggling paramedic Frank Pierce during the course of three increasingly turbulent nights on the job. Frank takes pride in his job but after serving as a paramedic for some time and working the gritty streets of New York, he has become haunted and tormented by the ghosts of those he was unable to save. Hoping for three easygoing nights and a few days off to regain his composure, Frank starts to slip further when each subsequent night brings more challenges and stress than the one before and soon it sends him off the deep end as he tries to maintain his sanity by any means necessary.

Directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay written by frequent Scorsese collaborator Paul Schrader which was based on the novel by Joe Connelly, Scorsese does a solid job guiding along ‘Bringing out the Dead’ and creating a fitting balance of struggle, hopelessness and heart. The film’s noteworthy cast includes Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore along with more and each offers capable and fitting performances in their respective roles for the most part.

‘Bringing out the Dead’ is one of the more divisive films in filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s catalog and often seems to either be liked a great deal or not at all; I’ve personally always been fond of the film and while I won’t claim that it’s Scorsese’s best film or even close, it’s hard not to appreciate its unique style and the almost dreary sense of hopelessness that it exudes as we join Frank, a worn out paramedic who struggles to do his job well while trying to combat the demons and ghosts of the lives he failed to save over the course of his career. The film often tears through its scenery in an almost dream-like state which helps the viewer to feel somewhat disoriented and therefore better able to relate to Frank’s ordeal.

There’s some gritty content and rough moments throughout its course and much of it feels bleak yet with occasional glimmers of utter beauty seeping through the edges. Even the lighting does a great job of creating an uncertain mood, with the dark grimy look of the city streets being contradicted by white, almost heavenly light shining on Frank at times and the end result is a tense, unusual and at times somewhat rough ride. Scorsese’s careful guidance helps the film to become something unique and his work behind the camera is constantly boosted by a stellar cast led by Nicolas Cage who is quite magnificent in the troubled role of Frank. If you’ve never seen ‘Bringing out the Dead’ but appreciate a dark, uncomfortable, yet powerful tale of inner struggle and trying to do the right thing, then I would definitely encourage checking it out when you have a chance.

Paramount Home Entertainment brings Martin Scorsese’s ‘Bringing out the Dead’ home on both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray for the first time. The Limited Edition Paramount Presents release features the film with a stellar and source faithful, full Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision which was remastered from the original camera negative and reviewed by Scorsese, Cinematographer Robert Richardson, and Editor Thelma Schoonmaker. The noteworthy UHD video presentation is only further complemented by a tremendous new Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that fully immerses the viewer into the wild and at times almost psychedelic like chaos of Frank’s world.

The release also includes a Blu-ray copy of the film that features numerous brand new extras including all-new interviews with Scorsese, Cage and more which is all packed into the standard collectible ‘Paramount Presents’ packaging. ‘Bringing out the Dead’ may not be for everyone but it has its share of fans to say the least and if you’re one of them that might already be considering a purchase, then this 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo is highly recommended and should have fans ecstatic.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Bringing out the Dead’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 remastered from the original camera negative and reviewed by Martin Scorsese, cinematographer Robert Richardson, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker; presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks tremendous and delivers a sharp, clean and source faithful presentation that holds up wonderfully at every turn while never suffering from any issues to be uncovered along the way. The film retains its dark, almost grimy look with a solid grain structure and it showcases some impressive detail throughout noticeable on character specifics such as the red puffiness on eyes and crisp white uniform details, along with the various looks at the city streets and the vehicles, hospital and more. It’s also complemented by the Dolby Vision HDR which adds some extra pop to the uniforms, paramedic vehicle lights and other elements throughout. Overall, this is a wonderful Ultra High Definition presentation that looks great while staying true to the source and fans of the film should be thoroughly excited with the results.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is quite mesmerizing and it offers a clean, crisp and often surprisingly immersive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, along with vehicle and nature effects, crowd chatter on city streets and at the hospital, plus plenty more whipping throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while never allowing any dialogue or other simultaneously occurring audio elements to become distorted or negatively affected in the process. Overall, this is a marvelous Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that impresses throughout and should have fans thrilled.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Bringing out the Dead’ features a nice offering of bonus content including numerous brand new extras which can all be found on the release’s included Blu-ray disc. Included on the release is ‘Filmmaker Focus: Martin Scorsese on Bringing out the Dead’ (running approximately 12 minutes in length), ‘A Rumination on Salvation: Nicolas Cage on Bringing out the Dead’ (running approximately 15 minutes), ‘Cemetery Streets: Screenwriter Paul Schrader on Bringing out the Dead’ (approximately 6 minutes), ‘City of Ghosts: Cinematographer Robert Richardson on Bringing out the Dead’ (9 minutes), plus ‘On Set with Patricia Arquette’ (6 minutes), On Set with John Goodman’ (6 minutes), ‘On Set with Ving Rhames’ (3 minutes), ‘On Set with Tom Sizemore’ (3 minutes) and ‘On Set with Marc Anthony’ (5 minutes). Also included are ‘Exclusive Cast and Crew Interviews’ (approximately 11 minutes) and ‘2 Theatrical Trailers’ for the film (approximately 2 minutes each).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and 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 the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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Martin Scorsese’s ‘Bringing Out The Dead’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Combo Pack as Part of the Paramount Presents line from Paramount Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Bringing Out The Dead’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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