Review for Innerspace

Introduction

This particular double-dip review falls under the category of the films I watch the most, which many would argue should be the first films to re-buy on Blu-ray. Of course there’s the whole argument of which films are more significant, weighty, epic enough to warrant a Blu-ray upgrade, so you might go for the classics first. Of course there’s the whole audiovisual aspect, where you might first upgrade those films that benefit most from HD. There’s a good reason why I left it this long to get a Blu-ray of Innerspace though. It was only released in August, and then only in the US. Going from DVD to Blu-ray also means seeing the back of that old Warner’s snapper case, a packaging format that no-one loved. Anything would be better than that, right? Anyway, this is a quick look at the Blu-ray, while my review of the DVD is still on this site if you want to know more about my thoughts on the movie.


Miniaturisation will be the next leap forward in technology, and the next big illicit money-spinner for Victor Scrimshaw. He’ll do anything to develop it, but a company called Vectorscope has beaten him to it, figuring out the all-important re-enlargement process as well as the shrinking process. Scrimshaw might as well steal it, which is why, when former test pilot Lt Tuck Pendleton is miniaturised in a submersible, about to be injected into a test rabbit. Scrimshaw’s goons break in to steal the technology. They only get half of it, as the head scientist escapes with the syringe, and makes a run for it.

He only gets as far as a local mall before Scrimshaw’s hired killer catches up to him, but he manages to inject the solution containing Pendleton into an unsuspecting grocery clerk named Jack Putter. Jack’s a raving hypochondriac at the best of times, but now he has a test pilot lost in his bloodstream, trying to figure out what happened to the rabbit, fiddling with his nervous system trying to make contact. Pendleton will need Jack’s help if he’s to survive, as they need to get the technology back from Scrimshaw, and back to Vectorscope in time to re-enlarge him before his oxygen runs out. Jack will need the help of his inner hero, and his inner hero will need the help of his ex-girlfriend Lydia...

Picture

Innerspace gets a 1.78:1 widescreen transfer at 1080p resolution. I can’t tell if it’s opened up to that ratio, or cropped from the 1.85:1 original aspect, but it’s close enough to the original to near as make no difference. It’s a decent transfer of the original source, stable and free of print damage or signs of age. You have that issue with eighties film stock, softer, more prone to grain, and somewhat subdued in terms of colour, but you still get an impressive high definition presentation, with a natural layer of film grain, strong detail, and not overly processed on its way to Blu-ray. There are one or two scenes that might seem excessively soft, a tad filtered, but these are exceptions. More of an issue might be a lack of shadow detail in darker scenes, again probably a symptom of that film stock of the era.

Sound

You have the choice between DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround English, and DD 2.0 French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai (apparently there’s a Japanese track on here as well, although not accessible from a UK player). You have subtitles in these languages, plus Korean, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. The surround mix is really quite good, although the surrounds are mostly used for the ‘inner’ sequences, beginning with the title sequence, and during Tuck’s adventures in Jack. For the rest of the film, it’s a pretty front-focussed affair, reflecting what the original stereo sounded like. This being an eighties film, I was very happy with the music soundtrack.


If you look on Blu-ray.com’s forums, there have been complaints about crackling and distortion in the soundtrack at higher frequencies/volumes. They’ve even posted samples to the site apparently demonstrating the issue. I heard it in one sample on the site, which had been enhanced to bring out the distortion, when I turned the up volume on my laptop (the one with the iffy motherboard design that distorts audio anyway). I did not hear it while watching the film on my Panasonic Blu-ray player at any reasonable volume. Having said that, I did hear it in the movie audio playing in the background of the commentary on the disc.

Extras

Yay! I got rid of the snapper case... Boo! The Blu-ray comes in one of those eco cases with big holes in to save on plastic. I spotted a UK copyright warning at the end of the movie, so it might be worth waiting for an eventual UK release.

The disc presents its content with a static menu, and merely repeats the DVD extras. That boils down to the theatrical trailer in SD, and a really quite decent audio commentary from director Joe Dante, producer Michael Finnell, co-stars Kevin McCarthy and Robert Picardo, and Visual Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren.

Conclusion

I’ve had my illusions cruelly shattered on more than a couple of occasions recently, finally upgrading some of my favourite movies to Blu-ray, only to find that I don’t enjoy them in the same way anymore. Thankfully that isn’t a problem with Innerspace, which after nearly thirty years is well on its way to becoming a timeless classic sci-fi comedy. Putting Fantastic Voyage aside, it’s a wonderfully original idea, the kind of concept movie that the eighties were synonymous with. Innerspace is still a hilarious adventure, perfectly cast, and sharply written, directed and performed, and the wonderfully analogue special effects still hold their own against modern digital efforts.


This is one Blu-ray double dip I certainly don’t regret. The image quality is as good as you’ll probably get given the source material, while I found no evidence of the audio issues that others have reported. But above all that, Innerspace is fun! Also, at the budget price at which this release can be imported, along with its region free status, why wait for a UK release?