Last week Shout! Factory released the first two titles in its new “Shout Select” line of Blu-rays. Shout Select brings viewers new deluxe Blu-ray editions of cult film classics and fan favorites. Following a similar convention to other studios such as Criterion & Olive Films, each title in this new collection is given a number, which is displayed on the spine of the case. This week Shout Select launches title #3, the 1980’s action/comedy/chase film Midnight Run from director Martin Brest (Beverly Hills Cop), which makes its U.S. Blu-ray debut.

Former Chicago police officer Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) left the force when he discovered the rest of his department had fallen under the corrupt influence of local mobster Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina). He refused to play ball, and now works as a bounty hunter in Los Angeles. Bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano) hires Jack to track down his client Jonathan Mardukas (Charles Grodin), who has disappeared while out on bail—Moscone stands to lose a lot of money if Mardukas isn’t found by midnight in five days. Mardukas was Jimmy Serrano’s accountant—he had robbed the mobster of millions before going on the run, though Mardukas was enjoying flaunting to his former employer the fact that he was spending all of the mobster’s money. Jack takes the job and heads across the country where he is quickly able to locate Mardukas. However, he soon discovers that getting him back to LA is not going to be as easy—the man is quite the handful! Meanwhile the FBI—led by Agent Alonzo Mosely (Yaphet Kotto)—are also after Mardukas to make a case against the mob. And to make matters worse, Serrano’s men have order to find and kill Mardukas, and Moscone has secretly put rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton) on the case as well.

Somehow I had never seen this classic film before now. Due to film’s R rating (thanks to language) I was not old enough to see it in the theater, but I don’t have any excuse for the 25 years since then. As I watched this film for the first time on this Blu-ray I was pleasantly surprised. The film was fresh, fun and action-packed, and didn’t feel dated at all. Midnight Run is like Beverly Hills Cop meets Planes, Trains & Automobiles, with some classic chase film elements. It’s a really fun action/comedy film, but the tone of the movie is more on the serious side—the humor is much more subtle, and the stakes feel a bit more real.

Nowadays Robert De Niro constantly appears in comedic films, but at the time this film was originally released, this was unusual—he was pretty much just a dramatic actor. It’s great that this role came around to break that mold, beause he’s definitely got the comedy chops. While there is a serious side to Jack, De Niro has a lot of fun in the role. He and Grodin have great on-screen chemistry, and Charles Grodin is quite funny in this role. Mardukas always remains friendly, cool, calm and collected, and it seems like nothing phases him, but he’s always a few steps ahead of Jack, plotting some new scheme to get away. There’s this fun sense of innocence to the character, but you know that is just a facade and he’s up to something.

The film also has an excellent supporting cast. Joe Pantoliano is perfectly cast as the weaselly Eddie Moscone—there is a lot of fun banter between Jack and Eddie. John Ashton was able to break away from being typecast by his Beverly Hills Cop role and often steals the scene as rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler—there is some great physical and verbal humor every time Jack and Marvin try to one-up one another to get the job/paycheck. And Yaphet Kotto is so much fun as Agent Alonzo Mosely—some of my favorite scenes involve the ongoing repercussions of Jack stealing the FBI agent’s ID, and Mosely trying to explain that he’s the real agent.

The technical presentation of the Blu-ray is quite nice. The picture quality is excellent, and doesn’t reflect the film’s almost-30-year-old age. The video is clean and crisp, and only in a couple of the darker scenes did a notice a slight drop in detail and quality. The audio track is more than sufficient, providing clear dialogue and an excellent presentation of Danny Elfman’s delightful-and-catchy soundtrack. The disc contains over 90 minutes of bonus features including new retrospective interviews with the cast and the writer, as well as a vintage EPK making-of featurette. The interview with Robert De Niro is exclusive to this Shout Select release, but the others were originally produced for a pair of Blu-ray releases abroad last year.

The Blu-ray comes packed in a standard Blu-ray case with no slipcover. The insert inside the cover is reversible, giving the viewer a choice in how to display this title in his or her collection. The alternate view for this title features the original poster art for the film. (Note: The white dot in the artwork below is due to a hole punch in our screener copy—the released version will not have this.)

What’s Included:
Film: (2:06:19)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Interview with Robert De Niro (8:51)
  In this new Shout Select-exclusive interview, the star reflects on doing his first comedic film, working with director Martin Brest, the life of a bounty hunter, working around Dennis Farina’s schedule, improvisation, working with John Ashton, and the various locations where the film was shot. Short interview clips are interspersed with clips from the film with narration providing facts and behind-the-scenes info about the production. The amount of actual interview time is probably less than 2 minutes, but it’s still entertaining.
• We’ve Got the Duke: An Interview With Actor Charles Grodin (12:24)
  The actor talks about his auditions, improvisation, the various other people up for his role, his favorite scenes, and the filming locations. He also provides several other fun behind-the-scenes anecdotes. He goes off on few tangents including the death of his first wife, and a story about his current wife’s father—the founder of AMC cinemas. This interview as well as the four that follow were originally produced in 2015 for the Region B Blu-ray releases, but this is the first time they appear on any U.S. release.
• Moscone Bail Bonds: An Interview With Actor Joe Pantoliano (14:19)
  The actor talks about getting into acting in high school, becoming a character actor, how he got involved with the film, working with De Niro, casting Moscone’s partner, and more.
• Hey Marvin! An Interview With Actor John Ashton (17:23)
  The actor talks about how he became an actor, working with director Martin Brest on Beverly Hills Cop, auditioning with Robert De Niro, trying to break away from being labeled as “Taggart”, getting inspiration from a real-life bounty hunter, determining the proper number of f**ks to say, his character’s smoking, improvisation, changing his character’s fate and more.
• I’m Mosely! An Interview With Actor Yaphet Kotto (7:36)
  The actor does his interview via the phone. He talks about how he got involved with the film, moving from action/sci-fi to comedy, working with director Martin Brest and star Robert DeNiro, the filming schedule, working the fine line between drama and humor, and more.
• Midnight Writer An Interview With Writer George Gallo (24:43)
  The writer of the screenplay talks about his prolific career and how things have changed in the past 30 years. He talks about how Midnight Run came about, learning that DeNiro was cast, the push to cast Cher, casting Charles Grodin, working with Martin Brest, writing comedy, the supporting cast, the decision to change Dorfler’s fate, the critical reception, a possible sequel, and more.
• Vintage “Making-Of” Featurette (7:26)
  This vintage EPK was originally used to promote the film’s theatrical-release. A narrator describes the film’s premise and characters, and talks about the production itself. Includes lots of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with director Martin Brest, writer George Gallo, and cast members Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, John Ashton, Yaphet Kotto and Dennis Farina. Presented in Full Frame format.
• Theatrical Trailer (1:12)

Final Thoughts:

The hilarious 1980s action/comedy/chase film Midnight Run finally makes its way onto Blu-ray this week as part of Shout! Factory’s new Shout Select line of discs. With an amazingly talented primary and supporting cast and a fun script, the film feels as fresh and entertaining as ever, thanks in part to the excellent technical presentation of this Blu-ray. The disc also contains over 90 minutes of interesting retrospective interviews with the cast and the writer, as well as a vintage EPK making-of featurette. If you’ve never seen the film before, it’s definitely worth checking out, and longtime fans of the film will not be disappointed by this release, which comes Highly Recommended.