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Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: September 6th, 2016.
Director: Rowdy Harrington
Cast: Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara
Year: 1989
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The Movie:
Directed by Rowdy Harrington in 1989, Road House is beautiful in its simplicity. The story opens at a bar where things get out of hand to the point where the bouncer, James Dalton (Patrick Swayze), has to step in and make things right. Dalton's reputation as one of the best in the business brings him to the attention of Frank Tilghman (Kevin Tighe), a businessman who has recently taken over a dive called The Double Deuce. He hires Dalton to work for him, and basically gives him free reign to clean it up however he sees fit.
Shortly after Dalton walks in the door, things get heated. He fires one of the existing bouncers (Terry Funk!!!) and cans the bartender scamming from the till (John Doe of X!!!??). He trains the rest of the staff to be nice… until it's time to not be nice and gives them a few lessons in just how he goes about doing that. That night, as the band (played by Canada's own Jeff Healey Band) fire up behind that chicken wire fence, things get as rowdy as ever - but Dalton's there to keep things cool. It turns out that the bartender he canned is related to a crime boss named Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara) and he's irked enough about this turn of events that he turns off the bar's booze supply. When Dalton gets stabbed he gets stitched up by a foxy doctor (Kelly Lynch) who soon falls head over heels for him, but as tensions rise between Dalton and Wesley's crew, our spinkicking bouncer knows he's going to need help, and so he calls the only man he can turn to: Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott).
Roadhouse is all about testosterone, it's a film almost entirely populated by the manliest of men. Chief amongst these men, of course, is our hero. Dalton doesn't need a haircut. He can live in a barn if he wants. He drives a muscle car and stays cool under pressure. He doesn't need a shirt any more than he needs someone to help him lift Kelly Lynch into the air for maximum boner jam action. He's a man's man, the kind of guy that practices martial arts on a farm and takes care of things his own way, without involving the fuzz. He's very 'Zen' about everything and he is, for all accounts and purposes, kind of a superhero. The other men in the movie all play male stereotypes too. Kevin Tighe is all business. Ben Gazzara is the slimy bad guy who holds the small town in his grip. Terry Funk is the guy who thinks with his fists and not with his head, while John Doe is the weasel who thinks he can get away with things because of his connections. And then there's Sam Elliott, the one man who is more Dalton than Dalton himself - and the perfect goddamn casting choice! Swazye is cool here to be sure, he kicks like a champ and woos the ladies like no other, but Elliott is cooler and wooier than even Swayze himself and seeing these two team up towards the end of the film? That's action movie gold, right there.
Harrington keeps things going at a good clip. There are fights every few minutes, there's some gratuitous sex and a bit of nudity. There's tough talking and some solid stunt work and there's a decent amount of tension as the completely predictable storyline plays out exactly as you know it will (and exactly as you want it to). The music is perfect (Jeff Healey doesn't just play guitar on stage but is actually a character in the film itself and it's pretty cool to see he and Swazye yapping away now and then!). Dean Cundey handled the cinematography so it looks great from start to finish, lots of cool neon signs lighting up some of the darker scenes and the compositions are really strong from start to finish. Throw in some genuinely impressive fight choreography and a lot of rock solid stunt work and yeah, this is it - and if that's not enough, we get monster trucks, strippers, loads of homoerotic (unintentional?) overtones, and a cameo from none other than Keith David!
Video/Audio/Extras:
Shout! Factory brings Roadhouse back to Blu-ray (it was previously released by MGM) on a 25GB disc in an AVC encoded 2.35.1. widescreen transfer that was taken from 'new 2K scan of the interpositive supervised and approved by director of photography Dean Cundey.' This transfer is noticeably brighter than the one featured on the old MGM disc, so colors look a bit different. This is more noticeable with skin tones seeming a bit different in a few scenes than they have in the past (though they are less orange, which is a good thing) and in some of the darker scenes having a hint of purple in them. Having said that, the image is definitely cleaner and at times seems a fair bit more detailed than the older disc, although there's still a bit of noticeable print damage in the opening few minutes (nothing serious or even distracting, but it's there). Blacks look less than perfect at times, occasionally dark grey, but there are no problems with compression artifacts and edge enhancement is never problematic. Film grain is not only evident but obvious throughout the movie, and by and large things look good here - just a bit different than the older disc. Logic would dictate that if Cundey approved it, this is how it should look and to this writer's eyes, things look noticeably better here than in the past, if not perfect.
English language DTS-HD tracks are provided in the original 2.0 and a 5.1 Surround Sound remix with optional subtitles available in English only and there are no complaints here. The 5.1 track shines in the bar fights or whenever the Jeff Healey Band fires up and does their thing as dialogue stays almost entirely up in the front channels. Bass response is fine, the hits and effects have the right amount of power behind them in the lower end. There are no issues with any hiss or distortion to note - the movie sounds really good here. Purists will no doubt prefer the 2.0 mix, no shame in that, and it also sounds great.
There are a lot of extras to take in here, spread out over two discs. On disc one carries over director Rowdy Harrington's commentary that was recorded for the 2006 deluxe edition DVD release through MGM. For those who haven't heard it, Harrington does his job well here, talking up the film in a fairly scene specific manner and covering the casting, the fight choreography, the locations and sets, and quite a bit more. He's got a very relaxed demeanor to his speaking style but the content is pretty interesting. Also carried over from that DVD release is the 'fan commentary' from Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier. These guys have a lot of fun on this track, they do occasionally poke fun at certain aspects of it but it's clearly out of love. They also offer up some interesting analysis about what works and what doesn't in the picture, provide some thoughts on the effectiveness of certain performances and offer up a lot of their opinions on the film. The director's track is the one that really gets into the details of the production but this is more than just an MST3K style riff-fest, some of their insight is actually pretty clever. Menus and chapter stops are also found on the first disc.
The rest of the extra are on the second disc. Found here and also carried over from that aforementioned DVD release are the twelve minute What Would Dalton Do? featurette and the seventeen minute On The Road House featurette. The first is a conversation with men who actually work as bouncers in which they talk about their real life experiences and how they handle certain situations. The second is a look back at the making of the movie with interviews from Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Director Rowdy Herrington, Jeff Healy, Marshall Teague, and Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. It's an interesting retrospective piece that covers the look of the film, the characters, the music in the film, what it was like on set and the reasons that the film remains as popular today as it ever was.
So carrying over the extras from an old release is all well and good, right? But what about 'new stuff'? There's quite a bit of that, the crown jewel being an all new sixty-minute featurette called I Thought You'd Be Bigger: The Making Of Road House. This one gathers up everyone around (though clearly Swayze and Jeff Healey have both passed away and Sam Elliott is unfortunately nowhere to be seen) to talk about their experiences on the film. It covers some of the same ground as the commentary and the earlier featurette but it also covers a good amount of new ground. Kelly Lynch talks about the Bill Murray rumor, which is reason alone to watch this, but on top of that we get insight into the cinematography, the soundtrack, the action set pieces and martial arts seen in the film, the locations, the stunts, casting the picture and a whole lot more. This is very thorough, but it's also really interesting and entertaining. If you're a Road House fan, you're crazy not to take the time to check this out.
There are a few other new extras here as well. A Conversation With Director Rowdy Herrington is just that, a half hour long talk with the director about his experiences in the movie business, working with Swayze and company on the film, the producers he worked with and other projects he has had a hand in over the years. Pain Don't Hurt: The Stunts Of Road House gets stunt coordinator Charlie Picerni, Rowdy Herrington, John Doe, Dean Cundey and a few cast members in front of the camera to talk about the slam-bang action set pieces that are so important to making the movie as entertaining as it is. Pretty Good For A Blind White Boy: The Music Of Road House is a great nineteen minute piece that takes a look back at the life and legacy of the late, great Jeff Healey. He passed away quite young in 2008, sadly, but this is a nice examination of his unique talent and the importance of his work in Road House. Along the same lines is the fifteen minute Remembering Patrick Swayze featurette featuring some input from the late actor's widow that looks back on his career and what he was like as a person. Swayze passed away in 2009.
Also found on the disc is four minutes of on-set footage from the film's shoot, a three minute profile of Patrick Swayze that serves as a brief career overview, and an eleven minute collection of Sound Bites that are basically just some random archival interview bits and pieces from various sources compiled here into one single featurette. Rounding out the extras are the film's original theatrical trailer, a still gallery, and menus.
The Final Word:
Road House is, in a word, FUN. It's nonsensical and preposterous but it's entertaining as all Hell and really just a good time at the movies. Shout! Factory's special edition Blu-ray release, as part of their new Shout! Select line, presents the movie in very nice shape and with a substantial amount of new supplements to compliment everything carried over from the first disc.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
