NOWHERE TO RUN (1993) Limited Edition Blu-ray
Director: Robert Harmon
88 Films

With his first Columbia Pictures contract film, Jean-Claude Van Damme already has NOWHERE TO RUN, on Blu-ray from 88 Films.

Escaping from a prison bus in an accident engineered by his guilt-ridden cousin Billy (Anthony Starke, FRIGHT NIGHT) who is then cut down by gunfire, Sam Gillen (Van Damme) hides out in the countryside, camping near the farmland of widow Clydie Anderson (Rosanna Arquette, BLACK RAINBOW) and her children Mookie (Macaulay's brother Kieran Culkin, IGBY GOES DOWN) and Bree (Tiffany Taubman). Skulking around the property, Sam discovers that Clydie is the subject of escalating harassment by ruthless Franklin Hale (Joss Ackland, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD) who is buying up land for a massive development. When he saves her from an assault by Hale's hired goons – lead by fixer Dunstan (Ted Levine, THE MANGLER) – he becomes the target of not only Hale but also the jealous ire of Clydie's on-and-off lover Sheriff Lonnie Crane (Edward Blatchford, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS) who is also in Hale's pocket but uncomfortable with his methods. Sam forms a relationship with Clydie, as well as her children – with Mookie initially mistaking the nighttime prowler to be E.T. himself – but Clydie's reaction to learning that Sam is a criminal and a fugitive may leave her vulnerable to the deadly machinations of Hale and Dunstan.

Although disowned by its director Robert Harmon (THE HITCHER), original screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (BASIC INSTINCT) – who had originally conceived the more character-focused film the previous decade with director Richard Marquand with whom he had back-to-back successes with HEARTS OF FIRE and the clunky courtroom thriller JAGGED EDGE – and not even held in high regard by Van Damme himself, NOWHERE TO RUN is actually a lean piece of action and entertainment. Arquette carries the film's emotional element and Ackland is suitably slimy while the more rough and ready fights by Van Damme and various stuntmen suit the story. It's also one of Levine's better roles in that period between SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and his later MONK-era character actor phase. Van Damme's larger scale follow-up pic THE QUEST would end up being more in his wheelhouse and lighter as action entertainment.

Released to indifferent reception by Columbia Pictures, followed by widescreen laserdisc, fullscreen VHS, and barebones anamorphic widescreen DVD editions, NOWHERE TO RUN received respectable treatment as a barebones Blu-ray from Image Entertainment in 2011 (it had uncompressed stereo audio while the Sony imports had lossy Dolby Digital), and the same more than acceptable master has been used for 88 Films' 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen Blu-ray in which the photography and lighting looks well-detailed in sunny daylight scenes and the natural light interiors while the grainier night scenes have not been flattened by aggressive noise reduction. The grading also reflects the look of a late eighties, early nineties film with naturalistic skin tones and both moonlight and sunlight edging towards the paler. The Dolby Stereo film has not been remixed in any of its home video incarnations, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track suits the film, offering up some directional effects and surround activity during the bigger action sequences like the bus crash and the motorcycle chase while hand-to-hand combat is more front-oriented and directional, and the surrounds are more often used for supportive atmosphere given the rural setting. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.

Apart from the film's theatrical trailer (2:10), the only extra is "Somewhere to Run" (8:56), an interview with second unit director Peter MacDonald (LABYRINTH) who had been working under contract with Columbia Pictures at the time and was brought in after principal photography when the studio was dissatisfied that the film had not action sequences audiences would expect of a Van Damme film. Although he tried to maintain the integrity of the film by trying to work with Harmon on the concepts he came up with – the motorcycle chase particularly – the director repeatedly refused to shoot them and eventually it was left to MacDonald to do it. The strictly limited 3,000 copy edition comes with a numbered slipcase, set of four collectible art cards, and a fold-out A3 poster. (Eric Cotenas)

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