No Escape: Collector's Edition (4K UHD Review)
Director
Martin CampbellRelease Date(s)
1994 (March 4, 2026)Studio(s)
Savoy Pictures (Umbrella Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A+
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: A-
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian 4K Ultra HD release.]
No Escape (released elsewhere in the world as Escape from Absolom) sort of came and went when it premiered in the spring of 1994. It was set to be a successful blockbuster for Savoy Pictures, who even licensed the film out for a video game tie-in. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. The resulting film wound up receiving mixed reviews from critics and little to no approval from audiences, failing to fully recover its costs and opening in theaters at the number two spot behind Four Weddings and a Funeral, which was number one for its third week in a row. It has since found a small cult following on cable and home video, being re-appraised for its finer qualities.
In the future world of 2022, the world’s penal systems are now corporatized, with one in particular being run by a corrupt and unsavory warden (Michael Lerner). Ex-marine John Robbins (Ray Liotta), incarcerated after killing his commanding officer, is sent to the prison but quickly dropped onto the secret island of Absolom, where only the most-feared inmates are left to fight among themselves at the whims of the odious warden. Once there, he finds the various prisoners split into two factions: a ruthless gang of murderous rogues, led by Walter Marek (Stuart Wilson), and a peaceful, law-abiding colony led by “The Father” (Lance Henriksen) and his right-hand man Hawkins (Ernie Hudson). Soon it’s a war between the two groups over supplies and the conquest of the island, and Robbins must choose between being selfish and continuing on with his attempts to escape an inescapable island, or staying and aiding the colonists by leading them to victory against Marek’s bloodthirsty group of prisoners, all under the watchful eye of the detestable warden. Also among the cast are Kevin Dillon, Kevin J. O’Connor, Don Henderson, Ian McNeice, and Jack Shepherd.
It’s clear now why audiences and critics in 1994 didn’t respond to No Escape more positively. Ray Liotta, try as he might, isn’t successful enough at pulling off the action movie star vibe. There’s more shade and substance to him as we learn that he’s basically suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but he doesn’t quite fit as this story’s leading man. The film also has its share of pacing issues, with the final half hour in particular feeling a bit too long. Certain scenes seem extended with tiny character beats and moments that were probably better served on the cutting room floor. On the other hand, Stuart Wilson’s performance as the sociopathic madman Marek tops the list of reasons why No Escape is worth another look.
Although it falls into somewhat middling territory, No Escape does have some charm and there are aspects of it that are worth appreciating. It may be a tad predictable, but it’s well-made with beautiful locations, excellent set design, decent thrills, good performances, and strong direction from Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, The Mask of Zorro, and Casino Royale).
No Escape was shot by director of photography Phil Meheux on 35mm film with Arriflex 35 BL4 cameras and Cooke Xtal Express anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Umbrella Entertainment debuts the film on Ultra HD for the first time with a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, authored by Fidelity in Motion, and encoded to a dual-layered BD-66 disc. It’s worth noting that this restoration opens with the Pathé! logo and not the Savoy Pictures logo. Aside from that minor caveat, this is a major upgrade over all previous Blu-ray presentations, tightening detail and improving contrast, which the HDR has a great a hand in. Blacks are much deeper and shadows are more detailed, offering finer nuances in the costumes, props, and sets. Even the film’s opticals are crisp, blending perfectly with the surrounding material. The color palette is rich with gorgeous greens, blues, and reds, with natural flesh tones. The FiM authoring via the legendary David MacKenzie allows for beautifully-resolved grain and bitrates that sit in the 50 to 80Mbps range, which doesn’t sound like much, but since the film is anamorphic, black bars dominate a good portion of the frame. It’s a clean and stable picture without an issue in sight. It’s virtually perfect.
Audio is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. The 5.1 track offers a fine surround experience with good staging and panning of sound effects. The surround speakers bring the jungle environments to life with frequent ambient activity. Dialogue exchanges are clear and precise, while Graeme Revell’s score swells in the rear speakers. Unfortunately, this release doesn’t carry Turbine Medien’s Dolby Atmos or Auro-3D audio options, but the tracks that have been included are solid.
Umbrella Entertainment’s 2-Disc Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD release of No Escape sits in a black Amaray case alongside a 1080p Blu-ray, a double-sided poster featuring the US theatrical artwork on one side and the worldwide poster artwork with the US title on the reverse (also on the slipcover), and a double-sided inner sleeve feature the US theatrical artwork on both sides, one with the US title and the mandatory Australian Classification Board ratings label, and the other with the worldwide title and no ratings label. Alongside this are 8 art cards and a 48-page booklet containing the essays Icy Hope: The Eyes of Ray Liotta by Brand Streussnig and No Escape – Basket Weaving: The Creative Choice by Jedidiah Ayres, a custom artwork and posters gallery, the interview Australia Stands in for The Penal Colony: Gale Anne Hurd Reminisces About No Escape by Blake Howard, and special thanks. Everything is housed in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Ben Turner. This is a Limited Edition numbered release available exclusively through Umbrella’s webstore, though they’re also offering a standard option minus the booklet, poster, and slipcase. The following extras are included on each disc and on both releases:
DISC ONE (UHD)
- Audio Commentary with Liam Billingham and Philip Gawthorne
DISC TWO (BD)
- Audio Commentary with Liam Billingham and Philip Gawthorne
- The Making of Escape from Absolom (Upscaled SD – 28:02)
- Alternate Opening (HD – 2:10)
- Survival of the Fittest: Directing No Escape (HD – 13:33)
- Welcome to the Future: The Sci-Fi Worlds of Gale Anne Hurd (HD – 17:08)
- Penal Colony: Writing No Escape (HD – 9:46)
- Absolom Mementos: Prosthetics Designer Jason Baird on No Escape (HD – 11:14)
- 1994 Promo Featurette (SD – 6:20)
- TV Spots (Upscaled SD – 4 in all – 2:00)
- Trailer (HD – 2:03)
New to this release is an audio commentary with Liam Billingham and Philip Gawthorne, who host the podcast Die Hard on a Blank. I’ll be brutally honest here. I found it to be a bit insufferable, mostly because it’s two people striving to talk over each other, with one attempting to provide some kind of thoughtful discourse and the other loudly interjecting. It’s not a very interesting track, unfortunately, and this is a film that deserves a good commentary to provide some detail about it.
The Alternate Opening features the film’s worldwide title Escape from Absolom. Next are three interviews conducted by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. Survival of the Fittest features Martin Campbell speaking about his experiences making the film, and admitting that it was No Escape that got him the job directing Goldeneye. Welcome to the Future features Gale Anne Hurd whom offers an overview of her career and the kind of films that she enjoyed when she was young before getting into the making of the film. Penal Colony interviews co-writer Joel Gross who discusses his process and the differences between the final film and the original script.
Absolom Mementos is a new interview with make-up artist and prosthetics designer Jason Baird via Skype who offers his memories of the production, and provides some of the photos he took on the set. The Making of Escape from Absolom and the 1994 Promo Featurette are two vintage featurettes, the latter a much shorter version of the first, but both utilizing the same era interviews and B-roll. Last are four TV spots and the film’s trailer.
Not included from the Unearthed Films Blu-ray release is a Promotional Gallery that contains 162 stills of promotional photos, behind-the-scenes photos, posters, lobby cards, promotional ephemera, soundtracks, video games, comic books, and home video artwork. Also missing from Turbine Medien’s 4K UHD release in Germany are the aforementioned Dolby Atmos and Auro-3D audio options, as well as Legends of Absolom, which contains separate interviews with Martin Campbell, Gale Anne Hurd, cinematographer Phil Meheux, stunt coordinator Conrad E. Palmisano, and Joel Gross.
Having missed No Escape during its original theatrical outing, it’s nice to see it in a presentation worthy of its efforts. Martin Campbell would go on to bigger and better things, but it’s clear that No Escape helped prepare him for larger scale, big budget movies. If you’re a fan of the film, you couldn’t be much happier with Umbrella’s 4K UHD release. It’s a stunner.
- Tim Salmons
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