This “Limited Edition” 4K Ultra HD release is now available from Arrow Video. A “Limited Edition” Blu-ray version is also available.
Growing up in the 1980s, one of the biggest film genres was that of the action picture. Steven Seagal arrived on the scene a little later than Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone towards the end of the decade with the likes of Bruce Willis. Truth be told, I wasn’t as much of a fan of Seagal’s pictures. While many of these movies had their tongues firmly planted in their cheek or offered interesting ideas and themes, Seagal’s were deadly serious and at times felt a little mean-spirited.
Of all his pictures, the ones that work best are the Under Siege movies. They offered the occasional dose of humor, bigger stakes, and even managed to thoroughly entertain this young audience member. Arrow Video are now delivering a 4K Ultra HD “Limited Edition” release of the original Under Siege, which offers greatly improved picture quality and some fantastic extras that help clearly identify why this is likely the best movie in the actor’s catalog.
The story begins at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii where President George H. W. Bush announces that the USS Missouri is about to set sail for California where it will be decommissioned. After the festivities, the crew sets sail and prepares for a birthday party for Captain J. T. Adams (Patrick O’Neal), with a band led by William Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones), Ernest Daumer (Colm Meaney), and Playboy Playmate Jordan Tate (Erika Eleniak) among the new arrivals. As it turns out (and you should have known based simply on their names alone), Strannix, Daumer and all but the playmate plan to take control of the ship so that they can steal nuclear-tipped warheads and sell them to the highest bidder. Helping them murder Adams and seize control is Commander Peter Krill (Gary Busey).
The only thing the group doesn’t count on is Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal), a former NAVY Seal and personal friend of Adams who, after getting in trouble with superiors on a mission, is now working on the ship as a cook. Naturally, he doesn’t take kindly to the terrorists, taking them out one by one. He also finds Tate, along with a few other captured crew members, who eventually launch a final attack to take down the terrorists.
This title had, up to this point, the biggest budget and scope of any Seagal movie and it is his most impressive looking feature. The battleship looks incredible on film. The ship sets, as well as the exteriors look great, the action is well edited and it’s all fun to watch. Ryback is the most human of any character the star played. He has a little more of a sense of humor than in previous titles, and tries to help his crewmates (as well as accept their assistance).
Still, the real heroes in the title are actually the villains. Tommy Lee Jones is having a great time as the ex-CIA operative turned terrorist, who begins the story as an ice-cold killer, but becomes more and more unhinged as his plans are thwarted. Busey is a blast as the manic Krill. Already cited by his superiors for having potential psychological problems, he leans into the craziness and creates another memorable foe. The two baddies are almost in the movie as much as the protagonist. They keep things exciting and it’s consistently fun to see them chew scenery.
Overall, it’s a solid action film and it is easy to see why it made such a splash during its original release. The 4K restoration taken from the original camera negative and presented in Dolby Vision looks great. There is a bit of natural (but not distracting) grain in a few sequences, but almost everything else appears sharper and more detailed than ever. For fans of the movie, it’s a clear and definite step up from the old Blu-ray. This is especially clear in the wide shots featuring action on the battlefield decks. The immense boat really pops and wows in 4K.
The disc’s extras are entertaining and illuminating as well. There is a great new interview with Andrew Davis, as well as a commentary track featuring the director alongside writer and executive producer J.F. Lawton (who wrote Pretty Woman, and wrote/directed The Hunted with Christopher Lambert). Davis is a great speaker telling incredible stories about the production. He notes some of the clever tricks used to boost the film’s $30 million dollar budget. The first is with the decommissioning ceremony in Hawaii featuring President Bush. He managed to secure a spot at the event for Warner Bros. and was allowed to shoot “stock footage”, as well as follow the real battleship during its final voyage. Naturally, since he was working on this particular picture, he incorporated his footage specifically into the film.
He also has great stories about the shoot. He recalls how much fun it was to work with Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. Since the director had worked with Seagal previously on Above the Law, he appeared to know how to manage him. The star’s popularity was exploding at this point, and the filmmaker notes that the actor was difficult and rarely appeared on set without an entourage. Seagal refused to smile on camera, but Davis managed to put him in areas with other happy performers, and then would do things behind the shot in order to make the performer laugh. He managed to get Seagal to crack a smile a few times and incorporated those bits into the movie to make the lead character more relatable.
There’s also a lot of good back and forth between the director and writer about how the script changed. Initially, Seagal’s character was only a cook and Davis liked it that way, but the studio and lead demanded that he become a trained operative. The Playboy playmate character was initially part of the villain’s gang, but that was changed as well. This alteration does explain why her character is completely forgotten by the seemingly (at least, initially) clever antagonists. Both the participants offer a lot of interesting facts about the production. And they talk about the title, and how the studio at the time was insisting on three-word monikers for the star’s movies. Apparently, they had to fight to call the picture Under Siege. It’s a great audio commentary and director interview.
Co-star Erica Eleniak is also interviewed as a bonus feature. In this recently recorded discussion, she talks about her experiences as a fresh-faced talent on set. Once again, it seems the studio and some higher ups decided that she should bare her all in the movie, and the actress notes that this type of demand wouldn’t occur today. However, she does have kind words for director Andrew Davis and the crew. Eleniak also speaks about how wonderful Jones and Busey were on set. The two actors were protective and constantly looking out for her throughout the shoot, which she appreciated.
There is also a new interview with co-star Damian Chapa and his experiences on the set. He talks about his character, as well as working with Seagal (who did seem to be a bit distant and intimidating to others) and the crew.
Another great extra is a nearly half-hour interview with visual effects supervisor William Mesa. The Introvision process was used for visual effects involving the ship shooting down a plane, as well as with missile-related footage. The featurette shows how some of the shots were created and there is also archival footage from other titles that used the process. It’s quite an amazing and cost-effective system that produces remarkably convincing effects, and one still wonders why it isn’t being used today.
Finally, the disc includes a trailer for the picture. And it all comes packaged in a reversible sleeve with two original artwork options, as well as a booklet with essays on the movie.
As mentioned, Under Siege did end up becoming Seagal’s highest grossing picture, grossing $156 million dollars against a $30 million dollar budget. Andrew Davis would helm the massively successful thriller The Fugitive as his next gig with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Seagal faltered with his next project and directorial debut. However, his next picture, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, was underrated (if memory serves, anyway). That one ended up marking something of a last big-budget hurrah for the performer and I’d be very curious to revisit it too (if Arrow Video also has the rights).
Under Siege marks the high point of Steven Seagal action pictures and Arrow Video has done a fantastic job delivering an upgraded experience for the home viewer. The image quality is excellent, and the bonuses offer plenty of enlightening background detail about the production. 80s and 90s action cinema enthusiasts are certain to enjoy this release.
