{"id":31589,"date":"2025-07-17T00:50:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T07:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31589"},"modified":"2025-07-17T00:50:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T07:50:20","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-review-cobra-1986","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31589","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD Review: COBRA (1986)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video is available for purchase on July 22nd<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the mid-1980s, action star Sylvester Stallone was one of,\nif not the biggest box office draws in the world. He essentially could do\nwhatever he wanted after the massive success of Rambo: First Blood Part II<\/em>\nand Rocky IV<\/em>. He chose Cobra<\/em>, an extremely violent action picture\nwith a deliberate emphasis on style over substance. It\u2019s incredibly silly and\nnonsensical in an unexpectedly amusing way, thanks to its fast-paced and memorably\nsurreal moments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few younger critics have wondered if the film isn\u2019t poking\nfun at tropes or winking at the audience. I disagree that it is intentionally\nabsurd. Stallone had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted at the time and, in\nmy estimation, the choice was to play an even more extreme version of Dirty\nHarry (he even wrote the script). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, there is a quip or two, but this is generally a straight-faced\naction film where the intent was to make the antihero look \u201ccool,\u201d using an\nindividualist approach to taking down crime primarily through shooting weapons and\nthus ridding America of criminal behavior. Music video filmmaking trends and\nstylish fashions (for its day, at least) were heavily employed (just like in Rocky\nIV<\/em>, which is essentially a feature-length MTV video). Stallone had dipped\nhis toes into comedy with the critical and commercial flop Rhinestone <\/em>in\n1984, and certainly was wary of delivering a satire\u2026 he didn\u2019t start developing\na sense of humor again until the end of the decade with the buddy-cop action\/comedy\nTango & Cash<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever you think of Cobra<\/em> (for me it is one of\nthose so-cheesy-it\u2019s-fun kind of pictures), Arrow Video has done an exceptional\njob bringing it to 4K Ultra HD. While the opening credits and a few darker\nmoments show natural film grain, the big action scenes largely take place\nduring daylight hours and look incredibly crisp and impressive. The image quality\nmarks a massive improvement over the previous Blu-ray of the title. Specs on\nthe title state that the new 4K restoration came from the original camera\nnegative, and it\u2019s very easy to see how much better it looks. The film has also\nbeen presented in Dolby Vision, punching the colors up even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Okay, so if you haven\u2019t seen Cobra<\/em>, what\u2019s it all about? Well, the LAPD\u2019s Lt. Marion Cobretti (Sylvester Stallone) warns audiences right off the bat that crime is on the rise and that he is the one cop who will wipe it out. Others in the force, including Detective Monte (Andrew Robinson) criticize his vigilante-tactics, but also admits it sometimes gets results. One evening, model Ingrid Knudsen (Bridgitte Nielsen) witnesses a murder committed by a cult of axe-wielding psychopaths led by the \u201cNight Slasher\u201d (Brian Thompson). The villain wants this witness executed at any cost. Cobretti and partner Tony Gonzales (Rani Santoni) are assigned to protect her. Tagging along is Officer Nancy Stalk (Lee Garrington), who is actually an informant and member of the sinister cult. Numerous chases occur, with the hero blasting away and executing hundreds of cult members in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story makes little to no sense, which, admittedly, is part of its twisted charm. We\u2019re treated to some odd, unexplained personal behavior from Cobretti. Perhaps most famously, he uses scissors to eat pizza and also has a bizarre gun maintenance routine. Later, the hero gets into an argument in the office of his superiors, then hilariously steps out through a glass door and opens fire into the most oddly-placed, impractical shooting range in cinema history (his bosses must be frustrated by all the deafening noise next door). As for the antagonist, he talks about how there can be no witnesses to identify him, then finds himself interacting with a nurse in the hospital where is target is staying (I guess this employee isn\u2019t worth the trouble of slaying). At one point, Cobretti notices that officer Stalk is always on the phone and seems suspicious of her, but appears completely surprised when she finally reveals herself as a member of the cult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And why does Cobretti, who doesn’t smoke, walk round with a matchstick in his mouth for the entire running time? Only because he seemingly knows he will be using it on a henchman during the climax (in a fully operating, but somehow completely empty foundry). At one point in the story, Ingrid asks the lead if everything will really be alright for her given the violence, and it\u2019s all so surreal that you expect the lead to turn and say, \u201cWell, yeah, of course it will. I wrote the screenplay.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The rapid editing, lack of story and character detail result in a completely outlandish movie. It\u2019s crazy in every imaginable way, which, for action fans like myself, ends up making it distinctive and a great deal of fun. As much as I\u2019m ripping it apart, I do feel compelled to rewatch it every now and again and know that others like myself do the same thing. Some may not necessarily agree with my take on the movie, but I do understand the attraction to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This set contains a ton of bonuses. The first is a standard definition TV-version of the movie that runs about 7 minutes longer. The swear words have been dubbed over and much of the violence has been cut, but it comes with several conversation extensions and a few extra moments. There\u2019s an odd, lengthy scene at the police station where an officer receives a bloody package from the cult. And perhaps more amusingly, there is a montage of the cult members at their day jobs. You\u2019ll get to see the \u201cNight Stalker\u201d working as a welder. It doesn\u2019t offer anything that won\u2019t result in more questions from the viewer, but it’s definitely fun to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The commentary track with critics Kim Newman and Nick de\nSemlyen is entertaining. They pair inform listeners about how the project came\nto be. A few years earlier, Stallone had been attached to star in Beverly\nHills Cop<\/em> for Paramount Pictures. When he came on board, he extensively\nrewrote the screenplay, adding in more bloodshed and significantly diluting the\nhumor. The studio executives didn\u2019t like it and the star walked away. This was\ndefinitely for the best (as the Eddie Murphy version was phenomenal). However, Stallone\nused many character ticks and elements of that unused script when he adapted Cobra<\/em>.\nThe two experts have done their research and note other curious story\nalterations from different drafts of the script. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also make mention of the book that the film was adapted\nfrom, noting that it was ultimately remade in 1995 as the equally ridiculous\naction\/thriller Fair Game<\/em>, starring William Baldwin and Cindy Crawford. Of\ncourse, the pair note many of the ridiculous elements in Cobra<\/em>,\nadmitting that while staggeringly silly, it is most certainly a product of its\nera. This is a fun and informative track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a second movie expert commentary is another good\none. The speakers joke that they may have studied film theory in order to help\njustify their fascination with these kinds of films. They note some of the\nstrange extremist views of the title character and chuckle at the head-scratching\ndialogue employed by many of the characters. They do mention the film\u2019s horror\ntropes, and look at some of the either intentional or unintentional subtext\nthat the story ends up presenting about crime over the running time. The examine\nthe unique editing, which may emphasize a surface-level examination of the\ncharacters. Another observation is that the cult also has no real motivation,\nwhich they are intrigued by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two also mention that some gore and action scene\nextensions were significantly cut from the picture before its release, talking\nabout a rumored, 2-hour workprint cut that \u201cmight\u201d exist. One of them notes\nthat many have claimed to have copies, but none have actually surfaced, leading\nthe speaker to believe that this version may not be real. And they do argue\nthat the film can be interpreted in different ways and is more nuanced than most\npeople think, which I do find to be a remarkable stretch, but it is interesting\nto listen to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And the archival director track from George P. Cosmatos\nrecorded in 1998 is amusing. The genial figure mostly, well, describes the\nonscreen action and camera choices. He essentially focuses about the visual style\nand look he attempted to deliver in the film. He also offers a few memories of\nworking with the cast and crew. He doesn\u2019t really get into specifics and it really\ndoesn\u2019t appear that there was a deeper burning message or satire being relayed\nto audiences, but it\u2019s still valuable to hear the filmmaker\u2019s thoughts on his project\nsome of what he was trying to accomplish.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are also plenty of new and archival interviews on the\ndisc. There is a recent discussion with composer Sylvester Levay, and archival\nbits with cast members Brian Thompson, Marco Rodriguez, Andre Robinson, Lee\nGarlington and Art LaFleur. Additionally, you\u2019ll receive a 1986 featurette on\nthe production, a teaser trailer, a theatrical trailer, TV spots, and an image\ngallery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The release contains a booklet with writing on the movie by\nmultiple critics, as well as a double-sided fold-out poster with new and original\nartwork for the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cobra<\/em> is a completely insane action picture that is\neven crazier than most nutty genre films of its era. It\u2019s deeply flawed, but I can\u2019t\nhelp but be entertained and bewildered by all the strangeness. This memorably\nbonkers feature will please anyone who remembers the movie or is curious to see\nthis odd point in over-the-top action from the mid-1980s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrow Video has done a wonderful job upgrading the picture\nto 4K Ultra HD and delivering a collection of bonuses. This \u201cLimited Editon\u201d 4K\nUltra HD release is definitely one to pick up!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video is available for purchase on July 22nd. In the mid-1980s, action star Sylvester Stallone was one of, if not the biggest box office draws in the world. He essentially could do whatever he wanted after the massive success of Rambo: First Blood Part II and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[112,119,697,1836,2923,2936,4551,4552,4553,4554,4983,18936,19478,23989],"class_list":["post-31589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-1980s","tag-119","tag-action","tag-arrow-video","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-review","tag-cobra","tag-cobra-4k-ultra-hd","tag-cobra-4k-ultra-hd-review","tag-cobra-review","tag-cult","tag-stallone","tag-sylvester-stallone","tag-warner-bros"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}