{"id":32669,"date":"2025-12-17T22:57:56","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T06:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=32669"},"modified":"2025-12-17T22:57:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T06:57:56","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-review-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-trilogy-1990-1993","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=32669","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD Review: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES TRILOGY (1990 \u2013 1993)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d box set from Arrow Video is now\navailable for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The edgy independent comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja\nTurtles<\/em> was something of an underground sensation when it was first\npublished in the mid-1980s. Few besides those frequenting comic shops knew\nabout the title, but that all started to change once the property was licensed\nas an animated series for kids. Even then, adults were largely unfamiliar with\nthe property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is, until Golden Harvest and New Line Cinema debuted a\ntrailer for a live-action feature film adaptation. Teenage Mutant Ninja\nTurtles <\/em>(1990) was a massive box office smash and the characters were\nsuddenly everywhere. Two quick sequels, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The\nSecret of the Ooze<\/em> (1991) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III<\/em>\n(1993) followed. By then, the franchise\u2019s popularity had peaked, but the\ncharacters have never really gone away. More successful animated shows and\nfeatures continue to be produced to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrow Video is going back to the original films and\nreleasing them in a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K set. This is an impressive package,\nwith upgraded transfers of the movies as well as tons of bonuses, including\ncommentary tracks with all of the directors involved. Fans shouldn\u2019t expect\nreference quality visuals on the first two titles even though they have been\ngiven new restorations and are presented in Dolby Vision. For the original, the\ntransfer was taken from the original 4K camera negative. It isn\u2019t the sharpest,\nbut that\u2019s how the movie was lit and filmed, so it looks as good as it possibly\ncan under the circumstances. People tend to forget that these were relatively\nlow-budget productions featuring a significant portion of dark photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same issue is true of the first sequel. There are\nimpressive moments, but several bits in the film have a lot of natural film\ngrain. However, the third title, while having a smaller budget than the first\nfollow-up, does look sharp and striking in 4K. This 4K interpositive doesn\u2019t\nhave noticeable grain and at times looks spectacular. For fans, the picture on\npart three truly is striking and should wow series enthusiasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em> is set in New York, with\ncity residents terrified by a crime wave. The sinister figure The Shredder\n(James Saito) and his crew are responsible, manipulating the teen population\ninto committing robberies for them. One night after leaving work, reporter April\nO\u2019Neil (Judith Hoag) is attacked by some of them. She\u2019s rescued by a group of\nfour, anthropomorphic, human-sized turtles with martial arts skills. Named\nLeonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, the quartet explain that, as\nbaby turtles in the city\u2019s sewers, they came into contact with a substance that\nmutated them. Then, they introduce their caregiver and master, Splinter, a rat\nwho went through the same process. The team loves fighting crime and eating\npizza. They agree to help take on the imposing antagonist, also encountering\nvigilante Casey Jones (Elias Koteas) in the process.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film does an excellent job of keeping the story grounded\nin the real world and presenting The Shredder as a significant threat. Ahe\nmovie doesn\u2019t talk down to its audience. It gives each character a distinctive\npersonality and places them all in dangerous situations. The action sequences\ninvolving the characters are exciting and it\u2019s amusing to see the human\ncharacters react to the large shelled heroes with shock, surprise and, in true\nNew York City fashion, indifference. The puppeteer and costume work from Jim\nHenson Studios is exceptional as well. Hoag and Koteas are another big plus as\nthe human leads. They have plenty of onscreen chemistry and interact seamlessly\nwith the fictional fighters. Another great bit is the unexpected appearance of\nfuture star Sam Rockwell as leader of the teenage gang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, it\u2019s an original and dynamically told tale. One\ncan easily understand how it became a surprise hit, grossing over $200 million\ndollars during its run at theaters. The extras on the disc are fascinating as\nwell, showing that it was a real struggle to get the movie completed. First,\nthere is a solid commentary track from a comic book expert who delivers some\nfascinating background on the origin of the characters and their history in\ngeneral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But the highlight is a great commentary track and a recently\nrecorded interview with director Steve Barron. Among many other details, he\ndiscusses the early part of his career as the music video director responsible\nfor the A-ha video of \u201cTake on Me,\u201d Bryan Adams\u2019 \u201cSummer of \u201869\u201d and \u201cRun to\nYou\u201d as well as \u201cMoney for Nothing\u201d from Dire Straits, \u201cDon\u2019t You Want Me\u201d from\nHuman League and many more iconic clips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barron notes that working in music made him aware of the\nyouth market and what would appeal to them. Golden Harvest had picked up the\nfilm rights to the franchise, but were unwilling to spend more than $5 million\ndollars on the feature, with an extra $2 million from New Line Cinema for the\nUS release rights. Yet, very few executives seemed to believe in the project.\nBarron called in favors and convinced Jim Henson to do the turtle suits, which\nworked wonderfully. Despite how big it all looks, Barron notes they shot the\nfilm for $7 million and change (some sources state $13.5 million, but Barron\nwould dispute that figure). They filmed a few exteriors in New York, but\neverything else was shot in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When principal photography and the first cut was all\nfinished, Barron was generally pleased, but wanted to fix a few things with\nreshoots and asked for another $750,000 dollars. Golden Harvest refused, and\nwhen the director asked around to see if he could raise it himself based on how\nexceptional the movie was turning out, his relationship with Golden Harvest\nsoured. He was fired and the film was released in theaters as is. At least\nBarron got the last laugh, as it turned out to be a massive success based largely\non his skills as director and storyteller. Producer Simon Fields is also\ninterviewed and discusses he and Steve Barron getting involved in the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also an enlightening discussion with Judith Hoag,\nwho played April O\u2019Neil. She talks about working on the set, stating that she\nhad a great time with cast members like Koteas and the crew, while also being\naware of how difficult and time-consuming it was for the actors and puppeteers\nto create the turtles. There\u2019s also a great story about the other movie she was\nworking on at the time called Cadillac Man<\/em>. Star Robin Williams would\nask where she was running off to during breaks in filming, and when she\nsheepishly mentioned the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em> movie, his eyes\nlit up. He knew about the comic book and characters and would make sure that\nshe wrapped early in order to get to the other set. Hoag also remembers being\npleased with the film, but very disappointed that she never received a call\nfrom Golden Harvest to reprise her role in the follow-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, there is a discussion with the turtle\nperformers that goes into the challenges of creating live-action versions of\nthe iconic characters. And another chat with puppet coordinator and second unit\ndirector Brian Henson, as well as another individual heavily involved in this\npart of the project. A featurette on the North Carolina and New York locations\nis also included, in addition to an alternate UK version that has new bits of\nfootage replacing a couple of moments censored by the British Film Board. An\nalternate, extended ending from the VHS workprint is also included (it consists\nof a bit more joking around from the characters), as well as alternate Korean\nfootage and promo materials. The iconic teaser is there \u2013 this bit of\nadvertising did a lot to sell the picture to North American audiences and got a\nhuge reaction when it played in cinemas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll be honest and admit that I wasn\u2019t nearly as big of a\nfan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze<\/em> (1991).\nTo me, it felt like a bit of a rush-job meant to cash-in on the success of the\nfirst film. When the first picture arrived, there was a lot of criticism\ndirected at it from parent groups, and this effort took those complaints to\nheart. It really dialed back on the action and tension the first tale\npossessed, focusing on a younger demographic and emphasizing broad humor over\naction. For me, it doesn\u2019t work at all, but I know people for whom this effort\nmade a bigger impression.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The movie sees The Shredder (Francois Chow) having actually\nsurvived the climax of the original film. He and his gang set up new quarters\nin a junkyard. Meanwhile, April O\u2019Neil (now played by Paige Turco) is\ninvestigating the Techno Global Research Institute, who may have been\nresponsible for the ooze that mutated the turtles many years ago. Professor\nJordan Perry (Daivd Warner) wants to study the substance and find a cure for\nthe mutations, but is kidnapped before he can do so by The Shredder. The villain\nuses the ooze to create two new mutant monsters, Tokka and Rahzar.\nUnfortunately, these mutants have the minds of infants and aren\u2019t as dangerous\nas hoped for. The turtles try to rescue the kidnapped scientist and cure Tokka\nand Rahzar of their mutations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a couple of funny moments. The first is an opening\nmontage featuring literally everyone in New York City chowing down on\npizza.  And the dance club climax with the heroes trying to stop The\nShredder while Vanilla Ice performs a set in the background (that even David\nWarner\u2019s character dances to) is so bizarre and outrageous that it does\ngenerate laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, there\u2019s little to no tension in the story. The new\nmutants knock over a couple of telephone poles, but otherwise do not pose any\nkind of threat.  Much of the film is set in April\u2019s apartment or the\njunkyard and the gags and situations aren\u2019t thrilling. There are also odd plot\nholes. At one point, the heroes are captured in a net and for some reason\ncannot escape, despite swords and other sharp weapons being visible on their\nshells. Even though it had a bigger production budget, the movie doesn\u2019t look\nany more polished than its predecessor. The 4K transfer of the interpositive\nhighlights this deficiency. With the exception of the club scene, it looks just\nas grainy as the original. But again, the photography was always a little\ndarker on purpose in order to hide the seams of the heroic characters, so this\nis to be expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite me not being a fan of the movie, I was impressed\nwith the bonus material. There is a new commentary with director Micheal\nPressman, who is open about his role in the production. He worked largely in\ntelevision and admits he wasn\u2019t really aware of the characters. Pressman was\ntold by a notable young actor on the show he was directing that he should take\nthe job. The filmmaker assumes he was picked by Golden Harvest and New Line\nbecause he had directed The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training<\/em>, another\nfamily-friendly picture. You won\u2019t get any details from him about the casting.\nThe filmmaker states he has no idea why the April O\u2019Neil role was recast.\nInstead, he focuses on technical details that involve using long takes and\nfollowing classic film comedy set-ups for the turtles. Pressman also suggests\nthat great actor David Warner accepted his role because of his daughter, who\nliked the characters. Warner was excited to work on a picture that she could\nsee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s an interview with the score composer who goes over\nhis work on all three pictures. You\u2019ll also get a discussion with the mold shop\nsupervisor on making the turtle and creature prosthetics as well as a talk with\nthe editor on cutting the action. An archival featurette, trailer and image\ngallery are also included on the disc. The film ended up grossing a solid $78\nmillion on a $25 million dollar budget. So, while it may not be my favorite\ntitle in the series, there is a fanbase for it. And even for me, the bonuses\nadd plenty of insight into what was going on behind-the-scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last title in the original trilogy was Teenage Mutant\nNinja Turtles III<\/em>, which is a surprisingly underrated entry. This movie\nattempts to add a bit of edge back into the proceedings and is more ambitious\nwith its story of Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo being\ntransported into feudal Japan. It also wisely brings back Casey Jones, even if\nthe character isn\u2019t as involved in the central action as much as one might hope\nfor. Back in its day, critical reception towards the movie was poor, but that\nwas mainly due to the overexposure of the characters that had been occurring\nover previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The plot involves a mysterious scepter that April O\u2019Neil\n(Paige Turco) finds in an antiques shop. When she visits the turtles, they\ndiscover that it can open the gates of time. And back in feudal Japan circa\n1603, son Kenshin (Henry Hayashi) of Lord Norinaga (Sab Shimoto) come across a\nsimilar item. It causes a rift that sends Kenshin to New York and April to\nJapan. The turtles realize they have a limited window to travel back and\nretrieve her. So, they get right on it, trading places with four of Lord Norinaga\u2019s\nwarriors, whom Casey Jones (Elias Koteas) must keep safe in New York. Now in\nJapan, the group face a warlord, as well as mercenary Walker (Stuart Wilson)\nand ex-prisoner Whit (also Elias Koteas) whose loyalties are unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all of the film\u2019s gags work, but there is plenty of\nenjoyable back and forth between the turtle characters. It\u2019s exciting to see\nthem all ride horses and do battle with swords again. The sets are large and\nimpressive, the characters even get some time to interact with locals and form\nsweet relationships, and the threat from the nasty Walker is well established.\nThe movie might not go all the way back to the tone of the original, but it is\nexciting, and features a unique story with impressive action and memorable\nmoments. One such gag is when the turtles arrive in feudal Japan. They find\nthemselves on horseback, with one member riding in reverse and unsure of what\nto do. And Casey Jones is hilarious as he attempts to modernize the warriors\nand teach them the rules of hockey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is plenty of good stuff in this film which makes it a\nmore satisfying follow-up than the previous chapter. It also looks lavish in\ncomparison to the previous chapters. While the budget was lower for this\neffort, the natural location photography is gorgeous and the sets are\nimpressive throughout. There\u2019s an epic, climactic battle featuring a great many\nextras that also makes an impression. The 4K interpositive is very clean and\nsharp and everything looks wonderful in this picture. While general audiences\nmay have been tiring of the characters by this point (the movie was modestly\nprofitable, making $55 million dollars on a $21 million dollar budget), the\nfinal product holds up very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And again, the bonuses are great. The first is a commentary\nfrom director Stuart Gillard. He discusses having to pitch and sell the sequel\nto TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Apparently, he had five\ndifferent story ideas, but the one everyone was the most excited about was the\ntime-travel tale. So, that\u2019s the picture that he wrote. Gillard discusses the\ndifficulties in making the movie, and having his essentially blind turtle\nactors have to ride horses and perform elaborate, time-consuming stunts. He\njokes about being mad at the writer of the picture (he wrote it) for inventing\nsuch complicated set-pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He also notes how great it was to work with countryman Elias\nKoteas and get him back into the series, even if the character is sidelined a\nbit. One of the things mentioned was that executives wanted all the focus to be\non the turtles fighting, and that it was a fight to get his human characters\nscreen time. Still, the filmmaker was ultimately happy with the end product and\nits uniqueness in the franchise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This disc also contains an interview with Sab Shimono. He,\nlike David Warner, wanted to be involved in a production that kids could watch\nand was pleased to be involved in the picture. Additionally, co-star Vivian Wu\ntalks about her career as an actress (including her debut in The Last Emperor)\nand working with the cast and crew on this project. An alternate UK opening is\nincluding, along with a theatrical trailer and an image gallery,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201dLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD Teenage Mutant Ninja\nTurtle Trilogy<\/em> collects all titles in the original series in an impressive\npackage. It seems that there are many differing opinions of which ones are\nbetter than others, but I\u2019ve shared my views and others are now invited to\nwatch or revisit the pictures and make up their own minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You do have to cut the first two titles some slack in\nregards to 4K picture quality, as there is a fair amount of natural grain that\ncan\u2019t be removed. At least the third title looks consistently wonderful and\nwill impress anyone who checks it out. Overall, the set provides the best\npossible transfers and fascinating facts about the histories behind the\nproductions that reveal unknown stories about the movies. For that reason\nalone, the set is worth picking up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d box set from Arrow Video is now available for purchase. The edgy independent comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was something of an underground sensation when it was first published in the mid-1980s. Few besides those frequenting comic shops knew about the title, but that all started to change once the property […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":32670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[123,125,127,300,302,697,1836,2933,4660,4669,6664,7314,8464,12034,13303,13825,14718,19074,19228,19670,19672,19673,19674,19675,19676],"class_list":["post-32669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-123","tag-125","tag-127","tag-4k-ultra-hd","tag-4k-ultra-hd-review","tag-action","tag-arrow-video","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-comedy","tag-comic-book-adaptation","tag-eastman","tag-fantasy","tag-golden-harvest","tag-laird","tag-martial-arts","tag-michael-pressman","tag-new-line-cinema","tag-steve-barron","tag-stuart-gillard","tag-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles","tag-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-ii-the-secret-of-the-ooze","tag-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii","tag-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-trilogy","tag-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-trilogy-4k-ultra-hd","tag-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-trilogy-review"],"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\/32669","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=32669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32669\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}