Point Break (1996)

Generally panned by critics upon its release, Point Break has gone on to enjoy something of a minor cult following among action film fans who enjoy its breathlessly choreographed action sequences involving daring bank heists, car chases, skydiving and, of course, surfing one of the film's most important selling points. The film came along after Patrick Swayze's phenomenal success with Ghost and he went completely in the opposite direction with this film. Point Break also proved to be a warm-up for Keanu Reeves who would become a full-fledged action hero with Speed a few years later.

Point Break trots out and downright revels in stereotypes: Utah is the all-American good guy, Pappas is the burn out cop and they are constantly being chewed out by their jerk-off boss (McGinley) for their screwball antics. Surprisingly, it's Swayze's Zen master/surfer/bank robber that doesn't fall into an easy stereotype and comes across as the most interesting, charismatic character in the entire movie. And you have to give the credit to Swayze and his oddly fascinating performance. There is a nice scene where he tells Utah his philosophy of surfing, "It's a state of mind. It's that place where you lose yourself and find yourself." We find ourselves rooting not for Reeves' bland FBI agent but Swayze's thrillseeking surfer.

Point Break is the epitome of a guilty pleasure: to dumb to defend rationally but with action sequences too cool to dismiss totally. It's a big, loud comic book of a movie and it knows it and has the conviction to go for it. But is it worth purchasing on DVD if you already own a copy?

First up are eight deleted scenes that include more footage of Utah trying to surf. We also see him get more grief from his boss for his undercover work. There are other little bits of excised footage that doesn't really amount to all that much.

"It's Make or Break" is a retrospective featurette. Busey, Petty and Swayze all contribute new interviews for this DVD and talk about their experiences making the movie.

"Ride the Wave" examines the spirituality of surfing. The ocean is a double-edged sword at once very beautiful but also very dangerous. This extra also takes a brief look at the surfer culture.

"Adrenaline Junkies" examines the exciting stunts staged in the movie. Like his character, Swayze was into skydiving but the studio did not want him to do it. However, if you look at the first skydiving sequence, he really jumped out of the plane!

"On Location: Malibu" is a more light-hearted extra as two of the Ex-Presidents (who were actual surfers) John Philbin and Bojesse Christopher take us on a mini-tour of key locations in Malibu used in the movie. They crack jokes and reminisce about key scenes.

Also included are three trailers and a behind-the-scenes stills gallery.

Having recently purchased a HD TV, i knew it was only a matter of time before i bought a Blu-Ray player as well. Sure enough, a week after buying the TV, i splashed out the cash for a Blu-Ray machine. That was the easy part.

Looking at the newly released Blu-Ray titles, and the significant price difference between a regular DVD and the movie on Blu-Ray, i began to look through titles i already owned on DVD and what i thought would deserve an upgrade in picture quality and sound. Without much hesitation, Point Break sprung to mind.

I'm not going to review the actual movie. That's already been covered many times over. But assuming you've already seen the movie, this is more about what to expect from the HD version, as opposed to the regular DVD copy.

Well, the film looks FANTASTIC. You have to bear in mind that the film came out in 1991. Granted, that's not that long ago. But in terms of how technology has evolved over the past 20 years, it's a long time. For the surfing scenes, the waves are so much clearer, and the sound really does make you believe you're in the surf too. For the skydiving scenes, the aerial footage is amazingly sharp. When i first saw the movie in theatres, i was blown away by the water and air shots. Buying it on VHS, then DVD, and now Blu-Ray, i can honestly say the movie just keeps on getting more and more enjoyable. I've been a fan of Mark Isham (music composer for this film, and many others) and his score is brought vividly to life on this HD format.

Extras wise, it's the same as the DVD re-release a few years back (Adrenaline edition). A few deleted scenes, 4 new featurettes featuring interviews with the late Swayze and 2 of the surfing gang, plus John C McGinley and an entertaining Gary Busey).

I highly recommend you upgrading to Blu-Ray. You'll be glad you did.

Buy Point Break (1996) Now

Review

A gang of Southern California surfers tear up the waves, while enjoying the sun, sand and the sea. But in their spare time they also double up as Bank robbers and commit their crimes masked as American presidents. The gang led by Bodhi (Patrick Swayze)have been making some serious hits.

Finally the law in the form of FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) and his partner, Pappas (Gary Busey)suspect the sand lovers and decide to infiltrate them by going undercover.

Throw in skydiving, some pretty boy male bonding action and a little bit of love into this cocktail, this turns out to be a pretty decent film. The acting is saved with good pacing and a commendable script; which is not as predictable as 1 might think.

It's worth a watch, definetly!!!

The Dvd

The film itself will be presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with both English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 4.0 Dolby Surround tracks.

Extras will include deleted scenes (Holistic Fitness With Agent Pappas, Agent Johnny Utah Thinks He Can Surf, Tyler Saves Johny From The Waves, Penetration Of The Social Infrastructure, Tyler & Johnny Spend Time Alone In The Water, A Basic Hit & Run, Tyler Accuses Johnny Of Using Her, and Johnny & Bodhi Talk About Robbing Banks), an It's Make or Break featurette, a Ride the Wave featurette, an Adrenaline Junkies featurette, an On Location: Malibu featurette, a still gallery, and three theatrical trailers

++ Though the inital dvd loses the DTS track.. the DTS track was horrendous in the 1st place...So for me personally, i'd rather not have it....

Read Best Reviews of Point Break (1996) Here

I'm reviewing the Blu-Ray, not the movie.

It's a decent transfer. Looks about as good as you would expect from an early 90s film. Maybe a little better. Sounds good too. Recommended if you like this movie.

One thing to note is that this is 2.35:1 widescreen, which is what was shown in theaters. However, since it was shot on non-anamorphic Super 35, it's vertically cropped from the 4:3 TV/VHS version, so although you are seeing what you would have seen in theaters (and I'm guessing what was on the DVD release), and you are seeing a little bit more on the sides, you might notice that the frame is cropped from your VHS copy. But that's not a big deal, and is typical for films shot on Super 35.

Want Point Break (1996) Discount?

I'm a Point Break fan. It's one of the best "bad" movies out there, so I was pumped when it finally came out on DVD. Unfortunately, it is a total ..... Everyone loves to watch their favorite movies in letterbox, because it gives you the opportunity to view the full movie as opposed to the scan made to fit the VHS format. In the case of Point Break however the letterbox format was achieved by cropping the top and bottom off of the vhs scan. So, not only do you not get the full feature film, you don't even get the VHS view of the film. It's claustrophobic. There are scenes in this DVD that don't even makes sense, parts of people's faces are cut off. DO NOT BUY THIS [junk]!!! The picture is sharp, but it's like watching the movie through a keyhole!!!