Jackie Brown: Lionsgate Limited (Steelbook) (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Jan 13, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
-
Director
Quentin TarantinoRelease Date(s)
1997 (January 21, 2025)Studio(s)
A Band Apart/Miramax Films (Lionsgate Limited/Lionsgate Home Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A+
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: A
Review
“The setup, the shakedown, the mix-up, the showdown…”
Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is a stewardess who’s spent twenty years trying to improve her circumstances in life, but a handful of mistakes—including carrying drugs for her ex-husband pilot—has ensured that only the second-rate Cabalas Airlines will employ her, and then for just $16K a year plus benefits. So things haven’t exactly gone Jackie’s way. For this reason, among others, she’s begun smuggling money from Mexico for a Los Angeles gun runner named Ordell Robbi (Samuel L. Jackson).
Ordell, it seems, has built himself a nice little small-time criminal empire—he buys cheap knockoff guns from China and gets them to a partner with a fishing boat in Mexico, who then delivers them to Ordell’s customers. The profit—a half a million dollars of it so far—gets stashed in Mexico, so Ordell uses Jackie to bring it across the border a little at a time to fund his lifestyle, which includes setting up a trio of low-rent girlfriends in houses or condos around L.A. so he’s always got a place to party and crash.
But Ordell has drawn the attention of law enforcement, in the form of LAPD Detective Mark Dargus and ATF Agent Ray Nicolette (Michael Bowen and Michael Keaton), because Beaumont (Chris Tucker), one of Ordell’s junkie “employees,” has gotten himself arrested for gun possession. Ordell turns to bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster) to get Beaumont out of jail, even as Dargus and Nicolette attempt to turn Jackie—whose money muling Beaumont tipped them off to. Ordell has also just hired an old friend and fellow ex-con, Louis (Robert De Niro), to be his new cohort in crime. And Max soon develops a bit of a thing for Jackie, who Ordell also posts bond for. So it’s not long before everyone is using each other, and things begin to get complicated very quickly.
The beauty of Quentin Tarantno’s Jackie Brown, which is based on Elmore Leonard’s 1992 crime novel Rum Punch, is that it’s not afraid to take its time. This film is way more about the journey than the destination, so the real joy comes from watching so many great actors—including a few whose appearance here seemed unlikely at the time—bringing terrific characters to life with all manner of nuance and complexity. And of course the best part of any Tarantino film is the snappy, eclectic, and often unexpected dialogue, and there’s plenty of it here. The opening scene alone, which establishes everything you need to know about Ordell, Louis, and Melanie as they sit drinking screwdrivers, smoking pot, and watching “Chicks with Guns” videos, is a marvel of nuanced and hilarious character building. Scenes like this are one of cinephillia’s great pleasures, and Tarantino delivers them a-plenty.
Jackie Brown also offers a terrific mix of cinematic references as it spins its criminal yarn, paying tribute to everything from the great hard-boiled film noirs of the past, as well as 1970s New Hollywood crime dramas, exploitation films, and even blaxploitation classics (like Coffy and Foxy Brown, in which Grier played the lead characters)—in fact, the soundtrack is filled with songs featured in them. And of course, dozens of little moments serve as nods to many of Tarantino’s favorite actors and movies (including his own), even to the point of Melanie and Ordell—two birds of a feather, whatever their other differences—misidentifying people on TV as Demi Moore and Rutger Hauer.
Ultimately though, any great film comes down to the chemistry of its actors, and this cast has plenty of it on screen. The heart of the film is the simmering attraction between Jackie and Max, played with genuine restraint and sophistication by Grier and Forster. Their connection is completely believable, as two people who maybe haven’t lived exactly the life they might have chosen for themselves, but who meet each other in an unusual situation and form a bond. Everything beyond that in this film is just gravy, but there’s lots of gravy in Jackie Brown and all of it is damn delicious.
Jackie Brown was shot on 35mm film by cinematographer Guillermo Navarro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim) using Moviecam Compact cameras, with Zeiss Super Speed and Clairmont Swing & Shift spherical lenses, and it was finished photochemically at the 1.85:1 flat aspect ratio for theaters. For its debut on Ultra HD, Lionsgate has remastered the film from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative and master interpositive elements (for titles), with grading for high dynamic range (both HDR10 and Dolby Vision are available). Further, it’s been encoded for a BD-100 disc to ensure the highest possible video data rates (which frequent the 70-80 Mbps range). The result is a spectacular 4K image that exhibits genuinely striking levels of detail. It should be noted that the film’s opening title sequence—and really any footage with optically-produced titles—exhibits the usual generation loss in clarity, so these shots do look somewhat softer than the rest of the film. But it appears that many of the film’s transitions have been digitally redone to eliminate this loss elsewhere. And once you get to the OCN footage, detail levels are incredibly strong, and visible in everything from skin and hair to costume fabrics. Look no further than the film’s first big scene with Ordell, Louis, and Melanie—their facial textures are extraordinary! When Melanie wiggles her toes, you can see every bit of detail in her toe rings, the unique print pattern in the soles of her feet, the condensation on her drink, the ice cubes. It’s truly remarkable, and yet this detail is cleanly refined at all times. Photochemical grain is light yet ever-present, ensuring that this is a highly cinematic image. The wider gamut and expanded contrast of HDR enriches every bit of color in the image (check out the vibrant floral pattern in the fabric of Melanie’s bikini), while deepening the shadows, making highlights brightly bold, and retaining more detail in each. This is just stunning—a reference quality presentation from start to finish.
Primary audio on the 4K disc is presented in lossless English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, essentially the exact same surround mix that was included on the 2011 Blu-ray. And that’s deliberate; Tarantino is apparently not a Dolby Atmos fan and turned down the chance to create a new object-based audio mix for this release. (In fact, it should be noted that every single A/V spec and/or special feature on one of Tarantino’s movie discs is there—or not—at the direction of the filmmaker and his team. So make no mistake: these releases are exactly as he wants them to be.) In any case, the 5.1 mix here is pleasingly robust and aggressive. The soundstage is wide across the front, with the surround channels actively engaged for directional effects, music, and overall sonic immersion. Bass is firm and muscular when necessary, lending a pleasing low-end foundation to the film’s eclectic soundtrack of ‘60s and ‘70s hits from the likes of The Delfonics, Bobby Womack, Bill Withers, and Bloodstone. Dialogue is clean and well delineated throughout. Optional subtitles are available in English, English SDH, and Spanish.
This new Lionsgate Limited Steelbook package includes the remastered film in 4K on UHD as well as unremastered 1080p HD on Blu-ray (a BD-50, the same disc the studio released in 2012 in their Tarantino XX Blu-ray box set—in fact the 4K disc emulates this set’s menu graphics). A wide-release Amaray 4K SKU is also available. There are no extras on the 4K disc, but the Blu-ray includes the following legacy special features:
- Breaking Down Jackie Brown (HD – 43:49)
- Jackie Brown: How It Went Down (SD – 10 parts with Play All option – 38:55 in all)
- Rum Punch: Reading It Again That Night, I Fell in Love with It (SD – 2:58)
- Elmore Leonard: If You and Elmore Leonard Had a Child, That’s What This Is (SD – 3:26)
- Quentin’s Influences: Quentin’s a Huge Fan of the ‘60s and ‘70s (SD – 4:01)
- Pam Grier: Quentin’s Been a Pam Grier Fan Forever (SD – 5:52)
- Robert Forster: And This Part Goes to Robert Forster (SD – 5:09)
- Samuel L. Jackson: He Just Says Quentin’s Lines Probably Better Than Anyone (SD – 2:51)
- Robert De Niro: I’m Actually Doing a Scene with Robert De Niro! (SD – 2:09)
- Bridget Fonda: She’s from a Good Bloodline of Actors (SD – 1:55)
- Michael Keaton: And ‘Bang,’ He Was the Guy (SD – 3:04)
- The Production: I’m Making Movies with My Family (SD – 7:47)
- A Look Back at Jackie Brown: Interview with Quentin (SD – 54:42)
- Chicks with Guns Video (SD – 4:52)
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes (SD – 7 parts with Play All option – 15:29 in all)
- Quentin Tarantino Introduction (SD – 3:02)
- Jackie & Sheronda Extended Scene (SD – 1:53)
- Michael & Pam Improve (Laura Loveless as Waitress) (SD – 1:04)
- Louis & Ordell Walking into the Cockatoo Lounge (SD – :43)
- Jackie “The Mastermind” Sets Up Ordell (SD – 1:49)
- Alternate Takes “For Your Eyes Only” (SD – 5:04)
- Alternate Opening Credit Sequence (SD – 1:52)
- Siskel & Ebert “At the Movies” – Jackie Brown Review (SD – 4:46)
- Jackie Brown on MTV
- Jackie Brown Promotional Contest (SD – 1:03)
- MTV Live Jackie Brown (SD – 14:22)
- Marketing Gallery
- Trailers (with Play All option)
- Green Band Teaser (SD – :50)
- Theatrical Teaser (SD – 1:31)
- Theatrical Teaser #2 (SD – 1:28)
- TV Spots (with Play All option)
- The Chase – Revised (SD – :16)
- Six People (SD – :16)
- Scamming (SD – :31)
- Up for Grabs – Revised (SD – :16)
- Shakedown (SD – :31)
- Review (SD – :31)
- Showdown (SD – 1:01)
- Here We Go – Revised (SD – :31)
- Pulp Fiction Posters (HD images)
- Trailers (with Play All option)
- Still Galleries (HD and upsampled SD images)
- Production Stills
- Behind-the-Scenes Stills
- Location Scouting
- Production Design Sketches and Logos
- Memorabilia
- Posters from Pam Grier Movies
- Posters from Robert Forster Movies
- Soundtrack Covers from Pam Grier Movies
- Enhanced Trivia Track (Viewing Option)
- Soundtrack Chapters
- Robert Forster Trailers (with Play All option)
- Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) (SD – 2:34)
- Justine (1969) (SD – 3:13)
- Stalking Moon (1969) (SD – 2:48)
- Medium Cool (1969) (SD – 3:25)
- The Don is Dead (1973) (SD – 1:16)
- Avalanche (1978) (SD – 1:05)
- The Black Hole (1979) (SD – 3:23)
- Alligator – Teaser (1980) (SD – 1:06)
- Vigilante (1982) (SD – 1:41)
- Walking the Edge (1983) (SD – 2:40)
- Hollywood Harry (1985) (SD – 1:23)
- Night Vision (1997) (SD – 3:05)
- Pam Grier Trailers (with Play All option)
- The Big Doll House (1971) (SD – 2:13)
- Women in Cages (1971) (SD – 1:32)
- The Big Bird Cage (1972) (SD – 2:46)
- Black Mama, White Mama (1972) (SD – 1:57)
- Hit Man (1972) (SD – :34)
- Twilight People – Teaser (1972) (SD – :58)
- Twilight People – Trailer (1972) (SD – 1:46)
- Coffy – Teaser (1973) (SD – 1:00)
- Coffy – Trailer (1973) (SD – 2:02)
- Scream, Blackula, Scream! (1973) (SD – 2:02)
- The Arena (1973) (SD – 2:48)
- Foxy Brown – Teaser (1974) (SD – 1:04)
- Foxy Brown – Trailer (1974) (SD – 1:53)
- Bucktown (1985) (SD – 2:20)
- Friday Foster (1975) (SD – 2:41)
- Sheba, Baby (1975) (SD – 1:57)
- Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) (SD – 2:59)
- Above the Law (1988) (SD – 1:22)
- Original Gangsters (1996) (SD – 2:19)
- Pam Grier Radio Spots (HD poster images with audio)
- Coffy (1:03)
- Black Mama, White Mama (1:04)
- Bucktown (:58)
- Friday Foster (1:04)
- Sheba, Baby (1:04)
- Scream, Blackula, Scream! (1:01)
- Foxy Brown / Truck Turner Double Bill (1:03)
- Also from Lionsgate
- Reservoir Dogs (HD – 1:45)
That’s nearly everything that was included on previous DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film, and it’s a helluva lot of content. More importantly, it’s good content, featuring the participation of all the key cast and crew members, as well as Elmore Leonard and others. There’s a great panel discussion of film critics, Siskel and Ebert’s review, some good deleted and extended scenes introduced by Tarantino, tons of promotional media created for the film’s release, and even trailer galleries for previous films starring Pam Grier and Robert Forster. That last bit includes well over an hour of content, and some of the exploitation trailers in particular will leave you in stitches. Really about the only thing that’s not here that might you want is an audio commentary with the director, but as fans already know by now: Tarantino doesn’t do those for his own films.
As far as what’s missing, a handful of reviews and articles from the Miramax Collector’s Edition DVD haven’t carried over here, along with its DVD-ROM content (including a trivia game and screenplay viewer). Also not included are the special features created for the Blu-ray bonus discs in the Tarantino XX box set specific to this film, including the Jackie Brown Q&A: A Film Independent at LACMA Event panel discussion (HD – 32:15) which featured Tarantino, Grier, and Forster. So you may want to keep those discs if you have them.
Lionsgate’s Steelbook packaging comes in a clear plastic O-card with imagery that aligns with (and enhances) the original art on the Steelbook itself. A Digital Copy code is also included in the case—it redeems on Fandango at Home only.
Jackie Brown may be one of Quentin Tarantino’s least showy films, but it’s also one of his best. Not only does it offer fine performances from a genuinely eclectic cast, the dialogue—both Tarantino’s own and the Elmore Leonard source material—is exceptional. But the most important thing to know here is that whether you buy the wide release or the Lionsgate Limited Steelbook, the film’s new 4K remaster is sublime. This is a terrific 4K Ultra HD catalog release that’s a must-have for any fan of this director. And if this is an example of the kind of quality we can expect from future Lionsgate Limited releases, the future looks bright indeed.
- Bill Hunt
(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)