Search - Blown Away on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Movie Release: 1994 DVD Release: 07/30/1997 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 1 mins Studio: MGM Total Copies: 8 Genres: Thriller, Action Thriller, Chase Movie, Police Detective Film

Opening within one month from each other in 1994, Blown Away invited many comparisons to Speed. Both are pyrotechnical displays involving mad bombers and a multitude of flying building debris and body parts. The cop and the mad bomber in this one are Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges), a veteran of the Boston Bomb Squad planning to retire from the force, and Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), a revenge-crazed explosives expert who has recently escaped from a detention center in Northern Ireland. It seems that Gaerity is out to get Jimmy and has been nursing his grudge for the past twenty years. Back in his Irish past, Jimmy, then known as Liam, was a student of Gaerity, who constructed bombing devices for the IRA. But when Gaerity's bombing plans included the killing of innocent civilians, Liam opposed him and thwarted his efforts. As a result, Liam escaped to the United States to become Jimmy, and Gaerity was arrested and sent to prison. But now that Gaerity is out of jail, he is traveling to Boston to wreak havoc upon the city in revenge for what Jimmy has done to him. His plan is to create so many bombings in Boston that the bomb squad's strength will be depleted, allowing him to get to Jimmy and his family. The goal? Blowing up Jimmy's wife (Suzy Amis) and stepdaughter at a Boston Pops concert. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Jeff Bridges - Jimmy Dove
Tommy Lee Jones - Ryan Gaerity
Lloyd Bridges - Max O'Bannon
Forest Whitaker - Anthony Franklin
Suzy Amis - Kate

A straightforward DVD package for this Stephen Hopkins film. The transfer has been carried out anamorphically, maintaining the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, using a source print that displays few speckles and almost no scratches. While color balance is overall good, with accurate fleshtones, the master is somewhat on the dark side, rendering some scenes difficult to view, especially on large-screen televisions. Black levels are overall good, but the darkness of the transfer renders shadows undetailed. The image is sharp throughout, with no visible grain or softness. Compression artifacts are absent. A pan-and-scan version is also included on the disc. The soundtrack has been remixed into Dolby 5.1 Surround. The mix is clear and well-defined, with most dialogue coming off clear and well-separated; the exception to this is Tommy Lee Jones' dialogue, and this may be entirely a function of Jones' use of an atrocious Irish accent. The bass levels, which could be somewhat cleaner and more solid, will rattle the .1 channel. On this track, the bass tends not to be as clean as it could be. There are French and Spanish Dolby 2.0 Surround tracks also. The French track has a good mix, cast, and dubbing; the Spanish track has a good mix and cast, but suffers from loose matching. The disc includes a theatrical trailer. ~ Steven E. McDonald, All Movie Guide