Point Break – 4K UHD Blu-ray Review
Commissions Earned
Film Title: Point Break (1991)
Release Date: 2023
Rating: R
Runtime: 122 minutes
Region Coding: Region Free
Studio: Shout! Studios
Audio Formats: DTS-HD MA 5.1 & 2.0
High Dynamic Range: HDR10, Dolby Vision
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Version Reviewed: 4K UHD Blu-ray
Release Date: 12/5/23
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley
Jump to Sections:
Movie | Video | Audio | Bonus | Closing | Screenshots
Full 4K Tech Specs found at the bottom
click to view a 4K Screenshot
The Movie
“Point Break” was a 1991 action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and executively produced by James Cameron. Bigelow, at that time married to Cameron, is best known for also directing the films “Strange Days” (1995), “K-19: The Widowmaker” (2002), “The Hurt Locker” (2008), and “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012).
The story was co-written by Rick King and W. Peter Iliff. Iliff wrote the screenplay and is best known for also co-writing the screenplays for the films “Patriot Games” (1992), “Varsity Blues” (1999), and “Under Suspicion” (2000).
In “Point Break,” the film’s protagonist is a recent graduate FBI agent named “Johnny Utah” (Keanu Reeves). On his first day, Johnny receives a less-than-warm welcome from his superior, “Ben Harp” (John C. McGinley), who assigns him to partner with veteran FBI agent “Pappas” (Gary Busey). Their assignment is to stop a group of bank robbers who wear the masks of ex-presidents. Pappas is convinced these bank robbers are a group of surfers seeking an adrenaline rush, based on security camera footage from recent robberies and his bit of research.
Johnny goes undercover as a surfer at his partner’s insistence, given his background playing football. His first action is buying a surfboard and attempting to surf without any lessons. Surviving his initial wipeout, he later decides to take surfing lessons from an attractive young lady named “Tyler” (Lori Petty). Tyler eventually introduces Johnny to one of the most respected surfers in the scene, “Bodhi” (Patrick Swayze), known for his spiritual approach to surfing and life itself.
Johnny Utah, a former college quarterback turned FBI agent, finds himself in a predicament as he begins to develop romantic feelings for Tyler, the female surfer. Additionally, he enjoys spending time with Bodhi and is starting to immerse himself in the surfing lifestyle. Although Johnny questions if he’s on the right path, he remains committed to his job of finding the bank robbers. Could these surfers be the culprits? He’s about to uncover the truth soon.
Movie Rating: 4.25 (out of 5)
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Video Quality
“Point Break” on 4K UHD Blu-ray is presented in the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range. The release features a new 2023 master and restoration via a new 4K scan of the interpositive negative.
Next, let me get technical, for a bit, in regards to the 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc itself here. This release uses a BD-100 (100 gigabytes) disc, 92.86 gigabytes total, and 81.4 gigabytes for the film itself. Based on my observations via my 4K UHD Blu-ray player, this seems to be running an average (roughly) of anywhere between 74.6 to 101 Mbps in the HEVC (high-efficiency video coding) codec, hitting peaks as high as 118 and 152 Mbps at times. According to info on the PC side, this seems to have an overall video bitrate of 85.0 Mb/s average.
The movie was shot on 35mm film using the Panavision Panaflex camera in the Super 35 cinematographic process. Originally it was shown theatrically in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and even in 2.20:1 for the 70mm blow-up. So, the aspect ratio has slightly changed to nearly its original theatrical presentation.
From the opening title sequence, you’ll notice one healthy amount of film grain visibly left intact. It feels just as gritty as you would expect for a 1991 movie shot on film, and even comes with a few occasional pieces of dirt or debris thrown in to give it that correct cinematic feel. The black level is perfectly solid in both day and nighttime scenes (see screenshots). The color palette is ever so slightly subdued but you’ll see the bright colors still come through in things like the cars, costumes & wardrobe, and such. There’s one definite newfound amount of detail here in this 4K visual presentation. Fans who have owned the film previously on Blu-ray will be in for a treat making their upgrade here.
There’s nothing here to even consider anything worth complaining about. All I can do is look in absolute awe at the movie in 4K now each time. I never expected “Point Break” to honestly ever look this damn good in terms of a home theater level of consumer experience. This feels theatrical, even (or rather especially) while watching it on an OLED 4K display and that is what makes it all the more fun. Some folks online were skeptical about this coming from the interpositive and not the OCR [original camera negative]. Regardless of skepticism, I can tell you that this looks every bit as good as I expected and then some better.
I must say that Shout! Studios have done a superb job handling this master and restoration of the Kathryn Bigelow-directed modern action cult classic. This 4K UHD Blu-ray release earns a perfect 5 for video quality.
Video Quality Rating: 5 (out of 5)
click to view a 4K Screenshot
Audio Quality
“Point Break” arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray with your choice of either lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo. Both sound mixes are running in a variable bitrate with DTS cores in 5.1 and 2.0 configurations for those unable to decode the aforementioned lossless DTS-HD format.
The original score composed by Mark Isham sounds superb with just the right amount of the music getting mixed into the real channels and a nice amount of LFE. You’ll immediately notice the sound of waves during the opening credits filling the 5.1 mix appropriately. When the waves come crashing down you’ll certainly feel each one — via the subwoofer — along with gunshots fired on an FBI training range.
To be clear, no pun intended, this movie sounds great from the very start, but it is 79 minutes in when you will hear the musical score beautifully take you for a ride as the famous parachuting scene takes place. The amount of LFE deep bass here is just intense. Sound effects make great usage of the 5.1 surround, as you’ll occasionally feel or hear things appropriately in the rear channels throughout. Just remember, when I said that things were intense: I was not kidding.
This, in a typical 5.1 surround sound mix, likely kept the existing rear channel elements of the original Dolby surround mix that the film featured during the standard 35mm theatrical run. There’s also a slight chance it could have used the more elaborate 6-track sound mix that the 70mm (blow-up) theatrical run featured, but that is not specified in either the press release or on the packaging. Regardless of the source, it sounds excellent.
The dialogue here is delivered from the center channel crisp and clear, with exceptions of that delivered behind a mask. The original music can be heard the most from the front left and right channels but can also use its power to fill the room with a very nice use of the rear channel speakers. Sound effects also will come from the correct direction, such as gunfire. I won’t say when those instances of the biggest action are to avoid spoilers, for those viewing this film for the first time.
It’s a really impressive 5.1 lossless mix and the 2.0 lossless stereo isn’t bad either. That all said, this earns itself a perfect 5 for audio quality. It’s a “high octane thrill ride” in terms of audio quality, in surround sound here; it certainly lives up to that description as an audio presentation.
Audio Quality Rating: 5 (out of 5)
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Bonus Materials
Then you also get a Blu-ray Disc included in this 2-disc “combo pack” set.
- The Blu-ray Disc includes the film using the new master and restoration from the new 4K scan, aforementioned in this review. This features a 1080p HD video presentation in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and 2.0 Stereo sound. This Blu-ray Disc is locked to Region A.
Bonus materials included on the Blu-ray Disc are listed below. These are all in upconverted HD (high definition) with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound.
- Additional Scenes (4 minutes, 35 seconds – HD) are very, very rough quality and have a huge timestamp in the bottom right corner, but they prove to be certainly worth the watch if you truly enjoyed the film. Some of these feel like they should have been left in the film, especially the first and last ones.
- “Adrenaline Junkies” Featurette (6 minutes, 1 second – HD) was a retrospective from 2006. It includes interviews with Patrick Swayze (“Bodhi”), Glenn R. Wilder (stunt coordinator/second unit director), Pat Banta (Keanu Reeves’ stunt double), Scott Wilder (Patrick Swayze’s stunt double), John C. McGinley (“Ben Harp”), Bojessee Christopher (“Grommet”), W. Peter Iliff (screenwriter), Peter Abrams (producer), John Philbin (“Nathanial”), Gary Busey (“Pappas”), Lori Petty (“Tyler”), and Rick King (co-producer/story writer).
- “It’s Make or Break” Featurette (23 minutes, 3 seconds – HD) was a retrospective from 2006. This includes interviews with Patrick Swayze (“Bodhi”), Gary Busey (“Pappas”), Keanu Reeves (“Johnny Utah”), Lori Petty (“Tyler”), Rick King (co-producer/story writer), W. Peter Iliff (screenwriter), Peter Abrams (producer), John C. McGinley (“Ben Harp”), John Philbin (“Nathanial”), Kathryn Bigelow (director), Robert L. Levy (producer), Scott Wilder (Patrick Swayze’s stunt double), Bojessee Christopher (“Grommet”), Glenn R. Wilder (stunt coordinator/second unit director), and Pat Banta (Keanu Reeves’ stunt double).
- “On Location: Malibu” Featurette (8 minutes, 32 seconds – HD) was from 2006 and it includes interviews with Bojessee Christopher (“Grommet”) and John Philbin (“Nathanial”). The two cast members visit some locations used in the film.
- “Ride The Wave” Featurette (6 minutes, 8 seconds – HD) was from 2006 and it includes interviews with W. Peter Iliff (screenwriter), Bojessee Christopher (“Grommet”), Lori Petty (“Tyler”), Patrick Swayze (“Bodhi”), Rick King (co-producer/story writer), Scott Wilder (Patrick Swayze’s stunt double), John C. McGinley (“Ben Harp”), John Philbin (“Nathanial”), Robert L. Levy (producer), and Peter Abrams (producer).
- Theatrical Trailers (4 minutes, 14 seconds – HD)
- Still Gallery (2 minutes, 17 seconds – HD) allows you to use the chapter forward or backward buttons on your remote to navigate or just watch as it plays as a slideshow.
Overall, the bonus materials are the previous 2006 home video release extras ported over and upconverted to high definition. Sadly, with the passing of one of the cast members I don’t think we’ll probably ever get any new extras for this film. Added up, you get a good 45 minutes roughly of supplemental materials. That’s not a lot by today’s standards for “catalog” films such as this but you’ll want to keep my previous statement in mind here. I’m happy with what we get ported over, as I believe that others will be as well.
Bonus Materials Rating: 1.75 (out of 5)
click to view a 4K Screenshot
Closing Thoughts
“Point Break” from 1991 was one of director Kathryn Bigelow’s best collaborations with her [now] ex-husband James Cameron. It also was one great on-screen duo of Keanu Reeves and the late great Patrick Swayze, in one of the more unique roles of his career. This was one of Keanu Reeves’ first action films and as we all know he went on to do his share of them afterwards.
Fans of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers should be on the lookout for lead singer Anthony Kiedis in a small role as a surfer punk. This was the first film released by the now-defunct Largo Entertainment, which was created by film producer Lawrence Gordon and backed by JVC. Lastly, it’s a fun bit of trivia that the main character’s name was a tribute of sorts to NFL quarterback Joe Montana — hence we got “Johnny Utah.”
In terms of video quality, this new 4K scan is just downright cinematic, with a splendid amount of film grain found beautifully throughout, along with a whole lot of new-found detail, especially in close-ups. This 4K release boasts a perfectly solid black level (thanks to the high dynamic range), is by far the best that the movie has ever looked, and is sure to make you pleased to make the upgrade.
In terms of audio quality, this 4K release brings you both 5.1 and Stereo 2.0 lossless DTS-HD Master Audio mixes as intense as the highly energetic film itself. I don’t believe this is the original 5.1 mix found on the previous Blu-ray release(s), as it seems to pack a bit more punch this time around. Also, as mentioned above, you finally get the option of a 2.0 Stereo lossless sound mix.
Finally, in terms of bonus materials, you get all the previously released DVD and Blu-ray Disc extras. Overall, it’s one very nice improvement visually in terms of its 4K presentation. This brand spanking new 2023 4K UHD Blu-ray is worth the upgrade over previous iterations you may own physically or digitally on home video. That being said, this release comes as a Highly Recommended Upgrade.
In terms of 4K UHD Blu-ray release, this gets:
5 (out of 5) for video quality
5 (out of 5) for audio quality
1.75 (out of 5) for bonus materials
Overall Verdict:
Highly Recommended Upgrade
Available As:
2023 4K UHD Blu-ray Release
Available at: Amazon | Walmart
2023 4K UHD Blu-ray Limited Edition SteelBook Release
Commissions Earned
4K UHD Blu-ray Screenshots:
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Standard Packaging:
4K UHD Blu-ray Technical Specifications:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Exact Runtime(s): 2:01:55
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with a DTS 5.1 core), English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (with a DTS 2.0 core)
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
HDR: HDR10, Dolby Vision
Disc Size: BD-100
Disc Use: 81.4GB total / 92.86GB for the film
Video Bitrate: 85.0 Mb/s