48 HRS. - 4K UHD Blu-ray (Paramount, 1982) Paramount Home Video
Comedian, Eddie Murphy’s career was
decidedly on the upswing in 1982, the year he was Golden Globe-nominated as the
devious con in director, Walter Hill’s 48 Hrs. – oft’ cited as the first
‘buddy/buddy’ cop movie (an erroneous claim, as only one half of this screen
dream team represents ‘the law’). The honor for buddy/buddy cop flicks
is actually owed Richard Rush’s barely remembered Freebie and the Bean
(1974, dull, but, if nothing else, the real granddaddy of this sub-genre).
Given the success of 48 Hrs. and Eddie Murphy’s star-drawing power, yet
to crest, it remains a real head-scratcher why Paramount sat on spinning this
one into a film franchise until 1990’s ill-fated sequel, Another 48 Hrs. But this 48 Hrs. is a curious choice
for Murphy’s entre into motion pictures; first, because the seriousness of its
screenplay, cobbled together by Hill, Roger Spottiswoode, Larry Gross, and,
Steven E. de Souza, does not directly appear to be playing to Murphy’s
strengths, and second, as he is the physically slighter of the two working
against type, opposite a lumbering Nick Nolte – then, perceived as the
real/reel ‘star’ of this pic. 48 Hrs. was the brain-child of
producer/exec, Lawrence Gordon, who initially came up with the idea back in
1975 – a totally different scenario, to inveigle a cop and a crook, teamed
together to unearth the whereabouts of the kidnapped daughter of Louisiana’s
governor – the girl, strapped with dynamite and held for ransom by a psychotic
blackmailer. To solve the crime, and presumably save the girl, the toughest cop
in the precinct enlists the aid of the most ruthless criminal then serving
time, the last person to share a cell with the man now holding the girl
hostage. Like all truly inspired ideas pitched and plied in the
higgledy-piggledy absence of studio autonomy in the ‘new’ Hollywood, and, even
more so during that mythical Babylon’s very steep decline throughout the
1970’s, this one interminably languished for years, to be written, then
re-written, then re-written again, until in tone and sentiment it came to pass
as barely recognizable from its original source. However, unlike most
turn-around properties, 48 Hrs. emerged better from this chronically
delayed creative trial by fire.
The concept was bounced from
Columbia to Paramount, with the notion Clint Eastwood would sign on to play the
criminal. Alas, Hill was unimpressed by the thought of making Eastwood – one of
the industry’s most bankable stars - the heavy. Anti-hero is one thing.
Villain, quite another. So, Hill suggested Eastwood as the steely and
hard-bitten cop. And although Eastwood would eventually play a criminal in
1979’s Escape from Alcatraz, 48 Hrs. would evolve into something
else entirely, and, without Eastwood’s complicity. At this juncture, the
project was shelved for nearly two full years as Gordon and co-producer, Joel
Silver plotted their next casting decision, eventually lighting on Nolte as
Det. Jack Cates – the no-nonsense cop with an axe to grind. Boris Gardiner was
considered for the role of ‘Reggie’ – then, named Big Willie. Paramount’s Barry
Diller was assured 48 Hrs. would benefit from the casting of a solid
black actor opposite Nolte’s brutish pit-bull. The ‘go-to’ was Richard Pryor
who, by 1980, had not only become a recognizable face on television, but had
broken through to popular appeal as the foul-mouthed funny man, capable of
flying solo. From the outset, Hill believed 48 Hrs. needed two great
personalities, as diverse – or even more so – than their skin color, playing
off each other’s strengths in a sort of improvisational free form, onto which
the conventional Hollywood thriller would be grafted. As Richard Pryor showed
little interest, Hill tried to acquire the services of Gregory Hines, embroiled
in reshoots and delays on the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s eventually
butchered theatrical release of The Cotton Club. Instead, Hill was given a little directive
from his then-gal/pal, Hollywood agent, Hildy Gottlieb, who promoted her
client, Eddie Murphy to the head of the class, owing to Murphy’s stellar work
on television’s late-night comedy/anthology show, Saturday Night Live.
Eager to make the leap from TV to movies, Murphy made only one demand, that his
character be named Reggie Hammond instead of Willie Bigg, as he felt the latter
was too stereotypical ‘a black name’.
Most movies are made by committee,
and mostly, under constant chaos. While ‘star egos’ are usually to blame for
costly delays and rewrites, it was the warring inside Paramount’s front offices
that threatened to chronically derail and dismiss 48 Hrs. Studio exec,
Michael Eisner believed the picture lacked humor, while his brain trust of
‘yes’ men and bean counters feared Hill’s handling of the penultimate gunfight
at the hotel was much too violent to be considered in a movie that was steadily
being encouraged to take shape as just another lighter-themed comedy/thriller.
As such, Hill reluctantly complied, getting Gross to write some comedy
jeremiads for Murphy, the chronic reshaping of Reggie Hammond going on almost
from the first day’s shooting to the last. Evidently, Hill’s compliance was not
enough to earn him the respect of Eisner, who after screening the dailies,
informed him he would never again work for the studio. The joke was on Eisner –
partly – as Hill eventually returned to Paramount (though, long after Eisner’s
departure) to direct the sequel. Executive faith in 48 Hrs. was at a very
low ebb, even as the picture was being prepared. As for the co-stars, Nick Nolte and Eddie
Murphy got on famously. Murphy was absolutely determined to do his best work
for Hill, never complained, and always was ready at a moment’s notice, despite
never having a solid directive on his character’s motivations.
48 Hrs. opens, grimly
enough, with convicted criminal, Albert Ganz (James Remar) working a road gang
on a remote California highway. A stoic Native American, Billy Bear (Sonny
Landham) pulls his pickup alongside to inquire for some water to cool off his
overheating radiator. Ganz and Bear pull a good guy/bad guy routine that
escalates until both men feign falling into the nearby river. Bear tosses Ganz
a gun and the pair assassinate two guards assigned to oversee the road
crew. Two days later, Bear and Ganz
murder Henry Wong (John Hauk), their former associate. We cut to the seedy
Walden Hotel. Enter Inspector Jack Cates of the Frisco Police Department's
criminal investigation bureau, along with detectives Algren (Jonathan Banks)
and Van Zant (James Keane) in search of a tip-off to a man named G.P. Polson
(a.k.a. Ganz), presently occupying room 27. Alas, in the ensuing hailstorm of
bullets, both Algren and Van Zant are gunned down by Ganz, who escapes with
Bear, stealing Cates’ revolver.
Back at the station, Cates is
informed by fellow cop and new partner, Ben Kehoe (Brion James) of Ganz’s
association with one, Reggie Hammond - in prison with six months left to serve
on his 3-yr. sentence for armed robbery. Perhaps, Hammond knows where Ganz is
headed. So, Jack visits Reggie in prison, securing a 48-hour leave to help him
hunt down Ganz and Bear. Reggie directs Cates to an apartment where Ganz's
last-known pal, Luther (David Patrick Kelly) lives. Their conversation is
brief, as Luther takes a pot shot at Cates. The standoff ends with Cates sending
Luther to jail. Now, Reggie leads Cates to Torchy's, a redneck honky-tonk where
Bear used to bartend. On a challenge from Cates, Reggie shakes down the bar’s
patrons. The boys get a lead on Bear’s ex-girlfriend. This too is a dead end.
To prove his loyalty, Reggie confides in Cates that he, Ganz, Bear, Luther and
Wong once robbed a drug dealer of $500,000 - the money, presumably, still
stashed in the trunk of Reggie's car, in storage inside a downtown parking
garage. However, instead of divvying up the proceeds from their ill-gotten
gains, Ganz sold Reggie out, leading to his incarceration. This was also the motivation
behind Ganz and Bear kidnapping Luther's gal/pal, Rosalie (Kerry Sherman), as
blackmail, the money bartered for Rosalie’s life.
Cates and Reggie arrive at the
garage first and observe, then tail Luther as he drives the car to a rendezvous
with Ganz. Regrettably, Luther spots Cates. Ganz and Billy escape, while Reggie
chases after Luther. Left with nothing, Jack goes to Vroman's in search of
Reggie who has tracked Luther to the hotel across the street. Overcome with
humility, Jack apologizes to Reggie for earlier berating him. He also lends
Reggie a few dollars to have sex with a girl he has just met. As Reggie
departs, he spies Luther getting onto a stolen bus driven by Bear. Ganz
intercepts the money but shoots Luther and Rosalie. He also notices Cates and
Reggie trailing and a chase ensues. Bear forces Cates’ Caddy through the
display window of a Cadillac showroom. In the aftermath, Cates is read the riot
act by his superior, Haden (Frank McRae). Now, Reggie suggests Bear might
return to his kept woman’s place, using it as a hideout. Cates agrees, and he
and Reggie storm in, discovering Bear, whom Reggie shoots dead. But Ganz
manages yet another coup, disappearing into the alley, sneaking up on Reggie,
and, taking him hostage. Cates’ cunning wins the day. Ganz is shot dead and
Cates, making good on his promise, takes Reggie to be with the girl he picked
up earlier. Afterward, Cates drives Reggie back to prison but leaves the loot
in his care, asking for a ‘loan’ to buy a new Cadillac. Reggie agrees before,
rather quaintly, attempting to swipe Cates’ cigarette lighter. Once a thief,
always a thief?!?
48 Hrs. is a middling
effort in the buddy/buddy dramedy. I suppose it ought to get props for coming
in ahead of ‘most’ of the pack. But it doesn’t hold up altogether as it should,
and this, apart from the obviousness in the exercise itself – more from
hindsight now, than any great foresight then – ear-marks it as just a rung on
the ladder of screen successes yet to make Eddie Murphy a household name. Part
of the problem here is the premise. I mean, what’s in it for Murphy’s Reggie?
He has six-months left to serve, and is neither offered ‘time off for good
behavior’ nor even the promise of a ‘fresh start’ once the remaining
time has been repaid. His assist to Cates seems more than a tad tinny, if
philanthropic, to downright foolhardy, as it could very easily get him killed
by the very same men he once deemed as his ‘associates’. The antagonistic
camaraderie between Nolte and Murphy is solid. But they never attain that
blessed bro-manic chemistry. So, we are left with each actor’s ‘presence’ to
appreciate – Murphy’s more prominently featured and justly celebrated. Sad,
actually, that the screenplay never allows either to fully flesh out and
explore the possibilities here. In Murphy’s case, he misses the opportunity to
thoroughly cut loose in a streak of brilliant improvisation we all know and
love about him, while Nolte somehow appears – at times – to be struggling for
something pithy or punchy to say. The
boys are at their best during the grand set-pieces devoted to violence,
enlightened by Nolte’s shoot-from-the-hip frustration and Murphy’s incredibly
tart-mouthed retorts. These scenes work because both actors are taking the
work, though never their parts, seriously. Alas, there are only a handful of
such set-ups to make 48 Hrs. click as it ought. What’s left is crude
filler, bordering on abject silliness.
According to Nolte, a lot of the
movie was improvised. Indeed, Nolte had come to the project only after Mickey
Rourke, Jeff Bridges, Kris Kristofferson, Sly Stallone and Burt Reynolds had
all turned it down. Reportedly, James Remar chose sleep deprivation prior to
shooting, to add a ‘drained’ look to his psychotic Ganz. It’s interesting to view 48 Hrs. today
as a precursor to Murphy’s turn as the loveably arrogant Axel Foley in the Beverly
Hills Cop franchise (1984-94). There are flashes of Axel in Reggie, and, at
least in hindsight, 48 Hrs. plays as an ‘extended screen test’ in
preparation for Murphy’s play-acting in these later films. Behind the scenes, Michael Eisner
contemplating firing the SNL alumnus when he deemed the rushes not
‘funny’ enough. Mercifully, cooler heads
prevailed, allowing Murphy to stay on and collect his $450,000 pay check.
Aside: co-star, Nick Nolte took home a cool million by comparison. And let us
also recall, by the time luck and fate conspired for the pair to work again
together on Another 48 Hrs. (1990), Murphy was the bigger star,
commanding a salary of $7 million to Nolte’s three (practically, bargain
basement). When the dust had settled on 48 Hrs., Paramount had a bona
fide smash on their hands – the 7th highest-grossing movie of the year, with
Nolte’s star, momentarily salvaged from its uneasy decline. Murphy’s however,
was positively catapulted into the stratosphere.
Paramount’s native 4K release of 48
Hrs., cribbing from the same master used to author its Paramount Presents…
Blu from two years ago, marginally improves in all the anticipated categories: better
resolved grain, slightly deeper black levels, a tighter visual presentation,
and ever so better resolved flesh tones and richer saturated colors on the
whole. Employing an OCN in native 4K certainly plays up the grit in Rick
Waite’s cinematography. Actually, it looks spectacular. Paramount has left the
Blu’s 5.1 DTS intact. There are no
extras on the UHD 4K disc. But Paramount has deigned to include a copy of the
aforementioned Blu. This adds a ‘Film maker’s Focus’ featurette with Walter
Hill running approximately 20 minutes with Hill who sport miraculous recall
about the making of this movie a real plus. There’s also Space Boy, the
1966 Paramount cartoon Ganz is watching early in the movie, herein, digitally
remastered and looking decades younger than its source. Too bad it’s not much
of a cartoon. Bottom line: 48 Hrs. is a disposable, but amusing
programmer. Much of it has not aged as well as one might hope, leaving the
movie more of a time capsule than a true 80’s classic. Paramount’s 4K release
is a quality affair and definitely worth the upgrade.
FILM RATING (out
of 5 – 5 being the best)
3
VIDEO/AUDIO
5+
EXTRAS
1
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