Beverly Hills Cop 4K Review (Paramount)

Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 action comedy film directed by Martin Brest (Midnight Run, Scent of a Woman, Meet Joe Black, & Going in Style). The original title was Beverly Drive & it was a straight up action film with no comedy in it. It was first offered to actor Mickey Rourke who received upfront payment for the project. Sylvester Stallone signed on to the movie after that & dramatically changed the whole film which he later used in Cobra but dropped out a few weeks before filming due to creative issues. It was written by Daniel Petrie Jr. (Turner & Hooch, The Big Easy, Shoot to Kill, & Toy Soldiers). Danilo Bach (April Fool’s Day) wrote the original story & draft for it. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Beverly Hills Cop franchise, Bad Boys franchise, Top Gun, The Rock, Gemini Man, & Con Air) & Don Simpson (Days of Thunder, Top Gun, The Ref, Beverly Hills Cop II, Crimson Tide, & Bad Boys). The budget was $13 million & it grossed $316.4 million worldwide at the box office which made it the 2nd biggest film of 1984. It was the highest grossing Rated R production until it’s record was broken in 2003!!!!

Reckless & ambitious Detroit Police Department detective Axel Foley’s (played by: Eddie Murphy from Beverly Hills Cop franchise, 48 Hours/Another 48 Hours, Trading Places, & Coming to America) latest unauthorized sting operation goes sour when two uniformed officers intervene, resulting in a high-speed chase through the city which causes widespread damage. His boss Inspector Douglas Todd (played by: Gilbert R. Hill from Beverly Hills Cop franchise) reprimands Axel for his behavior & threatens to fire him. Axel arrives at his apartment to find it has been broken into by his childhood friend Mikey Tandino (played by: James Russo from Donnie Brasco, Dangerous Game, Once Upon a Time in America, & The Vineyard). Mikey did time in prison where he could have snitched on Axel but kept his mouth shut. He’s been working as a security guard in Beverly Hills thanks to their mutual friend, Jenny Summers (played by: Lisa Eilbacher from 10 to Midnight, Leviathan, Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker, & An Officer and a Gentleman). He shows Axel some German bearer bonds. They are later attacked by Zack (played by: Jonathan Banks from Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, 48 Hours, & Gremlins) & his associate. Axel wakes up to his friend Mikey dead & locals investigating a dead criminal at a cop’s apartment which doesn’t look good for the Detroit Police Department. Axel begs to be on the case but Todd refuses because he is too close to it.

He asks fellow detective Jeffrey (played by: Paul Reiser from Mad About You, Stranger Things, Aliens, & Beverly Hills Cop II) to help him out with a few things & he takes vacation to do his own investigation without permission. He tracks down his close friend Jenny who works at an art gallery owned by Victor Maitland (played by: Steven Berkoff from A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, Octopussy, & Rambo: First Blood Part II). He is greeted by her assistant Serge (played by: Bronson Pinchot from True Romance, Beverly Hills Cop 3, Perfect Strangers, & Risky Business). He goes undercover to question the man about his deceased friend. He gets thrown out of a window & arrested by the local police. He is released when he identifies himself as cop. He meets Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil (played by: Ronny Cox from Robocop, Deliverance, Total Recall, & The Car) who assigns Sergeant John Taggart (played by: John Ashton from Midnight Run, Gone Baby Gone, The Tommyknockers, & Some Kind of Wonderful) & Detective Billy Rosewood (played by: Judge Reinhold from Gremlins, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Stripes, & Vice Versa) to follow Axel. The two officers are fooled & embarrassed by the out of towner as he looks into the suspicious Maitland. Police Chief Hubbard (played by: Stephen Elliott from Death Wish, Assassination, & Arthur 1/2) demands that Axel to leave town right away after making a mess in their city & Rosewood is given the job to make sure he leaves. Axel convinces Rosewood to help him & they discover what’s been going on with the greedy businessman. This leads to an all out war with one of California’s most respected citizens, can Axel expose this crook to save his job & avenge his friend????

Beverly Hills Cop put comedian Eddie Murphy on the map as a movie star, it’s hard to believe this film almost had two different actors as the lead & it was going to be a straight up action film. As far as buddy cop & action comedy flicks go, this is one of the best ever made! It has the perfect balance of humor & violence which made a very entertaining combination for this. The script is spot on, it has everything going for it. It actually has a great story to it & the main character has so much material to work with. The chemistry between Eddie Murphy, John Ashton, & Judge Reinhold is amazing. They all complete opposites but it just works here. This is one of my all time favorite performances from Eddie Murphy, he proved that he could do much more than being funny in this. The supporting cast is top notch, they brought the entire production to another level. Each role big or small was very important to the well crafted story. This had so many laugh out loud moments & it was loaded with plenty of action. I am so glad that Paramount gave this classic the proper treatment it deserved finally on home video. This is a must own, it should be in every movie collection. The replay value is incredible here, I’ve seen it so many times over the years & it just keeps better with each revisit. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Paramount! This brand new 2160p (1.78:1) transfer with Dolby Vision & HDR10 looks great on 4K! I previously owned them on VHS, DVD, & the older U.K. blu ray release so I have plenty of sources to compare these new restorations to. This brand new UHD disc is a huge upgrade compared to any other home video release of this classic. It’s loaded with a variety of audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 2.0, Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0, & Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1on all three discs. The first film has the same audio as the older release but there was nothing wrong with that one. The dialogue is crystal clear, all the action plus comedic moments are elevated, & the amazing music has a killer boost to them. So many different subtitles are offered here which includes English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, & Swedish. Paramount kills it on the technical aspects like always!

Let’s discuss the special features from Paramount! Most of the extras are actually on the UHD but a few of them are only on the blu ray. It has all the previous extras plus a new additions. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Martin Brest. He goes over the production & putting together the film. He chats about the cast, He talks about the chemistry between the leads & overall performances. He seems to enjoy revisiting his film after all these years. “Beverly Hills Cop – The Phenomenon Begins” is a little over 29 minutes. It has interviews with director Martin Brest, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, writers Daniel Petrie Jr., Danilo Bach, actors Eddie Murphy, Ronny Cox, John Ashton, Judge Reinold, Lisa Eilbacher, & various members of the production. They chat about how they came up with the story & concept. They talk about all the changes & various scripts it went through during pre-production. They say Mickey Rourke was the original choice for Axel but it took too long to put together the film & he had already took a different role when they were ready. They bring up Sylvester Stallone getting the role & changing the entire project. They mention how it was way over the budget & they had to go back to it’s roots to produce it so they brought it in Eddie Murphy. They chat about their experience making the movie, stories, & some of their favorite scenes. They talk about the cast & the chemistry. They bring up working with Eddie Murphy, Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson, & Martin Brest for this. They mention it’s success & how it changed the action sub-genre. “A Glimpse Into the Casting Process” is an almost 10 minute interview with casting director Margery Simkin. Plus it has comments from various cast & crew members. She chats about originally putting together the cast for the Stallone version.

She said she had to make some changes when Eddie Murphy joined 2 weeks before shooting but kept most of the same actors for it. She brings that she wanted the Detroit & Beverly Cops to be completely different. She mentions working with director Martin Brest. She talks about several of the main roles & actors picked for it. She says this experience changed her entire life. “The Music of Beverly Hills Cop” is almost 8 minutes. It has interviews with the cast & various members of the crew. They chat about the iconic score & theme. They talk about the soundtrack & the popular tracks used for it. They bring up a few songs & artists that the record label recommended but the director went with his own choices. They mention “Nasty Girl” was actually suggested by the stripper in the scene. “Location Map” features seven different locations & it has behind the scenes clips on each spot. It has a “Theatrical Trailer” for the film. Now, let’s chat about the exclusives added to this release! “Isolate Score Track” that’s presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. featuring the amazing music of the feature. “BHC Mixtape ’84” featuring musical clips from The Heat Is On, Neutron Dance, New Attitude, Do You Really, Stir it Up, & Nasty Girl. Two unreleased “Deleted Scenes” which includes You Might Be on the Right Track & Axel Gets Ready for Beverly Hills. The almost 7 minute “Behind the Scenes: 1984 Interviews” featuring a few rare chats about the classic production which includes Axel’s Wild Ride, Detroit Cops vs. Beverly Hills Cops, Eddie’s Impromptu Lines , & Taggart and Rosewood. It has interviews with director Martin Brest & star Eddie Murphy. They chat about the scenes, characters, & their experience making the feature.  It comes with a slipcover, a digital code, & a blu ray copy of the release. It belongs in every comedy, action, & Eddie Murphy fan collections. It’s available everywhere December 1st, CHECK IT OUT!!!!