Cutter’s Way 4K Review (Radiance Films)

Cutter’s Way is a 1981 crime film directed by Ivan Passer (Law and Disorder, Crime and Passion, Born to Win, Intimate Lighting, Silver Bears, Creator, and Nomad: The Warrior). It was written by Jeffrey Alan Fiskin (Bosch, Revenge, Angel Unchained, The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper, and Crackers). It’s based on the novel “Cutter and Bone” by author Newton Thornburg.(Beautiful Kate). It was associate produced by Larry Franco (The Thing, Escape from New York, They Live, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness, Mars Attacks!, Batman franchise, Hulk, and Christine). It had an estimated budget of $3,000,000 and it grossed $1,752,634 worldwide at the box office. The laid-back Californian gigolo Richard Bone (played by: Jeff Bridges from The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart, True Grit, Starman, Tron franchise, Iron Man, and The Contender) finds himself suspected of murder when he happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. He witnesses the body of a young girl being dumped into a garbage can in a quiet Santa Monica neighborhood. Bone’s friend, the paranoid Vietnam veteran Alex Cutter (played by: John Heard from the Home Alone franchise, C.H.U.D, Cat People, Big, and The Sopranos) begins to suspect a conspiracy behind the murder with local oil tycoon J.J. Cord (played by: Stephen Elliott from Beverly Hills Cop, Death Wish, Arthur franchise, and Assassination) at its center. He persuades a reluctant Bone to try and take Cord down despite his power in the community. It leads to a sinister escalation of events that will change their lives forever!!!! Cutter’s Way is an underappreciated crime feature from the 80’s. Unfortunately, it flopped in the theaters and it kinda ended up forgotten after that. It’s directed by veteran Ivan Passer, there’s no doubt that this is his best effort in his career. Cutter and Bone make an interesting combination, they are nothing alike but it somehow works. They try to solve a local crime with someone highly respected behind it. It has a Moby Dick influence all over it. Lead actor Jeff Bridges is great as always as the womanizer Richard Bone. He’s just trying to stay to himself but he ends up in a bad situation that causes him some serious problems. He ends up being a suspect so he’s forced to clear his name. It’s a early role for the Oscar winner but he really flexes his skills in this. Character actor John Heard gives his best performance and steals the show as the outrageous Cutter. He’s blunt, always intoxicated, and he never holds back on anything. He’s not scared to stand up to J.J. Cord but he’s known to get in some trouble so he’s not exactly the best resource. Stephen Elliott is the villain J.J. Cord, he’s not worried about anything. He thinks he has them all in fear or in his pocket. He is extremely dangerous as the greedy tycoon. The rest of the supporting cast includes Lisa Eichhorn (The Vanishing), Ann Dusenberry (Jaws 2), Arthur Rosenberg (Cujo), Patricia Donahue (Alfred Hitchcock Presents), Billy Drago (The Untouchables), Geraldine Baron (Time After Time), Julia Duffy (Newhart), Jack Murdock (Rain Man), Francis X. McCarthy (Summer School), and Jay Fletcher (Act of Vengeance). This is a gritty noir that slowly builds up to it all with the dark mystery and blackmail. Cutter’s Way is more of a character study drama than crime but it’s still a suspensful ride. Don’t expect an action packed and violence filled feature with this. It’s definitely a different take on the buddy genre and it keeps you on the edge. This duo is way over their heads but they still keep at it. It has strong narrative that takes the audience into an unexpected world. It would make an excellent double feature with Chinatown. It deserves more attention and praise, hopefully this new home video release helps because it’s never gotten the credit for how good it really is. Cutter’s Way gets better each time, it has strong replay value. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Radiance Films! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is from a brand new 16 bit 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative. This is a massive improvement over the previous versions from both Fun City and Twilight Time, it’s the definitive one when it comes to Cutter’s Way. I love the look of this especially it’s sharp locations, California is almost like another character here. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track plus the Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on the UHD. That’s one of the things that I loved about Twilight Time back in the day, they would almost always have an isolated score with each release and Radiance Films is one of the rare boutique labels that managed to actually carry that over for this. The score is the main highlight when it comes to the audio but it does have it’s moments besides that. All of the dialogue is crisp, the drama is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Matthew Specktor. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Larry Franco and Barrie Osborne. It has an additional “Audio Commentary” with Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman. Each audio track is very different from each other. They are all nice companion pieces to Cutter’s Way. They dive into a variety of interesting subjects and they take their own unique approaches. It’s loaded with detailed information and some inside stories. It has an almost 6 minute “Introduction” with lead actor Jeff Bridges. This one of the better intros that I’ve heard on a physical media release. Bridges is very humble and honest. He says some projects were great to work on but weren’t exactly successful but others weren’t as fun but they had success so you just never know. Obviously, it’s motivated by this not doing great at the box office despite being a quality production. These are the only extras on the UHD, the rest are located on the Blu Ray disc. It has the brand new almost 42 minute “Piety, Patriotism and Violence: The Legacy of Cutter and Bone”. It has interviews with writers Megan Abbott, Jordan Harper and George Pelecanos. They share their thoughts on Cutter’s Way. They chat about the script and it’s influences. They break down the adaptation and they go over the original source material. Alcoholism, crime, and noir is discussed for this reflection of the 80’s film. It has an archive 2015 almost 38 minute “La Blessure” is an interview with director Ivan Passer. He chats about his experience with Cutter’s Way. He turned down a project to do this. He relocated to the United States to fully focus on his goals in the industry and this is the one that pushed him to do it. He wanted to do a noir in America. He talks about the cast and the changes from novel to film. It has an archive 2022 almost 39 minute “Mo’s Way” is an interview with lead actress Lisa Eichhorn. She chats about her origins and the early motivations for getting into the business. She brings up doing theater work and finally getting an opportunity for film. She goes over her character and working with the cast on this. Lots of detailed memories are shared during this conversation. It has an archive 2022 little over 26 minute “Interview” with producer Paul Gurian. He chats about his personal connection to stuff that he related to from one of the main characters. He loved the original source material and he shows his appreciation for it. He’s the one that made sure that the book was made into a movie. It has an archive 2022 little over 11 minute “Audio Interview” with executive Ira Deutchman. He chats about his personal experiences while working at UA Classics. It’s a cool inside chat about it’s original release. He talks about the marketing and promotion for Cutter’s Way. It has the archive 2022 almost 12 minute “Cut to the Bone: Inside the Score”. It’s an interview with music editor Curt Sobel. This focuses on composer Jack Nitzsche and his music on Cutter’s Way. He breaks down the recording of the score, issues while making it, his techniques for putting it together, and how was it like seeing it all constructed in it’s creative process. It has the little over 26 minute “Bertrand Tavernier” with the director that’s in French with English subtitles. He chats about director Ivan Passer plus his career and history. He says this film is a masterpiece and it’s still hidden to most. He speaks about it being unfair that it never gotten the respect it truly deserved. He says it was very limited when it was originally released and it had no award nominations despite it being well received by critics. He gives his opinions and thoughts on Cutter’s Way. It has the option to play with the “Original Cutter and Bone Title Sequence”. It has a “Gallery” with various images and stills from the production. It has a “Trailer” for Cutter’s Way. Radiance Films managed to carry over extras from Twilight Time, Fun City Editions, and Imprint Films for this 4K upgrade. This has some amazing packaging for this limited edition version. It comes with a high quality slipbox, an Obi strip, reversible artwork, and a top notch 80 page booklet with all kinds of stuff in it. Only 5,000 copies were made of this awesome collector’s edition for this hidden gem. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!