Demolition Man 4K (1993) Shrewder, Clever and Much More than the three Seashells

Cinematic visions of the future often lean towards the grim and dystopian. From Blade Runner to Total Recall to Equilibrium, a dark future allows for social tensions to inform character dynamics and visual design. In the case of 1993’s Demolition Man, decisions were made to create a weird movie to portray a weird future, reflecting the film’s conceit of ‘send a maniac to catch a maniac’. The result is an enduring cult classic that sits at the intersection of various cultural and industrial developments. 

On the surface, Demolition Man appears to be a hard body action film like those of the 1980s. Starring Sylvester Stallone of Rocky and Rambo fame, along with Wesley Snipes whose star was rising thanks to White Men Can’t Jump and Passenger 57, the film pits violent cop John Spartan (Stallone) against psychotic criminal Simon Phoenix (Snipes), both of whom are cryogenically frozen in 1996 before being awoken in the brave new world of 2032. In this 21^st century society of perfect order and harmony, 20^th century violence causes significant disruption. 

There is certainly plenty of action, with director Marco Brambilla creating several memorable set pieces and ample explosions. The science fiction world-building is also effective, from the reprogramming of violent personalities during cryogenic sentences to such technology as self-driving cars, emergency impact foam and verbal recognition of offensive language. However, to describe Demolition Man as an out-and-out action film is to mischaracterise, as this film is actually a fish-out-of-water comedy with a strong line in satire. The portrayal of the future is so sanitised as to be absurd, a point emphasised in dialogue both from frustrated police officer Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock) and starving rebel Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary). Production design also conveys absurdity, as David L. Snyder’s design shifts from the urban war zone of 1996 Los Angeles (heavily influenced by the LA riots of 1992) to clean lines of steel, glass and concrete, perfectly manicured lawns and the instant removal of graffiti, not to mention the super clean cars and uniform apartments (or domiciles). The soundscape of the film further underlines this delightful nonsense, with characters singing jingles from commercials, regular automated platitudes such as ‘Be well, citizens’ and the running gag of fines issued for violations of the Verbal Morality Statute (swearing). And anyone familiar with the film will likely remember the three seashells. 

Amidst this deft daftness is some insightful and critical engagement with certain movie myths, such as noble violence and tough masculinity. Sometimes these are played straight, such as experienced cop Zachary Lamb (Bill Cobbs) recounting that ‘it took just one man’, an ‘old-fashioned cop’ to bring down Simon Phoenix. Doesn’t it always? And doesn’t ‘old-fashioned cop’ always mean violent, anti-authoritarian and only playing by his own rules? To an extent, yes, and yet Spartan’s actions are shown to have consequences and there is commentary on insecure heterosexual masculine bonding, not to mention the delight of seeing Stallone knit. Speaking of Stallone’s masculinity, there is a notable amount of male nudity on display, with Sly stripping naked for a couple of scenes (suitable shadows and objects placed for the sake of modesty) and some curious close-ups of muscular arms. 

On their own, these moments add to the overall satirical aspect of the film. There are, however, some jarring shifts in the film’s style that can be distracting. It is understandable that director Brambilla had a background in visual art and has produced far more in that medium than in feature films, and these differing styles help to make Demolition Man distinct, though they do not always work. The opening action set piece is rather incoherent with unnecessary slo-mo, and the title sequence that also serves as an info-dump makes odd use of fish-eye lenses. A later action set piece in a museum is more measured and makes consistent use of the witty banter between Spartan and Phoenix, while the climax emphasises the physicality of the two stars through hand-to-hand combat captured largely in close-up. Comedic style is well-played at times, such as a comedy fall from a bad guy who has just been shot followed by an amusing entrance of Spartan and Huxley around a corner. And there is a repeated visual motif of Spartan running towards the camera and bellowing while a building implodes around him. We need that titular demolition, right? 

Demolition Man is also pleasantly geeky, partly through Huxley being a history nerd who makes regular references to 80s and 90s culture, and the plethora of Easter eggs scattered throughout the film. From the namesake of Bullock’s character to a computer being addressed as HAL, from a countdown that echoes MUTHR in Alien to Spartan/Stallone doing a John Woo-esque jump firing two guns, from a Lethal Weapon 3 poster (also produced by Joel Silver) and Batman and Joker figures to the description of President Schwarzenegger and an (off-screen) Rambo, and from the Mad Max style outfits of the so-called ‘Scraps’ to a final kiss reminiscent of the V-J Day in Times Square photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt (1945), Demolition Man works as a microcosm of 20^th century culture and discourse. And in the most eerie tradition of science fiction, it also gets a few things right, such as the omnipresence of an ‘Industrial Grid Database’ (i.e. the World Wide Web), Cuisine Valet (Deliveroo, anyone?), and embedded chips that log personal data and track locations (who needs embedded chips when we have fitness apps?). An extra-textual gag comes in the spread of Taco Bell, replaced with Pizza Hut in the original international cut, the distinction now coming across as rather quaint as Taco Bell has also spread across the world. 

Perhaps ironically, this updated version does not look as perfect as the world of Dr Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne). The HD transfer is inconsistent, grainy in some places while in others you can clearly see the stunt doubles and the rather ropey visual effects. However, it is testament to the film’s enduring appeal that this early digital work is well balanced with more physical aspects, both in terms of effects and the bodies of its stars. If you have never seen Demolition Man, this is a good place to check it out. And if you enjoyed it on its original release, this version is a perfect one to take off ice. 

Arrow Films’ 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition comes with a 60-page collector’s book featuring new writing by film critics Clem Bastow, William Bibbiani, Priscilla Page and Martyn Pedler, newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley including a reversible sleeve as well as a double-sided poster, 6 postcard sized art cards and ‘Three Seashells’ and ‘Edgar Friendly graffiti’ stickers. The disc itself features both the US and International cuts of the film, therefore catering to fans of both Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, as well as a plethora of extras including three commentaries, retrospective interviews with several key personnel and an insightful video essay. The retrospection allows the contributors to reflect on the film thirty years after its release, and also provides insights into the creativity as well as the wackiness of filmmaking. ’Somewhere over the Rambo’, a visual essay by film scholar John Nelson, places the film’s production in the aftermath of the LA race riots in 1992 as well as within the continuity of Stallone’s career and the changing nature of the action movie. Nelson’s analysis of the film’s attempts to reconcile its internal political tensions and the star persona of Stallone is especially interesting. His central argument that Demolition Man operates as a reworking of The Wizard of Oz might seem odd, but he does make this reading persuasive, as well as highlighting the film’s central message of compromise. 

New interviews with creative personnel include Demolition Design, an interview with David L. Snyder, who recounts how he came to the project and saw Demolition Man as the flip-side of Blade Runner, that he previously worked on. He highlights some of the key shooting locations such as the LA Convention Center and new buildings in Orange County and Irvine, as well as working with General Motors and a fear of glass breaking on set. Snyder’s anecdotes range from the dramatic – such as a fire breaking out on set – to the absurd, such as the extras being notably taller than Stallone and thus having to be recast from among the crew. 

In Cryo Action, an interview with stunt coordinator Charles Percini, Percini explains the mechanics and physics of stunts, including the different types of cable required for jumps, as well as the knowledge of the stars. Due to his experiences on Rocky, Stallone knew about boxing, while Snipes knew capoeira, and this knowledge meant there was little need for fight doubles. These anecdotes provide insight into the complexity of stunts that only appear briefly on screen yet take months to prepare and shoot. 

Biggs’ Body Shop, an interview with special make-up effects artist Chris Biggs, allows Biggs to recount his established relationship with Joel Silver and the early ideas that the character of Phoenix was meant to be punk, before the crew settled solely on Snipes having blonde hair. Biggs describes the process of making an eyeball as well as the challenges of making larger breasts for Sandra Bullock (apparently gelatine is the best material). He also gives a fascinating insight into the effect of light on skin. Speaking of skin, Tacos and Hockey Pucks, an interview with body effects set co-ordinator Jeff Farley, details the process of making full bodies with urethane that had to be hand-mixed in small cups as well as Stallone’s willingness to strip off. 

These interviews become a bit platitudinous with references to so-and-so being ‘such a nice guy’, and the footage from the film used across the interviews becomes a little repetitive. However, there is also variety as the interviewees discuss specific aspects of the production process that can give the viewer more appreciation of the level of detail involved with sets, costume and effects which are only seen briefly. 

Two of the commentaries were recorded in 2024 for this release, the first with director Marco Brambilla and writer Daniel Waters. They highlight making the film into something bizarre, often against resistance (see the little girl saying ‘Fuck you lady!’), as well as the importance of the 1992 LA Riots. Through their discussion of forebears such as Kurt Vonnegut and descendants like Austin Powers, the two make an engaging pair. A particular highlight of their commentary is the prescience of Demolition Man for Covid, as the film depicts a lack of toilet paper and physical contact, and videoconferencing long before Zoom. 

An echo between this commentary and that of film critic Mike White from the Projection Booth podcast is the timing of this film during the transition between physical and digital effects as well as the rise of referentiality, Demolition Man released in the same year as Last Action Hero and Jurassic Park. White is light-hearted and informative, and relates an anecdote between the film’s producer and writer that drew a parallel to The Wizard of Oz, which parallels Nelson’s reading. While White mentions the script being developed with different actors in mind, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Seagal, he is at his more interesting when delivering his own insights. His reference to the film’s witty acknowledgment of the rivalry between Stallone and Schwarzenegger, as well as the curious appearance of Jesse Ventura (prominent in the credits but barely in the film), provides intriguing extra depth for the film. 

The third commentary again features director Brambilla along with Joel Silver, and dates from the film’s original DVD release. Once again there are references to LA as a demilitarised zone and the riots, as well as discussion of pacing and the need to play the cartoonish dialogue of the film straight. Brambilla’s description of his very detailed storyboarding and pre-visualisation demonstrates the extent of pre-production, and his anecdote about the difficulties of shooting with a lot of sunlight is a striking insight into filmmaking logistics, as such anecdotes more often refer to trouble with losing light. Silver is not as talkative, which allows Brambilla to talk about the practice of filmmaking and highlights that the role of producers is often to stand back. 

Brambilla comments that he was especially pleased about the film’s sense of humour and the positive critical responses that highlighted this humour as well as the film’s satire. Amongst the other extras are an image gallery as well as the original trailer, which interestingly did not sell the film as a comedy. This is somewhat surprising as a consistent aspect throughout these recollections affirms that everyone involved saw the film as a comedy. Snyder highlights his contact with editor Stuart Baird, describing the film as being ‘cut like a comic opera’. Snyder and Brambilla recount that Stallone was unsure because he found the script too comedic, and once persuaded to take on the role of Spartan he still treated it as serious. This proved to be ideal as his playing it straight consistently allows the humour to shine, and perhaps demonstrates that Stallone is a more versatile and talented actor than he is often credited to be, since the most difficult type of performance, and indeed narrative and presentation overall, is to be funny.

Vincent’s Archive – Demolition Man