I love and respect Brian De Palma. His films are never not big swings. De Palma always goes for the grand slam like his contemporary Francis Coppola. Though unlike Coppola who used all his creative juice back in 1993 (Bram Stoker’s Dracula was his last great anything), De Palma even now has that ability to surprise. For every Mission to Mars, there is a Snake Eyes.
Snake Eyes, the 1998 Nicholas Cage thriller is as kooky as anything that De Palma made. A mystery set at a boxing match on the eve of a hurricane in Atlantic City is the director muscling the David Koepp wild script into a coherent – albeit truly deranged – logical military conspiracy thriller.
The key to everything is De Palma’s bravado go-for-broke direction and frequent collaborators cinematographer Stephen H. Burum and editor Bill Pankow. There’s so much visual information that flies by within frame or video screens – which play a large part in the middle section of the story – in an era when in-camera was still employed, and here is no different. The amount of complex visual storytelling that looks effortless here is astounding.
Watch as corrupt Atlantic City cop Rick (Cage) is trying to track down the woman in white (Carla Gugino) while video tech (the always great Mike Starr) is helping him roam the casino floor via video cameras. Something that could be pedestrian or worse confusing is overwroughtly thrilling … playful even. Flashbacks that use the same camera angles just zoomed in on a specific detail as it’s being retold. The opening five-minute tracking shot. It’s all done in service and also in expounding on the story. The result is something that’s purely De Palma. Something that’s both cinematic and calling to the cinematic-ness of it all but still manages to be thrilling and allows you to be caught up in the dizzying nature of it all.
Everyone seems to be game but none more than Nicolas Cage. From the moment he’s on screen in his loud Hawaiian shirt and louder $5000 suit – we know that we’re in for the over-the-top Cage. He delivers as Rick Santoro a man whose style sense is as corrupt as his morals. He seems tailored fit to be De Palma’s conflicted hero. The stairwell scene as Santoro comes to grips with the bad deck, he’s just been dealt is Cage at his finest. Watching him and Gugino go back and forth both emotionally and physically is Cage and his melodramatic best. Yes, it’s arched and ridiculous, but Cage specializes in this sort of theatricality (see Mandy), and here is no different.
Snake Eyes could have ended in the final moment at the casino, and maybe the De Palma during the Blow Out era would have but here he and Koepp add on a final 5-minutes that is fitting but feels incongruent to the entire reflectivity of what came before. No matter. That minor quibble aside Snake Eyes represents De Palma at his later era best.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 16bit 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is a master class in an upgrade to 4K UHD. There isn’t anything this transfer cannot handle – and it has it all; poppy color, deep blacks, rain (both artificial real and artificial CGI), composite shots, swirling camera movements… The transfer handles it all with a clarity and sharpness that amazes. There is never a moment that the UHD image runs up to issues like artifacting, ghosting, pixelation, or nothing. The color reproduction is glorious – look at the Red Head in the Red Dress that’s a focal point of the film, no bleed-through of the notoriously fickle color. Though the best example of the Snake Eyes upgraded transfer is the hurricane set finale – the film has never looked as good in these moments as on this disc – even the theatrical print, which I personally projected, never looked this good. That is the biggest compliment to this 4K UHD edition – in every way it bests that 35mm theatrical exhibition.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
Theatrical Trailer
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson opens with their bondafides and dive into the opening moments of the film. Some of the details include that John Travolta and Mel Gibson were both considered for the lead before Nicolas Cage being cast; Will Smith being cast in the Kevin Dunne – before Gary Sinise was cast as Cage’s best friend; the opening tracking shot – a discussion of tracking shots throughout the career of director Brian De Palma; Cage’s point of view of the opening tracking shot – including quotes from an interview with the star; the production details of the opening tracking shots – e.g., the number of extras, where the sets were built, et. al.; a larger discussion of the influences of the Snake Eyes and how De Palma approaches making this film; the work of Carla Gugino here and throughout her career – including some interview quotes by her on the making of the films; a larger discussion of how Snake Eyes and its story could not be made in the current era of Studio Filmmaking; the work of screenwriter David Koepp – and the collaborations between De Palma and the screenwriter; a larger discussion of the various cast and crew that worked on the film – including histories, factoids and sometimes quotes from interviews; and much more. Mitchell and Thompson provide a deeply researched and entertaining commentary track that dives into the production of this unique film.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Snake Eyes (2:23); Face/Off (2:07); Dressed to Kill (2:12); Blown Away (1:35); Turbulence (2:00); Out of Sight (2:35); The Usual Suspects (2:28); Ronin (2:29)
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber continues their amazing work in the 4K UHD realm with its upgrade to De Palma’s Snake Eyes. High recommendations!
De Palma and Cage looney stylish conspiracy thriller Snake Eyes comes to 4K UHD with a new master thanks to Kino Lorber.
The Film
I love and respect Brian De Palma. His films are never not big swings. De Palma always goes for the grand slam like his contemporary Francis Coppola. Though unlike Coppola who used all his creative juice back in 1993 (Bram Stoker’s Dracula was his last great anything), De Palma even now has that ability to surprise. For every Mission to Mars, there is a Snake Eyes.
Snake Eyes, the 1998 Nicholas Cage thriller is as kooky as anything that De Palma made. A mystery set at a boxing match on the eve of a hurricane in Atlantic City is the director muscling the David Koepp wild script into a coherent – albeit truly deranged – logical military conspiracy thriller.
The key to everything is De Palma’s bravado go-for-broke direction and frequent collaborators cinematographer Stephen H. Burum and editor Bill Pankow. There’s so much visual information that flies by within frame or video screens – which play a large part in the middle section of the story – in an era when in-camera was still employed, and here is no different. The amount of complex visual storytelling that looks effortless here is astounding.
Watch as corrupt Atlantic City cop Rick (Cage) is trying to track down the woman in white (Carla Gugino) while video tech (the always great Mike Starr) is helping him roam the casino floor via video cameras. Something that could be pedestrian or worse confusing is overwroughtly thrilling … playful even. Flashbacks that use the same camera angles just zoomed in on a specific detail as it’s being retold. The opening five-minute tracking shot. It’s all done in service and also in expounding on the story. The result is something that’s purely De Palma. Something that’s both cinematic and calling to the cinematic-ness of it all but still manages to be thrilling and allows you to be caught up in the dizzying nature of it all.
Everyone seems to be game but none more than Nicolas Cage. From the moment he’s on screen in his loud Hawaiian shirt and louder $5000 suit – we know that we’re in for the over-the-top Cage. He delivers as Rick Santoro a man whose style sense is as corrupt as his morals. He seems tailored fit to be De Palma’s conflicted hero. The stairwell scene as Santoro comes to grips with the bad deck, he’s just been dealt is Cage at his finest. Watching him and Gugino go back and forth both emotionally and physically is Cage and his melodramatic best. Yes, it’s arched and ridiculous, but Cage specializes in this sort of theatricality (see Mandy), and here is no different.
Snake Eyes could have ended in the final moment at the casino, and maybe the De Palma during the Blow Out era would have but here he and Koepp add on a final 5-minutes that is fitting but feels incongruent to the entire reflectivity of what came before. No matter. That minor quibble aside Snake Eyes represents De Palma at his later era best.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 16bit 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is a master class in an upgrade to 4K UHD. There isn’t anything this transfer cannot handle – and it has it all; poppy color, deep blacks, rain (both artificial real and artificial CGI), composite shots, swirling camera movements… The transfer handles it all with a clarity and sharpness that amazes. There is never a moment that the UHD image runs up to issues like artifacting, ghosting, pixelation, or nothing. The color reproduction is glorious – look at the Red Head in the Red Dress that’s a focal point of the film, no bleed-through of the notoriously fickle color. Though the best example of the Snake Eyes upgraded transfer is the hurricane set finale – the film has never looked as good in these moments as on this disc – even the theatrical print, which I personally projected, never looked this good. That is the biggest compliment to this 4K UHD edition – in every way it bests that 35mm theatrical exhibition.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson opens with their bondafides and dive into the opening moments of the film. Some of the details include that John Travolta and Mel Gibson were both considered for the lead before Nicolas Cage being cast; Will Smith being cast in the Kevin Dunne – before Gary Sinise was cast as Cage’s best friend; the opening tracking shot – a discussion of tracking shots throughout the career of director Brian De Palma; Cage’s point of view of the opening tracking shot – including quotes from an interview with the star; the production details of the opening tracking shots – e.g., the number of extras, where the sets were built, et. al.; a larger discussion of the influences of the Snake Eyes and how De Palma approaches making this film; the work of Carla Gugino here and throughout her career – including some interview quotes by her on the making of the films; a larger discussion of how Snake Eyes and its story could not be made in the current era of Studio Filmmaking; the work of screenwriter David Koepp – and the collaborations between De Palma and the screenwriter; a larger discussion of the various cast and crew that worked on the film – including histories, factoids and sometimes quotes from interviews; and much more. Mitchell and Thompson provide a deeply researched and entertaining commentary track that dives into the production of this unique film.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Snake Eyes (2:23); Face/Off (2:07); Dressed to Kill (2:12); Blown Away (1:35); Turbulence (2:00); Out of Sight (2:35); The Usual Suspects (2:28); Ronin (2:29)
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber continues their amazing work in the 4K UHD realm with its upgrade to De Palma’s Snake Eyes. High recommendations!
Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD Edition of Snake Eyes is out now
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