Can John Travolta solve the murder of The General’s Daughter. The Simon West directed military thriller is new to 4K UHD thanks to Kino Lorber.
The Films
Note: The film discusses and depicts sexual assault.
The General’s Daughter is both a commercially slick piece of filmmaking and a nasty bit of business about sexual abuse and secrets that are kept in the name of “Institutions”. Director Simon West wants both of these things to be true and for the most part accomplishes it.
CID Military Police Investigator Paul Brenner and Sarah Sunhill (John Travolta and Madeline Stowe) are brought onto the rape and murder of Captain Elisabeth Campbell (Leslie Stefanson). They are told they have less than 48 hours to find the person responsible – the reason being is Campbell is the daughter of General Joe Campbell (James Cromwell) is the soon-to-be Vice-Presidential Nominee. As Brenner and Sunhill begin to investigate, they find that there is more to this crime than what appears. Dark secrets and other crimes come to light that put Brenner and Sunhill at the center of a larger, much more sinister cover up.
Director Simon West brings the slick visual acumen that he brought to his bonkers action film Con Air. Here the story isn’t as bonkers as a Convicts taking over a Plane with Nicolas Cage as the innocents’ only hope. However, there is a sense that the sense of tone and balance is an issue. This is a film that divides its time between methodically investigating not one but two rapes (of the same woman) and this sort of light and punchy It Happened One Night relationship between to CID officers. That balance and divide doesn’t work because these two storylines are so incongruent.
It’s the problem at the heart of The General’s Daughter and what breaks the film. No amount of chemistry between its leads – which Travolta and Stowe managed to generate a ton – balances the scales. It feels off-putting when the case is sexual in nature. Adding to the fact that Stowe is regulated to a second fiddle – without any kind of discussion of her feelings on this crime or matter, only adds to the entire miscalculated nature of the film. One wishes that they created two different films or excised this bouncy rom-com banter altogether.
In the end, each of these stories is effective but just not when they’re combined in the same film as it becomes a tonal mess. One that feels almost crass when it dives into those moments of brevity, not because they are not needed, they are, but because they’re miscalculated from the very beginning.
The Transfers
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is an excellent representation of the film. Having projected this film during its initial release, I can say without a doubt this is one of the best visual representations of a late 90s 35mm shot films. The image is clean and free of any dirt, specs or scratches. Whomever graded the color has thankfully left the original grading alone and has only with the Dolby Vision master enhanced the look of the film. In fact, this iteration of the film looks better than it had during its theatrical run.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- Audio Commentary by Director Simon West
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- Audio Commentary by Director Simon West
- The General’s Daughter – Behind the Secrets: Featurette
- 4 Deleted Scenes – Including Alternate Ending
- Theatrical Trailer
- Theatrical Teaser
The archival Audio Commentary by Director Simon West is from its initial DVD release, and opens with West discussing what were the first decisions as a director – being set in the south and Travolta’s character living on a houseboat. Some of the details include his feeling about introductions of his main characters; because of the story they did not get any military assistance and how they used privately owned military vehicles effectively; his work and collaboration with cinematographer Peter Menzies Jr. to ensure the look of the film (that was shot on location in Savannah GA and Van Nuys CA) matched; the casting of actor Leslie Stefanson; the casting of Madeleine Stowe; a discussion of the various scenes inside cars and how he approached them to look visually different; the reasons he cast James Cromwell; some of the issues with production design of the sex dungeon; Nic Cage calling him “the grand puppet master” and why he did; working with James Woods and John Travolta on their big scenes; a discussion of filming the sexual assault and the balance of horror and terror – including test screening with all-female audiences; a larger discussion of the use of CGI in the film that helps sell the locations are military base because of the lack of Military support; a larger discussion of the various scenes and his reliance of rehearsal (when he can have it); a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; a discussion of the various issues, techniques, stunt work used to accomplish the various action scene – including anecdotes during those scenes; and much more.
The General’s Daughter – Behind the Secrets: Featurette (19:46) – this archival featurette from the DVD release is an EPK-style making of with a surprising amount of information about the production considering how glossy it is. The featurette covers all the bases from casting, the novel, the adaptation, the themes, the production itself, the production design, the stunt work, and much more. Featuring interviews with the entire cast including Travolta, Stowe, and Woods, producer Neufeld and director West.
4 Deleted Scenes – Including Alternate Ending (10:02) – they include Paul and Sarah missed each other; Colonel Fowler tells Paul and Sarah to keep things quiet; Paul and the Sheriff have a discussion about Sheriff’s son; Alternate Ending. Once one sees the alternate ending, one does understand why they cut such a playful ending from the film, as it really does tip the scales of a film that is essentially a dark, cynical story. It is nice to have this scene, especially considering one of the stronger plots of the film is tied up in this ending.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The General’s Daughter [teaser] (1:09); The General’s Daughter [trailer] (2:31); Staying Alive (2:59); The Experts (1:32); Face/Off (2:07); Ronin (2:29); Blown Away (1:35); Out of Sight (2:35); The Usual Suspects (2:28); The Hot Spot (1:49)
The Final Thought
The General’s Daughter gets an excellent 4K UHD upgrade thanks to Kino Lorber. Recommended.