Die Hard ripoff films are only as good as their villains. The stories are always the same basic setup or premise. A yadda-yadda-yadda wants to take over a specific location for some cash grab but is thwarted by some sort of skilled man of war. The heroes are usually fill-in-the-blank dudes of the era (see Bruce, Keanu, JCVD, etc.). The better the villain, the better the films. Die Hard had Alan Rickman. Speed had Dennis Hopper. Under Siege had Tommy Lee Jones. Actually, that’s not entirely true. They also had double support in the form of Gary Busey. The action thriller needed it to aid in the charisma vacuum that was S. Seagal.
The Battleship USS Missouri is on its way to be decommissioned after the first Gulf War (insert President Bush cameo). Along the way, the ship is taken over by a skilled group of mercenaries led by ex-CIA madman William Strannix (Jones). The only person who stands in the way of Strannix and the mutinous Commander Krill (Busey) is Casey Ryback (Seagal), the ship’s cook. Strannix and his men quickly find out that Ryback isn’t just a cook but an ex-Navy SEAL. Can Ryback and the plucky Playmate of the Month Jordan Tate (Erika Eleniak) outwit Strannix before his devious plans are unleashed?
The MVPs of the film are director Andrew Davis and co-star Tommy Lee Jones. So good and winning a combo, they proved to be, Warner Brothers (with Harrison Ford’s blessing) hired them on The Fugitive based on their work here. The movie still stands as an amazing piece of action filmmaking. Davis’s lean, authoritative direction, coupled with Jones’s manic Wile E Coyote energy, elevates what is essentially a standard-issue action thriller starring a B-Level star. You care less about Seagal’s shenanigans and more about Jones’s Strannix character and his pontificating about the 1960s or barking orders (no one barked orders better than Tommy Lee, he’d get an Academy Award out of it a few years later).
It isn’t only Jones. Under Siege is adroitly cast by Pamela Basker with a mixture of seasons vets (hello Bernie Casey, Nick Mancuso, and Colm Meany), newer faces (Damian Chappa and Raymond Cruz), and Davis regulars (Andy Romano, Tom Wood, Glenn Morshower, and Joseph Kosala) all whom along with Busey make Seagal look much better and more interesting than he is. That isn’t to say the star wasn’t good; he was only as good as his films were cast around him and who he allowed to be his co-stars. Ryback is a standard-issue Seagal character that’s an ex-fill-in-the-blank activated by the events of the film. Though the unsung hero of the film is Erika Eleniak, whose former Playmate’s rants are the best meta commentary on the action genre and almost give Seagal’s Ryback character a wry sense of humor. Though we could have done without the implied tacked-on romance at the end.
Under Siege was the best film of Seagal’s career (if you don’t count the cameo appearance in Executive Decision, another Die Hard ripoff). Even now more almost thirty-five years later stands the test of time because of its crisp, crackerjack action sequences, playful script, and excellent cast.
The Transfers
The all-new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Andrew Davis, presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), is a near-flawless presentation of the film. The work here by Arrow is jaw-dropping, looking like it was filmed yesterday. The transfer is as crisp as the wintertime setting of the film itself, clean without any hints of scratches or blemishes on the negative. The color reproduction and contrast levels, because of the Dolby Vision encoding, are both deeper in their details, giving us a darker luminous, and far more textured image than the Blu-ray that was released more than 15 years ago. It is free of any sort of digital artifacting or DNR to remove grain, giving the transfer a healthy, organic look more akin to a beautifully restored 35mm print. Arrow’s relationship with Warner Bros. continues to produce some truly revelatory 4K Restorations.
The Extras
They include the following;
Brand new audio commentary with director Andrew Davis and writer J.F. Lawton
I’m on a Boat (With a Bomb): Andrew Davis on Under Siege
One of the Guys, a newly filmed interview with actor Erika Eleniak
A Tight Ship: Damian Chapa on Under Siege
The Introvision Files: William Mesa on Under Siege
Theatrical trailer
The all-new audio commentary with director Andrew Davis and writer J.F. Lawton begins with introductions before diving into how they were able to get all of the footage of the real-life Battleship USS Missouri. Some of the details include how they filmed the Pearl Harbor ceremony; how they shot in Mobile, Alabama, with the battleship drydocked; how Elaniak’s character was originally a bad guy and was rewritten at Seagal’s insistence; a discussion of this film’s riff on the Die Hard trope and how Davis feels that The Fugitive is more closely resembles the structure and tropes of Die Hard; a larger discussion of the various production rewrites that occurred for the cast and to meet production needs; a larger discussion of the action throughout the film and Seagal’s hesitance to have traditional martial arts action scenes throughout; a larger discussion of the various real locations and sets created for the production; a discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more.
I’m on a Boat (With a Bomb): Andrew Davis on Under Siege (19:08) – is an all-new interview with director Andrew Davis that opens with how he was hired on Under Siege and meeting Producer Peter McGreggor Scott. Davis goes on to discuss how they planned to film on a real-life battleship in Mobile, Alabama, and creating stages out of airplane hangars; how Seagal had changed since their first film Above the Law; how Davis and Jones created the character of Strannix; how they developed the story to the current events of the day; working with Gary Buesy; his insistence with limited use of a 2nd unit and the reasons why; Seagal’s bringing on certain collaborators and what he brought to the film; the work of Tommy Lee Jones and how he was in more of the film than Seagal; the Chicago trope of actors he cast in the film that he had used time and time again and why he did this; and much more.
One of the Guys: Erika Eleniak on Under Siege (13:52) – is an all-new interview with actor Erika Eleniak that opens with how he got her start as a child actor. Eleniak goes on to discuss her first real role at 12 in ET; the casting process for the film; the nude scene, and how it was done and negotiated; working with Gary Buesy; the lack of women on the set; filming the action scenes; working with Steven Seagal; working with Tommy Lee Jones – including just how he was both on and off set; and much more.
A Tight Ship: Damian Chapa on Under Siege (18:35) – is an all-new interview with actor Damian Chapa, which opens with how he got into acting as a child as a means of escape. Some of the details include his first film Blood in Blood Out he was cast in and during that production, he was cast in Under Siege; the experience of going to the premiere of Under Siege; working with director Andrew Davis; the size and enormity of the production; working with Gary Buesy, Tommy Lee Jones, and Erika Eleniak; and much more.
The Introvision Files: William Mesa on Under Siege (27:51) – is an all-new interview with visual effects supervisor William Mesa opens with how they had to bid for the job. Some of the other details include the VFX tasks and problems that the production posed; the crew that was assembled to create the VFX work; the contributions and requirements of director Andrew Davis and producer Peter McGreggor Scott; the various techniques and processes they used to accomplish the sequences; a breakdown of the key sequences they created; and much more. Like prior editions of The Introvision Files (see Arrow Video’s 4K UHD of Outland), there is a lot of great behind-the-scenes photos and video footage, along with examples of their work from Under Siege and other productions.
Theatrical trailer (2:00)
The Final Thought
Arrow Video has given another Warner Brothers Cult Action favorite the 4K UHD upgrade it deserves. Recommended!!!
Tommy Lee Jones takes over a Battleship in the Andrew Davis-directed Die Hard riff Under Siege. The all-new Arrow Video 4K UHD comes armed with an all-new restoration and special features.
The Film
Die Hard ripoff films are only as good as their villains. The stories are always the same basic setup or premise. A yadda-yadda-yadda wants to take over a specific location for some cash grab but is thwarted by some sort of skilled man of war. The heroes are usually fill-in-the-blank dudes of the era (see Bruce, Keanu, JCVD, etc.). The better the villain, the better the films. Die Hard had Alan Rickman. Speed had Dennis Hopper. Under Siege had Tommy Lee Jones. Actually, that’s not entirely true. They also had double support in the form of Gary Busey. The action thriller needed it to aid in the charisma vacuum that was S. Seagal.
The Battleship USS Missouri is on its way to be decommissioned after the first Gulf War (insert President Bush cameo). Along the way, the ship is taken over by a skilled group of mercenaries led by ex-CIA madman William Strannix (Jones). The only person who stands in the way of Strannix and the mutinous Commander Krill (Busey) is Casey Ryback (Seagal), the ship’s cook. Strannix and his men quickly find out that Ryback isn’t just a cook but an ex-Navy SEAL. Can Ryback and the plucky Playmate of the Month Jordan Tate (Erika Eleniak) outwit Strannix before his devious plans are unleashed?
The MVPs of the film are director Andrew Davis and co-star Tommy Lee Jones. So good and winning a combo, they proved to be, Warner Brothers (with Harrison Ford’s blessing) hired them on The Fugitive based on their work here. The movie still stands as an amazing piece of action filmmaking. Davis’s lean, authoritative direction, coupled with Jones’s manic Wile E Coyote energy, elevates what is essentially a standard-issue action thriller starring a B-Level star. You care less about Seagal’s shenanigans and more about Jones’s Strannix character and his pontificating about the 1960s or barking orders (no one barked orders better than Tommy Lee, he’d get an Academy Award out of it a few years later).
It isn’t only Jones. Under Siege is adroitly cast by Pamela Basker with a mixture of seasons vets (hello Bernie Casey, Nick Mancuso, and Colm Meany), newer faces (Damian Chappa and Raymond Cruz), and Davis regulars (Andy Romano, Tom Wood, Glenn Morshower, and Joseph Kosala) all whom along with Busey make Seagal look much better and more interesting than he is. That isn’t to say the star wasn’t good; he was only as good as his films were cast around him and who he allowed to be his co-stars. Ryback is a standard-issue Seagal character that’s an ex-fill-in-the-blank activated by the events of the film. Though the unsung hero of the film is Erika Eleniak, whose former Playmate’s rants are the best meta commentary on the action genre and almost give Seagal’s Ryback character a wry sense of humor. Though we could have done without the implied tacked-on romance at the end.
Under Siege was the best film of Seagal’s career (if you don’t count the cameo appearance in Executive Decision, another Die Hard ripoff). Even now more almost thirty-five years later stands the test of time because of its crisp, crackerjack action sequences, playful script, and excellent cast.
The Transfers
The all-new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Andrew Davis, presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), is a near-flawless presentation of the film. The work here by Arrow is jaw-dropping, looking like it was filmed yesterday. The transfer is as crisp as the wintertime setting of the film itself, clean without any hints of scratches or blemishes on the negative. The color reproduction and contrast levels, because of the Dolby Vision encoding, are both deeper in their details, giving us a darker luminous, and far more textured image than the Blu-ray that was released more than 15 years ago. It is free of any sort of digital artifacting or DNR to remove grain, giving the transfer a healthy, organic look more akin to a beautifully restored 35mm print. Arrow’s relationship with Warner Bros. continues to produce some truly revelatory 4K Restorations.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new audio commentary with director Andrew Davis and writer J.F. Lawton begins with introductions before diving into how they were able to get all of the footage of the real-life Battleship USS Missouri. Some of the details include how they filmed the Pearl Harbor ceremony; how they shot in Mobile, Alabama, with the battleship drydocked; how Elaniak’s character was originally a bad guy and was rewritten at Seagal’s insistence; a discussion of this film’s riff on the Die Hard trope and how Davis feels that The Fugitive is more closely resembles the structure and tropes of Die Hard; a larger discussion of the various production rewrites that occurred for the cast and to meet production needs; a larger discussion of the action throughout the film and Seagal’s hesitance to have traditional martial arts action scenes throughout; a larger discussion of the various real locations and sets created for the production; a discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more.
I’m on a Boat (With a Bomb): Andrew Davis on Under Siege (19:08) – is an all-new interview with director Andrew Davis that opens with how he was hired on Under Siege and meeting Producer Peter McGreggor Scott. Davis goes on to discuss how they planned to film on a real-life battleship in Mobile, Alabama, and creating stages out of airplane hangars; how Seagal had changed since their first film Above the Law; how Davis and Jones created the character of Strannix; how they developed the story to the current events of the day; working with Gary Buesy; his insistence with limited use of a 2nd unit and the reasons why; Seagal’s bringing on certain collaborators and what he brought to the film; the work of Tommy Lee Jones and how he was in more of the film than Seagal; the Chicago trope of actors he cast in the film that he had used time and time again and why he did this; and much more.
One of the Guys: Erika Eleniak on Under Siege (13:52) – is an all-new interview with actor Erika Eleniak that opens with how he got her start as a child actor. Eleniak goes on to discuss her first real role at 12 in ET; the casting process for the film; the nude scene, and how it was done and negotiated; working with Gary Buesy; the lack of women on the set; filming the action scenes; working with Steven Seagal; working with Tommy Lee Jones – including just how he was both on and off set; and much more.
A Tight Ship: Damian Chapa on Under Siege (18:35) – is an all-new interview with actor Damian Chapa, which opens with how he got into acting as a child as a means of escape. Some of the details include his first film Blood in Blood Out he was cast in and during that production, he was cast in Under Siege; the experience of going to the premiere of Under Siege; working with director Andrew Davis; the size and enormity of the production; working with Gary Buesy, Tommy Lee Jones, and Erika Eleniak; and much more.
The Introvision Files: William Mesa on Under Siege (27:51) – is an all-new interview with visual effects supervisor William Mesa opens with how they had to bid for the job. Some of the other details include the VFX tasks and problems that the production posed; the crew that was assembled to create the VFX work; the contributions and requirements of director Andrew Davis and producer Peter McGreggor Scott; the various techniques and processes they used to accomplish the sequences; a breakdown of the key sequences they created; and much more. Like prior editions of The Introvision Files (see Arrow Video’s 4K UHD of Outland), there is a lot of great behind-the-scenes photos and video footage, along with examples of their work from Under Siege and other productions.
Theatrical trailer (2:00)
The Final Thought
Arrow Video has given another Warner Brothers Cult Action favorite the 4K UHD upgrade it deserves. Recommended!!!
Arrow Video’s 4K UHD Edition of Under Siege is out January 6th.
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