A few words about…™ – Beverly Hills Cop II — in 4k UHD

Since it’s so difficult in most situation to tell is grain is real or imagined, I’ll give Paramount the benefit of the doubt here, as it looks proper.

Originally a project for Sylvester Stallone, Beverly Hills Cop, with replacement Eddie Murphy, turned out to be a huge hit.

Three years later, the team, now with Tony Scott replacing Martin Brest, created Beverly Hills Cop II, and also garnered a huge box-office.

Problem being, that while the original was a fun film, the sequel is a shadow of it. To me, it never worked.

Fans of Mr. Murphy will be presumably purchasing this for him, and not the film’s overall reputation.

As a 4k UHD release, it generally looks terrific, with nary a problem in sight. The production footage has what appears to be a light sheen of actual film grain – but who knows?

Color and densities also work nicely for a terrific presentation. Crisp and clean audio courtesy of DTS-HD MA. The hi-con titles jump off the screen in knife-edged 4k resolution, while the actual film blends nicely behind them.

Can BH Cop 3 be far behind in 4k, especially with BH Cop 4 in preparation?

Image – 5 (Dolby Vision)

Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors – Yes

Upgrade from Blu-ray – Why not

Makes use of and works well in 4k – 3.75

RAH

Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.

His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.

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Kent K H

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The first R-rated movie I saw in theaters was Beverly Hills Cop III. Not an auspicious beginning. That said, II is the one I haven't gone back to watch. I typically see it looked fondly on as a middle-ground "fun" flick between the quality of the first and the despised third. I'll probably wait for some kind of set if I feel the desire to own them.
 

Malcolm R

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I mostly remember the hit soundtrack. The Jets' hit, "Cross My Broken Heart" (#7), is one of my favorite songs of the 80's. The two other big hits were Bob Seger's "Shakedown" (#1), and George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" (#2)
 

Lord Dalek

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This is a fairly early Super 35 production so it should be a shade grainy.
 

Colin Jacobson

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This is a fairly early Super 35 production so it should be a shade grainy.

Oh, it's more than a shade grainy! It's uber-grainy!

After the "Liberty Valance" issue, though, RAH now lives in my head rent-free when it comes to these Paramount 4Ks.

"Sure, there's lots of grain - but is it REAL GRAIN? Or is it fake noise on top of a degrained image???"
 

Robert Harris

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Oh, it's more than a shade grainy! It's uber-grainy!

After the "Liberty Valance" issue, though, RAH now lives in my head rent-free when it comes to these Paramount 4Ks.

"Sure, there's lots of grain - but is it REAL GRAIN? Or is it fake noise on top of a degrained image???"
I’m not seeing any objectionable grain - or is it digital noise?
 

sbjork

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Hey, you're the Grainmeister! :D

I didn't feel the grain - or whatever - was objectionable. But it's heavy much of the time!
Not out of line with Tony Scott movies of that vintage that were shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Moderate, though not excessive grain, and enough smoke to cover the entire western seaboard. True Romance had a similar visual style, and it's gorgeous on UHD, though it's a little soft from the smoke, and the grain is visible. But it's beautiful.

Don't shoot me, but I finally watched Top Gun for the first time, 35 years down the road, and on UHD, it also has similar visual characteristics. Not the sharpest or smoothest image relative to some other UHDs, but it looks accurate to me despite my unfamiliarity with the movie, mostly because of familiarity with how Tony Scott films from that period looked.
 

Colin Jacobson

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Not out of line with Tony Scott movies of that vintage that were shot by Jeffrey L. Kimball. Moderate, though not excessive grain, and enough smoke to cover the entire western seaboard. True Romance had a similar visual style, and it's gorgeous on UHD, though it's a little soft from the smoke, and the grain is visible. But it's beautiful.

I watched the "True Romance" 4K today and thought the grain was pretty mild.

Nowhere near in the orbit of "BHC2".
 

sbjork

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I watched the "True Romance" 4K today and thought the grain was pretty mild.

Nowhere near in the orbit of "BHC2".
Both Beverly Hills Cop II and Top Gun were Super 35, while True Romance was anamorphic, so that could be why, but I didn't find the difference between Top Gun and True Romance to be that extreme. For the record, I don't have Cop II, so I was just going by what's in the family, so to speak.
 

Nick*Z

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I've never entirely understood the negative rep BHCII received. It works. It's a darker movie than the original. But Brigitte Nielsen is a formidable baddie and Murphy's repartee with Judge Reinhold and John Ashton is as clever as ever. While sequels are generally formulaic and safe, this one dips into uncharted territory, and succeeds at advancing the franchise - something Part III never did!

Great vignettes of comedy for Murphy too, like Johnny Wishbone, 'Do You Like Rap Music?' and the confiscation of the house, confusing the construction workers by suggesting they have the old blueprints. Wonderful support in cameo from Gilbert Gottfried as the devious accountant, and, Paul 'This is not my office' Reiser.

IMO - an expertly balanced caper/comedy that has endured undue harsh criticism.
 

Lord Dalek

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I watched the "True Romance" 4K today and thought the grain was pretty mild.

Nowhere near in the orbit of "BHC2".
Yeah well True Romance was shot anamorphic and Beverly Hills Cop II was not.

Also Cop II hails from that same era of Eastman emulsions that produced the very course look on Aliens IIRC.
 

Desslar

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I've never entirely understood the negative rep BHCII received. It works. It's a darker movie than the original. But Brigitte Nielsen is a formidable baddie and Murphy's repartee with Judge Reinhold and John Ashton is as clever as ever. While sequels are generally formulaic and safe, this one dips into uncharted territory, and succeeds at advancing the franchise - something Part III never did!

Great vignettes of comedy for Murphy too, like Johnny Wishbone, 'Do You Like Rap Music?' and the confiscation of the house, confusing the construction workers by suggesting they have the old blueprints. Wonderful support in cameo from Gilbert Gottfried as the devious accountant, and, Paul 'This is not my office' Reiser.

IMO - an expertly balanced caper/comedy that has endured undue harsh criticism.
It reminds me a little of the difference between Bad Boys 1 and 2:
First film - Hilarious comedy with some action scenes
Second film -Violent action film with some comedic touches

For both franchises I much preferred when they focused on comedy.
 
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