Theatrical: Warner Bros.

Video: Warner Video

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3731 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3731 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Thai 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround
* Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround

 

Subtitles:

• English (SDH), French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Thai, Japanese, None

 

Extras:

• Commentary by Joe Dante, Dennis Murren, Michael Finnell, Kevin McCarthy and Robert Picardo
• Trailer (1:30)

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: Director Joe Dante infuses this science fiction comedy with the visual razzle-dazzle and manic, goofball performances typical of his cartoon-inspired sensibilities. Navy test pilot Lt. Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) has volunteered for a highly dangerous medical experiment. A submersible craft, with Tuck at the controls, is to be shrunk down to molecular size and inserted into the body of a living rabbit. If successful, the test could result in radical breakthroughs in surgical techniques, but some high-tech thieves attempt to steal Tuck and his ship while both are in miniature form. Enter Jack Putter (Martin Short), a mild-mannered, hypochondriac retail store clerk, a nerd who suddenly finds himself injected with Tuck and his tiny ship. Now poor Jack's got to rise above his mundane existence to help an American hero get back to safety, while also trying to reunite Tuck with his beautiful estranged girlfriend Lydia (Meg Ryan). Innerspace (1987) won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

 

 

The Film:

Once Quaid and Short do get together, Innerspace moves without any slowing. When there is a scene–between Short and Meg Ryan–about taking a breather, it gets interrupted. It’s never a forced pace. In a lot of ways, Innerspace has Dante’s most professional direction. He never goes wild, but he never even hints at a misstep.

Short’s outstanding, Quaid and Ryan are both good.

Great Jerry Goldsmith score too.

Dante’s completely–and, unfortunately, wrongly–confident an audience will be comfortable with so many genres mixing at once. Until the end, there’s not a single sci-fi oriented action sequence–there’s lots of action comedy scenes, as it would be impossible to take Short seriously during any of them.

It’s one of Dante’s best.

Excerpt from The Stop Button located HERE

 

After an accident, scientifically miniaturised marine Quaid finds himself floating, complete with miniaturised submersible, around the body of neurotic wimp Short. The pair's attempts to return him to normal size are hampered by evil saboteurs keen in killing Short in order to get hold of the magical miniaturising whatsit. Where Dante transcended the formulaic ingredients of Gremlins and Explorers by means of dark, droll wit, here for the most part he indulges in frenetic slapstick, broad parody, and juvenile mugging. And while the anatomical special effects are imaginative enough, the manic rather than magical tone fails to achieve the sense of awe that made Fantastic Voyage - clearly this film's inspiration - so fascinating.

Excerpt from the Timeout located HERE

 

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Innerspace - looks fine but not overwhelming on a dual-layered Blu-ray transfer from Warner. The 2 hour film has a supportive bitrate. There is some grain support, no noise, and detail in close-ups is superior to SD. It's in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio and I noticed no noise in the many dark sequences. I didn't note much depth but films from the 80's often used that less effectual stock and the Blu-ray seems to support that but gives a consistent video viewing. It won't be used as a demo but provides a seemingly authentic 1080P presentation.

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Warner use a robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio track at a whopping 3731 kbps. Effects are abundant and separate fairly well coming out of all corners of the home theater with plenty of aggression depth. Jerry Goldsmith (Dante's The Burbs, Seconds, Hoosiers, The Blue Max, Breakheart Pass etc.) does another great score and it sounds delightful in lossless. There is some perceived buoyancy but the music drifts from light-hearted to suspenseful depending on the mood of the scene. Warner include foreign-language DUBs and many subtitle options signifying it as region FREE.

 

 

Extras :

Supplements consist of a trailer and the old commentary from the 2002 snapper-cased DVD with Joe Dante hosting plus input from producer Michael Finnell, visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren and actors Kevin McCarthy and Robert Picardo. They work well together and it's a fun listen.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Not Dante's best, IMO, but still very much worth re-visiting. Innerspace has quite a bit going for it - humor, sci-fi adventure, effects. It's a likeable film and the Warner Blu-ray is certainly reasonable enough. The commentary adds value to those who have not heard it and at $10 it is certainly recommended!  

Gary Tooze

August 3rd, 2015