Beverly Hills Cop

Director: Martin Brest Martin Brest

Overview

"Wisecracking Detroit cop Axel Foley begins his adventures in the action/comedy hit Beverly Hills Cop. Paramount has done a nice job of cleaning up this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen print. While some grain and imperfections abound, overall this is a good-looking transfer with minimal edge enhancement and bright-looking colors. The audio is presented in a newly mixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack in English, as well as Dolby 2.0 in English and French. The new 5.1 soundtrack is passable, though it's mainly composer Harold Faultermeyer's techno-pop score that is filtered through the front and rear speakers. All aspects of the dialogue, effects, and music are distortion free and very clear. Also included on this disc are subtitles in English. This is a ""special collector's edition"" of Beverly Hills Cop, and as such includes some interesting special features. To start with, there is a commentary track by director Martin Brest that is both informative and insightful (with only a few gaps of dead silence during the feature). ""Beverly Hills Cop: The Phenomenon Begins"" is a somewhat self-serving documentary that includes interviews with Martin Brest, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, writer Daniel Petrie Jr., and actors Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, and in a limited fashion, Eddie Murphy. This retrospective is interesting, though many of the participants tend to dote on star Eddie Murphy a bit too much. ""A Glimpse Into the Casting Process"" is a short piece of how the film was cast, and ""The Music of Beverly Hills Cop"" takes a look at what it took to get both the music score and famous rock songs into the movie. Finally, there is a location map with production information by designer Angelo Graham, a limited still gallery with stills and photos from the movie, and a theatrical trailer for the film. This may not be the definitive DVD of Beverly Hills Cop, but it should please fans in general."

Product Details

Release Date:	01/29/2002
UPC:	0097360113440
Original Release:	1984
Rating:	R
Source:	Paramount
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[stereo, Dolby Digital]
Language:	English
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	3,421

Special Features

Widescreen version enhanced for 16:9 TVs; Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French stereo; English subtitles; Interactive menus; Scene selections; Commentary by director Martin Brest; Exclusive cast and crew interviews; Casting "Beverly Hills Cop"; Music of "Beverly Hills Cop"; Location map; Photo gallery; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eddie Murphy	Axel Foley
Judge Reinhold	Det. Billy Rosewood
John Ashton	Sgt. Taggart
Lisa Eilbacher	Jenny Summers
Ronny Cox	Lt. Bogomil
Steven Berkoff	Victor Maitland
James Russo	Mikey Tandino
Jonathan Banks	Zack
Gilbert R. Hill	Inspector Todd
Art Kimbro	Det. Foster
Stephen Elliott	Chief Hubbard
Bronson Pinchot	Serge
Paul Reiser	Jeffrey
Joel Bailey	Det. McCabe
Michael Champion	Casey
Frank Pesce	Cigarette Buyer
Gene Borkan	Truck Driver
Michael Gregory	Hotel Manager
Alice Cadogan	Hotel Clerk
Philip Levien	Donny
Karen Mayo-Chandler	Maitland Receptionist
Gerald Berns	Beverly Hills Cop #1
William Wallace	Beverly Hills Cop #2
Jack Heller	Harrow Club Maitre D'
Lisa Eichhorn	Actor

Technical Credits

Vincent Patrick

Martin Brest	Director
Mike Moder	Executive Producer
Jerry Bruckheimer	Producer
Don Simpson	Producer
Vincent Patrick	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Following up on the successes of 1982's 48 Hrs. and 1983's Trading Places, Eddie Murphy returned to the screen a year later with Beverly Hills Cop, a rollicking action-comedy that firmly established him as one of the premier stars of the day. Mixing laughs, violence and strip clubs -- a recipe if ever there was one for a guy-movie -- Beverly Hills Cop succeeded to the tune of $316 million worldwide. Though future films would prove him all too fallible, Murphy is unstoppable here as the wise-cracking, fish-out-of-water Detroit cop Axel Foley. Other players add a lot here too, notably Judge Reinhold's dopey tagalong and Bronson Pinchot's cameo as an art gallery host. And talk about hindsight being 20/20: Axel was almost played by Mickey Rourke, then Sylvester Stallone -- both of them only after Clint Eastwood turned down an earlier, more serious conception of the role. It's worth paying attention to Beverly Hills Cop's admirable and strong-selling soundtrack as well -- if "The Heat Is On," "The Neutron Dance" and "Axel F."," the film's synthesizer-heavy theme song, don't bring you back to the mid-eighties, nothing will. The plot is not exactly ground-breaking cinema, and sometimes its violence is a little excessive and conventional. Nevertheless, Beverly Hills Cop is a highly entertaining film that proves there was a darn good reason why Eddie Murphy was once king of the box office.