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Miracle Mile – Review


miracle mile blu ray review

When Miracle Mile was released in 1989 it passed most people by. After time and a VHS release it started to get a cult following and it is one of those films that stays with you long after you see it, even if today it has dated slightly.

When Harry (Anthony Edwards, Zodiac, ER) meets Julie (Mare Winningham, Turner & Hooch) at the La Brea Tar Pits, it’s love at first sight. But when Harry’s alarm clock fails to go off, he misses their scheduled date by several hours. Alone on a street corner at four in the morning, he answers a ringing pay phone and picks up a garbled message that all-out nuclear war is set to begin in an hour’s time. With the clock ticking and the city spiralling into chaos, can Harry somehow track down Julie and get them both to safety before Armageddon?

The film starts out as a romantic type comedy drama but changes direction to give you an almost surreal picture of L.A. before disaster strikes. Tension is built well and the actors are mostly excellent throughout although some may find it hard at times to adjust to the shift in tone.

Early morning L.A. is filmed beautifully and it is complemented by a great score from Tangerine Dream. With today’s posturing between Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jon Un, it is sadly still relevant today and this is definitely a forgotten classic from the late 80’s and well worth checking out.

miracle mile shot

The disc from Arrow has a nice and rich 1080p transfer, am not sure how this differs from the Kino Lorber release in the USA but it is very pleasing with nice filmic structure. Colours are bold and bright and the blacks are solid.

Audio gives you a DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack and sounds fine. Nothing spectacular but for a film of this vintage it is front heavy as expected but has a solid mix, especially for the Tangerine Dream soundtrack.

Extras are good as usual for Arrow with the following:

  • New video interview with writer/director Steve De Jarnatt
  • Audio commentary by Steve De Jarnatt
  • Audio commentary by Steve De Jarnatt, cinematographer Theo van de Sande and production designer Chris Horner
  • Julie & Harry, an interview with actors Mare Winningham and Anthony Edwards
  • Supporting cast and crew reunion featurette
  • The Music of Tangerine Dream, an interview with co-composer Paul Haslinger
  • Deleted scenes and outtakes
  • Rubiaux Rising, a short story read by Steve De Jarnatt
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork TBC
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Tim Lucas

A cult 80’s classic which is well worth seeking out.

FILM: 7.5 PICTURE: 8 AUDIO: 7.5 EXTRAS: 8

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One comment on “Miracle Mile – Review

Hi – thanks for the nice bit David.

I am just letting people know about a new website underway for my 80s cult film Miracle Mile

https://www.stevedejarnatt.net/

In progress – about 10% up so far – check it out –

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