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Red Heat is a classic action "buddy cop" movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi that has just been released on 4K UHD. Is it worth the purchase? Read on to find out...


Red Heat (1988) tells the tale of Captain Ivan Danko (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a by-the-book Russian detective who partners with fearless but undisciplined American cop Art Ridzik (James Belushi) to track down Russia's deadliest drug smuggler Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross) through the mean streets of Chicago.


I'm kinda surprised that Red Heat got a 4K release. Not because it's a bad film, but because in the entire body of Arnold's work, this one has kinda fallen into obscurity. That is largely due to the lack of quotable one-liners that give most of his films their longevity. But if you give Red Heat a chance, you'll find a pretty enjoyable "buddy cop" action flick with two stars in their prime. Tagging along for the ride are veteran character actors Peter Boyle, Ed O'Ross, Laurence Fishburne, and Gina Gershon; the latter two before they would go on to greater acclaim. Ghostbusters fans who don't blink will even spot Kurt Fuller (Ghostbusters II's Jack Hardemeyer) in a very brief role as a detective at the 1:23:35 mark.


While there are no notable one-liners, there is an ample amount of humor between the two main characters that is sure to elicit a chuckle here and there. Plus there is LOTS of action, including fistfights, gunplay, and a stellar bus chase and train crash finale that is so good that the 2012 Danny Trejo film Bad Ass used it in it's entirety for it's finale, too!


Red Heat is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:43:58. Audio languages include English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish Mono DTS-HD Master Audio. The film includes English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles. It should be noted that the original TriStar Pictures logo at the start of the movie has been replaced with a new Studio Canal logo.


Here's a list of all of the bonus features that can be found on both discs. The first two featurettes seem to be making their U.S. debut with this release, since they are copyright dated 2010, but don't appear in any previous U.S. release.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Man Who Raised Hollywood (15:36) - An overview of Arnold's career.
• Political Context of Red Heat (9:54) - A discussion the political subtext of the film.
• East Meets West (9:38) - Interviews with executive producers Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna as they discuss the creation of the Carolco film studio.
• A Stunt Man for All Seasons (12:24) - A tribute to stunt coordinator Bennie Dobbins, who died of a heart attack during the filming of Red Heat.
• I'm Not A Russian, But I Play One On TV (5:11) - In interview with Ed O'Ross, an American actor who played the evil Russian drug lord Viktor.
• Making Of (18:36) - Although presented as a vintage featurette, with interviews with the cast and lots of behind the scenes clips, it seems to actually be a compilation of shorter featurettes pulled from the film's original Electronic Press Kit.
• Original Trailer (2:13)

Also included in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray Combo Pack is a second standard Blu-ray disc (a brand new disc sourced from the new 4K master), which contains the movie and all of the bonus features listed above. Audio languages include English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish Mono DTS-HD Master Audio. The film includes English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles.


Red Heat was previously released on Blu-ray in 2009, and on a Special Edition DVD before that. Both of those releases contain a few bonus features not found on this new 4K/Blu-ray. There are four TV spots - "Vodka", "Big Foot", "Clean Up Chicago", and "He Gets The Job Done" - that are not on this new set at all. Why they are missing is unknown to me. Also, the vintage Making Of featurette is almost completely different on the Special Edition DVD and the 2009 Blu-ray. Besides running 16:00, as opposed to the 4K/Blu's 18:36, I compared the two versions and below is a quick list of differences that I observed. Do note that for simplicity, I am referring to the 18:36 version as 4K/Blu and the older 16:00 version as DVD/Blu (since it first premiered on the SE DVD and then later on the first Blu-ray release).

IMPORTANT NOTE - As I was doing this comparison, I thought that a list of differences would be needed here. I will still include it below, but I have come to the conclusion that the 18:36 "featurette" on the 4K/Blu is actually a compilation of shorter featurettes that (I would bet) were sourced from the film's original Electronic Press Kit. This explains the frequent fade to blacks that feel like the end of a featurette, and the frequent repeated use of footage and subjects. Meanwhile, the 16:00 featurette from the DVD/Blu is the true "complete" featurette, intended for public viewing, as it has a "The Making of... Red Heat" title screen and on-screen name text. It is likely that the 16:00 featurette is a complete re-edit of everything from the EPK featurettes.

• 4K/Blu is pillarboxed into 16:9. DVD/Blu is 4:3.

• DVD/Blu opens with the TriStar Pictures and Carolco logos before getting to the Belushi/Schwarzenegger footage ("This is how you have to start..."). The 4K/Blu starts right with the Belushi/Schwarzenegger footage.

• DVD/Blu has both guys names on screen, which 4K/Blu doesn't. A few different film clips in the first instance of clips.

• DVD/Blu has a "The Making of... Red Heat" title screen, which 4K/Blu doesn't have at all. 4K/Blu goes right to the film clips shown after, such as Gina Gershon dancing. Lots of different behind the scenes and film clips in this section, too.

• DVD/Blu has some footage of Arnold getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that is completely missing from the 4K/Blu. The DVD/Blu narrator also mentions Belushi's film career before giving the "Arnold Schwarzenegger is Ivan Danko..." line. 4K/Blu cuts from the clip montage to the Danko narration. Actually, upon further inspection, the narration here is different, but similar; and done by two different narrators.

• Clip of Chicago cops meeting Danko at the airport is cut differently. Seems to be a little long on 4K/Blu, but with these two featurettes being similar, but different, it's a little hard to get everything synced up.

• Narrators come in earlier when talking about Ed O'Ross on the 4K/Blu. Again, Ed's name is on screen on DVD/Blu, but not on 4K/Blu.

• After Ed O'Ross clip, 4K/Blu discusses filming the Russia scenes, has some more Belushi/Schwarzenegger interview clips which mention the "Gumby" nickname, and some different Chicago footage. The DVD/Blu jumps straight to the Chicago filming, showing BTS footage outside the dance studio. Both featurettes seemingly catch up to each other with the film clip in the parking garage and the narrator saying, "When Viktor comes to Chicago, he sets up his own network of allies."

• After the Gina clips, when talking about the prison, the 4K/Blu shows some film clips of the prisoners working out and one Belushi/Schwarzenegger interview clip about not wearing jeans in the real prison they filmed in (so the guards could easily identify them as not being real prisoners). The DVD/Blu goes straight to a completely Belushi/Schwarzenegger interview clip in which they talking about Viktor being a "jokester". The 4K/Blu then shows that BTS outside dance studio footage the DVD/Blu showed earlier.

• At this point, both versions are SO vastly different, I don't think I can properly compare them. I'm just gonna do a quick rundown of what each one contains:

• 4K/Blu - Belushi talks about gaining weight, with Schwarzenegger feeding him cookies. Bus chase discussion. Belushi: "This movie's very funny...it's got great action...and a great relationship." Hospital scene where Ridzik calls Danko "Gumby", followed by "Schwarzenegger / Red Heat / Belushi" screen (clip obviously pulled from the trailer). More discussion of the Russia scenes, but with different footage than earlier, though it touches on similar points. Schwarzenegger talks about visiting discotheques and gyms in Russia and how they are different from the ones in America. He also talks about portraying a Russian in a positive manner. There's a fade to black here, indicating the end of this segment on the EPK. Now we get the Viktor being a "jokester" interview clip that was seen earlier on the DVD/Blu version. In the film clips, when Viktor talks about Ridzik's mother, his Russian dialog is bleeped. The Belushi weight interview clip is repeated, which helps to reaffirm my belief that this is actually a compilation of shorter featurettes not meant to be seen back-to-back like this. Talking about the differences in their two characters and their weapons. Film clips with trailer-like narration repeating stuff said many times over at this point. Belushi talks about running down a Chicago street, while Schwarzenegger talks about filming in Austrian snow. Belushi talks about the comedy, when Schwarzenegger (in character) tells him that "we must go now". Film clips and trailer-like narration close this out; fade to black on a still of Danko from the film after Ridzik says, "I give up. This whole thing's very Russian."

• DVD/Blu - Belushi talks about the cultural barrier and how they make fun of Danko by calling him "Gumby". The Miranda Act, weapon differences, shooting in Russia, Russians fans and visiting discotheques and gyms in Russia, Belushi talks about running down a Chicago street, Belushi learns from the real cops in the 18th district, bus chase scene, the relationship between the two characters, Schwarzenegger (in character) tells Belushi that "we must go now", film clips and trailer-like narration close this out. Ends on a still of the train hitting the bus, over which credits are placed: "Backstage Productions would like to thank Columbia Tri-Star Film Distributors, Inc. for making this production possible. Special Thanks to Carolco Pictures, Inc. and Tri-Star Pictures. [BP logo] Backstage Productions, Inc. (c) 1988 Tri-Star Pictures, Inc., All Rights Reserved."

Overall, I can't say which version of the Making Of "featurette" is better as each has exclusive footage that the other one is lacking.


A digital copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc black UHD Blu-ray case.


Red Heat is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack. If you absolutely need to own the four TV spots and the true version of the Making Of featurette, the original 2009 Blu-ray and the Special Edition DVD (alt url) are still available.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film. The item was provided by Lionsgate for review on this site.