Pete and Terry Nessip (Wesley Snipes,Passenger 57; Malcolm-Jamal Warner, TV’sMalcolm & Eddie) are two U.S. Marshals escorting Earl Leedy (Michael Jeter,Miller’s Crossing), a computer criminal being transferred to a maximum security prison, when the plane they’re traveling on is hijacked by terrorists, resulting in the death of Terry and Earl’s daring escape from the law at 30,000 feet. The hijacking turns out to be the plot of ex-DEA agent turned skydiver Ty Moncrief (Gary Busey,Point Break) who plans to break into the DEA mainframe in Washington DC, with the help of Leedy, to get back at the government that failed him. Pete Nessip, looking to avenge his brother’s death and get back his prisoner, teams up with skydiving instructor Jessie Crossmann (Yancy Butler,Hard Target) to chase down Ty’s crew from the Florida Keys to Washington DC, before the fireworks go off on the 4th of July.
An inspired late-career entry in the unpredictable oeuvre of British born, but American based, New Hollywood iconoclast John Badham (Saturday Night Fever,Blue Thunder), DROP ZONE meshes Badham’s penchant for strong character work with impressive practical stunts and hand-to-hand combat, resulting in one of the better, and oft-overlooked, studio action films of the 1990s. Executive produced by Badham himself and featuring production design by Joe Alves (Escape from New York,Jaws), a thunderous score by Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer (Interstellar) and kinetic photography by Badham collaborator Roy H. Wagner (Nick of Time). Cinématographe is proud to present the world 4K UHD debut of the most action packed film in John Badham’s career, newly restored from its original camera negative.
directed by: John Badham starring: Wesley Snipes, Gary Busey, Yancy Butler, Michael Lester, Malcolm-Jamal Warner 1994 / 101 min / 2.39:1 / English DTS-HD MA 5.1
2-Disc Set: 4K Ultra HD + Region A Blu-ray
New audio commentary with director and executive producer John Badham and cinematographer Roy H. Wagner, moderated by Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty
New audio commentary with film journalist Max Evry
Surfers In the Sky - a new video interview with producer Wallis Nicita
A Symphony of Skydiving: Scoring Drop Zone - A new interview with film music historian Daniel Schweiger about Hans Zimmer's score
Whose Films Are These Anyway? John Badham, from Filmmaker to Moviemaker - a new video essay by Daniel Kremer
New text essays by film critics Simon Abrams and Bilge Ebiri, culture historian Mark Edward Heuck and Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty
