Firefox (Blu-ray) (1982) (Region 2) (Import)

Firefox has always been one of my favourite films, and while it's a bit cheesy and jingoistic 20 years on, it is entertaining - especially seeing fine British actors like Nigel Hawthorne (rest his soul!) and Kenneth Colley making a pig's ear of their Russian accents...

However, in this DVD version they've edited out a lot of the best bits - including a lot of the interplay between the politicians and General Vladimirov at Bilyarsk when they are trying to plot the retrieval and destruction of the MiG-31.

I was really disappointed by this, and haven't watched the film again since - though it's comforting to know it's on the shelf.

I'm not sure whether Firefox is really a guilty pleasure or simply a film I remember as being one. It's certainly overlong and overfamiliar despite its neat Maguffin - Clint Eastwood's flashback-plagued Vietnam vet fighter ace has to steal a state-of-the-art warplane with a thought-controlled weapons system (as long as you remember to think in Russian) from the heart of the Evil Empire - but it has a sort of undemanding Cold War charm that the constant stream of clichés only reinforces. Even the old school model effects in the final chase-and-dogfight section are more fun in their way than modern CGI effects, especially when the Firefox is leaving a wall of water in its wake as it races across the sea or causing fallen snow to fill the air as it passes over the mountains, so it's a shame that much of the last third is played in darkened control rooms rather than the skies.

The Russians, naturally, are mostly played by British actors, albeit in this case actors best known for their sitcoms, which adds a different dimension to their scenes as comically humourless KGB types or lemming-like dissidents only too happy to die for the cause, or incorrigible hams like Freddie Jones who simply look like they SHOULD be in a sitcom. There's even an almost admirable perversity into giving most of the explanatory dialogue in the last half-hour to Klaus Löwitsch, an actor with a shaky grasp of spoken English who sounds like a bumblebee caught in a vacuum cleaner pipe. Not good by any means, but strangely watchable, and Maurice Jarre contributes an enjoyable score from the days before he disappeared entirely into atonal electronics.

Whereas the Region 1 NTSC DVD is the uncut theatrical version before Clint re-edited and trimmed the film by some 12 minutes without visibly improving it for video release, sadly the European PAL DVD is the shorter cut version. Boasting a decent 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, both versions also includes a 29-minute British behind the scenes documentary and the theatrical trailer.

Sadly the Blu-ray release mirrors the DVD release - the US version (available in a double-bill with Heartbreak Ridge) is uncut but the rest of the world gets the cut version again, though both have the same extras. Eastwood the director has always had a penchant for pushing up the darkness in the cinematography, which was a problem even when seen on a 70ft screen in a darkened room but is something of a nightmare on home video. While not as bad as The Rookie, parts of which are almost invisible in the sea of black ink onscreen, the night scenes are a problem even on Blu-ray, with detail lost in the dark and the transfer not really able to do much to compensate. It's certainly an improvement on the DVD but it's still a hugely inconsisten transfer that's definitely at its best in the daylight scenes.

Firefox came along in the early eighties in a time where we saw super hi-tec vehicals galore. ie Knight Rider, Streethawk, Blue Thunder and Airwolf but Firefox has to be said is the ultimate. The Mig 31 kitted out in the latest advanced technology with mind recognition weapons system(In Russian of course) has to be the best idea of them all. The previous hi-tec creations would be left as burning circuit boards compared to the might of the Russian born fighter.

Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this 80`s classic and i personally think is kind of underrated. If ever there was a movie that needed a remake then this would be it. The special effects have aged quite badly and although similar to the original Star Wars films it hasnt been done aswell as the george Lucas trilogy. Its a shame really because this film has been well directed and creates tension and thrills at every turn. Dont ask me who would make the best director for a remake or even a sequel but he would have to be good. We wouldnt want another Top Gun and definitely not another Stealth, but it would make a great opportunity to get this film back to its shining glory as we dream of flying the ultimate, most advanced jet fighter in the world.