Rain Man: Anniversary Edition – MVD Marquee Collection (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1988
Director: Barry Levinson
Writers: Barry Morrow, Ron Bass
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen, Jack Murdock, Michael D. Roberts, Ralph Seymour, Lucinda Jenney, Bonnie Hunt

Release Date: June 13th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 133 Minutes 49 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD 5.1 French, DTS-HD Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English SDH (4K UHD, Blu-ray), Spanish, French (Blu-ray)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"Charlie Babbitt (Cruise) has just discovered he has an autistic brother named Raymond (Hoffman) and is now taking him on the ride of his life. Or is it the other way around? From his refusal to drive on major highways to a "four minutes to Wapner " meltdown at an Oklahoma farmhouse, Raymond first pushes hot-headed Charlie to limits of his patience... and then pulls him completely out of his self-centered world. But what begins as an unsentimental journey for the Babbitt brothers becomes much more than the distance between two places. It's a connection between two vastly different people..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD), 4.25/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about the director's cut transfer, "2023 4K Restoration (16-Bit Scan of the Original Camera Negative) approved by director Barry Levinson and presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio in Dolby Vision / HDR."

Rain Man comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 81 GB

Feature: 80 GB

This release is sourced from a recent master that looks excellent. Colors and flesh tones look correct, contrast, black levels, image clarity, and compression are solid, and the image looks organic. That said, this new transfer is a marked improvement over Rain Man’s previous home video releases.

Rain Man comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.7 GB

Feature: 39.6 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in French, and a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish. For this review, I only listened to the English-language track. The audio is in great shape. Dialog always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; ambient sounds are well represented; and range-wise, things sound robust when they should. Included are removable English SDH (4K UHD and Blu-ray), and removable French and removable Spanish subtitles (only the Blu-ray).

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with director Barry Levinson, an archival audio commentary with screenwriter Barry Morrow, and an archival audio commentary with screenwriter Ronald Bass.

Extras on the Blu-ray include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a deleted scene (2 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Lifting the Fog: A Look at the Mysteries of Autism (20 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled The Journey of Rain Man (22 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Barry Levinson, an archival audio commentary with Barry Morrow, and an archival audio commentary with Ronald Bass.

Other extras include a slipcover.

Summary:

At the time of Rain Man’s release, there was not that much public awareness of autism. And though Rain Man improved public awareness of autism, the character Raymond, who has savant skills, is not the norm.

The narrative revolves around two brothers, Charlie and Raymond, who are unaware that each other exists. After the death of their father, Charlie discovers he has a brother named Raymond, whom he abducts from the hospital he has been living at and takes on a road trip.

The arch of the narrative allows you to get to know these two characters. And though, in the case of Charlie, his intentions for taking Raymond out of his comfort zone change over time, their initial interactions are harsh, as Charlie treats Raymond more as an object than as his brother. That said, it is ultimately Charlie’s change of heart in regards to how he views Raymond that makes their journey all the more potent.

Based solely on the story, Rain Man was always going to be a tricky film to cast. Fortunately, when it comes to the two leads, Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate) in the role of Raymond Babbitt and Tom Cruise (Risky Business) in the role of Charlie Babbitt, the casting of these two roles is flawless. Dustin Hoffman often takes on challenging roles in which he fully immerses himself, and in the role of Raymond, he delivers an astonishingly convincing performance that never feels forced. At this time in his career, Tom Cruise was mostly known for his action and blockbuster films, and yet with Charlie, he is given an opportunity to go outside of his comfort zone.

Director Barry Levinson (Diner) does a phenomenal job bringing all of the elements together. His direction is never flashy; he lets the performances dominate the frame. Another strength of the visuals is how effectively they use the landscapes traveled during Charlie and Raymond’s road trip. Not to be overlooked is composer Hans Zimmer’s (Gladiator) fabulous score, which goes against the type of score that one usually composes for a drama. Ultimately, Rain Man is an extraordinary story about family, relationships, and embracing the unknown.

Rain Man gets a first-rate release as part of the MVD Marquee Collection, which comes with a solid video presentation and a wealth of informative extras, recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer