The Hot Spot: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1990
Director: Dennis Hopper
Writer: Nona Tyson
Cast: Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly, Charles Martin Smith, William Sadler, Jerry Hardin, Barry Corbin, Leon Rippy, Jack Nance, Virgil Frye

Release Date: August 17th, 2026 (UK) September 1st, 2026 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 130 Minutes 7 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: 18 (UK), R (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A,B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK), $49.95 (USA)

"Harry, a drifter (Don Johnson, Miami Vice) rolls into town and talks his way into a job at a car dealership where he becomes caught between two beautiful women, the boss’s conniving wife Dolly (Virginia Madsen, Candyman) and Gloria (Jennifer Connelly, Requiem for a Dream) a naive young accountant whose life is complicated by blackmail. When Harry plans to rob the local bank, he becomes enmeshed in a lethal web of lust, greed and extortion, whose only escape is murder." - synopsis provided by the distributor

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

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “The Hot Spot was scanned in 4K resolution at Illuminate Hollywood in Studio City, California. The film has been meticulously restored and color graded in 4K HDR (Dolby Vision) at FilmFinity, London, working from new 4K 16-bit scans of the original 35mm camera negative. FilmFinity’s digital restoration specialists used advanced image-processing tools to remove many thousands of instances of dirt, remove scratches, and gently correct age-related imperfections frame by frame. Paired with the new HDR grade, this restoration reveals striking clarity and depth while staying true to the film’s original photographic character. No grain management, edge enhancement, or artificial sharpening tools were used at any stage; preserving the authentic texture of the cinematography, HDR and SDR color grading was carried out by Stephen C. Horne, and was overseen and approved by cinematographer Ueli Steiger."

The Hot Spot comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 91 GB

Feature: 90.5 GB

The source looks excellent; it is a marked improvement over this film's previous home media releases. Flesh tones and colors look correct, contrast, black levels, image clarity, and compression are solid, and the image always retains an organic appearance.

The Hot Spot comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.3 GB

Feature: 35.7 GB

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

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English with removable English subtitles. The track is in excellent shape, dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and the score sounds appropriately robust.

Extras:

There are no extras on the 4K UHD disc.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 50 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director Dennis Hopper, who discusses The Hot Spot and features footage of John Lee Hooker and images from the set (4 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Virginia Madsen (7 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor William Sadler (6 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Nick Dawson, the editor of Dennis Hopper: Interviews (20 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an interview with crime writer and expert Duane Swierczynski, who discusses Charles Williams’ source novel, the film adaptation, and provides a background of the author (22 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, a removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, and a 28-page booklet (limited to 5,000 copies) with cast & crew information, an essay titled Excess, Sex, and Reality Checks written by Elena Lazic, an essay titled The Hot Spot Finds Its Level written by Leslie Byron Pitt, an archival writing titled Star Complex written by RJ Smith, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Dennis Hopper directed The Hot Spot; his eclectic filmography includes East Rider, The Last Movie, Out of the Blue, Colors, Catchfire, and Chasers. The Hot Spot was adapted from Charles W. Lilliam's novel Hell Hath No Fury. Another notable work written by Charles Williams is Dead Calm, which has been adapted for cinema twice, first as The Deep and the other time as Dead Calm.

A drifter with strong persuasion skills talks his way into a job as a car salesman, robs a bank, and becomes entangled with two women.

While there is an air of mystery to the protagonist, a drifter named Harry Madox, the way that he and the other characters are introduced grabs your attention. There is an element of surprise throughout as the narrative does a superb job keeping you guessing where it might go next. That said, the narrative effectively builds tension and momentum, propelling the story toward its doomed fate finale.

All around, the cast are excellent in their roles, especially the two female leads, Virginia Madsen (Candyman) and Jennifer Connelly (Dark City). Virginia Madsen’s character Dolly Harshaw is the much younger wife of the man who employs Harry Madox. From the moment she sees Harry, she is determined to have him, and her character fulfills the classic femme fatale role. Jennifer Connelly portrays Gloria Harper, a young woman who works as a loan officer at the car dealership. While Gloria is the polar opposite of Dolly, she has her own dark secrets from her past.

Don Johnson (Miami Vice) is cast in the role of Harry Madox. He delivers a strong performance that is arguably one of his best as a leading man in a feature film. Another performance of note is William Sadler (Disturbing Behaviour), who portrays Frank Sutton, a local criminal and blackmailer who plays a key role in the story that unfolds. Other cast members of note are Jerry Hardin (The X Files), Charles Martin Smith (The Untouchables), Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure), and Jack Nance (Eraserhead).

Neo-noir elements infuse the look and vibe of The Hot Spot. The Hot Spot is an equally photographed film with many striking moments that greatly enhance the mood. A solid soundtrack of songs that lean heavily into the blues backs Jack Nitzsche's (The Razor's Edge) exemplary score. Ultimately, The Hot Spot is an outstanding crime/drama about a man caught between two beautiful women while trying to pull off the perfect crime.

The Hot Spot gets an excellent release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras. Highly 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 MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer