Take one wrong turn in life and who knows where you’ll end up. For Becky, it’s waking up next to her murdered ex-husband. For Teddy, it’s the tail end of a failed film career. For Allan, it’s being kidnapped by a crazy toupee-wearing Italian hitman. For Lee and Helga, it’s letting that hit man get away alive. And for Wes and Alvin, two undercover cops cruising the valley for crime, it’s just another day…where everything goes wrong. 2 Days in the Valley. You’ll live longer…anywhere else. Writer-director John Herzfeld’s (15 Minutes) ’90s neo-noir classic comes fully loaded with sex, violence, black comedy, out-of-control antisocial behavior and a vast cast featuring Danny Aiello, Keith Carradine, Greg Cruttwell, Jeff Daniels, Louise Fletcher, Teri Hatcher, Glenne Headly, Peter Horton, Marsha Mason, Paul Mazursky, James Spader, Eric Stoltz, Lawrence Tierney and Charlize Theron.
For thoughts on 2 Days in the Valley, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Kino Classics presents 2 Days in the Valley with a significant upgrade in the form of a new 1080p master transfer in 1.85:1 sourced from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative that looks stunning. The transfer maintains the nice, natural film grain absent of any major compression artifacts or other such damage. The grain always resolves authentically without becoming loose or clumpy. The film features some dynamic colors within the production design, costumes, and locations that pop off the screen with great vibrancy.
The film is nearly pristine with no egregious instances of damage or dirt detected here. Skin tones look natural under the warm California sun, and the presentation offers up deep black levels that stay strong even in shadow. The uptick in fine detail is excellent and reveals subtle nuances within the backgrounds. The transfer unlocks new aspects you may have previously would have missed. Kino Classics has treated this one quite well.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a terrific DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that serves this film well. Dialogue and background noises are balanced in perfect harmony with all complementary elements. One of the first things you will notice is the strength and clarity of the soundtrack. This disc maintains an impeccable sense of fidelity that is appreciated throughout this moody narrative. Even with the strength of this element, nothing ever drowns out the dialogue or other important information. This track shows no appreciable age-related wear and tear such as drop-outs, hissing, or popping. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of the creative team at the time. This is a strong audio track for this feature. There are also optional English (SDH) subtitles included.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Writer/Director John Herzfeld provides a solid commentary track in which he discusses the creation and production of the film, the initial idea for the script, working with great burgeoning and established talent, the location shooting, memories from the set, and more. You can tell Herzfeld has a great passion for this project that keeps you invested throughout.
- Sylvester Stallone and John Herzfeld Conversation: A great new 35-minute conversation between the old friends in which they discuss their background at the University of Miami, their dynamic over the years, the work of Herzfield on 2 Days In The Valley, filming the fight scenes, previous issues with the studios he funneled into this narrative, the dynamic talent of a young Charlize Theron, and much more that is so much fun to watch.
- Q&A at Cinefamily with Charlize Theron, Glenne Headley, John Herzfeld, and Others: A 30-minute reunion with actors Charlize Theron and Glenne Headly, Writer/Director John Herzfeld, Production Designer Catherine Hardwicke, Event Organizer Scott Ray and Host/CineFamily Co-Founder Hadrian Belove. It is so cool to hear all of these major talents discussing what a breakthrough this film was for them.
- The Making of 2 Days In The Valley: A seven-minute archival featurette that pitches the film via on-set interviews with the cast and creative team.
- B-Rolls: A nearly eight-minute selection of fly-on-the-wall footage is provided from the production.
- Cast and Crew Soundbites: A 17-minute collection of interview snippets from the cast and creative team.
- Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided for 2 Days in the Valley. There are also trailers provided for Out of Sight, The Usual Suspects, Thursday, and Big Trouble.
Final Thoughts
2 Days in the Valley hooks you early thanks to its impressive ensemble, but it rarely takes the next step towards being an exceptional bit of filmmaking. The film struggles to walk the tightrope between being a crime drama and a dark comedy. The film has some fun storylines that are interesting to track, but the narrative as a whole simply feels less than the sum of its parts. Despite its issues, it is an entertaining viewing experience just seeing all of the talented people bouncing off one another. Kino Classics has provided a new Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a good selection of special features. If you are a fan of the film, this release will be a welcome sight. Recommended
2 Days in the Valley will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on November 14, 2023.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.