Beverly Hills Cop

Summary

“They’re not just regular cops. They’re supercops …and the only thing missing was capes.”

Hot off of the success of the films Trading Places and 48 HRS, along with his comedy special Delirious, Eddie Murphy’s next star vehicle was the smash hit Beverly Hills Cop in 1984. Murphy was on fire at the time, and the film proved once again how bankable of a star he was. The film was another hit for producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer who had just stormed the theaters with Flashdance after producing Michael Mann’s film Thief and the Paul Schrader films Cat People and American Gigolo. Beverly Hills Cop was the highest grossing film of 1984 and at the time it was the most financially successful comedy ever made. The film was produced for $13 million and grossed $316 million. The film’s iconic theme song “Axel’s Theme” is still played on the radio regularly to this day, because that is how deeply the film permeated society. It spawned two sequels which were also very successful financially, with the second film being considered a rare sequel that delivers on the promise of the original. I was in the mood to revisit the films once I saw that Paramount would be releasing the second film in the series on 4K UHD. I purchased the UHD release of Beverly Hills Cop from Paramount with the intention of immediately watching the 4K UHD of Beverly Hills Cop II afterward. It was a lot of fun to revisit the films in their best presentation since their theatrical debuts.

As the film begins, Detroit cop Axel Foley attempts to sell some Italian criminals a truck full of Lucky Strikes and Pall Malls. He begins to haggle with one hood when he is only offered a lowball offer of $2000 for the truck full of product. While they argue the price, a police cruiser drives by and then circles back. When the police pull up to investigate what is happening, one of the criminals runs while the other begins to flee the scene in the truck full of products with Axel still in the back. The police pursue the truck and a lot of property damage occurs before the chase ends. This event puts Axel in hot water with his superior, Inspector Todd (Gilbert R. Hill.) Later on, Axel’s friend from the past, Mikey, shows up in his apartment. Mikey has a bag of untraceable German bearer bonds with him. The two friends go out for drinks and Mikey explains that he has been working in Beverly Hills as a security guard. A girl they know named Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher) had helped him land the job. When they return from the bar, Axel is knocked unconscious by two men. Mikey begs for his life from Zack (Jonathan Banks.) He pleads that he only took a little out of the amount of bearer bonds that were there. Zack shoots Mikey in the back of the head twice execution style. Axel talks to Inspector Todd and is unsatisfied to hear who in the department has been assigned to his friend’s case. Axel requests to use his vacation time. He heads to Beverly Hills to investigate what led to Mikey’s death. His investigation puts Axel back in touch with his friend Jenny (Lisa Eilbacher) and at odds with two policemen – Detective Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and hot headed Sergeant Taggart (John Ashton.) They can not allow Axel to perform police duties within their jurisdiction. Their boss Lieutenant Bogomil (Ronny Cox) puts the two detectives in charge of surveilling Axel and making sure he stays out of trouble. Foley puts himself in direct danger from the men who killed Mikey and endangers his job back in Detroit if his boss learns he is investigating the case against his boss’s wishes.

Beverly Hills Cop is still an entertaining and enjoyable film nearly forty years after its release. The film’s screenplay by Donald Petrie Jr. (with a story credited to Danilo Bach) was actually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay that year. That shows just how original and fresh the film felt at that time. Mixing comedy and action in equal parts was nothing new, (48 HRS. had gotten the mixture about perfect two years earlier) but it did prove a winning formula that Bruckheimer and Simpson would successfully harness again in later franchises such as the Bad Boys series. The buddy cop genre would became synonymous with the Lethal Weapon series a few years later, but Beverly Hills Cop showed just how well the formula could work. The screenplay itself revolves around Axel’s attempts to nail an art dealing bearer bond smuggling villian, and the plot itself is well hashed but it is not incredibly dynamic. What makes the screenplay shine is the interactions between Axel and the Beverly Hills policemen. I would argue that Eddie Murphy was probably never funnier than during this early period in his career, and the dialogue between Rosewood, Taggart, and Axel harnesses Eddie’s delivery style perfectly. The jokes come quickly and they come often, all in service of leading towards the final conflict and resolution. There is a method to the madness, and it all just works.

The film would not be as well loved if it did not feature a great ensemble of supporting players. Judge Reinhold and John Ashton are perfectly cast in their roles. In the first film, the script allows these characters to be developed in a way that never feels forced or artificial. They are immensely likable characters, and great foils to Eddie. Ronny Cox is great as the straight-laced Lieutenant Bogomil. I loved Ronny Cox in Robocop, and it was fun to see him play such a kind hearted role. Steven Berkoff is effective as the villainous Victor Maitland, and Jonathan Banks is just as memorable as the murderous Zack. There are many great and memorable cameos including Paul Reiser as Axel’s colleague Jeff, Bronson Pinchot as an effeminate art dealer named Serge, and Damon Wayans shows up as a hotel employee in one of the funniest interactions in the film. Gilbert R. Hill is memorable as the consistently upset Inspector Todd. There isn’t a bad performance in the film.

The film’s cinematography by Bruce Surtrees is well considered, and never showy. Surtees is best known for his work on Dirty Harry, so he knew what he was doing on this film. The film looks right. Martin Brest drew good performances from all the crew involved, and secured one of Eddie Murphy’s best performances. Eddie was at his best in this era of his career because he was simply younger and hungrier. Brest clearly knew how to best direct him and temper the impulses to go too big. He finds the right balance between the right comedic notes and the more serious dialogue. Brest handled the job admirably. 

The iconic soundtrack by Harold Faltermeyer still sounds great, and the hit song “The Heat is On” as performed by Glenn Frey is also enjoyable. I was excited to hear “Nasty Girl” by Vanity 6 blaring in a club sequence. That song is still a banger.

Overall – Beverly Hills Cop is one of Eddie Murphy’s best films. It’s a fast moving, fast talking, and clever buddy cop film with memorable characters and numerous funny moments. The film deservedly made Murphy an absolute superstar and it was nice to revisit it. Recommended.

Video

Presented in Native 4K in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, Beverly Hills Cop looks the best it ever has in its UHD presentation. Fine detail is solid for the most part, with grain well resolved and the color timing matches the original intentions of the director and cinematographer. That said, this film’s color palette is still a bit muted despite the well appointed use of the HDR. This is an improvement over prior releases of the film for certain, but if you own the 2020 Trilogy collection which utilizes the same 4K master, the differences are not extreme. For myself, the idea of watching an iconic Eighties action film in true 4K is too good of a proposition to pass up. As long as your expectations match the original visual quality of the film, there is no reason to be disappointed in the slightest with the work that paramount have put into the picture.

Audio

Paramount has presented the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that was featured on the prior Blu-ray releases in both 2011 and 2020. This track is by no means a terrible track, but it definitely feels like a missed opportunity that this release (which will likely be the definitive release of the film until we have 8K) didn’t consider creating an Atmos track or at the least revisiting the prior track to maximize its mix. The film’s dialogue comes through very clearly, but the action and music could have been given a little bit more presence to make this track really stand out. The film sounds good, but it could have sounded great!

Supplements: These supplements are carried over from the remastered Trilogy Blu-ray set from 2020. Some of the features have been included on the UHD disc, whereas some others are only on the Blu-ray Disc.

UHD: 

• Audio Commentary with Martin Brest
• Deleted Scenes
• Behind the Scenes: 1984 Interviews
• BHC Mixtape ’84
• Theatrical Trailer

Blu-ray: 

• Audio Commentary
• Isolated Score Track
• Deleted Scenes
• Behind the Scenes: 1984 Interviews
• Beverly Hills Cop — The Phenomenon Begins
• A Glimpse Into the Casting Process
• The Music of Beverly Hills Cop
• Location Map
• Theatrical Trailer
• BHC Mixtape ’84

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.25/5 

Audio – 3.75/5

Supplements – 3.75/5

Overall – 4.25/5

Beverly Hills Cop made Eddie Murphy a superstar. At the time of its release, it was the most financially successful comedy ever made. This film was one of the definitive buddy cop films of the Eighties, and it still holds up really well nearly forty years later. Eddie Murphy’s early work remains his best era, and Axel Foley is one of his best roles. The film is helped by an Academy Award nominated screenplay, and a perfectly cast ensemble which featured Judge Reinhold, Ronny Cox, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff, and Jonathan Banks. The cameos by Damon Wayans and Bronson Pinchot are memorable as well. Paramount’s UHD release has a very well made video transfer, and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is of good (if not great) quality. The audio is the same as was featured on the 2011 and 2020 releases, so if you have those you will know what to expect. It was great revisiting the film and I am looking forward to revisiting the second film in the series on UHD. If you already own the 2020 Trilogy Blu-ray set, this release is not a huge leap forward, but I still think the opportunity to own the film with the best possible video specifications is a deal that is too hard to pass up. Recommended.