Things to Do in Denver When Dead Blu-ray
Introduction
Welcome back, and movie aficionados! Today, we’re diving into the dark, gritty, and oddly charming world of ‘Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead’ - now available in a Special Edition Blu-ray that promises more than just a trip down memory lane. Will it live up to the hype, or will it leave us dead bored? Let’s find out!
Plot Summary
Before we begin, let’s do a quick recap for those of you who might need a refresher. Released in 1995, ‘Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead’ is a crime drama that follows Jimmy the Saint (played by Andy Garcia) as he tries to navigate a dangerous job gone wrong. With a cast of colorful characters and an ending that will leave you questioning your life choices, this film is a must-watch for any fan of the genre.
Blu-ray Features
Fresh HD Transfer
The Special Edition Blu-ray offers a fresh HD transfer that breathes new life into this cult classic. The picture quality is crisp, the colors are vibrant, and the shadows are darker than my teenage soul. Watching this movie in HD is like seeing it for the first time.
Audio
The audio has been remastered to Dolby Atmos, and let me tell you, the sound of bullets flying and glass shattering has never been more satisfying. The dialogue is clear, the music is immersive, and every little sound effect pops.
Special Features
This Blu-ray is packed with special features that are sure to delight fans and newcomers alike. Here’s a taste of what you can expect:
- Director’s Commentary: Hear from director Gary Fleder as he provides insights and behind-the-scenes stories.
- Deleted Scenes: Watch the scenes that didn’t make the final cut and decide for yourself if they were better left out.
- Interviews with Cast and Crew: Get up close and personal with Andy Garcia, Christopher Walken, and other stars as they share their experiences.
- Making Of Documentary: a look at the production process, including how they managed to make Denver look so darn dangerous.
Performance Highlights
Andy Garcia as Jimmy the Saint
Andy Garcia delivers a performance that is both suave and tortured. His portrayal of Jimmy the Saint is a masterclass in understated charisma. He’s a man with a code, even if that code gets him into a world of trouble.
Christopher Walken as The Man with the Plan
Christopher Walken is, as always, a delight. His portrayal of The Man with the Plan is creepy, unsettling, and utterly captivating. If you ever needed a reminder of why Walken is a legend, this is it.
The Supporting Cast
The supporting cast is a who’s who of ’90s talent, including Steve Buscemi, Christopher Lloyd, and William Forsythe. Each actor brings their A-game, making even the smallest roles memorable.
Themes and Style
Crime and Redemption
At its core, ‘Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead’ is a story about crime and redemption. Jimmy the Saint is a man trying to do right in a world that keeps pulling him back into the darkness. It’s a theme that resonates, especially when accompanied by some truly poetic dialogue.
Visual Style
The film’s visual style is a blend of noir and ’90s grit. The use of shadows and lighting creates a mood that is both stylish and foreboding. The HD transfer only enhances this, making the film look better than ever.
Context: A 90s Crime Film Worth Rediscovering
The film sits in a particular niche of mid-90s crime dramas that includes Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, and Pulp Fiction — all films that combined stylish dialogue with morally complex characters. Where it distinguishes itself is in the melancholic undercurrent beneath the bravado. The script, written by Scott Rosenberg, gives each character a distinct vocabulary and rhythm. Jimmy’s crew each face their fate differently, and the film earns its emotional weight through these individual arcs rather than relying solely on shootouts. The 1995 theatrical release struggled commercially against Tarantino’s shadow, but home video built its cult following steadily over the decades.
The Art of the 90s Crime Ensemble
Scott Rosenberg’s Screenplay
Scott Rosenberg’s script for Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead deserves more recognition than it has received. The dialogue operates on multiple levels — surface-level wiseguy bravado masks deeper emotional currents that only become apparent on repeat viewings. Rosenberg created an entire argot for Jimmy’s world. Characters speak in coded language (“buckwheats,” “boat drinks”) that functions simultaneously as character development and world-building. This invented slang gives the film a texture that pure naturalistic dialogue could not achieve.
The screenplay’s structure follows a classic tragedy arc rather than the typical crime thriller formula. Jimmy is introduced at his lowest point (running a failing video business), elevated by the promise of one last job, then systematically destroyed by its failure. Each crew member’s subplot mirrors this arc at a compressed scale — they each receive a brief moment of hope followed by an extended, inevitable decline. This parallel structure creates a cumulative emotional weight that builds across the film’s runtime rather than peaking at a single dramatic moment.
Rosenberg went on to write Con Air and Gone in 60 Seconds, both of which demonstrate the same facility with ensemble character dynamics but in more commercially accessible frameworks. Comparing his work across these three films reveals a writer whose strengths — distinct character voices, darkly comic situations, and economical world-building — remain consistent regardless of the production’s scale or tone.
The Ensemble’s Individual Arcs
Christopher Lloyd as Pieces is one of the film’s most underrated performances. Lloyd, known primarily for comedic roles (Doc Brown in Back to the Future, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family), delivers a performance of genuine pathos as an aging criminal facing mortality. His scenes carry a quiet desperation that contrasts sharply with the brash confidence of younger characters, and his ultimate fate provides one of the film’s most emotionally resonant moments.
Steve Buscemi’s brief role as Mister Shhh provides the film’s darkest humor. As a hitman who insists on silence during his kills, Buscemi’s character embodies the absurdist extreme of the film’s criminal underworld. His scenes are played with deadpan precision, and his presence creates tension in every sequence because the audience understands what his appearance means for the other characters.
William Forsythe as Franchise provides the physical menace that balances the film’s intellectual and verbal conflicts. His confrontation scenes with Garcia carry genuine threat because Forsythe commits fully to the character’s rage and desperation. The contrast between Garcia’s contained, strategic performance and Forsythe’s volatile energy creates dynamic scenes that benefit from the actors’ commitment to opposing approaches.
Treat Williams as Critical Bill delivers one of the most unsettling supporting performances in 90s crime cinema. Bill’s unpredictability — his willingness to escalate any situation beyond what the plan requires — provides the catalyst for the job’s failure. Williams plays the role without seeking audience sympathy, creating a character who is genuinely dangerous rather than merely villainous.
Technical Analysis of the Blu-ray Transfer
Video Quality
The HD transfer was completed using a new scan of the original film negative, which means the image represents the closest to the theatrical presentation available on home video. The 1.85:1 aspect ratio is preserved without cropping, and the anamorphic enhancement ensures the image fills modern widescreen displays correctly.
Film grain is natural and well-resolved — the encoding bitrate is high enough to preserve grain texture without introducing digital noise reduction artifacts that smooth away detail. The mid-90s film stock used during production (Kodak Vision 500T 5279 for interiors, Vision 250D 5246 for exteriors) produces warm skin tones and deep shadow detail that the transfer captures faithfully. Denver’s urban locations look appropriately gritty without artificial digital sharpening.
Color timing appears consistent with the theatrical release. The interior scenes lean warm (amber and gold tones dominate), while exterior scenes carry cooler undertones that reflect Denver’s high-altitude light. Night scenes maintain shadow detail without crushing blacks, which is particularly important for the film’s climactic sequences that take place in dimly lit settings.
Audio Quality
The Dolby Atmos remix preserves the original stereo mix’s spatial relationships while expanding the soundscape to include height channels. The most noticeable improvement is in the music presentation — the film’s score now wraps around the viewer rather than emanating strictly from the front channels. Dialogue remains anchored in the center channel at all times, which is appropriate for a dialogue-driven film where intelligibility is paramount.
The low-frequency effects channel handles gunshots and impacts with controlled punch rather than exaggerated bass. This restraint suits the film’s tone — it’s not an action film that benefits from explosive LFE, but rather a character study that uses violence sparingly and with deliberate effect. The Atmos remix adds subtle environmental sounds (street noise, bar ambiance, rain) to the surround channels that weren’t present in the original stereo track, enhancing immersion without drawing attention to the added elements.
The Film’s Place in Crime Cinema History
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead occupies an interesting position in the canon of American crime films. Released in 1995, it arrived at the peak of the post-Pulp Fiction wave of crime dramas that studios greenlit hoping to capture Tarantino’s commercial magic. Films like The Usual Suspects, Get Shorty, and Heat also released that year, creating a remarkably competitive landscape for crime cinema.
Critics at the time were divided. Some praised the film’s ambition and performances while noting structural weaknesses. Others dismissed it as a Pulp Fiction imitator, a label that was reductive but commercially damaging. The film’s box office performance (approximately ten million dollars against a budget of roughly eight million) was sufficient to avoid outright financial failure but insufficient to establish a mainstream following.
The cult status that developed over the following decades vindicated the film’s ambitions. Home video audiences, freed from the marketing context of 1995’s release, recognized the film’s strengths — particularly the ensemble performances and Rosenberg’s dialogue — that theatrical marketing had failed to communicate. The Special Edition Blu-ray represents the culmination of this reassessment, presenting the film in the best technical quality available alongside supplementary materials that contextualize its production and reception.
Final Thoughts
‘Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead: Special Edition Blu-ray’ is a must-have for any fan of the film or the crime drama genre. The HD transfer and remastered audio bring new life to this cult classic, and the special features provide hours of additional entertainment. Whether you’re revisiting the film or watching it for the first time, this Blu-ray edition is sure to impress.
Grab your copy today and dive into the dark, gritty world of ‘Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead’! Buy Now**
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