35 years later the Young Guns aren’t so young anymore, but the new 4K UHD release captures their youth. It is still grainy like a classic western, also sweaty, sandy and grimy.
You can see how barren all the trees are when they filmed. There are good deep shadows in the barns and saloons, but especially around the campfire at night. You’ll see the gang’s silhouettes in the sun too. Bloody bullet wounds spray and gush bright red.
A surround sound mix brings shootouts right into your living room with gunshots and a lot of breaking glass. Crows also squack behind you, the wind whips and the score fills.
A new bonus feature features director Christopher Cain, writer John Fusco and cast members Lou Diamond Phillips, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko and Geoffrey Blake. It shows a snippet of James Horner’s score before they synthed it up. It also points out Tom Cruise’s cameo, but has nothing on the sequel.
Phillips, Mulroney and Siemaszko are on a commentary track from a previous release, but it’s more of a conversation that builds off each other. They talk about youthful acne problems, farts ruining takes and stories of Charlie Sheen debauchery.