Hackers [Blu-ray]

To all those complaining about the audio. Get over it. If you think there will ever be another HD release of this movie in our lifetime you are kidding yourselves. This is an excellent cult classic cyberpunk movie from 1995 with a small but enthusiastic fanbase who are mostly in their 30's and 40's now. We are not a target demographic except for nostalgia repping and Shout! factory is one of the few companies who cater to that audience with decent transfers. This is probably your last, best shot at a hard copy in HD. 1. Video Those points aside, the 'transfer' to HD is about what I would expect from the mid 90's era. There is a good amount of grain on the film but it may have been on the original master. It adds a little bit of flair in my opinion to the grittiness of the film and it is noticeable and makes the film feel more like a bootleg than an HD copy. That does not detract from the film in my opinion as it reminds me of the Troma Films blu ray transfers. The film is letterboxed to its original aspect ratio on a 16:9 TV. 2. Audio It is 2 speakers and that's it. I switched the playback to do a faux 5.1 on the receiver and it sounded similar to the DVD if not identical. It is possible that Shout! Factory's claim that the original master was DTS 2.0 and that the DVD was just using a fake 5.1 track is legit. The audio was clear enough and there was not any noticeable bleed through in either 2.0 or fake 5.1. Those who were expecting a remix of the audio are going to be upset and probably should steer clear. 3. Special Features This is where the blu-ray really shines. Shout! Factory did an excellent job with the special features with a full length series of interviews that treat the film like the cult classic it is. They have wardrobe, visual effects, the Director and a few cast members. I thought this was going to be some 20 minute throwaway to push blu rays but it was an adult, serious take on the process of creating Hackers, the soundtrack, how the movie has influenced culture and the culture has influenced the movie, what real hacking was like during that era (2600 mag interviews), discussions about each of the other cast members, etc. I was really impressed with the production quality, depth and length of this feature. It was interesting and refreshing to hear a serious talk about one of my favorite films from those who participated in it. Bonus: The cover art can be flipped to have the original theatrical movie poster instead of the one shown in the screenshot. Much better IMHO and a nice surprise for those of us who didn't care for the change. Overall, normally I wait for blu-ray releases to drop in price to around $10 and this movie probably would not have been an exception but it's one of my favorite movies and I would not be surprised if this is a more limited release. If you are looking for a HD remaster or Criterion Collection style treatment like this was some sort of American classic you will need to wait (probably forever) but if you want an HD version of your favorite film with an excellent feature length special feature this is your ticket. Let's be honest, you are only reading this review because you already love the movie. Me too.

I remember buying this years ago, simply because I thought it was some cyberpunk film that would be fun to watch. Well, I was right: it's just a goofy, funny cyberpunk film that you can sit back and relax to. Given the film's subject matter, some people slammed the film because it wasn't an "accurate" representation of "real" hacking. Well of COURSE it isn't! Real hacking would be incredibly boring to see, watching these guys (and gal) sitting around typing line after line of code into a command prompt on a black background for several hours would've made for a terribly boring experience. Instead, viewers are treated to cheesy mid-90's 3D representations of hacking, which fit the tone and vibe of the film perfectly. The cast couldn't have been picked out any better, and they all have great chemistry together. Given that this film was indeed made in the early/mid 90's, when hacking was still viewed as this horrible thing that no one could comprehend, and home computers (and the internet!) were still far from being considered mainstream, the film maintains a creepy, underground atmosphere throughout, which is accompanied by some decent electronica music fitting for a cyperpunk crawl. The film has loads of nigh-unbearably cheesy 90's slang, especially some supposed hacker slang, and you'll constantly hear people say certain things and witness various things in the movie that'll make you feel old as hell, as if this film represented a distant long-lost relic of a human society long since forgotten. It's admittedly creepy, albeit in a good sort of way. There are quite a few inaccuracies in the film in regards to the tech used or how it's represented, which most geeks would easily see. There are various anachronisms and/or things that seemingly make no sense and thus require suspension of disbelief to accept, such as seeing the characters fawn over a 28.8k modem (which is then shown to somehow transfer data at the speed of light, complete with complex GUI which wasn't even available in that time period!) These sorts of things are so miniscule however, and I don't really count them as heavy flaws because the movie is obviously a comedy film geared towards geeks and/or people interested in computers. The plot is typical "underdogs against corrupt governments/corporation" cyperpunk affair, but it's not bad enough to make you lose interest. You also get the treat of seeing a younger Angelina Jolie, who you'll invariably be unable to stop staring at, what with her goth-cyber-punk hybrid style dress she adorns throughout the film. All in all, despite the age of the film and the inherent cheesiness of it, it's a great film to just sit back and chill to, even if you're an actual techie who understands a lot of the things that go over non-techies' heads. I viewed this once with some non-techie friends about a year or two back and we had a blast watching it. Give it a shot.

This movie was bind buy, didn't know anything about it, but thoroughly enjoyed it.

Has been one of my all time favorite movies since I saw it the first time in 1995 on a Blockbuster rental. Loved it then, loved the dub I made of it, loved it everything i rented it, and loved it when I bought it and will love the blu-ray and the special features that come with it. Saw it the first time just after I did film analysis class in film school and recognized it as a well made film; everything about it was good. Acting, script, casting of each character and even though it is not up to today's standards of what hacking is, it's a funny, well made film with good to excellent actors and all of them make up an ensemble that shines even today. I can't address the music or the other things but the characters are delightful. Cereal Killer was my instant favorite. I couldn't believe Angelina Jolie's lips (Acid Burn's). Each one of the hacker's had a different character so could play off the others without interferring with their acting or persona's. They were obviously having a good time. I wasn't a kid when I saw the film; I was probably 50+ and had had classes in film school. Since I'd been seeing films since my mom carried me to them in the womb, I am a film buff. I'm particular about what I see. This one made me laugh, caught and kept my attention all the way through.The characters were an ensemble, i've come to learn, and each was well cast, played off each other and were funny had good comic timing, and took direction well. The Plague was great as was God who would become Tony Soprano's therapist. One of those amazing films with breakthrough parts for actors like Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary) and Jolie.

If you want to see the 1990s culture at it's core, then this is the movie! The movie starts out with main character at age 11 was arrested and charged for crashing over 1,500 computer systems in a single day and causing a 7 point drop in the New York Stock Exchange. He was banned from using a computer until the age of 18. This film is based in New York City, and man how New York has changed over the years! The city is definitely a lot more safer and way less violent now than in 1995, but NYC was much more "alive" back then. The main character (nickname "zero cool") is transferred to a high school, being New to the city and being an awkward geek that he is, he must adjust to his new environment. This movie also stars a young and of course HOT Angelina Jolie... This movie has aged in certain areas, but it is still a rewatchable fun teen movie. Ever time I rewatch Hackers, I get all pumped up to do coding "which is my current studying goal."

I just received Hackers on Blu-ray only to find it lacks the 5.1 audio track that the DVD has. To make it more confusing the outside of the blu-ray states DTS-HD MA 2.0 while the inside of the cover states DTS-HD MA 5.1. I quickly checked the disc and there is only 1 audio track, DTS-HD MA 2.0. This feels like a downgrade! I also feel like I got ripped off! I will update this review after watching the BD and hopefully the video quality makes up for the lost channels in audio. Update(8/20/15): Changed 1 to 5 stars. Just watched the entire movie and special features to include the trailer. As it turns out, the film was never released in theaters with more than stereo sound (DTS stereo is in the trailer). Now onto the Blu-ray quality. Audio: My initial concerns about the 2.0 soundtrack were rightly placed. I must say that some of the surround effects that I remembered from the DVD release are gone, such as the plane flying from rear to front channels in the opening scenes when Dade flies to NY. However, the audio is crystal clear and depending on the receiver and sound field selected, can result in nice surround sound. On my Denon with Polk speaker 7.1, it sounded great lots of audio from all speakers. On my larger Onkyo and Klipsch 5.1 system, the surround effects were mostly gone, but even lacking DTSHD support, the sound was superb. All the oddities from the DVD audio were there, such as when Kate switches to a british based accent while Dade is checking out her laptop. There did lack the sub track, which would have been nice given the soundtrack, but with larger speakers it wasn't as bad. Overall, now that I know the original film lacked a 5.1 soundtrack, I am pleased with the audio. Video: This is a 1080p transfer. The quality is up there with many other older movies transferred to Blu-ray. That is to say, it looked great. There are many scenes that I remember the DVD version looking flat or washed out and they are still there in the BD release. At least the resolution and clarity are greatly improved over the DVD. Overall: If you are a fan of the movie, buy the Blu-ray! Comments about the movie itself: Many say it is cheesy. I guess they are referring to the skateboarding computer security officer and his plot line or the graphics of what the movie computers look like. If that is the case, then yes the movie is cheesy... but... So many of the scenes are truer to life in the 90s than some might realize. Many aspects of this movie were spot on in the 90s and still still accurate today. In some cases, this movie predicted the future. Just buy, you'll love it.

Great upgrade over the dvd!

Watched the movie last night...there were no glitches or problems. The item was used, but did not have any scratches. I would purchase from this seller again.

Edicion de alemania de un clasico tan solo editado en españa en dvd. buena imagen (aunque con algun leve destello de suciedad en alguna secuencia (de ahi que no le ponga las 5 estrellas) sonido en aleman 2.0 e ingles 5.1 bueno y sobresaliendo la excelente banda sonora. subtitulos en aleman, aleman para sordos e ingles. contiene extras. uno de ellos un documental sobre la pelicula de 1 hora de duracion. Recomendada

I love this movie and this is such a great transfer. Notice tonnes of details in the movie I hadn't before and I've seen this movie ALOT. sucks having to import 4k's into Australia, but amazon makes it relatively easy for must have movies, bonus disc is wrong region for Australia so you will be sitting there wondering if your BLT drive went AWOL. So time to get off the phone to Venezuela, grab some fries and sip on your jolt cola and relive the 90's with the best sound track ever made. I guess I could have just said, it's Elite.

Llego en excelentes condiciones todo muy bien siempre con Amazon

Review is for the UHD 4k release from 88 Films. I am thoroughly impressed with the picture quality and sound for this release. This is a new transfer from the original camera negative and it shows. The grain and detail is fantastic and just to add a cherry on top this also has an excellent soundtrack. There are also plenty of extras on offer as well as a Blu-ray disk copy of the movie. The packaging is also of excellent quality and also the extra goodies included. Another fantastic physical media release from 88 films. Well worth the upgrade from my old bluray

Très bien bon film