You couldn’t make a film like this today. Joel Schumacher’s (Flatliners) dark and comedic rage-against-the-machine thriller, Falling Down, is truly a ballsy product of its time — the loud, colorful 1990s. Boasting a terrific against-type performance from Michael Douglas (Basic Instinct; Wall Street), the Taxi Driver-inspired film follows a middle-class, middle-aged, white man who, in the words of Peter Finch from 1976’s Network, is “mad as hell … and [is] not going to take this anymore.” In the modern, divisive, social media-fueled age of the 2020s, this film would probably not fly so easily. The film would, at worst, probably be unfairly compared to Uwe Boll’s recently, critically panned Citizen Vigilante or, at mid, be disregarded as tone-deaf or, at best, be regarded as being in on its own sick, ignorant joke. Such a what-if conundrum is why this controversial and unforgettable ride of existential revenge is getting a much-deserved restoration courtesy of Arrow Video. This film, even within its own unabashed prejudices, has more than meets the eye and stands as relevant as ever in the age of societal division.
Falling Down follows a disgruntled, arms defense worker (Michael Douglas), who we mainly know as “D-Fens” thanks to his cleverly titled license plate, who abandons his car in a noisy L.A. traffic jam and defiantly proclaims to anyone who gets in his way that he’s “going home”. But, the journey home is not as simple as we would think. As D-Fens embarks on a violent rampage through things that grind his gears — rude Korean storeowners, menacing Mexican gang-members (we seeing a trend here?), panhandlers, fast food workers, rich surgeons — a good-natured police sergeant (Robert Duvall) on his last day of duty sees a growing pattern in the repeated assaults and aims to learn this man’s true identity.
In a featurette exclusive to this release, Man on the Edge screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith mentions how Michael Douglas’s performance and demeanor of D-Fens elevated the character beyond the page. There is no truer statement; Michael Douglas, usually known for playing the stoic, masculine type around this time, nails the straightlaced-square-turned-dangerously-crazy role to precision. As we witness D-Fens’s dark evolution from aggravated middle-class worker to deranged domestic terrorist, Douglas relentlessly keeps the audience mesmerized with a revelatory performance that easily should be considered as one of his best. On the flip side of sanity, Robert Duvall (The Godfather) gives a terrific understated performance as Sergeant Prendergast, a man who is also “giving up” albeit in a dignified, respected way. Duvall brings a warm depth to this character, bringing a charming smile and a humble-yet-dignified presence. It’s a performance that creeps up on you. It’s Prendergast’s last day on duty, choosing to give up the badge due to recent loss and to hold on to any sanity (and love) he has left with his anxious, grief-ridden wife, Amanda. As a sidenote, Amanda (who is nicely performed by Tuesday Weld) is badly written as a character — her outbursts towards Prendergast are wildly uneven and, while her sadness may serve as a justification for Prendergast’s persistence to give up the job, there could have been more care taken into the construction of her character. As he prepares to exit out of his job quietly, he deals with negative reception from his loyal partner, Sandra Torres (Rachel Ticotin), and a nagging itch to figure out the true identity of this “D-Fens” character.
FALLING DOWN packshot. Photo courtesy of Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group.
There is a terrific contrast of characterization between D-Fens and Prendergast, highlighted even within the film’s opening 30 minutes. As D-Fens gets out of his car in the midst of stopped L.A. traffic, we see a man who is suffocated by the madness of this sweltering hot day. He is driven insane by the constant honking interspersed with loud voices of L.A. natives. Minutes later, we see Prendergast also frustrated as he sits in the same traffic but … he smiles. He defiantly smiles in the madness of it all. With Prendergast, we have a man who still manages to take it easy, even in terms of chaos; with D-Fens, we have a man choosing to no longer taking it easy. This is one of the strongest (and believable) examples of villain-vs-hero characterization ever depicted in a thriller.
Recalling the great featurette with screenwriter Smith, Falling Down came from a script that was initially much darker (if one can believe it). Joel Schumacher — known both for hits (A Time to Kill; The Lost Boys) and so-bad-it’s-good classics (Batman & Robin; The Number 23) — was the perfect director to bring this loud, rebel piece of messy art to life. The trajectory of D-Fens’s, misdeeds, going from racist to ballsy to partially justified to dark fun, is a product of Schumacher’s ability to turn dark stories into unforgettable pulse-pounding thrill rides (see: Phone Booth). There is a self-awareness to Ebbe Roe Smith’s (Car 54, Where Are You?) script as D-Fens’s rampage-against-the-world is not met without putting a mirror up to its main character’s unhinged psyche. In a key unnerving scene, D-Fens crosses paths with a homophobic military surplus store owner (played by a terrifying, jittery Frederic Forrest) who is a covert Neo-Nazi. The owner confronts D-Fens and proclaims he is just like him, leaving D-Fens beside himself with disgust at the thought of such a thing. Making a wink towards the character’s internal prejudice, indulging in his personal rampage while refusing to let him off the hook, is part of what makes this controversial film so unforgettable.
This release from Arrow Video carries a hefty amount of supplemental features in addition to a great 4K restoration. The baking hot sun of L.A. hits hard and the sweltering tension of D-Fens’s slow descent is felt with each frame in this limited-edition release. The featurettes themselves range from an archival interview with Douglas, himself, to a featurette revisiting the location used in the film to a booklet featuring writing from film critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Simon Ward. This film is no doubt a must-buy for any fans of the loud ‘90s and controversial, dark, comic cinema.
Falling Down Blu-ray Special Features:
- *NEW* Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films approved by cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- *NEW* Restored original lossless stereo 2.0 and DTS-HD MA 4.0 surround audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Archival audio commentary by director Joel Schumacher, editor Paul Hirsch, screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith, LA Times writer Shawn Hubler, and actors Michael Douglas, Michael Paul Chan, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Frederic Forrest
- *NEW* Man on the Edge, a brand new interview with screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith
- *NEW* At War with the World, a brand new interview with composer James Newton Howard
- *NEW* Going Home, a brand new location featurette revisiting the real-life Los Angeles sites used in Falling Down
- Deconstructing D-Fens, an archival interview with Michael Douglas
- Original trailer
- Image gallery
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by film critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Simon Ward
Available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray July 21st, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Arrow Video Falling Down webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Falling Down webpage.
Share this:
Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
Leave a Reply