Overview: In 1973, novelist-turned-filmmaker Michael Crichton made his directorial debut with Westworld, a groundbreaking fusion of science fiction and action-thriller that would prove decades ahead of its time, laying the groundwork for his later hit Jurassic Park and changing the face of sci-fi.

Welcome to Delos, the futuristic resort where, for $1,000 a day, wealthy vacationers can live out their wildest fantasies in hyper-realistic theme parks. In the Old West zone, friends Peter (Richard Benjamin) and John (James Brolin) saddle up for adventure, unaware that their dream holiday is about to turn into a nightmare. When a malfunction sends the park’s android hosts off script, the Gunslinger (Yul Brynner, in his iconic black-clad role) begins a relentless pursuit, obliterating the line between simulation and survival.

Slick, suspenseful, and eerily prescient, Westworld combines a gripping man-versus-machine chase with thought-provoking questions about technology, control, and the price of playing God. Packed with atmosphere and memorable performances, this cult classic remains a landmark in genre cinema - a high-tech nightmare that never loses its bite.

4K Blu-ray Verdict: It is important to note the context that this is viewed and reviewed after watching the highly popular TV series which goes by the same name. So some of the observations (maybe most) could be comparative in nature. The simplistic approach at times exploitative of the premise is what works the best - there is some genuine fun to be had. However it was far too ambitious and ahead of its times and doesn’t seem to have aged too well especially the technology part - for that matter it is the same case even with the recent TV series.

Delos Westworld is a futuristic theme park accessible via an hovercraft consisting of 3 worlds - Lawless Western, Roman and Medieval. It provides a real escape vacation to its visitors to have a time of their lives without fear of consequences. All the worlds are populated with sophisticated robots that look, talk and behave like humans where each are programmed a character and a narrative - but one rule abides them all - never harm a guest. The supervisor at the park’s service facility starts to observe an increasing trend of malfunctioning robots leading to unprogrammed behavior by the hosts.

Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) is visiting the theme park for the first time with his buddy John Blane (James Brolin) who has been there before. When a gunslinger (Yul Brynner) teases Peter at a saloon and eggs him on for a duel, after initial reluctance Peter draws his gun and kills the gunslinger. This ice breaker works well for Peter who starts to have fun along with James going from one adventure to another including another slaying of the gunslinger. When the robots unprogrammed behavior continues to rise, the management decides to stop further guests from coming in and plans to deal with it. Can it be contained or will it spiral out of control?

The theme park expanding to other genre worlds like medieval and Roman is exciting to watch even while the primary focus still remains in the Westworld. Michael Crichton was one of the most acclaimed science fiction writers of this generation but not known for his subtlety, he takes this to whole new level by helming the director’s seat for this one. His trademark mix of mainstream action and highly researched science fiction is highly evident and works again here. The production values has to be appreciated, it looks grand and adequate by all means when watching the movie but when you think back on the scale - more is shown than spent. The leads Richard Benjamin and James Brolin seems to be having the time of their lives with breezy performances while the eternal foreigner Yul Brynner does a menacing villain with his trademark bald head, walk and accent.

What starts off as a fun adventure quickly turns into a slasher movie (scenario is setup right from the beginning though) but competently held together by a masterful performance by Yul Brynner. It is interesting to watch which at times makes you wonder the wishful thinking towards AI during the 70’s itself (not to forget the HAL9000 of the 60’s). What sets it apart from the TV series especially for me is there are no dreaming, feeling or hallucinating robots here - that just came off as plain silly to me. [E.W.]

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
Brand new 4K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original restored lossless 4-channel stereo, 2.0 stereo, and 1.0 mono audio options
Optional remixed 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary by filmmaker and film historian Daniel Kremer Cowboy Dreams, a newly filmed conversation between actor Richard Benjamin and producer/screenwriter Larry Karaszewski
At Home on the Range, a brand new video interview with actor James Brolin HollyWorld: Producing Westworld, a brand new video interview with producer Paul N. Lazarus III
Sex, Death and Androids, a brand new appreciation of the film by author and film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
On Location with Westworld, an archival behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film from 1973
Beyond Westworld, the 48-minute pilot episode of the 1980 follow-up television series
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Arik Roper
Collectors’ perfect bound booklet featuring new writing on the film by David Michael Brown, Priscilla Page, Paul Anthony Nelson, and Abbey Bender
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Arik Roper
Six postcard-sized artcards

Official Purchase Link

www.arrowvideo.com