Subway

It has been 40 years since Luc Besson's Subway hit the big screen. Now it is out for you to buy as a UHD + BD set. Subway is an important part of French cinema and cinéma du look in particular. The film is a work of cinematic beauty so it is great to see it restored and in 4K.

It is characterised by harsh, cold, fluorescent lighting that was the bane of public buildings before LED lighting became ubiquitous, and by the darkness of the tunnels and conduits connecting the stations of the Paris Metro. The juxtaposition of light and dark is well served by HDR. Music also plays a major part in the film. Éric Serra's varied and inventive soundtrack seems to have more presence. This is particularly true of Arthur Simms' vocals on the tracks It's Only Mystery and Guns And People.

Unfortunately I had no access to the preview copy of the Blu-ray disc which has the majority of the special features on it, so I can't comment on those. The one special feature on the UHD disc is The Making Of Subway. It is made up of well chosen footage from the film set and short, one on one, on-set interviews with cast and crew. It is put together with a sense of humour and enough artistry to make the hour or so documentary fun to watch.

The artwork on the box is not really in keeping with the look and feel of the film. The art on the cover, Christopher Lambert's Fred holding a fluorescent tube work light, doesn't really look like the character in the film. In the scene with the work light Lambert is clean shaven, he is pale with spiky hair bleached blond., whereas in the cover art he has dark stubble, his hair is wavy and dirty blond with roots showing. The lighting in the picture is ugly and quite far from what Besson was doing visually with the film.

Reviewed on: 23 Jun 2025