{"id":51243,"date":"2026-01-05T15:00:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=51243"},"modified":"2026-01-06T17:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:33:22","slug":"under-siege-1992","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/05\/under-siege-1992\/","title":{"rendered":"Under Siege [1992] [Arrow Video 4K UHD & Blu-Ray]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A Navy cook has to take down terrorists when his battleship is hijacked in Andrew Davis\u2019s crackerjack 1992 action film, Under Siege: now on a new 4k UHD and Blu-Ray from Arrow Video.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not the biggest action film fan; that\u2019s more Emilie\u2019s purview. That\u2019s on me, as much as I could watch some nameless slasher tear out the hearts of teenagers, burly guys fighting their way through a trouble situation is often a big hump to get over. We like what we like, so it\u2019s cool. However, I am unabashedly a fan of the \u201cDie Hard on a Blank\u201d sub-genre. Directed by Andrew Davis, Under Siege, as \u201cDie Hard on a Navy Ship,\u201d is a lot of fun with great action, wild performances by our villains, clever use of the location, loads of tension, and is all around a solid popcorn action flick. This is my first time watching the J. F. Lawton-penned film, and I liked it so much I\u2019m tempted to go out and watch Die Hard on a Train, aka Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

The particulars to set up the action: the USS Missouri (of WWII treaty fame) is about to be decommissioned, but still has a decent complement of weapons. Under the guise of caterers, Tommy Lee Jones and crew take over the ship with the help of inside man Gary Busey. With the crew locked away or dead, the bad guys attempt to acquire some of those weapons, cause destruction, and become the ultimate sort of villains. Seagal, locked in a fridge at the time of the attack, teams up with left-behind \u201cMiss July \u201889\u201d Erika Eleniak and other sailors to take down the terrorists and win the day. It all plays out as expected, but with zest and energy. It\u2019s a fun sort of popcorn entertainment in the best way.\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very fun back and forth as Segal and crew get larger, and Jones\u2019s is diminished thanks to the cook\u2019s actions. With the Navy ship (fun fact: I was in the Navy; fully on land though), Davis works with a tight, unique location to gain some great sequences. I appreciate the matter-of-fact method of shooting the action. It never feels showy, just as it is, letting it stand for itself. I appreciate not going overly choerogeraphed and keeping just ridiculous enough to keep it going. It\u2019s a tempered insanity, giving it an interesting quality. Davis would use this same steadiness to make his next film, The Fugitive, to a bigger effect with highly controlled thrillers.\u00a0 While Davis\u2019s career has been shaky, I appreciate the workman quality. Young adult flick Holes remains his best, but Under Siege is close.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones is having a blast trying to out crazy Busey. But no one out crazy\u2019s Busey, so of course, Busey\u2019s gotta up it another level. Seagal has never been a good actor, but Davis knows how to use him well in Above the Law, four years before (that movie is\u2026 iffy, but it\u2019s one of Seagal\u2019s better efforts). Per the features, Davis might have been chosen to help temper the increasingly egotistical Seagal. It works. But he\u2019s not taxed in trying to have a character or arc, just gotta do his job and take down the villains. Keep it simple, and it works. I found Erika Eleniak surprisingly good; she had a nice charm. Unfortunately, since she’s opposite Seagal, the energy she’s giving isn’t quite given back in response, but it hits the audience (and for the 13-year-old young man in all of us, she does have a topless scene). I always love to see Colm Meaney and Bernie Casey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under Siege is one of the better Die Hard clones, with well-done action beats that build up well in J.F. Lawton\u2019s script, scenery-chewing villains, and good uses of the unique setting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Package<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arrow Video offers Under Siege in either 4k UHD or Blu-Ray options; each containing a single disc of the format in the standard plastic case. It has a reversible sleeve, one side with the Seagal heavy poster, the other with the ship-heavy poster. It contains a booklet as well. All are packaged with a slipcover featuring the more well-known Seagal poster.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Presentation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The video is via a new 4k scan from the original 35mm, approved by Andrew Davis. A great look, servicing the location and its look well. With a tightly controlled depth to the visuals, in busy locations one can see the fine detail, and nothing is lost. Even in the darker scenes, in and around water, the fidelity is kept. The audio is available in original stereo and new Dolby Atmos. The subtitles are English SDH<\/span><\/p>\n

The Features<\/strong>. All features, save the trailer, are new to this release. The previous Blu-ray of the early days of the format only had the trailer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Commentary\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Director Andrew Davis and writer J.F. Lawton provide a very informative commentary. I always love to hear how a film shifted and changed from page to screen, based on what\u2019s needed, what\u2019s available, and the powers that be. That\u2019s how Under Siege floated. Interesting how they talked around Seagal\u2019s ego. But it\u2019s a good track of two industry workmen on the ins and outs of making a mid-budget, but well-done thriller action film. However, they are a little soft spoken and quiet down for long periods of time, a little droning in voice, blending into the soundscape of the film.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m On a Boat (With a Bomb!)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This interview with Andrew Davis continues the thoughts of the commentary, focusing in further detail on some fronts. Here, Davis is a little more open about working with the increasingly controlling Seagal (interesting to see across the features people talking around it a bit). As it was above, it was cool hearing about the travails and details of shooting on a real ship – the USS Alabama.\u00a0<\/span>(19m)<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the Guys<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Erika Eleniak talks about her career up ot and after Under Siege and working on a very guy-heavy cast and crew. She\u2019s fun and funny, and like in the movie, incredibly charming. (14m)<\/span><\/p>\n

A Tight Ship<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Character actor Damian Chapa talks about the movie, working with Seagal (see other notes), and his career. I like seeing the small part actor\u2019s point of view of a big set with lots of moving pieces.\u00a0 (19m)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Intravision Files<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you have the recent Outland<\/a> release, this is not the same feature, despite the same title. It\u2019s more of Will Mesa of Intravision talking about how this company’s very specific way of creating movie magic worked, especially on Under Siege. It\u2019s kinda a sequel to that feature, as we\u2019re picking up the process a decade after Outland. I love seeing the seamless use of various effects by background and foreground, set and still melding and others. Fascinating, and honestly, the effects used in this way absolutely get me. As it was on Outland, I can listen to Mesa talk (and show via archive footage) about the process all day. (31m)<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under Siege is a fine, fun, popcorn action flick in the Die Hard mold. One of the best of its kind. After a history of lacking releases of the title, Arrow gives the Andrew Davis-directed 1992 film its due with a great transfer, a commentary, and some nice interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.\u00a0 But admit it, you\u2019re just here for Gary Busey in drag\u2026 in FOUR K!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Navy cook has to take down terrorists when his battleship is hijacked in Andrew Davis\u2019s crackerjack 1992 action film, Under Siege: now on a new 4k UHD and Blu-Ray from Arrow Video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,12],"tags":[58],"class_list":["post-51243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collectors-den","category-movie-reviews","tag-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51243"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51271,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51243\/revisions\/51271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}