After the TV series ER made him famous, it still took George Clooney a while to become a true movie star. Most of his early efforts weren’t very good, but he finally made a terrific movie in 1998, one that appeared destined to grant George some leading man cachet at last: Out of Sight.

This one had everything going for it: strong acting, sharp directing, and a terrific script. Universal released Out of Sight at an unusual time: the middle of June, a point at which teen-oriented action films dominate the schedule.

Clearly they attempted counter-programming of the sort that boosted films like Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan over the top. Release an “adult” film when everything else is for kids, and the grownups flock to it because they have nowhere else to go.

I guess the adults must have found other diversions because very few of them headed to see Out of Sight. After a fairly brief run in theaters, the film wound up with a total US gross of about $37 million. Even in 1998, that was pretty weak.

Admittedly, no one thought Out of Sight would do Armageddon-type business, so it's not like $37 million was a complete failure. However, considering the strength of the film, it should have done better.

In addition to being witty, clever, and well-realized, Out of Sight has two things going for it that are almost impossible to find in movies: subtlety and real sex appeal.

Career criminal Jack Foley (Clooney) attempts to go straight, but he can’t handle “normal life”. Inevitably, Foley winds up back in prison, but he stages an escape along with some partners.

When Jack and pal/driver Buddy (Ving Rhames) encounter US Marshal Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez), they take her captive. This leads to a complicated relationship in which Sisco tries to track Jack and the other escapees, all while she and Jack fall for each other.

Whether a filmmaker is a critic's darling like Barry Levinson or a so-called pandermeister like Michael Bay, many directors have one thing in common: they tend to really hammer home their ideas and points. You're not leaving that theater until they've repeatedly pummeled you with their themes.

That doesn’t become the case with the work Steven Soderbergh does in Out of Sight. He paints with a much defter stroke than the usual splatters on the canvas.

For example, throughout the film we witness how difficult it can be for a woman to make it in a man's world, as demonstrated by the experiences of Karen Sisco. While many films would shout this idea at you and make it the focus of the film, it's not that way here, as it actually takes repeated viewings for the concept to really seep through and make an impact.

One positive aspect of the film that also seems subtle but won’t require additional viewings to be noticed stems from the strong chemistry between the leads. Clooney and Lopez really work well together.

It doesn't take plot devices for the audience to find their relationship believable. Again, all of that gets handled subtly, as even their one sex scene comes at us in a manner that feels fairly modestly and seemed almost old-fashioned.

So why didn't this movie make it at the box office? I think one strong reason stemmed from pathetic marketing.

Universal seemed uncertain of how to sell the film - thriller? comedy? action? romance? As such, the terrible US trailer succeeded only in making the movie look like a half-assed action flick with comedic overtones, like something Stallone would’ve done at the time.

Audiences didn't know what to make of it, and I guess positive word of mouth and good reviews couldn't overcome that. Thank God for home video, the format that offers renewed life for films that got lost in the box office shuffle. Out of Sight definitely deserved a better fate.

Out of Sight appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a satisfying transfer.

With one controversial element: color timing. Though the film always came with some strong tones, it appeared the movie got redone to favor Soderbergh’s 21st century preferences.

This meant a mix of teal, amber, orange and blue that turned more dominant than how the movie first looked. Within these choices, the hues looked fine, but I can’t claim I loved the revisionist timing.

Otherwise, the scan worked well, and overall sharpness looked good. Only minor softness appeared – excluding intentionally loose shots, of course – so most of the flick was concise and accurate.

Jagged edges and shimmering caused no concerns, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain seemed appropriate and print flaws failed to manifest.

Black levels looked nicely deep and rich, while shadow detail appeared clear and concise. Despite the changes in colors, I still felt pretty pleased with the presentation.

In addition, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Out of Sight offered a consistently solid auditory environment. Most of the time it featured a fairly strong forward bias.

The front channels showed good stereo presence for the music and also added a nice sense of atmosphere. Elements blended together cleanly and also panned convincingly. Most of the time the audio remained ambient, but it created a good sense of place.

Surround usage seemed modest but effective as well. More active scenes - mainly those that involved gunfire - came to life well, as the blasts flew all around the spectrum.

Quieter sequences such as the one in the trunk also demonstrated a fine sense of atmosphere. The soundfield won’t dazzle you, but it worked well as a whole.

Audio quality was positive. Speech sounded natural and distinct, with no problems related to intelligibility or edginess.

Music showed clean highs and reasonably good bass, while effects were also clear and bright, and they lacked noticeable distortion or other flaws. Again, the audio for Out of Sight didn’t stand out, but it accomplished its goals.

How did this 2022 Kino Blu-Ray compare with those of the Universal BD from 2011? Both came with apparently identical audio.

Visuals demonstrated stronger accuracy and clarity, but as noted, the 2022 BD also came with altered colors. Despite that, I still preferred the Kino disc.

Outside of two trailers for Out of Sight and one for The Underneath, this Kino Blu-ray provides the same extras as the Universal BD. These open with an audio commentary from director Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Frank.

Both sit together for this running, screen-specific track. It's quite easy-going and relaxed, with an atmosphere of two buddies getting together to watch and discuss their film.

It also provides an informative and relatively detailed overview of the creative processes behind the flick. We learn about changes between script and book, various technical processes, and quite a number of other elements. Overall, this is a very entertaining and useful commentary.

Next we discover Inside Out of Sight, a 25-minute, two-second documentary about the film. We hear from Soderbergh, Frank, novelist Elmore Leonard, and actors George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Albert Brooks, and Steve Zahn.

Though “Inside” lacks depth, it still packs some good info into its relatively brief running time. In addition to some goofing from the cast, we learn about a variety of issues, with a particular focus on the trunk scene, color schemes, and character development. Some of the material repeats from the audio commentary, but it remains a good little program.

11 Deleted Scenes run as a continuous piece that lasts 22 minutes, 14 seconds. The sequences themselves go from 52 seconds to six minutes, 11 seconds.

Referring to these as "deleted scenes" seems somewhat misleading, as most of them offer extensions of segments that appear in the final film. In addition, we have an alternate take of the trunk scene that receives mention in the audio commentary.

All in all, the extended scenes are interesting to watch. They include some good character information as well as some entertaining bits.

The disc also brings two trailers for Out of Sight.

While not Steven Soderbergh’s most celebrated movie, Out of Sight may well be his best. The movie offers strong characters whose interaction makes the flick a consistent delight, and it paints them in such a way to make them more complex and intriguing than usual. The Blu-ray delivers generally good picture and audio along with a few interesting supplements highlighted by a terrific commentary. Out of Sight remains a fine film and the Blu-ray represents it pretty well.