Carrie – Arrow Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1976
Director: Brian De Palma
Writer: Lawrence D. Cohen
Cast: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, P.J. Soles

Release Date: January 22nd, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 98 Minutes 2 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £34.99 (UK)

"In 1974, Stephen King published his first novel, the story of Carrie White, a troubled young girl, bullied by her peers and daughter to a fanatical fundamentalist mother, who discovers she has telekinetic powers. In 1976, it became the first of his works to be adapted for the big screen and, to this day, remains one of the very best." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “The original camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution and the film was restored in 4K and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision."

Carrie comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 88.5 GB

Feature: 70.2 GB

This release uses the same source that Shout! Factory used for their 4K UHD. Here’s what I wrote about Shout! Factory’s 4K UHD: “This source used for this transfer looks immaculate. Colors are nicely saturated and at times vivid; flesh tones look healthy; contrast, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid; and the image retains an organic look.” As great as Shout! Factory’s 4K UHD Arrow Video once again edges them out with a superior encode.

Audio: 5/5 (LPCM Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with two audio options, an LPCM mono mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Both audio mixes are in great shape. They sound clear and balanced; dialog always comes through clearly; ambient sounds are well-presented; and the score sounds robust. The DTS-HD 5.1 track does a great job expanding the original mono source. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (46 images - stills/poster), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), five T.V. spots (3 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), two radio spots (1 minute 29 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Carrie trailer reel (trailers for other Carrie films adaptations and sequels), alternate TV opening (3 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a video essay that compares the various versions and adaptations of Carrie across the years by Jonathan Bygraves titled Comparing Carrie (20 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival locations featurette titled Horror’s Hallowed Ground (11 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with composer Pino Donaggio titled Bucket of Blood (23 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with casting director Harriet B. Helberg titled Casting Carrie (16 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with editor Paul Hirsch titled Cutting Carrie (25 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director of photography Mario Tosi titled Shooting Carrie (15 minutes 22 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with screenwriter Lawrence Cohen titled Writing Carrie (29 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Carrie the Musical (6 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Visualizing Carrie (41 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Acting Carrie (42 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled More Acting Carrie (42 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Lee Gambin, author of Nope, Nothing Wrong Here: The Making of Cujo, and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of Cultographies: Ms. 45 and Devil's Advocates: Suspiria, six double-sided collector's postcards, a fold-out double-sided poster, a slipcover, and a 40-page perfect bound book with cast & crew information, an essay titled Brian De Palma’s Coming-of-Age written by Neil Mitchell, Introduction Carrie: The Final Girls Zine, an essay titled We’ll Always Have Carrie written by Michael Blyth, an essay titled They’re Going to Laugh at You written by Sophie Brown, an essay titled Blood, Sweaters and Tears written by Catherine Bray, an essay titled The Woman That Remains written by Chiara Maranon, an archive interview with Brian De Palma titled Phantoms and Fantasies by Alexander Stuart, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Carrie was adapted from the debut novel by Stephen King, an author whose name has since become synonymous with horror literature. Carrie is also widely considered the film that put Brian De Palma on the map as one of the prominent directors of his generation. And when it comes to its place in the lexicon of horror cinema, its influence is undeniable. Needless to say, there is no denying Carrie’s cultural impact.

Like many adaptations, the film differs greatly from the novel. The majority of the differences were made for cinematic reasons. Finding such a balance between these two worlds is an essential ingredient in every adaptation. More importantly, the differences are not at the expense of the final product.

From a production standpoint, Carrie is a film where everything perfectly falls into place. The narration is well constructed, and pacing is never an issue. The characters are well defined, and their motivations are crystal clear as each new revelation and moment of shock is given ample time to fully resonate! And Pino Donaggio’s outstanding score does a superb job maintaining the mood.

Visually, Carrie is another area where this film sets itself apart from the majority of its contemporaries. The cinematographer for Carrie was Mario Tosi, whose other notable films include The Glory Stompers, Some Call It Loving, and The Stunt Man. The scenes where Carrie unleashes her rage on her classmates at the prom and Carrie’s mother’s death scene are the most memorable.

Performance-wise, the entire cast is excellent in their respective roles. with the standout performance coming from Piper Laurie (The Hustler) in the role of Carrie’s mother. She delivers a manic performance that is utterly convincing. Another performance of note is Sissy Spacek (Badlands) in the role of Carrie. Other notable cast members include Amy Irving (The Fury), William Katt (House), John Travolta (Blow Out), Nancy Allen (Dressed to Kill), Betty Buckley (Frantic), and P.J. Soles (Halloween). 

Though there have been attempts to remake Carrie and one sequel, none of these films come close to Brian De Palma’s Carrie. Ultimately, Carrie is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking that stands out as one of the best Stephen King adaptations.

Carrie gets a definitive release from Arrow Video, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer