New Rose Hotel – Cinématographe (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1998
Director: Abel Ferrara
Writers: Abel Ferrara, Christ Zois
Cast: Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, Asia Argento, Annabella Sciorra, John Lurie, Yoshitaka Amano, Gretchen Mol, Victor Argo

Release Date: December 2nd, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 93 Minutes 17 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $49.98

"In the near future, Fox (Christopher Walken, King of New York) and X (Willem Dafoe, Light Sleeper) are industrial spies who are hired by corporations to bring sought-after employees to the highest bidder, leaving their current employers in the dust. When they are hired to help move Hiroshi (played by anime artist Yoshitaka Amano), a brilliant scientist, from a German company back to Japan, they enlist the help of a call girl named Sandii (Asia Argento, Boarding Gate) to seduce him. The actions of Fox, X, and Sandii result in a play of power, sex, and violence that takes them around the globe, not knowing who either can trust." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New 2K restoration from the best surviving elements."

New Rose Hotel comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray. 

Disc Size: 39.8 GB

Feature: 26 GB

The source is a marked improvement over this film’s previous home media releases. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression and digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English with removable English SDH. There are no issues with distortion or background hiss; dialogue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview with composer Schooly D tilted I Had to Be Cool (17 minutes 16 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), a video conference with actress Asia Argento titled Doing Your Homework (7 minutes 55 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Willem Dafoe titled Wild & Wooly (15 minutes 15 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay by film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas titled Checking Into the New Rose Hotel (10 minutes 56 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an introduction to the film by director Abel Ferrara (16 minutes 51 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with film critic Adrian Martin, a J-card MediaBook slipcase and a 40-page booklet with an essay titled Near Future: william Gibson, Abel Ferrara anf Two New Rose Hotels written by Justin LaLiberty, an essay titled You’ve Got Me Confused written by Nick Newman, and an essay titled An Economy of Perfotmative Presences written by Filipe Furtado.

Summary:

Abel Ferrara directed New Rose Hotel. He’s known for The Driller Killer, Ms. 45, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction, and The Funeral. New Rose Hotel is based on a William Gibson short story of the same name.

Two industrial spies hire a call girl to help them lure a genius scientist away from his employer and family.

Abel Ferrara is not a filmmaker whose films are always easily accessible, and after watching a few of his films, it will be clear if you click with his cinema. He’s a creative force whose singular vision never diverges from what he wants to do. That said, no matter what direction he decides to take, you can always count on him delivering something intriguing.

Set in a near-future dystopia, New Rose Hotel is more of a thriller than it is a science fiction film. Its neo-noir style aligns well with its cyberpunk origins, as both genres share several overlapping elements. These include moral ambiguity, darkly lit settings, and the presence of femme fatales.

While Abel Ferrara is a filmmaker with a clear vision, when it comes to his cast, he gives them a freedom to create, and they deliver exemplary performances that evaluate everyone around them. Cast in the roles of Fox and X, two industrial spies, are Christopher Walken (King of New York) and Willem Dafoe (The Last Temptation of Christ). These two actors are frequent collaborators of Abel Ferrara; New Rose Hotel would mark Christopher Walken’s third and final collaboration, while Willem Dafoe would work with him for the first of six collaborations. Rounding out the cast is Asia Argento (The Stendhal Syndrome), in the role of a call girl named Sandii. She gives one of her most compelling performances in the role of a femme fatale.

Although the narrative does a superb job holding your attention, it could have fleshed out some things better. The performances make any shortcomings a non-factor, and the 30 minutes do a solid job putting everything into focus. The unsung hero of New Rose Hotel is Schooly D’s score, which does an exemplary job reinforcing mood. Ultimately, New Rose Hotel is a film fans of Abel Ferrara will thoroughly enjoy, while those making their first foray into his filmography would be better served with films like King of New York or Bad Lieutenant.

Cinématographe gives New Rose Hotel an excellent release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras. Highly recommended.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer