Body Snatchers - Vinegar Syndrome (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1993
Director: Abel Ferrara
Writers: Raymond Cistheri, Larry Cohen, Stuart Gordon, Dennis Paoli, Nicholas St. John
Cast: Terry Kinney, Meg Tilly, Gabrielle Anwar, Reilly Murphy, Billy Wirth, Christine Elise, R. Lee Ermey, Kathleen Doyle, Forest Whitaker, G. Elvis Phillips

Release Date: July 20th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 87 Minutes 25 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $69.98

"Environmental Protection Agency officer Steve Malone (Terry Kinney, The Firm) travels to a US Army base in rural Alabama to investigate potentially toxic materials which have been causing curious symptoms amongst soldiers. His family — teenage daughter Marti (Gabrielle Anwar, Scent of a Woman), young son Andy (Reilly Murphy, Dangerous Game), and wife Carol (Meg Tilly, Psycho II) — go along for the ride and begin interacting with, and being threatened by, locals who are visibly unwell. As events unfold on and around the Army base, it becomes eerily apparent that increasing numbers of people are being replaced by alien replicants while they sleep." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

Body Snatchers comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61 GB

Feature: 60.2 GB

Although Warner Archive's 2016 Blu-ray release had a solid transfer, this new transfer still improves upon it. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always retains an organic appearance.

Body Snatchers comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.8 GB

Feature: 26.5 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Stereo English), 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Both tracks sound excellent; the dialogue always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. While the 5.1 track opens things up, I still prefer the stereo track. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with author and film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an image gallery (stills/posters), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer Joe Delia titled The Brass Ring (24 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with second unit director Phil Neilson titled Adults in the Room (12 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with editor Anthony Redman titled The First Cut is Mine (17 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Abel Ferrara titled Who Are the Good Guys? (13 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

Other extras include reversible cover art and a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (limited to 7,000 units) and a 40-page perfect-bound book (limited to 7,000 units) with an essay titled No One Like You Left on Meg Tilly and Body Snatchers written by Willow Catelyn Maclay, Who Are You: The Inescapable Alienation of Abel Ferrara’s Body Snatchers written by Glenn Kenny, and an essay titled Same as It Ever Was written by Elena Lazic.

Summary:

Abel Ferrara directed Body Snatchers. He’s known for The Driller Killer, Ms. 45, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction, and The Funeral.

A teenage girl whose family is living on a military base discovers alien clones are replacing humans.

Jack Finney’s The Body Snatchers premise is something that most are aware of, even if they have not seen any of the four film adaptations. While most of the elements from Jack Finney’s novel remain in the film adaptations, the first three have bleaker endings than the novel’s optimistic ending. Beyond their similarities, it is the things that are unique to each adaptation why they hold up as well as they do.

Body Snatchers went through several rewrites. The initial screenplay was written by Larry Cohen, then Stuart Gordon and Dennis Paoli, with the intention of the former directing it. When Body Snatchers came around to Abel Ferrara, he had a frequent collaborator, Nicholas St John, refashion the screenplay to suit his filmmaking style. That said, the changes made by Abel Ferrara and Nicholas St John make it a far more interesting film than what was proposed in earlier drafts.

Paranoia is central to all adaptations of The Body Snatchers, and Abel Ferrara does a remarkable job conveying characters' experiencing psychosis. Another theme at the forefront is conformity, and Abel Ferrara drives it home by showing how much the military and aliens overlap. That said, while Abel Ferrara injects some social commentary, his adaptation is not as overtly political as earlier film adaptations were.

Although none of the performances really stand out, the strongest one is Gabrielle Anwar (For Love or Money) in the role of Marti Malone. The narrative is told from her character's perspective, and she provides a voice-over narration that further fleshes things out. Another performance of note is Forest Whitaker (Fast Times at Ridgmont High), who portrays a medical officer that refuses to go to sleep and is replaced by the alien clones.

Besides not performing well financially, working within the rigid studio framework did not suit Abel Ferrara’s instincts as a filmmaker. That said, when it comes to creating tense moments and delivering an eerie atmosphere, he delivered in spades. The special effects, especially moments where characters are being taken over and replaced, are very effective. Ultimately, Body Snatchers' positives far outweigh its negatives, making it a solid companion film to Invasion of the Body Snatchers' 1956 and 1978 adaptations.

Body Snatchers gets an excellent release from Vinegar Syndrome that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras. 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 MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer

Barbed Wire Dolls – Delirium Home Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Switzerland, 1976
Director: Jesús Franco
Writers: Connie Grau, Christine Lembach, Jesús Franco
Cast: Lina Romay, Paul Muller, Monica Swinn, Roger Darton, Ronald Weiss, Martine Stedil, Eric Falk, Peggy Markoff, Beni Cardoso, Jesús Franco

Release Date: July 20th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 81 Minutes 2 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Mono German, DTS-HD 5.1 German
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $41.98

"One of notorious Eurosleaze auteur Jess Franco and producer Erwin C. Dietrich's most shocking films,1976's Barbed Wire Dolls is the ultimate unholy “Women-in-Prison” exploitation opus. In it, Franco favorite and lifelong muse Lina Romay (Doriana Gray, Rolls Royce Baby) stars as the wide-eyed Maria, an unfortunate young woman who kills her father (played by Franco in a delirious flashback sequence) in self defense after he attempts to rape her. She is tried, sentenced and shipped off to what is perhaps the grisliest, greasiest and most depraved women’s penitentiary in screen history where, at the hands, fingers and fists of psychotic lesbian warden Monica Swinn (The Duke of Burgundy, Female Vampire), she and her fellow inmates are subjected to an endless onslaught of perverse psychological and sexual abuse. to God begging for salvation, but the powers that be have other hideous plans in store for her..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Barbed Wire Dolls comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 36.2 GB

Feature: 26 GB

Outside of some very minor print debris, the bulk of the transfer looks excellent. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Audio: 1/5 (DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono German), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD 5.1 German)

This release comes with four audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, a DTS-HD mono mix in German, and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in German. The 5.1 tracks sound noticeably fuller, while the mono tracks sound muffled and not balanced properly. Included are removable English SDH for the English-language tracks.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (stills/advertisements/posters), the official trailer (57 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a German theatrical trailer (2 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono German, no English subtitles), a featurette about Jess Franco’s women in prison films titled Sisters in the Slammer (11 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio conversation about the cinema of Jess Franco with Chris Alexander and filmmaker Peter Strickland (24 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with producer Erwin C. Dietrich, director Jess Franco, and actress Lina Romay (12 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German, English, and French with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Delirium magazine columnist Dennis Daniel, trailers for Dorianna Grey, Love Camp, Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun, Satanic Sisters, Rolls Royce Baby, and The Amorous Sisters, and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 2,000 units).

Summary:

Barbed Wire Dolls was one of eighteen films that Jess Franco made with producer Erwin Dietrich over a three-year period. Their collaboration began with Downtown and ended with Girls After Midnight.

When a woman murders her rapist father, she’s sent to a notorious prison that employs controversial psychiatric treatment.

Sadism and erotica are two elements that Jess Franco would often employ in his films. Although he mostly made films, they primarily fall into three categories: erotica, horror, or a combination of both. The women-in-prison film is a genre that perfectly aligns with his two obsessions: sadism and erotica. Barbed Wire Dolls was the first of four women-in-prison films Jess Franco made for producer Erwin C. Dietrich. That said, Barbed Wire Dolls is arguably one of Jess Franco’s best women-in-prison films.

Jess Franco is a filmmaker who relies more on mood than spoken words, which makes Barbed Wire Dolls' abundance of exposition all the more surprising. Although many of the characters are caricatures, notably the monocle-wearing warden who parades around in short shorts while carrying a whip, some characters like Maria and Dr. Moore have depth. In the case of the former, her crime is killing her rapist father, while the latter is impersonating a deceased doctor to hide his true identity. Both of their pasts help drive the narrative that unfolds.

The cast is anchored by two frequent Jess Franco collaborators, Lina Romay (Female Vampire) in the role of Maria and Paul Muller (Eugenie de Sade) portraying a man who’s impersonating a doctor. The most memorable performance is another frequent collaborator, Monica Swinn (Shining Sex), who is deliriously wicked in the role of the warden. Jess Franco even makes an appearance in a flashback as Maria’s father.

While there are moments of erotica, mostly women pleasuring themselves, Barbed Wire Dolls is not one of Jess Franco’s sleaziest films. There are many moments of degradation and torture, like a woman chained to a wall begging for food and patients given shock therapy to correct inappropriate behavior. For a Jess Franco film, Barbed Wire Dolls moves more briskly than his more familiar deliberate pacing. Ultimately, if you're a fan of women in prison films, Barbed Wire Dolls is a solid example of this genre.

Despite the lack of English subtitles for the German language track and issues with the two mono tracks, I am still going to recommend this release.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Brute Corps – Dark Force Entertainment (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1971
Director: Jerry Jameson
Writers: Richard L. Huff, Robert Easton
Cast: Alex Rocco, Felton Perry, Paul Carr, Joseph Kaufmann, Jennifer Billingsley, Michael Pataki, Charles Macaulay, Roy Jenson, Joseph Bernard, Parker West

Release Date: July 14th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 87 Minutes 41 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"A group of hardened mercenaries is assembled to transport a kidnapped woman across a harsh desert landscape, each man motivated by money, power, or personal gain. As the journey unfolds, underlying tensions and competing agendas begin to surface, turning the mission into a volatile clash of egos and desires. The captive woman becomes both a bargaining chip and a catalyst for conflict, as alliances shift and the group descends into violence. What begins as a straightforward job devolves into a brutal struggle for control and survival, where trust is nonexistent and betrayal is inevitable." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4K restoration anamorphic widescreen 16x9 master from original 35m IP."

Brute Corps comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 60.6 GB

Feature: 55.9 GB

Outside of some very minor debris, the source looks excellent. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, there are no issues with compression, and the image retains an organic appearance.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. 

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview with actors Felton Perry and Parker West (31 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with screenwriter/producer Michael Kars.

Summary:

Jerry Jameson directed Brute Corps. He mostly works in television, with his most notable theatrical film being Airport '77.

Two hippie hitchhikers cross paths with mercenaries on their way to a mission in Central America.

Brute Corps is an exploitation film with some counterculture elements. The mercenaries prioritize having a good time over their next mission. There is only so much a group of guys can do before they get bored. Fortunately for them, along comes a pair of hitchhikers, one of whom is a very attractive, sexually free woman. From there, the mercenaries compete to see who will be the one who gets her.

The opening setup does a phenomenal job establishing the characters, especially the mercenaries, who quickly kill a group of bikers who taunt them. This is not a one-off moment of aggression, as each person who comes in contact with them experiences their brutality. Though they are trained killers, it is clear that they lack any impulse control. That said, all but one of the mercenaries have no redeeming qualities, which makes their downfalls all the more enjoyable.

All around, the performances suit the story that unfolds well, especially Alex Rocco’s (The Godfather) portrayal of Wicks, a sadistic mercenary who’s determined to capture a woman. Jennifer Billingsley (White Lightning), in the role of a female hitchhiker, provides an ample amount of eye candy. Another performance of note is Joseph Bernard (The Baby) in the role of a cowardly sheriff who lets the mercenaries run wild in his small town.  

At 88 minutes, the narrative moves briskly from one violent outburst to the next. For a film that was made on a modest budget, Brute Crops does an excellent job maximizing its resources. Ultimately, Brute Corps is an intense exploitation film that is very effective at delivering moments that make you feel uneasy.

Brute Corps gets a first-rate release from Dark Force Entertainment that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and two informative extras. 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 MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Black Rabbit, White Rabbit: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Tajikistan/United Arab Emirates, 2025
Director: Shahram Mokri
Writers: Nasim Ahmadpour, Shahram Mokri
Cast: Babak Karimi, Hasti Mohammai, Kibriyo Dilyobova, Bezhan Davlyatov

Release Date: August 25th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 139 Minutes 9 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo Tajiki and Russian
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"The latest film from Iranian master Shahram Mokri (Fish & Cat, Careless Crime) is another mysterious M.C. Escher-like meditation on reality and illusion, doubles and doppelgängers and uncanny synchronicities, involving stories-within-stories set during production of a film by a director named “Shahram” – already blurring the lines between film and reality.  Guns play a strange and mystical part in Black Rabbit:  on the film set, we meet armorer Babak, played by the great Iranian actor Babak Karimi (Fish & Cat, A Separation). This production marks his 40th, and he’s paranoid he won’t get through the day without a terrible accident (his mentor was killed in an explosion on his 40th film.)  "I've discovered something important:  there's a revolver here hell bent on revenge,” he murmurs.  The other major storyline involves Sara (Hasti Mohammaï), who is kept as a prisoner inside her house by her husband while she recovers from a near-fatal car accident.  She's wrapped in bandages like Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein and gives off a foul odor from her wounds.  Slowly, fantastical elements begin to bleed through, like waking dreams intruding on the conscious world:  an enormous prop Coffee Cup moves about the set by itself; inanimate objects talk amongst themselves about the Italian gun that's arrived to take revenge; and an aspiring actress gives an audition in which she does magic, causing a white rabbit and a black rabbit to appear." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Black Rabbit, White Rabbit comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.1 GB

Feature: 39.8 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, and image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Tajiki and Russian with removable English subtitles. Dialogue always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include trailer #1 (1 minute 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Tajiki and Russian with non-removable English subtitles), trailer #2 (1 minute 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Tajiki and Russian with non-removable English subtitles), a video essay by Stephen Broomer titled The Maze: Entrances and Exits in Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, an audio commentary with film programmer and critic Tori Potenza, and three short films directed by Shahram Mokri: The Dragonfly Storm (15 minutes 46 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital stereo Farsi with removable English subtitles), Ando-C (16 minutes 10 seconds, 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital stereo Farsi with removable English subtitles), and Limits of the Circle (15 minutes 45 seconds, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital stereo Farsi with removable English subtitles).

The Dragonfly Storm: A man arrives home and discovers the power is out and when he resets a fuse, he causes an accident that kills his wife.

Ando-C: A series of events on a wedding day makes a bride question her existence in the world.

Limits of the Circle: A man walks through a building, encountering people, and as time unfolds, it becomes clear that he is trapped in a time loop.

Summary:

The story revolves around three characters: a film armorer with safety concerns, an aspiring actress determined to audition for a director's latest film, and a woman who has been horribly disfigured by a car crash, all of whom have intertwined narratives.

“Everything cycles back to its place," a line spoken by a character perfectly sums up Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, and the cinema of Shahram Mokri. For his latest film, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, he returns to familiar themes like fate, identity, and the role that history plays in shaping the future.

While all of Shahram Mokri's films blur lines when it comes to reality, with Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, he achieves his most satisfying balance of subjectivity and objectivity. Black Rabbit, White Rabbit is an exploration of truth and resolution. While the latter is ultimately elusive, its finale provides sufficient closure. That said, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit is a multilayered film filled with symbolism and subtext that's never heavyhanded.

Having now worked my way through every short and feature film directed by Shahram Mokri, I have become familiar with his techniques and thematic obsessions. Black Rabbit, White Rabbit once again sees Shahram Mokri use lengthy shots with minimal editing and non-linear narratives with multiple protagonists whose stories intersect in the finale. Like his previous film, Careless Crime, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit employs the film-within-a-film technique. Where the first half of the narrative devotes uninterrupted, lengthy introductions to each character, the latter half takes on a Rashomon-like structure that reconstructs events from different perspectives. Ultimately, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit is a puzzle box film whose mysteries make its moment of truth all the more resonant.

Black Rabbit, White Rabbit gets an excellent release from Deaf Crocodile that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, three short films, and a pair of insightful extras. Recommended.

Note: There is a deluxe release of Black Rabbit, White Rabbit that comes in a slipcase and a 60-page booklet with an essay written by film critic Walter Chaw (Film Freak Central), an essay written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and an essay written by Michelle Kisner.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Bullet in the Head: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1990
Director: John Woo
Writers: John Woo, Patrick Leung, Janet Chun
Cast: Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam, Fennie Yuen, Yolinda Yam, Shek Yin Lau, Chung Lin

Release Date: June 21st, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 130 Minutes 50 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese, LPCM Mono English, Dolby Atmos Cantonese
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK)

"Set during the Vietnam War, the film follows B, Fai and Wing (iconic actors Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee), three best friends fleeing from Hong Kong to seek their fortune as smugglers. In Saigon, they join forces with fellow expat Lok (Simon Yam) and double-cross the ruthless gangster Luong to steal his gold and rescue nightclub singer Sau-ching (Yolinda Yan) from his clutches. The gang must fight their way out of the country in a nightmarish odyssey where each new battle pushes them beyond their limits and threatens to destroy their friendship." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The film has been restored in 4K resolution and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The original 35mm camera negative was sourced from the Hong Kong Film Archive and scanned in 4K by Interface Video Production Ltd in Hong Kong."

Bullet in the Head comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 92.2 GB

Feature: 87.1 GB

Although Arrow Video uses Shout! Factory's master as the foundation of their source, they have performed additional color grading. I didn't have any issues with either release's color timing, though there is some debate over which one is more aesthetically pleasing. That said, the source looks phenomenal; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Bullet in the Head, the festival cut, comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42 GB

Feature: 38 GB

There are multiple options to watch the festival cut and an extended festival cut. Both versions can be watched with or without the alternate boardroom ending, and the extended festival cut contains footage previously exclusive to the theatrical cut.

Audio: 5/5 (All Audio Tracks)

This release comes with three audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese, a LPCM mono mix in English and a Dolby Atmos mix in Cantonese. The two mono tracks are comparable to the Shout! Factory 4K UHD release, while the newly created Dolby Atmos track gives fans of this film a new way to experience it. That said, all of the tracks sound excellent, and the Dolby Atmos does a phenomenal job of expanding the sound spectrum without straying away from the original mono track’s intentions. Included are English subtitles for the Cantonese language track, English SDH for the English language track, and English subtitles for Cantonese text when watching the English language track. Language tracks and subtitles can only be changed via the setup menu and not during playback. It should be noted that Arrow Video has done additional work on their subtitles and they are not the same ones used by Shout! Factory.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an image gallery (46 images—stills/Japanese press book/lobby cards/posters/home video art), theatrical trailer #1 (3 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), theatrical trailer #2 (4 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), deleted and extended scenes with text information about them (12 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), alternate boardroom ending (5 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), English export credits (5 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with film critic Frank Djeng.

Blu-ray disc one comes with the festival cut (136 minutes 8 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), the festival cut with boardroom scene (125 minutes 54 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), the extended festival cut (136 minutes 42 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), and the extended festival cut with boardroom scene (126 minutes 28 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles).

Extras on Blu-ray disc two include an archival interview with director John Woo titled Life Through a Lens (13 minutes 1 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Jacky Cheung titled Baptism of Fire (14 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Waise Lee titled Paradise Lost (14 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Simon Yam titled Biting the Bullet (15 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with stunt coordinator Lau Chi-Ho titled A Walk on the Wild Side (14 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with associate producer Patrick Leung titled Tempting Fate (19 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with editor David Wu titled Natural Selection (32 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Fennie Yuen titled The Long-Suffering Siu-Chun (19 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with author Grady Hendrix titled Hong Kong Confidential: Bullet In The Head (13 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Dr. Lars Laamann titled Apocalypse How? - The Period of Provocations (27 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with production planner Catherine Lau titled Tumultuous Times (15 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with editor David Wu titled Apocalypse Woo (7 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producer Terence Chang titled Army of One (4 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with actor Waise Lee titled Head Case! (18 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), and an interview with director John Woo titled Brilliance with a Bullet (43 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips).

Other extras include a reversible cover art, a double-sided foldout poster, six postcard-sized art cards, a chipboard slipcase, a slipcover, and a 40-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled John Woo’s journey into the Heart of Darkness written by Priscilla Page, an essay titled The Death of Heroic Bloodshed written by Sean Gilman, an archival writing titled Watching as Men Fall written by Arnaud Bordas, an excerpt from an interview with John Woo conducted by Stéphane Moïssakis, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Three friends flee Hong Kong after one of them murders a street punk. They go to Vietnam to wait things out. Upon their arrival, they get caught in the crossfire between the war protestors and military, causing them to lose the merchandise they were transporting from Hong Kong. Struggling financially and feeling hopeless, they befriend Ah Lok, a professional hitman who offers to assist them in escaping Vietnam. While they are in the country, they become embroiled in a conflict that tests the limits of their friendships.

What began as a prequel to A Better Tomorrow evolved into what is widely acknowledged as John Woo’s most personal film. When John Woo and Tsui Hark ended their working relationship, the latter decided to direct the A Better Tomorrow prequel. After their breakup, John Woo decided to rework his original idea, and what evolved is a film that takes on the 1967 Hong Kong riots; it also takes aim at the 1989 incident in Tiananmen Square in Beijing using the Vietnam War as the backdrop.

Nostalgia is present in Bullet in the Head’s opening setup; reportedly, John Woo drew moments of inspiration from his experiences growing up in late 1960s Hong Kong. While most of this initial setup shows a carefree side of the three friends, once they arrive in Vietnam, things take a considerably darker turn. From there, the narrative is one bleak moment after the other, building to its poignant finale: the two living friends force each other to confront the choices they made.

Although Tony Leung would become famous years later working with Wong Kar-wai, at this point in his career he had yet to establish himself as a box office draw. His two co-stars, Jacky Cheung (High Risk) and Waise Lee (A Better Tomorrow), were more supporting than leads at that time. The most prominent cast member is Simon Yam (Naked Killer) in the role of a Hong Kong hitman living in Vietnam. That said, all of the performances are excellent, especially Jacky Cheung's, whose character suffers a brain injury from a bullet in his head.

Something that immediately grabbed me while watching Bullet in the Head was how its production design puts you back into the 1960s. This extended to the score, notably the use of Neil Diamond’s song, I’m a Believer. In addition to the main credits featuring an instrumental rendition of "I’m a Believer," this song plays a significant role during one of the film's most memorable scenes, which involves an assassination that occurs in the bathroom.

While there is never a shortage of carnage in the cinema of John Woo, Bullet in the Head is by far and away his most brutal film. The sequences set in the prisoner of war camp and the aftermath of the three friends' escape are particularly striking. Another brutal moment takes place shortly after the three friends arrive in Vietnam, and a young man responsible for a car bomb is found by the military, who then shoot him in the head. Ultimately, Bullet in the Head is an emotionally charged, thought-provoking film that stays with you, making it John Woo's crowning achievement.

For their release, Arrow Video has added a substantial number of new extras and four alternate versions of the film. In comparing the two releases, it is evident that Arrow Video’s version stands out as the superior choice over Shout! Factory’s offering. Bullet in the Head 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 MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer