{"id":28665,"date":"2024-05-22T01:37:45","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T08:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=28665"},"modified":"2024-05-22T01:37:45","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T08:37:45","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-review-crimson-peak-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=28665","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD Review: CRIMSON PEAK (2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow\nVideo is currently available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ten years ago, director Guillermo del Toro was still riding\nhigh on the international success of the award-winning Pan\u2019s Labyrinth<\/em>,\nworking with major Hollywood studios on big productions like Pacific Rim<\/em>.\nCrimson Peak<\/em> from Universal Pictures was sold as a gothic melodrama with\nhorror elements. It received decent notices, but still flummoxed many critics\nand several audience members as well, ultimately grossing just under $75\nmillion US against a $55 million dollar budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, in the last decade esteem for the picture has grown,\nespecially as the director\u2019s star has continued to rise (he won Best Picture\nand Director Oscars for The Shape of Water<\/em> and his recent animated Pinocchio<\/em>\nfilm earned him an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature). Arrow Video has\nnow decided to present the movie in 4K Ultra HD (no Blu-ray is included in this\nrelease) and the results are, as expected, sensational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set in the late 18th century, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska)\nis a young aspiring novelist who yearns for freedom and independence. When she\nfalls for Baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), she finds herself traveling\nacross the Atlantic to his dilapidated and very haunted estate in England. Also\nin the mix are the husband\u2019s intense and controlling sister, Lucille (Jessica\nChastain) and one Dr. McMichael (Charlie Hunnam), who desires Edith\u2019s\naffections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of course, things aren\u2019t as they initially appear. In fact,\nit isn\u2019t long before viewers will be pretty certain of exactly what dastardly\nactivities are taking place by the brother and sister. As the story moves to\nthe haunted locale and the characters become more overtly hostile, the feature\nbegins picking up momentum. There are some startling moments and visual panache\nas spirits disturb the estate\u2019s newest resident. This includes a wailing form\ncovered in red clay with a cleaver firmly wedged in its head. Scares and action\nsequences are what director Guillermo del Toro specializes in, and as events\nboil over, there are some great individual scenes of shapes and human figures\nmoving in the background and stalking their prey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After rewatching the picture, I do feel the same way as when\nI first watched it. It\u2019s a very entertaining movie, but not without a few minor\nstory issues. There\u2019s a heavy emphasis on the courting of Edith and the\nfinancial straits of Thomas and Lucille Sharpes early on. In fact, it\u2019s almost\nall pure melodrama for the first thirty minutes. This includes a long and\nslow-moving opening act. And the screenplay shows most of its cards quickly,\ngiving away a lot of mystery behind the protagonist\u2019s suitor in the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Admittedly, the movie is attempting to emulate classic\ngothic romances like Jane Eyre<\/em> and focusing on its lead character and\nher relationships rather than the spiritual goings on, but the supernatural\nbits are so effective that the exaggerated romance doesn\u2019t resonate as\nstrongly. But in the end, the movie is still a great deal of fun. The manor\nitself is a visual marvel and it’s fun to see Edith finally stand up for\nherself and square off against the main villain.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feature is also a visual treat, so it is no surprise\nthat this latest presentation is stunning in many respects. All of the aspects\nmentioned above, from the elaborate sets and visual effects, are gorgeous to\nbehold in 4K. It all looks phenomenal and those who already admired the\nappearance of the picture will be even more impressed with this upgraded\npresentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This edition also comes loaded with a ton of extras (too\nmany to go through in detail right here). There is an informative commentary\nwith Gullermo del Toro in which he goes over various aspects of the production.\nHe details some stories within his own family history about spirits and these\ncomments do provide a lot of insight into what inspires him creatively. And\nthere\u2019s plenty of talk about the effects work and his attempts to combine\npractical and digital elements within the same shot in order to make phantoms\nand other otherworldly beings look as realistic as possible. Additionally,\nyou\u2019ll get a fun reveal that the enormous exterior finale locale was actually a\nset built on a soundstage in Toronto. Overall, plenty of fun tidbits are\nrevealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a \u201cnewly edited\u201d piece on the production featuring\ncast and crew talking about the movie\u2019s use of gothic melodrama and how\nelements of the production came together. In fact, there is a primer piece on\nthe genre and a previously unseen talk with the director about it. In general,\nGuillermo del Toro spends a lot of time talking about gothic melodrama and\ncomes across as a little defensive (the filmmaker was likely irked that many\nbristled at the emphasis of melodrama over chills and horror), but the passionate\nfigure is always interesting and compelling to listen to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for other bonuses, critic Kim Newman discusses the\nhistory of Gothic Romance in literature and cinema. He also notes the other\ngenre film variations that the director often dabbles in. It\u2019s very informative\nand in the process gives fans of the movie plenty of other titles to seek\nout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also a visual essay on Guillermo del Toro\u2019s films\nby Kat Ellinger and similar themes and elements that appear throughout his\ncatalog. This bonus is also enlightening and does provide more thematic\nconnective tissue between his various projects. It is also noted that women in\nhis movies are typically given more to do than other heroines in genre\npictures, with Crimson Peak<\/em> featuring a very strong lead who ultimately\nsaves herself (rather than relying on the help of others).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if that wasn\u2019t enough, you\u2019ll get featurettes about the\nvarious floors and sections of the estate and how they were created for the\nproduction, as well as specific examinations of the visual effects and\nstorytelling techniques. Deleted scenes are also included, alongside numerous\ntrailers and TV spots, and an image gallery of production and behind-the-scenes\nstills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And it comes with \u201cLimited Edition\u201d packaging designed by\nthe man who created concept art for the film. There is an 80-page book included\nwith writing on the film, an archival interview with del Toro, conceptual\ndesign illustrations and more. Naturally, a double-sided fold out poster is\nalso included featuring the above new and original art for the film, as well as\nfour double-sided postcards with images from the feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opinion on Crimson Peak<\/em> is wide-ranging, but there\u2019s no question that it is phenomenal on a visual level. For me personally, it isn’t among his very best, but is still an enjoyable effort with plenty in it to recommend. The 4K Ultra HD disc from Arrow is remarkable, with a dazzling image. The disc is also filled to the rafters with bonus material that does help viewers get a better understanding of what the director was aiming for and perhaps appreciate the movie even more. It\u2019s a fantastic release that will wow those who enjoy the filmmaker\u2019s work and\/or gothic melodrama.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video is currently available for purchase. Ten years ago, director Guillermo del Toro was still riding high on the international success of the award-winning Pan\u2019s Labyrinth, working with major Hollywood studios on big productions like Pacific Rim. Crimson Peak from Universal Pictures was sold as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":28666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[184,300,1836,4138,4922,4923,4926,8544,8720,9319,10648,12428,13747,17310,18872,19380,23018,23571],"class_list":["post-28665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-184","tag-4k-ultra-hd","tag-arrow-video","tag-charlie-hunnam","tag-crimson-peak","tag-crimson-peak-disc-review","tag-crimson-peak-review","tag-gothic-melodrama","tag-guillermo-del-toro","tag-horror","tag-jessica-chastain","tag-limited-editon","tag-mia-wasikowska","tag-romance","tag-spirits","tag-supernatural","tag-tom-hiddleston","tag-universal-pictures"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28665\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}