{"id":30322,"date":"2024-12-11T23:30:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T07:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=30322"},"modified":"2024-12-11T23:30:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T07:30:47","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-review-the-addiction-1995","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=30322","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD Review: THE ADDICTION (1995)"},"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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Since the late 1970s. writer\/director Abel Ferrara has been\nmaking provocative and challenging indie films that have earned him a devoted\ncult following. For the first two decades of his career, he specialized in\ngenre pictures like The Driller Killer, Ms. 45<\/em> and Body Snatchers<\/em>,\nwhile also tackling the notable crime dramas King of New York<\/em> and Bad\nLieutenant<\/em>. The Addiction is a vampire movie. But it is one that is really\nabout, as the title suggests, addiction and the inhumane ways that we treat\nothers in order to fulfill our darker instincts. Despite being made on a\nshoestring budget, it features a wonderful cast and is unexpectedly compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 2018, Arrow Video released a Blu-ray containing a\ngreatly improved image (which, if I am correct, came from a 4K scan of the\noriginal camera negative). Now, the full 4K version is arriving for purchase on\nthe format (no Blu-ray is included). It looks absolutely tremendous. If you\u2019re\nfamiliar with the title, you\u2019ll know that it was shot in black and white. There\nis a very small amount of natural film grain here and there that isn\u2019t\ndistracting at all, and the majority of the film simply looks stunning. The\nblacks are inky and the use of light and shadow is striking and powerful. This\nmay be a low-budget independent film, but you wouldn\u2019t know that based on the\nimage being presented. It\u2019s that good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor) is a New York-based\nphilosophy student. Many of her classes address the cruelty of our species, and\nthe lead expresses her shock and anger about human behavior to best friend Jena\n(Edie Falco). One night while walking home, she is taken aside and bitten by\nvampire Casanova (Annabella Sciorra). Conklin immediately turns and begins\ndesiring the taste of blood. The main character is soon using syringes to drain\nplasma from the homeless and inject it into herself. From there, she graduates\nto biting necks and murder. Eventually, she targets a man named Peina\n(Christopher Walken), who he reveals himself to be a bloodsucker. Peina starts\ndraining Conklin and soon she is staggering around the streets desperate and\neven hungrier. It all leads to a nasty climax in which many are killed and\nConklin is forced to reflect on herself and her actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, the use of vampirism as a metaphor for drug\naddiction is very clear. The moral student quickly turns violent and becomes\nmotivated only out of self-interest, hurting others as she tries to satiate her\nimpulses. Taylor is fantastic in the part, using the metaphor to really show\nhow unhinged an individual can become due to their addiction. Walken also makes\na memorable impression as Peina, who quickly realizes that Conklin is a newbie\nwho knows nothing of the evils of the world and can be easily taken advantage\nof. All of the cast are great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And the photography stands out as well. The film was shot in\nreal New York locations, often with locals walking in and out of frame, adding\na sense of authenticity to the proceedings. The moody lighting is also striking\nand makes some of the grimmer moments really send a chill down the spine.\nThere\u2019s a lot of textures on display that you can imagine actually touching.\nThe framing is gorgeous and there are several images, from Conklin and a\nvampire under steel grating, to her sprawled out on the floor of various rooms\n(in a state almost like drug withdrawal), that make a lasting impression. Even\nthe lead walking around a populated New York street at night looks phenomenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film does end with Conklin understanding the seriousness\nof her deeds and asking for forgiveness from a Catholic priest. It is somewhat\nabrupt. The movie closes without viewers learning more about the city\u2019s vampire\nunderbelly and the people within it. Of course, that\u2019s not the point of this\nstory, but one can help but want to know more about the other characters and\nhow they would view the lead\u2019s sudden change of heart. Still, this is a very\ninteresting picture and one that holds up better than expected (I saw the movie\nat the Toronto International Film Festival in 1995 with an introduction from\nFerrara and Taylor and haven\u2019t seen it since).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition to the amazing image quality, several extras are\nalso included. Most are from the previous 2018 release, but there is one\nnotable new addition to this package.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first bonus is a 2018 commentary track from the quirky\nFerrara about making the movie on a low-budget. He suggests that most payment\nfor cast and crew was deferred and admits that some of those working on the\nfilm didn\u2019t get all that was promised to them by producers. The director also\nspeaks about the incredible locations in New York and shooting with, well,\nfewer permits than he should have had (these locales add so much production\nvalue without costing anything). He goes on to note the remarkable work of the\ncinematographer, lighting real outdoor spaces at night to maximum effort. He\nalso suggests the budget was so low that everyone left him alone and didn\u2019t\ncare or complain that he was making the movie in black-and-white. Ferrara seems\nlike a direct and honest guy, so he\u2019s a lot of fun to listen to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also an interview with the filmmaker in which he\ndetails more tidbits about the production. Amusingly, he is questioned about\nthe finale and some aspects that viewers may be confused by and doesn\u2019t take\nkindly to the inquiry. Additionally, there is an informative video essay from a\ncritic who details all of the feature\u2019s positives, while noting that there are\na few contradictory story elements. The piece also includes a nice overview of\nFerrara\u2019s career and some of the connections between this picture and others in\nhis filmography. Footage of the director editing the movie is also included, as\nwell as an image gallery and a trailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new bonus is a 30-minute mini-documentary directed by\nFerrara in which he talks about this film with Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken,\ncomposer Joe Delia and director of photography Ken Kelsch. It\u2019s very informal\nas the Ferrara chats with the participants and the special is at its best when\nthe performers open up about their acting process and some of the things that\nthey\u2019ve learned about their craft over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Addiction<\/em> is a solid indie horror picture that generally stands the test of time thanks to great performances and beautiful photography. Anyone with a taste for unusual vampire films or those who enjoy the work of Ferrara will adore this release and, if they can, should pick it up in 4K Ultra HD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions which is better AAA or Super Clone Watches<\/a>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video is currently available for purchase. Since the late 1970s. writer\/director Abel Ferrara has been making provocative and challenging indie films that have earned him a devoted cult following. For the first two decades of his career, he specialized in genre pictures like The Driller Killer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[129,300,644,1502,1836,1851,2827,2923,2927,2963,4392,6726,9319,9774,12399,14766,19853,19854,19855,19856,23665],"class_list":["post-30322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-129","tag-4k-ultra-hd","tag-abel-ferrara","tag-annabella-sciorra","tag-arrow-video","tag-arthouse","tag-black-and-white","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-reviews","tag-blasts-from-the-past-the-addiction","tag-christopher-walken","tag-edie-falco","tag-horror","tag-independent","tag-lili-taylor","tag-new-york","tag-the-addiction","tag-the-addiction-4k-review","tag-the-addiction-4k-ultra-hd-review","tag-the-addiction-review","tag-vampire"],"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\/30322","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=30322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}