The Addiction (1994) (Ultra HD Blu-ray) (UK Import)

The mid-nineties were a fertile period for the vampire movie. Big-name stars such as Tom Cruise and Eddie Murphy flocked to genre, as did high-caliber filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, veterans Wes Craven and John Landis, independents Michael Almereyda and Jeffrey Arsenault, and up-and-comers Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro. Amid the fangs and crucifixes, Abel Ferrara reunited with his King of New York star Christopher Walken for The Addiction, a distinctly personal take on creatures of the night.

Philosophy student Kathleen (Lili Taylor, The Conjuring) is dragged into an alleyway on her way home from class by Casanova (Annabella Sciorra, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) and bitten on the neck. She quickly falls ill but realizes this isn’t any ordinary disease when she develops an aversion to daylight and a thirst for human blood…

Having made a big-budget foray into science fiction two years earlier with Body Snatchers, Ferrara’s approach to the vampire movie is in a lower key. Shot on the streets of New York, like so many of his major works – including The Driller Killer, Ms. 45 and Bad Lieutenant – and beautifully filmed in black and white, The Addiction sees the filmmaker on his own terms and at his very best: raw, shocking, intense, intelligent, masterful.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray™ presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 / compatible)

Optional lossless 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Audio commentary by director Abel Ferrara, moderated by critic and biographer Brad Stevens

Talking with the Vampires, a 2018 documentary about the film, featuring actors Christopher Walken and Lili Taylor, composer Joe Delia, cinematographer Ken Kelsch, and Ferrara himself

2018 interview with Abel Ferrara

2018 interview with Brad Stevens

Abel Ferrara Edits The Addiction, an archival piece from the time of production

Original trailer

Image gallery

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain

Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by critic Michael Ewins and an archival interview with Ferrara by Paul Duane

Rezensionen

Encyclopedia of International Film: “An oppressive, in some respects disturbing disturbing in some respects, staged in breathtaking black-and-white images, which leaves the viewer viewer in a dichotomy between disgust and fascination and fascination and provides impetus for a deeper theological questions.​”