eXistenZ 4K UHD - Jennifer Jason Leigh / Jude Law

(aka "eXistenZ")

directed by David Cronenberg
Canada 1999

Visionary director David Cronenberg (Videodrome) challenges the boundaries of reality in sci-fi thriller eXistenZ, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Machinist), Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and a stellar supporting cast including Ian Holm (Alien), Willem Dafoe (Animal Factory), Christopher Eccleston (28 Days Later) and Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter).

During a closed-door demonstration of her new virtual reality video game, brilliant game designer Allegra Geller (Leigh) survives an attempt on her life by a crazed assassin. On the run with Ted Pikul (Law), a young marketing trainee who falls into the role of bodyguard, Allegra convinces Ted to join her in her game, eXistenZ. As the line between fantasy and reality begins to blur, the real-life dangers they sought to escape start to merge with their virtual world.

***

Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg, who has long been fascinated by the ways new technology shapes and manipulates the human beings who believe they are its masters, is in familiar territory with eXistenZ, a futuristic thriller which combines elements of science fiction, horror and action-adventure. What is eXistenZ? According to the glossary Cronenberg put together for this film, it is a new organic game system that, when downloaded into humans, accesses their central nervous system, transporting them on a wild ride in and out of reality. What's more, it changes every time it is played, by adapting to the individual user -- you have to play the game to find out why you are playing the game. More than one person can plug into the same game and set out on a series of bizarre and surrealistic adventures together. The narrative takes place sometime in the near future, when game designers are worshipped as superstars and players can organically enter inside the games.

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 16th, 1999 (Berlin International Film Festival)

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Comparison:

101 Films (Black Label) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Vinegar Syndrome- Region FREE - 4K UHD

Box Cover

Bonus Captures:

Distribution	101 Films (Black Label) Region 'B' Blu-ray	Vinegar Syndrome - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	1:37:09.031	1:37:02.817
Video	1.78:1 Disc Size: 31,121,016,338 bytes Feature Size: 20,790,300,672 bytes Average Bitrate: 19.98 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video	1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 65,486,994,460 bytes Feature: 65,216,510,016 bytes Video Bitrate: 78.59 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video
Bitrate: 101 Films (Black Label) Blu-ray
Bitrate: Vinegar Syndrome - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Audio	LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit LPCM Audio English 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4608 kbps / 16-bit Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps	DTS-HD Master Audio English 4032 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4032 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 2105 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2105 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 128 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 128 kbps / DN -27dBA
Subtitles	English (HoH), None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: 101 Films (Black Label) Disc Size: 31,121,016,338 bytes Feature Size: 20,790,300,672 bytes Average Bitrate: 19.98 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • The Leader: An interview with Christopher Eccleston (16:02) • Commentary with Kim Newman & Ryan Lambie • Commentary with Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson • Limited Edition Booklet: Includes 'Enemy of Reality: David Cronenberg's eXistenZ' by Alex Morris, and 'Of Fabrics and Flesh: An interview with Denise Cronenberg' by Phillip Escott. Additional Extras • Audio commentary by David Cronenberg • Making-of documentary (54:38) • Promo Featurette (10:37) • Backstage interviews with Jude Law (14:39), Jennifer Jason Leigh (1:17), Willem Dafoe (6:56), Jim Isaac (visual effects) (27:40) and David Cronenburg (4:00) • Trailer (2:01) Blu-ray Release Date: May 21st, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray case inside cardboard slipcase Chapters: 16	Release Information: Studio: Vinegar Syndrome 1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 65,486,994,460 bytes Feature: 65,216,510,016 bytes Video Bitrate: 78.59 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc • Brand new commentary track with film historian Dr. Jennifer Moorman • Archival commentary track with director David Cronenberg • Archival commentary track with cinematographer Peter Suschitzky • Archival commentary track with visual effects supervisor Jim Isaac Region 'A' Blu-ray: • Brand new commentary track with film historian Dr. Jennifer Moorman • Archival commentary track with director David Cronenberg • Archival commentary track with cinematographer Peter Suschitzky • Archival commentary track with visual effects supervisor Jim Isaac • "Crafting (un)Reality" (22 min) - a brand new interview with art director Tamara Deverell on building the worlds of eXistenZ • "Frankenstein Syndrome" (9 min) - a brand new interview with make-up effects artist Stephan Dupuis on bringing eXistenZ to life • "Sticking with Genius" (10 min) - a brand new interview with producer Robert Lantos • "The Art of the Title" (7 min) - a brand new interview with opening title designer Robert Pilichowski • "Frame by Frame: The Invisible Art of Production Designer Carol Spier" (48:29) - archival featurette • Archival Promotional Featurette (11:09) • Archival Special Effects Featurette (3:52) • Promotional & behind-the-scenes still gallery (3:24) • Theatrical trailer (2:11) • Archival EPK interviews with: director David Cronenberg (4:15), actor Jude Law (14:46), actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (1:25), actor Willem Dafoe (7:03) and visual effects supervisor Jim Isaac (27:48) Reversible sleeve artwork Booklet with photos and essay 4K Ultra HD Release Date: January 30th, 2024 Black 4K Ultra HD Case in custom box Chapters 6

101 Films (Black Label) Region 'B' Blu-ray Package

Vinegar Syndrome - Region FREE - 4K UHD Package

(Limited Editions sold out - Standard editions without case is available at Amazon)

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD (February 2024): Vinegar Syndrome are releasing David Cronenberg's "eXistenZ" to 4K UHD. This package offers a second disc Blu-ray with the feature in 1080P and more supplements. This is cited as a "4K UHD presented in High-Dynamic-Range - newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm interpositive". The limited edition flesh-textured hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Haunt Love - see below) was limited to 10,000 units and is sold out. The standard version, available on Amazon, is identical, aside from the packaging.

Blues dominate although all colors embolden significantly - flesh tones cool and grain is both more prominent and consistent. The Vinegar Syndrome is in 1.85:1 actually showing more information than the 101 Films 1.78:1 frame - mostly visible on the side edges. What's notable in the 2160P resolution is the rise in detail. This is really a big jump over the slightly digitized UK Blu-ray. The 4K UHD does not share the edge enhancement halos. This new 4K is flawless if it is expressing the, now intense, colors accurately.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 36 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages recently: The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (software uniformly simulated HDR), Conan the Barbarian (software uniformly simulated HDR), Django (no HDR), Lone Star (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspect Zero (software uniformly simulated HDR), Count Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Circle - The Haunting of Julia (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Warriors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blackhat (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mark of the Devil (software uniformly simulated HDR), Barbarella (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Knew Too Much (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rope (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frenzy (software uniformly simulated HDR), American Graffiti (software uniformly simulated HDR), East End Hustle (software uniformly simulated HDR), Three Days of the Condor (software uniformly simulated HDR), Witness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fascination (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lips of Blood (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Others (no HDR), It Came From Outer Space (software uniformly simulated HDR).

On their 4K UHD, Vinegar Syndrome provide the option of DTS-HD Master tracks in a robust 5.1 surround or 2.0 channel stereo. There are sci-fi effects scattered throughout with a few head-turning separations. The film's score is by Howard Shore (Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars, Scanners and The Brood, Tim Burton's Ed Wood, Fincher's The Game and Se7en plus Demme's The Silence of the Lambs, etc.) and it certainly benefits from the lossless transfer augmenting the mysterious atmosphere and unknowable direction of the plot. Both discs offer optional English (SDH) subtitles - and is, like all 4K UHD, region FREE, playable worldwide. The second disc Blu-ray is region 'A'-locked.

The Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD and Blu-ray offer four commentaries! There is a new commentary by film historian Dr. Jennifer Moorman, a professor in Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University. I have not had the opportunity to indulge. There are also three archival commentary tracks with director David Cronenberg, a second with cinematographer Peter Suschitzky and the third with visual effects supervisor Jim Isaac. I admit that I really enjoyed the 101 films commentaries with Kim Newman and Ryan Lambie and a second with Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson. Both helped clear up some of the story's eccentricities.

The rest of the supplements are found on the second disc Blu-ray with any new; the 22-minute "Crafting (un)Reality" - a new interview with art director Tamara Deverell on building the worlds of eXistenZ. "Frankenstein Syndrome" is a new 10-minite interview with make-up effects artist Stephan Dupuis on bringing eXistenZ to life. "Sticking with Genius" is a new 10-minute interview with producer Robert Lantos. "The Art of the Title" is a brand new 7-minute interview with opening title designer Robert Pilichowski who discusses Saul Bass and other influential title creators. Others were found on the UK Blu-ray including "Frame by Frame: The Invisible Art of Production Designer Carol Spier" is a 3/4 hour archival featurette on production details and working with Cronenberg. Included are archival promotional featurette on the making of and special effects plus a behind-the-scenes still gallery, theatrical trailer and almost an hour's worth of archival electronic press kit interviews including Cronenberg, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Willem Dafoe and visual effects supervisor Jim Isaac. There is also a booklet with photos and an essay.

"You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game." Let's keep the 'virtual reality' still virtual for a while. Perhaps one of Cronenberg's more visionary if overlooked twisted science-fiction / horror / thriller films - steeped in his unique style and grotesqueries. "In the year 2030, ultra-sustainable biotechnological devices have replaced unsustainable electronic ones. Game pods present "UmbiCords" that attach to "bio-ports", connectors surgically inserted into players' spines." There was a tie-in novelization of eXistenZ by Christopher Priest and in 1999, a graphic novel credited to Cronenberg and Sean Scoffield (both Toronto residents) was published. Perhaps in the future, game designers become the leading celebrities meaning a corresponding blowback from dissatisfied, often unhinged, fans who plot their demise. Hopefully life doesn't get so bad that gaming fantasy is all we have to look forward to. Let's keep film around for a while. "eXistenZ" is a complex if fascinating story with great performances; Jennifer Jason Leigh is always effective, great support from Jude Law, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Don McKellar, Christopher Eccleston and look for Sarah Polley! An intricate sci-fi adventure that I appreciated more in Vinegar Syndrome's vastly improved 4K UHD a/v and extensive stacked package; four commentaries!? hours of video extras... you can see why the LE sold-out so quickly. So many great lines; "Free will is obviously not a big factor in this little world of ours." Hmmm... No reason to be that intuitive Mr. Cronenberg.

***

ADDITION: 101 Films (Black Label) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (May 2018): This is the second title, #002, in 101 Films 'Black Label' range (the first being The Grifters), and this 'Limited Edition' version is limited to 3000 copies and includes a slipcase and a booklet with newly-written content.

Firstly, eXistenZ received a problematic 1080i (interlaced) transfer to Blu-ray from Miramax 6 years ago (HERE) that had issues. I saw it at a friend's and it looked so poor in-motion, that I never purchased it. 101 Films (Black Label), out of the UK, have given the film a 1080P transfer. It also in the 1.78;1 aspect ratio and has a higher bitrate than the initial rendering although is still fairly modest. I watched it to completion twice making notes on the image quality. For most of the latter 9/10ths of the presentation it looks quite good - depth becomes more prevalent nearer the last 1/2 and contrast also appears more layered as the film progresses. There were two early scenes that look marginally digitized - I have given a sample of edge-enhancement below. But you can see I had to zoom in extensively and I wouldn't phrase this as flawed but look more like it is inherent in the source. Detail has impressive moments - in the film's many close-ups. The overall look reminded me of production appearance of Naked Lunch... so Cronenberg-like. I thought it looked decent enough in-motion - certainly in advance of the 2012 Miramax. Perhaps we can compare it one day to other releases.

NOTE: There is a German "Turbine Steel Collection' Blu-ray coming out in June, 2018 HERE. There was a previously released Mediabook Blu-ray, out of Germany, HERE but we, also, don't own it to compare.

101 Films (Black Label) use the option of linear PCM tracks in either an extremely robust 5.1 surround or a 2.0 channel stereo (both 16-bit.) There are effects separations that come across powerfully and rich but I preferred the stereo which held it's own with depth and tightness. Dialogue was always clear and clean. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles (see sample) on the Region 'B' Blu-ray disc.

Extras are stacked.101 Films add The Leader - a new 16-minute interview with Christopher Eccleston ('Seminar Leader' in eXistenZ) reflecting on Cronenberg and his work in eXistenZ. Fans will love the commentaries - first with the pairing of Kim Newman & Ryan Lambie covering many aspects of the film's meaning and themes and a second with Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson who gives a similarly excellent take on his take on Cronenberg's film. The package has a new limited edition booklet which includes 'Enemy of Reality: David Cronenberg's eXistenZ' by Alex Morris, and 'Of Fabrics and Flesh: An interview with Denise Cronenberg' by Phillip Escott. 101 Films include previous supplements starting with the Cronenberg commentary (making 3 for this set!), the, almost hour-long, extensive, making-of documentary, the 10-minute promo featurette and backstage interviews with Jude Law (14:39), Jennifer Jason Leigh (1:17), Willem Dafoe (6:56), Jim Isaac (visual effects) (27:40) and David Cronenberg (4:00). Plus there is a trailer.

Once again a fan favorite chosen by 101 Films to bring to their new Blu-ray label - and a film that has had a past problematic transfers. The film may always look imperfect in digital but the attraction here is to the extensive extras - starting with three commentaries, a limited edition book, interviews etc. Recommended!