NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (January 2021): Imprint have transferred Kenneth Branagh's Dead Again to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a high bitrate, in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, and looks very consistent in 1080P. It is very clean with a few light speckles, plenty of depth and impressive detail in close-ups. There is grain - not in abundance but is visible not appearing to be scrubbed. Mostly looking solid it does have a few scenes that showcase the HD presentation very well. Overall, it look pretty adeptly transferred.  

NOTE: We have added 72 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Imprint give the option of a very robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track or a linear PCM stereo track (both 24-bit) in the original English language. There are some surprising separations and the film's audio is a significant part of the viewing experience. The score is by Patrick Doyle (Gosford Park, Henry V, Nim's Island, Alfonso Cuarón's excellent Great Expectations, Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way, and the 2011 version of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, among his credits.)  It's quite an aggressive score utilized gratuitously throughout Dead Again. Imprint offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Imprint Blu-ray offers a two commentaries both from 2002. The first is by Kenneth Branagh identifies the opening theme opening music as both Noir-sih and Gothic and later shares some of his favorite 'dark cinema' films. He's very enjoyable and easy to like, relaxed and forthcoming about taking on the director reigns for a films with 'reincarnation' themes. The second commentary is by Producer Lindsay Doran and screenwriter Scott Frank. They discuss the frequent re-shooting - having difficulty 'telling the story', who's who etc. getting Robin William and Andy Garcia in the cast, fleshing out the character of Dr. Cozy Carlisle, Kenneth Branagh doing both parts - neither in his native accent - dialogue coaches etc. 'plastic material' (inanimate object reflected to, potentially, contain meaning) utilized in the film; gloves, scissors, anklet etc.. They discuss different endings, scenes cut for TV etc., the subtle humor of Dead Again and much more. We also get a 1/4 hour "A Cut Above: Dead Again and the Lost Art of the Hollywood Thriller" a visual essay by Ian Mantgani who discusses classic and more modern Hollywood thrillers showing clips from The Lady from Shanghai, Sorry, Wrong Number, Vertigo, Dial M for Murder, Psycho, Rebecca and more modern fare like Avengers: Endgame and Crimson Peak. His observations are interesting and I found him insightful. Lastly, is a trailer and the Imprint Blu-ray package offers a limited edition slipcase with unique artwork on the first 1500 copies.

You'd have thought that Kenneth Branagh's Dead Again would have had a Blu-ray release before now. It's a complex, layered crime-drama-mystery with some supernatural/occult hints - it's extremely well realized - and filled with enjoyable noirish conventions. Not an homage so much as a strong neo-noir with Hitchcock-ian flair. I loved the black and white 'flashbacks' and it has great support from Derek Jacobi, Wayne Knight, Robin Williams, and Andy Garcia. I really enjoyed this and the commentaries / visual essay. Another keeper from Imprint's Blu-ray catalogue.

Gary Tooze