Adam Resurrected Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Adam Resurrected Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 6, 2022

Paul Schrader perhaps warns viewers a bit as his commentary included on this disc as a supplement opens, stating that those who have seen other movies ostensibly about the Holocaust have probably watched films that were more or less "historical" (as in relatively accurate) and (and this is probably the most salient element) "reverent". Adam Resurrected is neither historically accurate nor reverent, and therefore reactions may vary from disbelief to slight distaste to actual "WTF?" hyperbole, in a tale that sees a Holocaust survivor named Adam Stein (Jeff Goldblum) as a so-called "recidivist" at a sanitarium in the Negev supposedly set up expressly for those who, like Stein, managed to make it through the maelstrom of Nazism and concentration camps, though not without some severe emotional trauma.

One may quibble with Schrader's assertion that all previous films about the Holocaust were both "accurate" and "reverent" (anyone want to start with Life Is Beautiful?), but there's little doubt that there really isn't another "Holocaust film" quite like Adam Resurrected. Image Entertainment actually put out a prior Blu-ray way back in 2009, and for those interested in a plot recap and the chance to compare screenshots between the two releases, I recommend reading Casey Broadwater's Adam Resurrected Blu-ray review of that original release. As I so often state, "different reviewers means different opinions", and while my technical assessment is more or less in line with Casey's, I'm perhaps a bit more positively disposed toward the film than Casey was, maybe ironically for some of the same reasons that Casey wasn't.

While I (probably?) agree that the whole here is arguably not equal to the sum of its parts, those parts if taken as a whole are often amazingly provocative and rather fascinating. While Casey points out certain parallels to the story of Job (and certainly the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust are a fitting analogue), there's also an undeniably Messianic import given to Jeff Goldblum's character, not just courtesy of his almost prophetic qualities with his fellow inmates, but also undeniably courtesy of "little" things like his tendency toward displaying stigmata (or at least rampant bleeding), not to mention the verb in the film's very title. It's all deliberately weird and unsettling, and for better or worse, it makes Adam Resurrected unforgettable in its own inimitable way.

Adam Resurrected Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Adam Resurrected is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the MVD Marquee Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. If this isn't downright identical in appearance to the now long ago Image Entertainment Blu-ray release, it is at least very similar, at least judging solely on the basis of screenshots. As Casey points out, the film is kind of a study in differing presentational styles, and the transfer supports both the slightly desaturated, almost ochre infused asylum scenes, and the often high contrast black and white sequences that make up many of the flashback elements. Detail levels are very good to excellent throughout, with an understanding that (again as Casey mentioned in his review of the Image Entertainment release) some of the black and white material has been intentionally distressed to mimic old, weathered film. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Adam Resurrected Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again in the "different reviewers means different opinions" mode, I'm giving a slightly higher score to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks than Casey did for the Image Entertainment release (and I might have upped my score from Casey's anyway, since the Image Entertainment release did not have a stereo track). While it's true that surround activity definitely ebbs and flows in the 5.1 track, there's still consistent engough engagement that I found the track to be reasonably immersive, and certain nightmarish scenes, including expected elements like the concentration camp arrival but even some of the ostensible "entertainment" sequences in the cabaret, have rather good surround activity. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Adam Resurrected Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release repeats all of the supplements Casey detailed in his review, as well as also offering the film's trailer. For more information on the repeated supplements, consult Casey's Adam Resurrected Blu-ray review .

• Behind the Scenes Featurette (SD; 24:01)


• Haifa International Film Festival Q & A (SD; 1:11:58)


• Deleted Scenes (SD; 9:32)


• Audio Commentary with Director Paul Schrader is accessible under the Setup Menu.


• Trailers includes Adam Resurrected (HD: 1:49) as well as trailers for a couple of other releases from MVD.

Adam Resurrected Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Adam Resurrected may not totally hit the bullseye (or whatever the correct image and/or allusion may be), but I found its absolutely anarchic spirit to be unbelievably provocative and memorable. This most definitely will not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is a fascinating deconstruction of both "Holocaust film tropes" (I am almost loathe to use such a description) and in a way an incisive deconstruction of Jewish identity. Technical merits are generally solid, and at least for those with "liberated" (?) senses of history and/or humor, Adam Resurrected comes Recommended.