Basket Case 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Basket Case 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 23, 2024

I began my now fairly long ago Basket Case Blu-ray review of Arrow's 1080 release of this film with a quandary as to what was funnier, the film itself or that fact that it had been granted a restoration by none other than the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA for you acronym lovers). Now that potential multiple choice question about what is truly comedic may have a new option: a 4K UHD release of this intentionally lo-fi enterprise, which would hardly seem to be the stuff of videophile dreams.

My above linked review provides information about Arrow's 1080 release, but those interested may want to visit Casey Broadwater's Basket Case Blu-ray review of an even longer ago 1080 release from Image Entertainment, as that review provides more of a plot summary. Both of the prior 1080 reviews should be good starting points for assessing differences in presentation and supplements between the two releases.

Basket Case 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's 1080 version. Per Arrow's standard operating procedure with its 4K UHD releases, this release does not include a 1080 version of the film, which is why the 2K score above has been left blank.

Basket Case is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.37:1. While some "fine print" in Arrow's insert booklet detail that there were different production entities involved in the 2018 and 2024 releases by Arrow, the verbiage about the actual transfer is rather similar to that found in Arrow's 1080 release:

Basket Case is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1 with mono audio.

The original 16mm AB negative reels were scanned via wetgate in 4K. Sections of a 16mm CRI and 35mm interpositive and a 35mm dupe negative were also used. The restoration work included full picture stabilization and the removal of dirt, debris, scratches and other signs of physical wear. All scanning, restoration and SDR grading work was completed at Cineric, New York.

The mono soundtrack was restored from the original 35mm magnetic tracks by Audio Mechanics, Los Angeles.

The film was restored on behald of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and was approved by the film's director Frank Henenlotter.

4K HDR10 / Dolby Vision grading was completed by Fidelity in Motion.

This is another 4K UHD presentation that is generally excellent and true to the source, but that may be an issue for some simply because the 16mm source is so incredibly grainy and crosshatched at times that fine detail can definitely ebb. Grain also fairly regularly attains a kind of pixellated chroma aspect where glints of colors ranging from yellow to blue can be spotted. The palette does attain some new vividness courtesy of HDR / Dolby Vision, and there is some marginal improvement in shadow detail in any number of very dimly lit shots, including a bunch of the material in the hotel which was filmed under less than fulsome lighting conditions. There are some noticeable variations in clarity, grain and color temperatures that I am assuming are at least partly due to the different source elements listed above.

Basket Case 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like Arrow's 1080 release, this 4K UHD version of Basket Case features an LPCM Mono track that for all intents and purposes sounds largely similar if not absolutely identical to the track Casey detailed in his Basket Case Blu-ray review. There's an undeniable brightness to the track on the high end, but the synth laden score actually sounds rather full bodied, and all dialogue comes through just fine. Unlike the Image release, Arrow has provided optional subtitles.

Basket Case 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow has commendably ported over all of the bounteous supplements from their previous 1080 release. For convenience sake, I'm repeating the list of supplements originally documented in my 1080 review here:

• Brand New Audio Commentary with writer/director Frank Henenlotter and star Kevin VanHentenryck


• Archival audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter, producer Edgar Ievins, actress Beverly Bonner and filmmaker Scooter McRae


• Basket Case 3 1/2: An Interview with Duane Bradley (HD; 8:30) is a goofy short by Henenlotter.


• Me and the Bradley Boys (HD; 16:24) is a new interview with Kevin VanHentenryck.


• A Brief Interview with Director Frank Henenlotter (HD; 3:50) is appropriately advertised as being "strange", and perhaps does not actually feature Henenlotter (on screen, anyway). This has a moment of full frontal male nudity, for those who are concerned by such things. Hey, they warned you it was strange, didn't they?.


• Seeing Double: The Basket Case Twins (HD; 8:55) features interviews with actresses Florence and Maryellen Schultz.


• Blood, Basket and Beyond (HD; 6:04) is a new interview with actress Beverly Bonner.


• The Latvian Connection (HD; 27:33) features interviews with Edgar Ievins, Ilze Balodis, Ugis Nigals and Kika Nigals.


• Belial Goes to the Drive-In (HD; 6:55) is a new interview with critic Joe Bob Briggs, who helped to establish the Basket Case cult back in the day.


• Basket Case at MoMA (HD; 37:12) is culled from the 2017 restoration premiere at the Museum of Modern Art, including a Q & A with Henenlotter, VanHentenryck, Beverly Bonner, the Schultz Twins and Ugis Nigals.


• What's in the Basket? (HD; 1:18:41) is a really well done piece giving an overview of all three Basket Case films.


• In Search of the Hotel Broslin (HD; 16:08) is an archival featurette from 2001 looking at locations.


• The Frisson of Fission: Basket Case , Conjoined Twins and 'Freaks' in Cinema (HD; 23:03) is a another really well done visual essay by Travis Crawford putting this film in the context of other movies about outcasts.


• Slash of the Knife (HD; 30:13) is a rarely seen short by Henenlotter featuring many of the Basket Case actors. This is a mock PSA about "America's uncircumcised". This offers an optional commentary by Frank Henenlotter and playright Mike Bencivenga.


• Slash of the Knife Outtakes (HD; 5:30)


• Slash of the Knife Image Gallery (HD)


• Basket Case Outtakes (HD; 6:13)


• Belial's Dream (HD; 4:49) is a 2017 animated short by Robert Morgan.


• Making Belial's Dream (HD; 2:06)


• Image Galleries (HD) include:

  Promotional Stills

  Behind the Scenes

  Ephemera

  Advertisements

  Home Video Releases



• Promo Gallery includes:

  Trailers (HD; 4:54)

  TV Spot (HD; 00:55)

  Radio Spot (1:51)

Additionally Arrow provides another nicely appointed insert booklet with writing by Michael Gingold and a kind of fun quasi-comic strip by Martin Trafford, along with credits and transfer notes. The keepcase also encloses a folded mini poster. Packaging features a slipcover.

Basket Case 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Frank Henenlotter is sweetly (if perhaps just slightly ingenuously) shocked in some of the supplements adorning this release that anyone even cares about Basket Case , and that "devil may care" attitude suffuses the film itself. This is just silly stuff, made even sillier by ridiculous elements like not quite ready for prime time stop animation, and the performance styles are similarly uneven. But there are obviously fans for material like this, and Arrow is to be commended for offering such a weird little cult item like this in 4K UHD. That said, I have a strong hunch that some may prefer the 1080 presentation to this 4K UHD one, since the very thick grain field is probably at least a bit more subliminal looking in the lower resolution. As with the 1080 release, supplements are outstanding, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.