Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Death Becomes Her 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Death Becomes Her is one of the greatest cult classic genre films. Produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steve Starkey (Forrest Gump, Contact), Death Becomes Her stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, and Isabella Rossellini. Released on July 31st, 1992, Death Becomes Her was produced on a modest budget of 55 million. Death Becomes Her earned a modest return of 149 million. With an exceptional cast of A-list stars, Death Becomes Her deserves its recognition as a cult favorite.

Beauty doesn’t always last forever. The quest for eternal youth is something that some would go to great lengths for in order to stay young. Self-obsessed Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) and Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn) are both feeling older than they once were and both are wanting to remain eternally beautiful forever.

 The seductive Lisle Von Rhuman (Isabella Rossellini) meets Madeline and Helen – presenting them both with a chance of a lifetime for a magic potion that can reverse time and be powerful as an antidote to aging. A few drops of the magic potion and aging reverse course. The downside? The magic potion comes with some unexpected side effects.

Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis) finds himself stuck between both women and their mad-cap rivalry between each other. Ernest also becomes intrigued by the potion – could it make him younger, too? As Ernest gets tossed between the two women (one current flame and one ex-flame) things get out of hand when an ill-conceived murder plot spirals out of control and the potion brings these youthful ambitions to a freefall.

Even death doesn’t leave any of them as dearly departed. Immortality or a curse of eternal living? The mayhem ensues as Ernest, Madeline, and Helen find themselves in one of the zaniest situations ever conceived.

The lead performances are excellent across the board. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn are outstanding in their roles. Both of the leading actresses have the time of their life in this screwball horror-comedy. The actresses provide their unique whimsy for each role. Bruce Willis is equally exceptional in his role – one of his best comedic turns and a great showcase for his range as an actor. Willis has always been one of my favorite actors and this was the perfect part for Willis. Isabella Rossellini delivers a terrific turn that showcases her sly comedic side perfectly.

The supporting cast of actors in Death Becomes Her includes Chagall (Ian Ogilvy), Dakota (Adam Storke), Rose (Nancy Fish), Psychologist (Alaina Reed-Hall), Anna (Michelle Johnson), Vivian Adams (Mary Ellen Trainor), and Mr. Franklin (William Frankfather). The supporting cast of actors have a great time with their roles – adding fun and sometimes subtle comedy to the production. There is a lot to appreciate with the supporting cast members, too.

The cinematography by Dean Cundey (Jurassic Park, Escape from New York) is sublime and one of the most important aspects of the production. Cundey is a talented cinematographer – one of the best in the entire business – with a keen visual sensibility that works especially well with horror and genre filmmaking. The visual aesthetic of Death Becomes Her is terrific and is one of the reasons the film became a beloved cult classic. There is a lot of love and care in the visual language of the film.

Edited by Arthur Schmidt (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump), Death Becomes Her is manic fun and the energy throughout is undeniably charming. Schmidt is a talent in the editing room and created a fun pacing to the film that is part of the reason Death Becomes Her works so well. An excellent edit by Schmidt.

The score composed by Alan Silvestri (Avengers: Endgame, Back to the Future) is one of the most engaging and fun aspects of Death Becomes Her. Silvestri is a wonderful talent and one of the greatest film composers of all time. Silvestri has such a wild imagination as a film composer and this score is a fun, playful, and iconic film score. The music adds so much charm to the filmmaking and is a perfect backdrop to the manic energy of Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis. As the lead actors showcase their fun comedic range, the score is a perfect accompaniment.

The production designs by Rick Carter (Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, Back to the Future Part II) is ace, too. Carter is a gifted production designer and the effort for the film is top-notch. There certainly is a sense of ambition and wonder to the designs and the effort is especially noteworthy in regards to the gothic mansion sensibilities (which creates a kind of kitsch horror style that feels like a callback to classic genre movies). The art direction by William James Teegarden (Forrest Gump, Jurassic Park) is equally outstanding and adds to the aesthetic of the film.

The costume designs by Joanna Johnston (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Jurassic World: Dominion) are incredible. The costuming is superb and one of the best aspects of the entire production. The entire effort is incredible and each of the lead cast members has terrific costumes. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn have impressive costumes that are all about the glitz and glamour – one of the main elements within the story itself is the lust for eternal beauty and the costumes were designed to reflect that aspect.

Written by Martin Donovan (Apartment Zero, Somebody Is Waiting) and David Koepp (Mission: Impossible, Jurassic Park), Death Becomes Her is a terrific screenplay with a lot of wit. The script is incredible. Absolutely first-rate storytelling – a great concept and fun storytelling. The dialogue is exceptional. The back-and-forth dialogue and antics between Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep, and Goldie Hawn is iconic. Incredibly witty and engaging dialogue makes the script a cult classic horror-comedy with good reason.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump), Death Becomes Her is a legendary cult film. It is no surprise that it continues to gain so much popularity over the years. Death Becomes Her was only a modest success at best when it was first released but due to word of mouth, television, and home video, Death Becomes Her became a hugely popular cult film with a lot of fans championing the ultra-dark comedy and body dysmorphia elements. Death Becomes Her was also surely an influence on Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance – another instant cult classic and one of the best horror films released in recent years. Death Becomes Her is one of the best films by Zemeckis and it takes a solid page from the pantheon of Tales from the Crypt. No fan of cult horror-comedy classics should miss it.

Death Becomes Her 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on 4K UHD by Shout Factory, Death Becomes Her is presented in 2160p HEVC / H.265 in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen. Filmed with both PanaVision and VistaVision cameras, Death Becomes Her was produced with the Eastman EXR 500T 5296 35mm format. The restoration was completed using the original 35mm camera negative of the feature-film. The 4K restoration of the camera negative is exceptional and provides the best presentation of Death Becomes Her to date.

The release provides a high dynamic range presentation in both HDR10 (standard) and Dolby Vision. The high dynamic range presentation looks exceptional and has so much depth and detail. The picture quality provides fine detail and clarity never before seen on previous home media releases.

The release has a high bit-rate encode at over 80mbps on average – a significant boost with lots of room for the 4K scan and restoration to shine. The cinematography has a surreal and haunting quality that is incredible. The gothic atmosphere adds so much to the presentation and helps provide new life to the transfer. A robust scan and one that is sure to delight fans of the film.

Death Becomes Her 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The lossless, high-resolution audio is superb and quite pleasing. The detail and clarity add to the immersive quality of the audio presentation.

The audio is fantastic – the crisp definition in the audio presentation provides depth and wonder to the score, soundstage, and sound effects. The score composed by Alan Silvestri being a significant standout on the release. The surround sound mix is surprisingly more engaging than expected, too. The surrounds are well utilized to add some extra ambiance – especially during some of the more action-oriented sequences.

Death Becomes Her 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a nice o-card slipcover. The slipcover design is fantastic. The slipcover is printed on high quality card stock. The release looks great in hand and will make a nice addition to any home media collection.

The Making of Death Becomes Her (HD, 25:03)

Vintage Behind the Scenes Featurette (HD, 8:57)

Photo Gallery (HD, 3:57)

Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2:01)

Death Becomes Her 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Death Becomes Her is one of the best horror comedies of all time. Director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Contact) made an iconic classic with so many great performances - Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis delivering some of the best physical comedy performances ever put on film. With a perfect script and superb execution, Death Becomes Her is zany over-the-top fun for horror-comedy aficionados. The definition of "cult classic" should always include Death Becomes Her as an example.

The 4K UHD release of Death Becomes Her features a stunning 4K restoration from the original camera negative. The 4K release also provides lossless audio. Rounding out the release, the package includes some nice supplements and a nice o-card slipcover. Fans of the comedy classic won't want to miss owning this first-rate 4K UHD release. Highly recommended.