K-Pax Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

K-Pax Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 15, 2026

Iain Softley's "K-Pax" (2001) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary by Iain Softley; archival cast and crew interviews; behind the scenes featurette; original theatrical trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Believe it or not, I am from up there.

Veteran psychologist Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges) has a new patient who puzzles him. It is not because he identifies as Prot (Kevin Spacey), a most unusual name, or because he cannot stop eating fruits and veggies while claiming that Earth’s produce is sensational. It is not even because he has repeatedly declared that his home is on K-Pax, a distant planet no one has heard of, or that he has reached Earth on a beam of light. Prot puzzles him because he just does not sound crazy. He is calm and alert, continuously presenting himself as a strikingly intelligent individual whose words do not raise any of the classic red flags that Dr. Powell easily detects whenever he engages other patients like him in his office.

After taking a closer look at several bits of information about K-Pax, Dr. Powell forwards them to a close friend, a senior member of a brilliant team of astrophysicists, expecting that they will be promptly dismissed as gibberish. However, much to his surprise, his friend confirms that they contain accurate coordinates of distant constellations that only he and his colleagues have studied, and shortly after, they arrange to meet Prot. At the Hayden Planetarium, Prot then leaves everyone speechless by pinpointing the exact location of K-Pax in a remote galaxy for which the astrophysicists have only partial information.

However, in the days ahead, following an intense investigation, Dr. Powell also pinpoints the exact location of Prot’s home on Earth, an abandoned farm in rural New Mexico, where he appears to have had a family. As Dr. Powell jumps on the next plane heading south, back at the clinic in New York, Prot prepares to take one of his patients with him and catch the next beam of light to send the two back to K-Pax.

While not advertised as a remake, Iain Softley’s K-Pax is in fact a pretty decent remake of Eliseo Subiela’s Man Facing Southeast, an Argentinean blockbuster from 1986 that also performed very well at several international film festivals. In both films, the main characters are men who claim to be visiting aliens, spending time in the company of supposedly very intelligent people, and producing some quite intriguing observations about humanity and the future of life on Earth. In both films, the intriguing observations are also similarly garnished with light humor.

However, despite borrowing a lot, K-Pax has a charm and an identity of its own. The former is a byproduct of Bridges and Spacey’s ability to humanize their characters and place them in various quite unusual, often even odd situations, where the rational and irrational constantly overlap, creating warmth that becomes very attractive. The latter blends this warmth with interesting visuals and sounds, ensuring that viewing K-Pax is a memorable experience.

The finale is wonderful. It is multi-layered, slightly ambiguous, leaving it to the audience to choose the most logical outcome, which is not an easy task.

*The official credits identify Gene Brewer's novel K-Pax as the source of the original material that inspired Softely's film. This novel was published in 1995, nearly a decade after Man Facing Southeast was released, and is now one of several in a series about Prot.

K-Pax Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, K-Pax arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Last year, we reviewed this Australian release of K-Pax, which was sourced from an older master, supplied by Universal. This release is sourced from the same master, which I believe comes from the DVD era.

The majority of K-Pax looks decent in high-definition, at times even pretty good, but the master has some predictable limitations. The most obvious of these limitations can be seen in areas with more prominent lighting or numerous ranges of highlights. They tend to make select visuals appear unnaturally smooth. (A good example can be seen here). Fortunately, there are not that many of these visuals because large sections of the film are rather darker, making it difficult for the untrained eye to notice the fluctuations in quality. Additionally, while color reproduction is satisfactory, a new 2K or 4K master will introduce improvements in terms of saturation and balance, instantly enhancing the dynamic range of the visuals as well. Image stability very good. I did not notice any large distracting cuts, debris, marks, or other similar anomalies to report. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

K-Pax Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Last night, I revisited the film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. I have not changed my opinion of it, so below I am reposting my comments from our review of the Australian release of K-Pax, which we published in early December last year.

K-Pax has a wonderful, very effective soundtrack that floods it with soft yet very prominent harmonies. The R1 DVD release of K-Pax had a fantastic DTS 5.1 track, and I suspect that the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is sourced from the same audio files. It sounded lovely on my system, definitely better than the lossy 5.1 track, but I felt like some part of the film where the harmonies are very prominent could have sounded a little fuller and stronger. All exchanges are clear and easy to follow.

K-Pax Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Iain Softley and has appeared on various DVD releases of K-Pax.

• The Making of K-Pax - this archival program features clips from archival interviews with producer Lawrence Gordon, producer Robert F. Colesberry, Kevin Spacey, and Jeff Bridges, amongst others, as well as raw footage from the shooting of K-Pax. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• The Making of K-Pax Through Photographs by Jeff Bridges - presented here are several photographs taken during the production of K-Pax, with text descriptions by Jeff Bridges. With music. (2 min).

• Alternate Ending - presented here is Iain Softley's first choice for the ending of K-Pax. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Storyboards - presented here are several short storyboards to feature comparisons. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Deleted Scenes - presented here are several deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an original U.S. trailer for K-Pax. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

K-Pax Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Many of the questions Prot asks are as intriguing as his answers to the questions he is asked, and ultimately, whether he is a visitor from another galaxy turns out to be a meaningless detail. This is quite a trick because, typically, other similar films wrap up their stories with a bang. In addition to being illuminating, Prot's interactions with Dr. Mark Powell produce an unusually soothing warmth, which makes spending time in their company a pretty special experience. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of K-Pax is sourced from an old, mostly decent master, supplied by Universal Pictures. RECOMMENDED.