Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 28, 2025

For such a perceived box office bomb, Lifeforce has shown considerable, well, life in the high definition era across the globe. In Region A, Shout! Factory put out Lifeforce in a nicely appointed Collector's Edition that I reviewed way back in 2013 (see below), which was followed by a 4K remaster offered in SteelBook packaging several years later (with an intermediary repackaging of the original release). The 4K (UHD disc) era has seen Shout! Factory offer Lifeforce 4K, and similar 4K offerings can be seen from other nations in our database, with Arrow offering its own Limited Edition with (unlike the Shout! release) both cuts of the film in 4K UHD on separate discs. Per their standard operating procedure, Arrow has also aggregated a generous supply of supplements.

As alluded to above, the surplus of releases of this film has led to several "reading assignments" for those interested in our previous coverage.

Lifeforce Blu-ray review is my take on the 2013 Shout! Factory 1080 release.

Lifeforce Blu-ray review is Stephen Larson's take on the 2018 SteelBook release.

Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray review is Brian Orndorf's take on the 2022 Shout! Factory 4K UHD release.

Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so these screenshots are taken directly from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate. Since this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

Lifeforce is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfers in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the presentation(s):

Lifeforce is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1* [sic] with original stereo and 5.1 audio, and Dolby Atmos audio sound mixes.

For the Theatrical Cut, the original 35mm camera negative (which is conformed to this version) was scanned and restored in 4K resolution and colour graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision. This master was produced in 2022 by Shout Factor with work completed at Duplitech.

For the longer International Cut, a 35mm interpositive element was scanned in4K resolution. The sections unique to this version were conformed with the restored Theatrical Cut, then restored and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision. This master was produced in 2024 by Arrow Films with work completed at Silver Salt.

The Atmos mix for the Theatrical Cut was produced by Shout Factory at Post Haste Digital, Los Angeles.

The Atmos mix for the International Cut was produced by Arrow Films and completed at Deluxe Audio, London.

The materials sourced for this project were made available by MGM via Park Circus.

Probably the biggest selling point for this edition may be the fact that it includes both versions of the film in 4K UHD, and while there are probably arguably slight downturns in palette and clarity and a slight uptick in grain coarseness from the IP utilized to source the International Version, I was actually kind of pleasantly surprised by how generally similar the International Cut looked to the Theatrical Cut, sourced off a negative. I attribute this general excellence to the remarkable restoration team at Silver Salt, whom some may remember I got to spend a day with in December 2024 (resulting in this interview. That said, I'd probably give overall more consistent marks to the Theatrical Version, which shows a somewhat more tightly resolved grain field and a slightly better saturated palette. Grain can be quite heavy throughout both presentations, frankly, due to the almost nonstop array of old school composited effects. There are some pretty noticeable downgrades in clarity and even densities at times during these effects sequences. The palette is really thrillingly alive in both presentations, and some of the somewhat unusual hues on tap (like those almost hallucinogenic greens in the opening scenes) have incredible vigor in both versions courtesy of Dolby Vision / HDR.

*Note: Vis a vis the slight discrepancy in aspect ratio verbiage, I think at some point the IMDb must have listed 2.39:1 as the original aspect ratio, because our database also listed that. If this transfer was based off the original camera negative and is in 2.35:1, that pretty strongly suggests the film was in 2.35:1, and in checking the IMDb now lists the original aspect ratio as 2.35:1. I will say as one of the team that "gets" to go around cleaning up and correcting specs here, there is regular confusion by submitters here between 2.35:1 and 2.39:1.

Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As outlined above in the verbiage from the insert booklet, both versions of the film offer new Atmos mixes along with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options. It seems if I'm understanding things that Brian only had access to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 "fold down", but still enjoyed the consistent immersion the Atmos track offers. The Atmos speakers are utilized throughout both cuts of the film, probably most noticeably for some of the quasi-flying material (not necessarily just spaceships, but the "mission" outlined in the opening). Surround activity is nicely consistent throughout, with both ambient environmental effects and what might be called "high tech clamor" spilling clearly into the side and rear channels regularly. I noticed no anomaly on the Tri Star banner, per Brian's comments, so perhaps that was ameliorated for this release. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc One - International Cut (1:55:57)

• Commentaries

Commentary by Tobe Hooper & Tim Sullivan




Commentary by Douglas Smith & Howard S. Berger




Commentary by Nick Maley & Michael Felsher

• Isolated Music & Effects Track is presented in DTS 2.0 (not DTS-HD Master Audio).


• Cannon Fodder: The Making of Lifeforce (HD; 1:10:04) is a 2013 documentary featuring tons of interviews, including Tobe Hooper as well as several cast and crew members.


• Space Vampires in London with Tobe Hooper (HD; 9:59) is an archival 2013 interview with Tobe Hooper.


• Carlsen's Curse with Steve Railsback (HD; 7:08) is an archival 2013 interview with Steve Railsback.


• Dangerous Beauty with Mathilda May (HD; 15:17) is an archival 2013 interview.


• Textless Credits (HD; 2:40)


• Trailer Gallery

International Trailer (HD; 2:03)




US Teaser Trailer (HD; 1:14)




US Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:29)

4K Disc Two - Theatrical Cut (1:41:20)

• Isolated Music & Effects Track is presented in DTS 2.0.


• Electric Boogaloo Interviews (HD; 45:40) are excerpted from Mark Hartley's 2014 documentary about Cannon Films.


• TV Version Comparison (HD; 14:48) is a side by side comparison of how several scenes were rejiggered for broadcast. The TV footage is sourced off of a pretty problematic VHS tape.

While this doesn't have the "extreme" packaging of some other Arrow 4K Limited Editions, the keepcase features a reversible sleeve and encloses a nicely appointed insert booklet with an essay by Frank Collins. Packaging features a slipcover.

Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Look, I'm certainly not immune to some of the criticisms lobbed at Lifeforce through the years, but I still find the film kind of deliriously entertaining on its own gonzo level. This new Arrow release offers both cuts of the film in 4K UHD, with generally great technical merits and some outstanding supplements. Recommended.