Ms .45 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Ms .45 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 12, 2025

As several supplements included with this release get into, rape revenge films are a subgenre unto themselves, and Ms. 45 may forever be the paradigmatic example of that particular idiom for many. Ms. 45 had a 2014 release in 1080 from Drafthouse Films, but Arrow is revisiting this notorious title in both 1080 and 4K (in separate standalone editions), with a new 4K restoration off of the original camera negative and Arrow's typically bounteous supply of bonus content.

As mentioned above, Ms. 45 had a 1080 release over a decade ago courtesy of Drafthouse Films. Michael Reuben's Ms .45 Blu-ray review provides a plot recap, list of supplements and Michael's reaction to the technical presentation.

Ms .45 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: While this is a standalone 4K release without a 1080 disc, I am offering screenshots from Arrow's standalone Ms .45 1080 release as I think it actually provides a better representation of the look of the palette in particular, rather than offering screenshots from the 4K disc which are by necessity downscaled to 1080 and in SDR. Because this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

Ms. 45 is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow offers the same perfect bound collector's booklet in both their standalone 1080 and 4K releases of this title, which includes the following information about the presentation:

Ms. 45 has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono audio.

The film is presented in 4K resolution in HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K 16 bit at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging. The film was restored in 4K and colour graded at Resillion.

All materials source dor this new mater were made available by Giant Pictures via Warner Bros.

This new restored master was reviewed by Sean Williams and approved by Director Abel Ferrara.

Michael was reasonably well pleased with Drafthouse's 1080 presentation, but I'd suggest simply comparing some of the screenshots here and my Ms .45 Blu-ray review of Arrow's 1080 release with those accompanying Michael's review to see what an improvement has been made with this release, especially with regard to color timing, something that's probably even more noticeable here at times courtesy of the HDR / Dolby Vision grades. Many of Michael's screenshots strike me as being pretty skewed toward yellow and rather bright (despite Michael's comment about the muted palette), and both of those situations have definitely been altered for this release, I would state for the better. The noticeably darker presentation here probably inherently offers better suffusion, something that again is probably even more noticeable in this 4K edition than in Arrow's 1080 release. I was commendably impressed by how shadow detail wasn't really detrimentally affected by the darkness in Arrow's 1080 release, and the good news is the HDR / Dolby Vision grades may at least marginally improve things even more. On the potential "minus" side of the ledger, as Michael mentioned in his review, grain can be quite thick at times, and that thickness is only more observable at the increased resolution this format offers. That said, grain only really struck me as being overly "scrim" like against some of the whiter or more yellow backgrounds, as in some of the bathroom material in Thana's apartment. Grain looks considerably tighter in a number of the outdoor scenes in daytime and again commendably doesn't really spike overly even in some of the darker nighttime scenes, though there are some noticeable spikes during some brief opticals, as in a quasi- hallucination Thana experiences a blood circles a bathroom drain. As also mentioned in my 1080 review, this new master has eliminated all of the blemishes Michael mentions in his review, with the possible exception of what looks to me like a very small smudge or speck of dirt on a lens toward the right of the frame in an early bathroom scene.

Ms .45 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ms. 45 features an LPCM Mono track that has some of the same "baked in" issues Michael mentions with regard to the track on the old Drafthouse Films 1080 release (like occasional loose sync and varying ambience for looped material), but which provides a good accounting of another "era specific" score from Joe Delia, as well as the glut of sound effects that accompany Thana's "adventures" out in the "wild". One of the really provocative things about the film is how Thana is almost totally mute, consigning "dialogue" mostly to a lot of virtual monologues by various characters (many male) "aimed" at Thana. All spoken material is delivered cleanly and clearly, albeit with some of those aforementioned variances. Optional English subtitles are available.

Ms .45 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: More information on the supplements ported over from the old Drafthouse Films 1080 release can be found in the above linked review by Michael.

• Audio Commentary is by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, whose expertise courtesy of her books Rape Revenge Films: A Critical Study and Cultographies: Ms. 45 is on fine display here.


• Interviews

Director Abel Ferrara (HD; 7:45)




Composer Joe Delia (HD; 10:06)




Creative Consultant Jack MacIntyre (HD; 10:32)

• The Voice of Violence (HD; 18:56) is a new visual essay by BJ Colangelo.


• Where the Dream Went to Die (HD; 15:55) is a new visual essay by Kat Ellinger.


• Zoë XO (HD; 6:21) is the first of two pretty remarkable shorts by Paul Rachman, this one featuring Zoë's husband Robert Lund.


• Zoë Rising (HD; ) is the second Rachman, this one featuring Zoë's mother Barbara Lekberg as well as a vintage recording of a pretty astounding piano piece Zoe wrote when she was very young.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:44)


• Image Gallery (HD)

This is another very handsomely packaged Limited Edition release from Arrow with some significant non disc swag. An O ring slip encloses a slipbox that itself encloses a keepcase, perfect bound collector's book and a double sided fold out poster which offers the same two image options as the reversible keepcase sleeve. The collector's book is unusually excellent, and the good news is it appears to reproduce all of the writing that Michael was so understandably enthused about that accompanied the Drafthouse Films 1080 release, albeit here with slightly different article titles. The biggest news with regard to the collector's book is that it also includes new writing by Robert Lund as well as previously unseen photographs of Zoë.

Ms .45 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Zoë Tamerlis Lund has understandably become an iconic cult figure, and this new edition of her trailblazing performance should only further burnish her reputation. Arrow once again is providing cult film fans with a release sporting secure technical merits and a very appealing and informative array of both on disc and non disc supplements. Highly recommended.