Stigmata Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Stigmata Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 30, 2016

Rupert Wainwright's "Stigmata" (1999) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; deleted scenes; music video; audio commentary by director Rupert Wainwright; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

How is your faith these days, Father?

I liked this film a lot when I saw it in 1999 and since then I have only come to appreciate what it does even more. It works well on multiple levels. Visually it is incredibly well crafted, and it does a lot of interesting things to force the mind to consider possibilities that outside of its imagined reality few people would take seriously.

The film opens in a small village somewhere in the heart of Brazil, where Father Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne, The Usual Suspects) has arrived to examine a bleeding statue of the Virgin Mary. It isn’t the first such ‘miracle’ that he has seen, but this one puzzles him because his tests confirm that the blood coming out of Virgin Mary’s eyes is in fact real. He then reports his findings to his superiors in the Vatican, and they conclude that the best thing to do would be to have the statue shipped to them for further analysis. Meanwhile, an American tourist purchases a rosary that belonged to a deceased priest from the small church where the statue is kept and mails it to her daughter Frankie (Patricia Arquette, True Romance) who lives in Pittsburgh. Soon after, Frankie’s seemingly perfect world is turned upside down after she starts getting some truly bizarre bleeding wounds all over her body. When a local newspaper publishes an article describing Frankie’s most recent experience with a photograph which makes it look like she is crucified, Father Andrew is promptly dispatched to America to investigate her wounds.

Director Rupert Wainwright uses a lot of very well researched material to make his film attractive to two very different groups of viewers. On one hand, it plays well with the expectations of viewers looking for a modern horror thriller that treats religion in the same manner William Friedkin’s The Exorcist does. So there is an intended shock element that shapes up the narrative and with it the overall atmosphere. On the other hand, by bringing together a fascinating mix of truths, half-truths and myths, the film very effectively targets viewers that like to question the common logic that actually defines them as such. The blueprint for this appears to be Sidney J. Furie’s classic The Entity which works brilliantly because it does precisely the same thing but on a larger scale. (There is a lot of factual material in The Entity as well). So this is essentially a film with a dual identity that covers a lot of ground while it carefully balances style and substance.

When the film was released in 1999 some religious leaders swiftly condemned its speculations. The most controversial one was the concept that the Church was never meant to be ‘the middle man’ between Christ and his followers. It is an interesting speculation and at least as presented and explained in the film it certainly forces the mind to consider all sorts of different possibilities.

The excellent production values and top-notch camerawork make the film look genuinely spooky at times. The film also has a phenomenal soundtrack featuring some very stylish tracks by the likes of Massive Attack (“Inertia Creeps”), Bjork (“All Is Full of Love”), The Crystal Method (“Now Is the Time”), and Natalie Imbruglia (“Identify”).

*The Blu-ray also has the alternate ending that was included on the DVD release of the film. It is just as effective as the original theatrical ending.

Stigmata Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rupert Wainwright's Stigmata arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release has been sourced from the same master that Scream Factory accessed when they prepared the U.S. release of Stigmata in 2015. It is not a brand new master, and if I had to guess, I would say that it is very possible that it is at least ten years old. However, I don't find it to be problematic, though the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to see the type of limitations older masters such as this one typically have. For example, a lot of wider indoor shots tend to have limited depth. This is especially obvious when light is either restricted or filters are applied to enhance the intended atmosphere (see screencapture #12). Elsewhere fluidity also isn't optimal and once again this is something that becomes rather obvious when one uses a large screen or projector. This being said, the film actually has a lot of intentionally blown out highlights and crushed blacks that add to the native limitations. (Many of these stylistic enhancements are addressed in one of the featurettes included on the disc). Colors are also desaturated to accomplish the cold look desired by cinematographer Jeff Kimball. So in addition to the native limitations that the transfer has there are actually a number of very prominent stylistic enhancements that in certain areas tend to exacerbate real and perceived technical. shortcomings. Overall image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no distracting cuts, debris, stains, or large damage marks to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Stigmata 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 LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless 5.1 track offers some very serious upgrades over the old lossy track from the MGM DVD release. However, I feel that if it is fully remastered almost certainly there will be additional improvements in terms of balance. Balance in particular could be better managed during the action sequences where effects and surround movement are more prominent. The dialog is always stable, clean, and very easy to follow.

Stigmata Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• U.S. Trailer - original domestic U.S. trailer for Stigmata. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Identify Music - presented here is the original music video for Natalie Imbruglia Identify. (5 min).

• Alternate Ending - an excellent alternated ending for the film. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Audio Commentary - this is the same excellent audio commentary recorded by director Rupert Wainwright that was initially included on the MGM DVD release of Stigmata. There is an abundance of information in it about the history and documentation of stigmata as well as the production of the film.

• Divine Rights: The Making of Stigmata - an excellent archival featurette with plenty of information about the material Stigmata tackles, its production history, and some popular half-truths and myths about the phenomenon. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Isolated Music and Effects Track - presented as DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

Stigmata Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I could not disagree more with the many critics that vehemently dismissed Rupert Wainwright's Stigmata when it was released in 1999. It is a near-perfect film that tackles a very difficult subject and produces some absolutely fascinating speculations, leaving the mind wondering about truths most of us have been taught not to question. The film has a tremendous atmosphere as well. Eureka Entertainment's Blu-ray release is sourced from a master which I assume was prepared by MGM quite some time ago, but it represents a decent upgrade in quality over the old R1 DVD release. It retains the outstanding audio commentary with Rupert Wainwright. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.