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 July 14, 2024

Rupert Wainwright's "Stigmata" (1999) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Capelight Pictures/MPI Media Group. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by director Rupert Wainwright; making of featurette; deleted scenes; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

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, Stigmata arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Capelight Pictures/MPI Media Group.

This release is sourced from the same older MGM master that Shout Factory worked with to produce this release. In the United Kingdom, Eureka Entertainment also used this master to produce this release. I have to say that this is a little disappointing. Why? The master is rather decent. However, it comes from the DVD era and has plenty of obvious limitations. Needless to say, the bigger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to notice them. For example, Stigmata is a highly stylized film in which light and shadow are frequently distorted in unique ways. Nevertheless, there are different types of highlights and darker nuances that can look better. Delineation, clarity, and depth are acceptable, in some areas even good, but a healthy new 2K or 4K master will undoubtedly produce many meaningful improvements. The same can be said about color reproduction. Primaries and supporting nuances can be fresher and better balanced, though many are intentionally manipulated. Image stability is excellent. The surface of the visuals looks good. However, in an ideal world it can be healthier, too. All in all, Stigmata looks fine on Blu-ray, but if given a proper makeover, and especially if it is released on 4K Blu-ray, it would be quite the visual stunner. My score is 3.75/5.00.

Stigmata Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

Even though the current 5.1 track must have been prepared a while ago, it is very, very good. However, I would love to have a brand new Dolby Atmos track for Stigmata because its soundtrack is simply incredible. It is very diverse and produces outstanding dynamic contrasts that could easily test the muscles of a great audio system. A few sequences where the demon reveals itself are what I consider to be reference material in terms of mixing. The dialog is always clear, stable, and easy to follow.

Stigmata Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• 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).

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

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

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

• Booklet - 24-page illustrated booklet.

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. This recent mediabook release from Capelight Pictures/MPI Media Group is sourced from the same old MGM master that was licensed to other boutique labels in the past. It offers a decent presentation of Stigmata, but I would have to see a similarly elegant 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack, introducing a fresh new 4K makeover. RECOMMENDED.