The Addiction Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Addiction Blu-ray Movie Review

Hunger, you say?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 26, 2018

Friedrich Nietzsche’s Also sprach Zarathustra may be best remembered nowadays (especially by film fans) for the tone poem by Richard Strauss it inspired which in turn provided some memorable music for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. But the tale that Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke unfolded in that now legendary film at least hinted at one of the central theses of Nietzsche’s original work, namely the arrival of the so-called Übermensch, a term which has been variously translated as “beyond Man”, “Superman”, “over Man”, among (many) other similar formulations. One might reasonably see the “Starchild” at the end of Kubrick’s opus as an example of an evolutionary quantum leap to the “next level” (whatever that might end up meaning). Nietzsche’s philosophy turns up (perhaps unexpectedly) throughout Abel Ferrara’s intriguing The Addiction, though it’s reasonable in this instance to infer that Ferrara and screenwriter Nicholas St. John are positing a rather “different” kind of Übermensch — in the form of vampires. Though The Addiction is shot in black and white and lacks the presence of an iconic rock star (though Christopher Walken arguably might come close in some people's estimation), some may feel the film is a sibling of sorts to a film that appeared over a decade earlier, Tony Scott's interesting (and arguably underappreciated) The Hunger, in that it offers rather upscale bloodsuckers and a New York City location, and also features some “female on female” activity that may either provoke or titillate, depending on your personal reaction to such presentational aspects.

Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor) is a philosophy student at New York University who is leaving a lecture hall as the film begins. Unlike the arguably tonier “uptown” ambience of The Hunger, this plot point makes the perhaps subliminal point that this film will deal with more “Bohemian” types that tend to frequent the (geographically) lower echelons of Manhattan, and as Kathleen walks outside in the general vicinity of the East Village, she’s accosted by a woman in an alley. The woman, whom we later find out is named Casanova (Annabella Sciorra), seems to offer Kathleen an “out” of sorts by telling Kathleen that Kathleen needs to command Casanova to leave, which Kathleen isn’t able to do. That leads to a little neck nibbling, though initially Kathleen thinks she’s simply been attacked by some lunatic denizen of the lower east side.

Making Kathleen a philosophy student and having the initial vampire attack include an offer of “freedom” if the potential victim simply says “no” are just the first two clues that Ferrara and St. John, whom Brad Stephens talks about as being a devout Christian, have a lot more on their minds than simply doling out gory shots of blood being sucked from people’s necks (but for horror aficionados, never fear, there are such shots in the film). Already the film is dealing with how people respond to “evil”, even before the film starts making the perhaps over obvious correlations between vampirism and drug addiction, an element that is emphasized by a certain “creativity” in how Kathleen feeds her habit at times.

What helps to give The Addiction some of its undeniable power (and creepiness) is the “evolution” the Kathleen undergoes, one that pushes her from confused over her injury, to soon lusting after others (including Kathryn Erbe, who gives a great performance as one of Kathleen’s conquests), while still trying to come to terms with her new “condition”. Christopher Walken also has an appropriately gonzo (more or less) cameo, spouting philosophy and letting Kathleen know that one way or the other, things will never be the same.

The philosophical underpinnings of The Addiction perhaps surprisingly don’t give the film an overly precious high-falutin’ pretentious quality and in fact seem rather unexpectedly “organic” within the somewhat florid confines of the film. This may be a “high IQ” vampire film in that particular way, but Ferrara and cinematographer Ken Kelsch do exceptional work making the gritty urban ambience of the film a kind of character itself. In fact, it may be interesting for Ferrara fans to contrast how New York is portrayed here in terms of how it is in other Big Apple set Ferrara films like Bad Lieutenant.

The Addiction Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Addiction is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

The Addiction was exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo and 5.1 audio. This restoration has been approved by director Abel Ferrara and director of photography Ken Kelsch.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K 16-bit resolution at MPI / Warner Brother, Los Angeles. The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master and restored a R3Store Studios, London. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, light scratches and other types of film wear were repaired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques. Additional grading was completed under the supervision of director of photography Ken Kelsch at Company 3, New York.

The stereo and 5.1 mixes were remastered from the original sound engatives and separate effects and music stems at Deluxe/Chace Audio, Los Angeles.

Anyone who may have dismissed Ferrara's directing abilities as not being especially "stylish" may actually be shocked by what a thrilling viewing experience The Addiction is in this transfer. This is some of the most sumptuous black and white chiarascuro cinematography that I've seen outside of noir. I saw The Addiction at a little art house here in Portland, and both I and several other viewers mentioned at the time how (intentionally?) hard things were to see in that theatrical exhibition. Shadow definition seems much better to me in this version (and I am relying on old memories here), but it's the solid contrast and expertly modulated gray scale that continually impresses in this transfer. Ferrara and Kelsch indulge in a number of extreme close-ups, and fine detail in these moments is often superb. Grain resolves organically throughout the presentation and encounters no compression hurdles. This is a really stunning looking film given an absolutely top flight transfer, and I can't imagine Ferrara fans not being pleased with the results.

The Addiction Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The urban environment tends to give the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix more ambient presence than the LPCM 2.0 mix, but the sound design here is not so relentlessly showy that those only able to access the stereo mix will really be missing much. The film's sometimes weighty dialogue and Joe Delia's score are both rendered cleanly and clearly. Fidelity is fine throughout the presentation, and there are no issues with damage, dropouts or distortion.

The Addiction Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Abel Ferrara is moderated by Brad Stevens (see below) and is kind of goofy, but worthwhile for true Ferrara devotees.


• Talking With the Vampires (1080i; 30:55) is a fun new documentary by Ferrara featuring interviews with Christopher Walken, Lili Taylor, composer Joe Delia and cinematographer Ken Kelsch.


• Interview with Abel Ferrara (1080p; 16:19) features the director sitting on a couch and discussing the project.


• Appreciation by Brad Stevens (1080p; 8:47) is a really well done (if awfully brief) overview of Ferrara and this film.


• Abel Edits The Addiction (1080i; 8:43) offers rare footage of Ferrara in the editing suite working on the film's final cut.


• Gallery (1080p)


• Trailer (1080p; 00:36)

The Addiction Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The allegory in The Addiction may be kind of hackneyed, but even granting that perceived deficit, this is an often arresting and at times disturbing film, one that has real power at its center courtesy of a beautifully modulated performance by Lili Taylor. Arrow has provided a release with top notch technical merits and some very enjoyable supplements. Highly recommended.