Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Withnail and I 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 28, 2024

There's an oft quoted designation of British humor being "dry", and in that regard, what's on tap throughout Withnail and I might metaphorically be compared to the drink of choice of patrician types, sherry. Unfortunately, there are no patrician types in the film (with the possible exception of one supporting relative), though titular character Withnail (Richard E. Grant) seems to have delusions of being one, at least with regard to flowery speechifyin' and a somewhat (?) pretentious aspect. There's another oft quoted statement that "if you remember the sixties, you weren't there", though it turns out that screenwriter and director Bruce Robinson was indeed "there" for that decade and evidently remembered it well enough, despite apparently massive indulgences in alcohol (one assumes not sherry) and other "controlled substances", basing the film on his own personal experiences to fashion this alternately hilarious and kind of melancholy remembrance. As some of the joking talking heads (including Robinson himself) mention in their hindsight analysis of the film included as a supplement on this disc, Withnail and I may prove that "plot isn't important", since the basic narrative here simply follows two out of work actors who try to take a little holiday, but who are confronted with just about everything that could go wrong, well, going wrong. The film's tone may be a bit of a seesaw at times, but the wit of the dialogue has bestowed upon the film a repeated accolade of being the "most quotable" movie in British history.

Withnail and I has had several previous releases on Blu-ray across multiple regions, including some prior 1080 releases by Arrow itself. As of the writing of this review, we have coverage of one Region A and two Region B releases, as follows:

Withnail and I Blu-ray review

Withnail and I Blu-ray review

Withnail and I Blu-ray review

Those reviews should suffice quite handily for anyone wanting plot recaps and technical analyses. None of those releases got stellar marks for video quality in particular, something addressed by Arrow with this new 4K restoration (after a previous 2K restoration by the label). As usual with Arrow, this Limited Edition is jam packed with on disc extras and non disc swag.

Withnail and I 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's now fairly old 1080 presentation. While Arrow's 1080 presentation is noticeably better than any of the other releases listed above, it's probably not completely indicative of even more improvement shown in Arrow's newer 4K restoration, and so these screenshots should be taken as only general guidelines of how this newer 4K UHD release actually looks. That said, per Arrow's standard operating procedure, this release does not include a 1080 presentation of the film, and so the 2K video score above has intentionally been left blank.

Withnail & I is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. One of the things I've always appreciated about Arrow is how they're not content to rest on their laurels, so to speak, and frequently revisit already commendable restorations / transfers to "up the ante". In that regard, while the 1080 release Arrow sent to me did not come with an insert booklet with information on that transfer, there actually was a bit of prefatory text regarding their 1080 release, which may be of some "historical" interest to some, as follows:

Withnail and I was restored for this release by Arrow Films.

The original negative was scanned in 2K resolution on a pin registered ArriScan. The film was graded on the Nucoda grading system. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris and scratches were removed through a combination of digital restoration tools. Image stability was also improved.

The film's original mono soundtrack was transferred from the magnetic reels. Audio issues such as pops, clicks and audible buzz were repaired or removed.

The film was fully graded under the supervision of Director of Photography Peter Hannan. This new restoration of Withnail and I was completed in 2K resolution.

This new 4K UHD version comes with an insert booklet containing the following information on this restoration:

Withnail & I was restored by Arrow Films, and is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with its original mono audio.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution. The film was restored in 4K resolution and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Scanning, grading and picture restoration was completed at Silver Salt Restoration, London.

This restoration was approved by Director of Photography Peter Hannan. The mono audio was restored from the original mag reels by Þorsteinn Gíslason.

All materials were made available by Handmade Films via the BFI.

Even doing a cursory comparison with the screenshots in this review culled from Arrow's 1080 release from a few years ago handily proves what a dramatic improvement video quality enjoyed when stacked up side by side against the previous 1080 releases that have reviews on this site. For just one of many examples, compare screenshot 1 in this review with screenshot 10 of the Image Entertainment review and/or screenshot 1 of the Starz / Anchor Bay review, and it's pretty easy to see the uptick in clarity, detail levels and color timing. Now take those improvements and improve them yet again and you may have some idea of the often sumptuous looking 4K presentation. There is still some extremely heavy grain at times, especially in some of the early apartment material (see screenshot 5), and then later at the, um, Cabin in the Woods, and some may feel those moments are a bit swampy looking at times. However, grain is much more tightly resolved for the majority of the presentation, and you can see a marked difference starting at around the nine minute mark of the film when Withnail and "I" finally get outside. Even in some of the darker, grainier moments, fine detail is at least marginally improved in this version from the already excellent levels in Arrow's 1080 version (look at the little flyaway threads on "I"'s blue sweater in the opening moments, which is also an optically printed credits sequence, which might have understandably led to deficits). HDR / Dolby Vision probably aids in helping to define some of these darker moments (including the opening), though there can still be some relatively murky shadow detail in passing.

Withnail and I 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

It's maybe just a little curious that neither the slipbox, back cover insert or insert booklet mention the fact that his disc has a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option in addition to the LPCM Mono option, but in fact it does, though engagement of the side and (especially) rear channels is intermittent and arguably nonexistent. The mono track obviously recreates the original theatrical experience and may be preferable to many for that reason alone, and it provides consistent fidelity and a rather nicely full sounding midrange and low end, something that's especially apparent in some of the fun music employed throughout the film. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly on the mono track as well. The surround track as mentioned above isn't consistently immersive, and in fact I heard almost all activity emanating from the front channels, but there's arguably even a bit more midrange and low end that helps to propel some of the source cues more energetically than in the mono track. Optional English subtitles are available.

Withnail and I 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Bruce Robinson


• Commentary by Kevin Jackson


• Withnail Weekend Documentaries originally aired on Channel 4 in England in 1999 as part of the marketing effort to promote the film. All four of these have great interviews and background information along with snippets from the film (which may also subliminally or even liminally show how dramatic the picture improvement in Arrow's version is, even given that these are obvious upscales).

  Withnail and Us (HD; 25:05)

  
  

  The Peculiar Memories of Bruce Robinson (HD; 38:56)

  
  

  I Demand to Have Some Booze! (HD; 6:00)

  
  

  Withnail on the Pier (HD; 4:25)

• An Appreciation by Sam Bain (HD; 8:04)


• Interview with Michael Pickwoad (HD; 21:14) features the film's production designer.


• Handmade Films & I (HD; 14:22) is an archival interview with Bruce Robinson in 2006. This was not included on the Arrow 1080 disc sent to me.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:26)

Additionally, this is yet another nicely packaged release from Arrow. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve, and there is very nicely appointed insert booklet with several interesting essays and the typical cast, crew and technical information. Everything is housed in a handsome slipbox.

Withnail and I 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the commentaries on this disc mentions how "everyone" probably went through a period of living in squalor like the two actors in the film, and that was certainly the case for me in at least some passing moments of my misspent (relative) youth. There's almost a slightly Odd Couple-like dialectic between Withnail and "I", but the film, despite its ubiquitous wit, is probably less concerned with Neil Simon punchlines than with character development and some occasionally high- falutin' repartee. Arrow provides a release with excellent technical merits and really outstanding supplements, all in a very nicely designed package. Highly recommended.