There’s few directors whose style is so distinctive that you can tell who helmed the film from just a few seconds. Robert Eggers, right from his very first film, is one such director. His first film The Witch set him out as a talent to watch and his follow up The Lighthouse was equally distinctive, A period film shot in black and white with dialogue in a Maine dialect in what is essentially a two hander film with Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe isolated in the lighthouse of the title slowly descending into madness. It’s a hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two men teetering on the edge of sanity with the two actors on good form in an intense, claustrophobic experience like no other that cements Eggers’ status as one of the most exciting filmmakers of our time.
The story follows two “wickies” – one inexperienced (Robert Pattinson), the other a grizzled veteran (Willem Dafoe) – arriving on a remote New England island in the 1890s for a four-week stint maintaining the local lighthouse. But as isolation and personal differences take their toll, both men slowly succumb to their inner demons and to the strange, otherworldly allure of the lighthouse itself…(read our review HERE)
Now available on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition for the first time as well as blu-ray, and includes a brand new documentary, made for the release, Art of Darkness: Making The Lighthouse, a definitive and in-depth look at the production, its themes and influences. It’s an especially good bonus feature alongside his directors commentary. The release also features superb packaging, a 60-page perfect bound book, a fold-out double-sided poster and six double-sided collector’s postcards.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS are as follows:
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), approved by director Robert Eggers
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio options
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by authors Guy Adams and Alexandra Benedict
• Audio commentary by co-writer/director Robert Eggers
• Art of Darkness: Making The Lighthouse – a brand new, in-depth documentary on the film, its production, themes and influences, featuring new interviews with co-writer/director Robert Eggers, director of photography Jarin Blaschke, production designer Craig Lathrop, costume designer Linda Muir and authors Guy Adams and Alexandra Benedict
• The Lighthouse Next Door: The Consuming House Tale of Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse – a brand new visual essay on the film and its folklore influences by author and critic Kat Ellinger
• The Lighthouse: A Dark & Stormy Tale – a three-part documentary on the making of the film
• Deleted scenes
• Two theatrical trailers
• Image gallery
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeffrey Alan Love
• Limited edition 60-page perfect bound book featuring new writing on the film by Simon Abrams, Wickham Clayton, Martyn Conterio and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeffrey Alan Love
• Six double-sided collector’s postcards
Eggers himself has overlooked the transfer of the film and it is of an extremely high standard for a film that was shot in a period authentic monochrome all of which lends to the directors highly stylized films which would continue with his superb but underrated big budget film, ‘The Northman’. It’s little wonder that actors are vying to appear in his films in what is one of the greatest of the recent directors to emerge over the past ten years
related feature: The Witch – LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY
related feature: Film maker Mark Cousins chats to us about his film, ‘March on Rome’
Here’s the Lighthouse trailer…..
