Time and time again, I am left in complete and utter disbelief at how good Arrow releases look in their new restored glory. Even when I have never seen the movie before, knowing this is a nearly 30-year-old film and how absolutely clear, crisp, and clean it looks never fails to amaze me. Arrow continues to deliver impeccable release after impeccable release and their latest release, Anthony Waller’s Mute Witness, is a thriller that would’ve terrified in its day, but, in the modern society, has been copied, redone, and borrowed from so much that a first time watch leaves a little to be desired because it doesn’t feel fresh.

The film focuses on Billy (Marina Zudina), who happens to be a special effects artist who is mute and working on a lower-budget American slasher shooting in Russia. The audience is watching the movie being shot and it’s evidently clear that this is a low budget kind of shlocky movie that the cast and crew feel one way or another about, as well. Billy ends up locked in the studio one night and discovers something she certainly was not meant to stumble upon: two men shooting a snuff film. Things turn from bad to worse when they discover Billy saw them and she becomes the target of the KGB, Moscow authorities, and a notorious crime lord named the Reaper, putting her and all her friends and colleagues in danger. It’s truly, at times, an uneasy watch, creating a world of unease but with familiarity for new time watchers thanks to the ‘90s aesthetic it has in its blood through and through.

MUTE WITNESS 4K UHD packshot. Photo courtesy of Arrow Video/MVD Entertainment Group.

Now, what makes Mute Witness such an incredible addition to the ever-growing library from Arrow and to anyone’s personal horror collection is that the 4K restoration was approved by Anthony Waller (An American Werewolf in Paris) with HDR10. This allows Mute Witness to truly look the best it most likely ever has, not eliminating the aesthetic and look of this film from 1995, but cleaning up the grain (still present) and making the picture gleam. With the restored original lossless stereo soundtrack, as well, not only does Mute Witness look incredible, it also sounds fantastic. For a film that focuses on someone with mutism, the sound is a character nearly in of itself, and the addition of the lossless stereo is exceptional and makes this home viewing experience almost feel theatrical.

The plethora of features range from commentary tracks to visual essays and, something truly disturbed, the original snuff movie itself. Arrow is never shy of providing the best for their consumers and continuously delivers tenfold on their releases. Included in the features are two new commentaries, one being with Anthony Waller, the writer/director, and one with the production designer, Matthias Kammermeier (An American Werewolf in Paris), and composer, Wilbert Hirsch (An American Werewolf in Paris), moderated by critic Lee Gambin. Next up for the features is “The Silent Death,” which is a visual essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, which examines Mute Witness and its relationship with snuff films. It’s truly an exquisite feature that is going to leave a deep sense of unease in the audience. Moreover, the next feature, which is “The Wizard Behind the Curtain,” which is another visual essay by author and critic Chris Alexander, explores the intrigue, execution, and rise in making a film within a film. These features, along with all the other features, the transfer, and the restoration, make this 4K edition of Mute Witness a must-have for horror fans and fans of Mute Witness, and is generally one of the top-tier releases done by Arrow films.

Mute Witness 4K UHD Special Features:

• 4K restoration approved by director Anthony Waller
• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in HDR10
• Restored original lossless stereo soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by writer/director Anthony Waller
• Brand new audio commentary with production designer Matthias Kammermeier and composer Wilbert Hirsch, moderated by critic Lee Gambin
• “The Silent Death,” brand new visual essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, examining Mute Witness and its relationship with snuff films
• “The Wizard Behind the Curtain,” brand new visual essay by author and critic Chris Alexander, exploring the phenomenon of the film-within-a-film
• Original Snuff Movie presentation, produced to generate interest from investors and distributors, featuring interviews with Anthony Waller and members of the creative team
• Original location scouting footage
• Original footage with Alec Guinness, filmed a decade prior to the rest of Mute Witness
• Teaser trailer
• Trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais
• Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michelle Kisner

Available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray June 11^th, 2024.

For more information, head to the official Arrow Video Mute Witness webpage.

For more information, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Mute Witness webpage.

Categories: Home Release, Recommendation

Tags: 4K UHD, Alec Guinness, Aleksandr Bureyev, Aleksandr Pyatkov, Anthony Waller, Arrow Video, Avrora Media, Cobblestone Pictures, Comet Film Produktion GmbH, Evan Richards, Fay Ripley, home release, home video, Igor Volkov, Larisa Khusnullina, Marina Zudina, Matthias Kammermeier, Mute Witness, MVD Entertainment Group, Nikolai Pastukhov, Nikolay Chindyaykin, Oleg Yankovsky, Olga Tolstetskaya, remaster, Sergei Karlenkov, Stephen Bouser, Valeri Barakhtin, Vyacheslav Naumenko, Wilbert Hirsch