[Blu-Ray Review] ‘Raising Cain’: Now Available On Collector’s Edition Blu-ray From Scream Factory

Raising Cain (Collector’s Edition) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Brian De Palma

Cast: John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer

Release Date: September 13, 2016

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

From master of terror Brian De Palma (Carrie, Body Double, Scarface, Dressed To Kill) comes a stylish psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final frame.

Carter Nix (John Lithgow, Interstellar, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is a respected psychologist, a loving husband and a devoted father who decides to take a year off to help raise his daughter. Carter’s wife Jenny is pleased to have her attentive husband home – at first. When Carter shows obsessive behavior toward their daughter, Jenny becomes concerned, and to complicate matters, Jenny’s old flame re-enters her life. But nothing can prepare her for the emergence of Carter’s multiple personalities, and a fiendish plot to recreate the infamous experiments of his own deranged father.

Written and directed by talented filmmaker Brian De Palma (Dressed To Kill, Carrie), his 1992 film ‘Raising Cain’ tells the story of a mentally conflicted family man who starts to slip away from his balanced and sane life after he discovers his wife cheating on him with an ex-lover. It’s a smart, consistently enthralling and chillingly beautiful film that’s capably guided by the incredibly talented Brian De Palma from his own script, and featuring a memorable and unsettling performance from John Lithgow (Cliffhanger, TV’s 3^rd Rock From The Sun), and co-starring Lolita Davidovich (The Longest Ride, Gods and Monsters), Steven Bauer (Scarface, TV’s Ray Donovan), Frances Sternhagen (Dolphin Tale, TV’s The Closer), Gregg Henry (Payback, TV’s The Following), and more.

This new 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of Brian De Palma’s ‘Raising Cain’ includes one notable addition that is sure to absolutely thrill fans. Not only does it include the original Theatrical Cut of the film in stunning quality, but it also features a Never-Before-Seen ‘Director’s Cut’ of the film which while not including any additional footage, serves as a far more accurate representation of De Palma’s true vision. The version dubbed the ‘Director’s Cut’ was originally constructed by a filmmaker (an interview with the gentleman is also included on the disc) after he acquired a copy of the film’s original script and discovered the intended scene order had been oddly jumbled for the release. He subsequently used the original script in order to reconstruct the film with the scenes in their originally intended order and the result is a surprisingly different overall film, and one De Palma has personally expressed his pleasure in believing it captures his intended vision. Therefore this addition should make quite a treat for fans, and also possibly allow fans of De Palma’s that weren’t particularly fond of ‘Raising Cain’ the opportunity to give it another whirl with the director’s original vision now far more intact.

Fans of ‘Raising Cain’ and of Brian De Palma’s notable work in general will almost surely want to make sure to pick up a copy of this fantastic new 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release from Scream Factory. This impressive new release of the movie includes a never-before-seen director’s cut of the film with the scenes reordered as originally intended, along with the original Theatrical Cut; both sporting wonderful high definition video and audio presentations. The release also includes a number of exciting extras including a collection of brand new interviews created specifically for this release and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below), altogether certain to make this Collector’s Edition Blu-ray an absolute must own for any fans who haven’t already acquired their copy.

Overall, fans of Brian De Palma’s work in general and particularly those of his thriller ‘Raising Cain’ will likely want to be sure to purchase a copy of this pleasing new 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release from Scream Factory to add to their collections which should undoubtedly serve as the definite edition of the movie on Blu-ray. Including both the original Theatrical Cut and a Never-Before-Seen Director’s Cut of the film in gorgeous high definition, along with a number of great extras (many new to this release), prepare yourself to experience ‘Raising Cain’ like never before and feel free to replace those previous BD releases with this fantastic new Scream Factory release; it comes highly recommended.

VIDEO:

Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of ‘Raising Cain’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio on both included versions of the film. The video presentations look pretty fantastic as a whole and deliver sharp and detailed presentations throughout that are complimented by a more than sufficient bitrate. They hold up impressively even during the darker and/or fast moving sequences and never result in anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, these are pretty wonderful high definition video presentations that should easily please fans of the film.

AUDIO:

The Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release features both a lossless 5.1 and 2.0 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on both cuts of the film. As is often the case, I opted for viewing both versions of the movie with the lossless 5.1 channel soundtrack utilized. These lossless multichannel soundtracks provide consistently crisp, clean and healthy audio presentations throughout. Occasionally utilizing all five available channels in order to send the score and a few action and nature related auditory effects along with some other tidbits throughout the various speakers, and never causing any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible in the process. Overall, these are both solid 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtracks that deliver in every way required of them and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of ‘Raising Cain’ includes a number of worthwhile extras, many of which were created specifically for this release. As both discs contain a few extras in addition to a cut of the film, I’ve broken down the supplemental material by disc below for the sake of convenience.

Disc One (aka the Theatrical Cut disc) includes a collection of Interviews featuring many created specifically for this release. They include: ‘Not One To Hold a Grudge: An Interview with John Lithgow’ (running 30 minutes in length), ‘The Man In My Life: An Interview with Steven Bauer’ (running 24 minutes), ‘Have You Talked To The Others?: An Interview with Paul Hirsch’ (approximately 11 minutes), ‘Three Faces of Cain: An Interview with Gregg Henry’ (16 minutes), ‘The Cat’s In The Bag: An Interview with Tom Bower’ (8 minutes), and ‘A Little Too Late For That: An Interview with Mel Harris’ (9 minutes). The ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes) and a ‘Still Gallery’ for the film are also included.

Disc Two (aka the Director’s Cut disc) includes a couple of videos relating to and discussing the new cut of the film. They include: ‘Raising Cain Re-Cut: A Video Essay’ (running approximately 13 minutes) and ‘Changing Cain: Brian De Palma’s Cult Classic Restored’ (approximately 2 minutes).