MOVIE REVIEW: Arrow Video Offers Audiences Another Of 2025’s Top New Movie Re-Issues With ‘Spawn’

By: Philip Sayblack

​Superhero movies are big business in today’s cinema world.  That was not always the case, though.  Going as far back as 1994 and Marvel’s then earliest Fantastic Four movie, the superhero genre was not a big draw until somewhere in the early 21st century, so when New Line Cinema released its cinematic adaptation of Image Comics’ hit title, Spawn in 1997, the movie was met with a mixed response from audiences.  In the nearly three decades since it made its theatrical debut, Spawn has actually gone on to achieve cult status and thanks to Arrow Video, will get new life next week on a new 2-disc 4K set and separate 2-disc Blu-ray set.  This in itself is important in its own important way and will be discussed shortly.  The movie’s sound and video quality – its production – also plays into the appeal.  This will be discussed a little later.  Rounding out the most important of the new re-issue’s most important elements is its bonus content.  Each item noted is key in its own way to the whole of the movie’s new re-issue.  All things considered they make the forthcoming re-issue of Spawn a welcome offering from Arrow for the most devoted fans of this now modern cult classic.
Arrow Video’s forthcoming re-issue of New Line Cinema’s 1997 superhero cinema flick Spawn is an example of a re-issue done completely right. In a year when so many movie re-issues have come up short and/or just outright failed, it makes that statement all the stronger and important.  Set for release Tuesday, the movie’s forthcoming re-issue succeeds in part through its general presentation.  As noted, it will be released separately on a 2-disc 4K and 2-disc Blu-ray platform.  The discs in each set are the movie’s separate theatrical and director’s cut, with the director’s cut being the “darker, more violent” cut than the theatrical cut that ended up being PG-13 instead of “R”.  On one hand, one could look at this and ask why Arrow Video did not just combine all four discs into one full, 4-disc collection.  That is a valid question.  The immediate response however, is that had the company gone that route, it would have made such a set quite expensive. 
In looking at prices listed through Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Barnes & Noble Booksellers (the movie was not listed through Best Buy and Books-A-Million), the 4K’s average price is $37.87 while the Blu-ray’s average list price is $30.24, with Barnes & Noble Booksellers having the most expensive listing for both releases.  Now, taking those prices into account, imagine having the Blu-ray and 4K sets all together in one set.  Odds are the average price of such a box set would be even more especially considering that Arrow Video is a British boutique label, making all of its re-issues imports.  To that end, the release of both sets separately is actually a good thing.  Sure, it would have been nice to have had both sets in one collection for audiences who are considering buying 4K tech but who still have Blu-ray players.  The thing is that 4K tech is still so price restrictive and Blu-rays honestly look and sound nearly as good as 4K releases (if not as good as those offerings).  Keeping that in mind, Arrow Video has gone the proper route in this case in regard to the general presentation.
The general presentation of Arrow Video’s Spawn re-issue is just one of its positives.  Another positive worth noting is its production (IE the video and audio quality).  The audio and video quality alike are impressive in their own right.  This applies in the 4K and Blu-ray presentation.  This is evidenced from the movie’s beginning to its end.  The soundtrack (composed of so much metal and nu-metal) expertly compliments the dialogue, the explosions and everything else while the video clearly has been touched up.  The grain of the original film is still evident.  That is obvious.  At the same time, it is not overpowering.  The result therein is a great sense of nostalgia among viewers while also giving a relatively clear picture along equally clear audio.  To that end, the production presented here builds on the general presentation to make for even more for audiences to applaud.
Rounding out the most important of the elements in Spawn’s 4K and Blu-ray re-issue is the bonus content.  The bonus content is the accent on top of the “structure” that is this re-issue.  That is because audiences get not just the bonus content featured in the original DVD and Blu-ray releases, but adds to that content with even more new material that adds so much to the viewing experience beginning with the new feature-length audio commentary from podcast host and comic book expert Dave Baxter.  At times Baxter’s commentary does feel a little bit scripted.  That cannot be denied but at the same time he also manages to make it feel fluid.  Audiences will be impressed as Baxter compares the original Spawn comic book to the cinematic adaptation, pointing out so many similarities and differences.  That he does this throughout the course of the movie is sure to lead to plenty of discussions on the pros and cons of those similarities and differences among certain circles.  That means that Baxter’s discussion on this matter alone makes for plenty of engagement and entertainment.
Baxter also takes on the special effects presented throughout the movie in his commentary.  The special effects are especially important because they are really a cornerstone of the movie’s visual presentation.  As Baxter points out, the visual effects used here were at the time a fledgling technology.  To that point, yes, the visual effects are questionable but keeping in mind their use in the cinema industry at the time, it makes their presentation ahead of their time.
Speaking of the visual effects, the VFX team of special makeup effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero discuss those effects at more length in their own lengthy discussion.  The duo points out the infancy of the tech that was used for the movie’s special effects, and even points out in the process that they actually did not want to use as much of the tech as was used.  There is note of how the pair went so far as to make a “prosthetic” cape for lead actor Micheal Jai White but because it was so bulky, ended up going the CGI route instead.  The same applied for the sequences involving the “devil.”  The duo discusses having actually made a model of the evil figure to use instead of a CG big bad. 
On yet another note, the duo’s discussion White’s prosthetic suit was so heavy and bulky that when they got him out of the costume, they had to actually dry it off because it caused him to sweat so much.  This is in line with White’s own comments in the new interview with him that sees him discussing exactly that topic.  In his new extra, White also talks about some other interesting aspects, beginning with the revelation that before joining the Spawn cast, he had actually been tapped to play the character Jax for yet another New Line movie, 1995’s adaptation of Sega’s Mortal Kombat game.  As White explains it, right around the time that he was tapped to become Spawn, the writers behind Mortal Kombat were reducing the role of Jax in that movie, so White still won out in the end, this even though he did not know anything about Spawn’s back story.  As White closes out his interview, he echoes the statement made by Spawn’s creator, Todd McFarlane in one of the original extras, that being the frustration of how  the MPAA handled the movie’s rating and that he thought an “R” rated cut should have been released regardless.
White is not the only one who discusses that treatment of the movie.  Bringing everything full circle, Baxter also addresses how the MPAA handled the movie’s treatment just because of its “darkness” since so few if any other movies at the time had been like Spawn.  It serves as a reminder of just how the MPAA (now MPA) uses what feels like bias in its rating system.  This is just one more of so many items that Baxter addresses and in turn adds so much to the viewing experience here.
On yet another note, Baxter also adds a lot of enlightenment to the movie as he explains Todd Mcfarlane’s time with Marvel comics and specifically his role in the creation of Venom in the company’s Spiderman series, and how that tied into the look of Spawn in the comics series.  Less seasoned comics fans will certainly appreciate this little six degrees of separation so to speak.  There is just so much more from here but not enough time or space to go into it all.  Putting things simply, Baxter’s feature length commentary adds so much appreciation to this modern cult classic alongside White’s interview.
As if everything noted is not enough, the movie’s nu-metal soundtrack also gets its own new in-depth examination and so does the editing.  Editor Michael Knue will entertain and engage audiences right from the outset of his interview as he discusses his dislike of having worked as an editor on the 1996 Alliance Films/Dimension Films sequel to The Crow, The Crow: City of Angels.  He said of that experience that it was so negative that he made him look for anything better, leading him to become part of the crew on Spawn.  It would be interesting to learn what made that experience so negative, working on The Crow: City of Angels.  His calm, matter of fact demeanor as he recalls his experience working on Spawn is enlightening.  It really brings the movie to audiences in a rarely addressed avenue so to speak.  This adds a whole new layer of appreciation for the final product.
Putting the final touch to the bonus content is its new companion booklet.  The notes, penned by John Torrani, coincide with everything discussed by Baxter.  From audiences’ dislike of the CG effects to the casting rumors (which will really surprise a lot of readers – thank goodness those rumors were just that) to the role of Spawn in rejuvenating the comics industry both on the printed page and on screen, and more, his insight completes the bonus content showing once more the importance that said content plays in the home presentation of any movie.
When all of Spawn’s expansive bonus content (the original and new collectively) is considered along with its production values and its general presentation, the whole therein makes the overall presentation that is this re-issue one of this year’s top new movie re-issues if not its best so far.
Arrow Video’s forthcoming re-issue of New Line Cinema’s Spawn is one of the most welcome surprises of this year’s movie re-issue field, along with its re-issue of Dark City earlier in the summer.  This re-issue shines in part because of its general presentation, which delivers the movie on two separate 2-disc sets, one being Blu-ray and the other 4K.  This is actually a money saving move by Arrow Video, believe it or not.  The production (the look and sound of the re-issue) adds to the appeal because of that presentation.  The expansive new bonus content that pairs with the original releases extras, puts such a rich finishing touch to the presentation.  Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of the movie’s re-issue.  All things considered they make the forthcoming re-issue of Spawn one of the year’s best in the movie re-issue community and more proof of why Arrow Video is currently the leading company in home video releases.
Spawn is scheduled for release Tuesday.  More information on this and other titles from Arrow Video is available at:
Website: http://www.arrowfilms.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ArrowFilmsVideo