There are cult films and then there’s Bruce Robinson‘s glorious "Withnail & I," a movie so deliciously, drunkenly quotable, you have your choice of favorite lines from the first frame. It’s simply one of the funniest movies ever made, and now it’s getting a fresh coat of paint.
Arrow Films in the U.K. restored the movie and are preparing an expansive 4-disc Blu-ray/DVD edition that includes extensive special features (check them all out below). In addition, they’re giving the film theatrical re-release and VOD bow. As a little taste, they dropped a new trailer for "Withnail & I" that, in under 90 seconds, makes you want to watch the whole damn thing again (or for the first time) right now. It’s still Richard E. Grant‘s finest moment.
No word yet on a release date or if The Criterion Collection will update their out of print version by porting over some of the material here, but fingers crossed.
—–
4-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
New 2K restoration of WITHNAIL and I from the original camera negative, supervised and approved by director of photography Peter Hannan
Bruce Robinson s follow-up feature, How to Get Ahead in Advertising, newly transferred from original film elements and approved by director of photography Peter Hannan
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD Presentation of both films
Original uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio for both films
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Audio commentary by writer-director Bruce Robinson
Audio commentary by critic and writer Kevin Jackson, author of the BFI Modern Classic on WITHNAIL and I
All four original Withnail Weekend documentaries, first screened on Channel 4 in 1999, including The Peculiar Memories of Bruce Robinson, which looks at the director s career, Withnail & Us, which focuses on the film s making, and two shorter documentaries, I Demand to Have Some Booze and Withnail on the Pier
Newly filmed interviews with key members of WITHNAIL and I s behind-the-scenes team (TBC)
Theatrical trailers for both films
Exclusive limited edition hardback book packaging (2,000 copies) containing new writing on the films, reprints of key articles on WITHNAIL and I, deleted scenes and more across 200 pages, illustrated with original production stills.
More to be announced!
