Blu-ray Release: The Passion of Darkly Noon

Blu-ray Release Date: March 24, 2020
Price: Blu-ray $27.99
Studio: Arrow/MVD

Visionary British director Philip Ridley followed his sensational debut The Reflecting Skin with another surreal incursion into the dark heart of the ‘American dream’ in The Passion of Darkly Noon.

Darkly Noon (Brendan Fraser, Furry Vengeance), is the sole survivor of a military-style attack on an isolated religious community. Stumbling through a forest in a daze, he is rescued by the free-spirited and enigmatic Callie (Ashley Judd, Dolphin Tale). Darkly finds himself feeling strange new desires for Callie as she nurses him back to health… only to watch her jump into the arms of her returning mute lover Clay (Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic). Lost in the woods with only his fundamentalist upbringing to make sense of his unrequited passions, Darkly soon descends into an explosive and lethal rage.

Ridley’s talent for hallucinogenic dream imagery is on full display in Arrow’s new transfer of his most formally inventive and electrifying 1995 drama-mystery. The soundtrack includes two songs co-written by Ridley for the film, “Look What You’ve Done (To My Skin)” performed by Gavin Friday and “Who Will Love Me Now?” performed by PJ Harvey.

Here’s a breakdown of the Blu-ray’s features:

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative, approved by Philip Ridley
• High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
• Original 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD MA audio
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• New audio commentary by writer/director Philip Ridley
• Isolated score track in lossless stereo, including never-before-heard extended and unused cues, and the two songs from the film
• Sharp Cuts, a newly filmed interview with editor Leslie Healey
• Forest Songs, a newly filmed interview with composer Nick Bicât
• Dreaming Darkly, an archive featurette from 2015 featuring interviews with Ridley, Bicât and star Viggo Mortensen
• Previously unreleased demos of the music score, written and performed by Bicât before filming started
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring new and original artwork
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring a new Philip Ridley career retrospective written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas