Samuel L Jackson is tired of these Snakes on the Plane!!! The Cult Action Horror Comedy gets a new 4K UHD from Arrow Video.
The Films
You had to be there.
That is often what I think about films like Snakes on a Plane. The zeitgeist-y type of film that many just shrug at now. One that people have seen countless times on TBS or TNT (Bill Simmons devotes an entire podcast to them … The Rewatchables). Though the funniest thing was about Snakes on a Plane, for all of the proto-viral internet hype, it wasn’t a huge hit, or even a hit. It truly became a self-fulfilling prophecy of a cult hit because of the title and one super star, legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson’s line delivery…
“I’m tired of these mother fucking snakes on this mother fucking plane!”
Shakespeare couldn’t have been more poetic. Snakes on a Plane isn’t a bad movie. It’s just one with a long runway. A very long runway. The film is entertaining enough, directed by Stunt Coordinator turned director David R. Ellis, with the sort of crisp eye for action and visual gags that one hopes for in that kind of transitional director. Ellis crawled (with films like the fun B-Movie romps Cellular, Final Destination 2, The Final Destination, and Shark Night) so guys like David Lietch and Chad Stahletski could run.
Snakes on a Plane is the apex of Ellis’s career (though not his best) because the cheesy acting and line delivery worked in favor, not against, the entire premise. There is a sincerity to the film that makes one laugh at it, but time and time again, when that sincerity works on you, and by the time the giant boa constrictor kills the dog (yes, the dog dies), you’re actively rooting for these characters you were laughing at. It helps that the film is expertly cast by Mindy Marin with people like Julianna Margulies, Lin Shaye, Kenan Thompson, David Koechner, Todd Louiso, and Bobby Cannavale… actors that can make the most inane dialogue sing (and here they do over and over again).
The success of the film comes down to the man… Samuel L. Jackson. Beyond the iconic line, it’s his work as Agent Flynn (the in-joke is funny to those who know) that shows exactly why he was so omnipresent in this era and, at almost 80 years old in 2026, still is. There is always something compelling about Jackson on screen, and when he flashes that smile … it’s movie star charisma. You relate to his exasperation and admire him losing his shit in frustration. We all want to be able to curse in the thunderous manner in which Sam the Man does. Yes, you’re waiting for him to say the line, but it’s not what’s keeping you there. It’s his command of the screen and his reality that the unthinkable has happened.
At the end of the day, Snakes on a Plane could have been a lazy Asylum still z-grade trash. Samuel L. Jackson, David Ellis, and the cast and crew work overtime to ensure it’s not. It’s B-movie popcorn entertainment of the highest order. The kind that lathers on as much cheese as it does butter.
The Transfers
The all-new 4K restoration by Arrow Films, presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), is another excellent restoration done by the label. The transfer retains all of the beauty of the 35mm shot production. The film was shot by cinematographer Adam Greenberg in the Super35 format, which retains its 2.39 aspect ratio (the format is such that it shoots spherical or 1.85 and then crops the top or bottom off to format the image to the widescreen look, which is how many digital productions work now), and looks luminous in the 4K UHD format. The image is colorful, bright, and sharp. The highlight of the transfer is the contrast and black detail during the darker scenes of the film, with the amount of detail that is shown just cannot be reproduced by any other format. It cannot be understated that Arrow and Warner Bros.’ relationship has definitely borne some of the best-looking 4K restorations and transfers of recent memory, Snakes on a Plane included.
The Extras
They include the following;
Brand new audio commentary by critics Max Evry and Bryan Reesman
Archival cast and crew audio commentary, featuring director David R. Ellis, actor Samuel L. Jackson, producer Craig Berenson, associate producer Tawny Ellis, VFX supervisor Eric Henry, and second unit director Freddie Hice
Snakes on a Page
Pure Venom: The Making of Snakes on a Plane
Meet the Reptiles
VFX
Snakes on a Blog
Music Video
Snakes on a video
Gag reel
Deleted and extended scenes
Trailers and TV Spots
Image gallery
Easter eggs
The first of two audio commentaries is an all-new track by critics Max Evry and Bryan Reesman. The duo begins their track with their credentials before diving into the film that is in on its own joke. Some of the details include a discussion of the development process from the inception of the original idea to the film that we have today; the career and personal history of stunt coordinator turned second unit director turned feature director David Ellis; the fact that director Ronnie Yu was initially attached to direct this film; the title and its temporary change and the uproar online about the change and its eventual change back; a discussion of the casting of Samuel L. Jackson; the career, personal history of cinematographer Adam Greenberg; the film original PG-13 rating and how reshoots changed the film over to an R-Rating; the career and personal history of Samuel L. Jackson; the work of snake wrangler Jules Sylvester; a larger discussion of the various locations they used in both Hawaii and California; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more.
The second audio commentary is an archival track with cast and crew featuring director David R. Ellis, actor Samuel L. Jackson, producer Craig Berenson, associate producer Tawny Ellis, VFX supervisor Eric Henry, and second unit director Freddie Hice. The participants are recorded separately and edited together in the non-screen-specific track. The commentary goes into detail on every aspect from each participant’s perspective on how Snakes on a Plane came to be developed, and produced the film from all aspects, from pre-production, production, the stunt work, the physical nature of the production, and the post-production process.
Snakes on a Page (17:48) – is an all-new featurette diving into the wonderful world of Movie Tie-In Novelization and specifically the novelization for Snakes on a Plane. Beginning with a discussion, publisher Mark Miller discusses how the novelizations typically occur and how his publishing company (which creates novelizations for films that do not), how that occurs, and various examples of both, and also examples of different unique releases. The history of the movie novelization is also discussed in detail, and how popular this particular kind of literature was in the 70s, 80s, its decline in the 90s, and why these were so popular. They also discuss Christa Faust’s novelization – how she got the job, how she wrote the novelization, the style she approached the adaptation, and much more. Featuring interviews with publisher Mark Miller, historian David Spencer, author of the Snakes on a Plane novelization Christa Faust, and others.
Pure Venom: The Making of Snakes on a Plane (18:06) – is an archival feature on the making of the film, which is a relatively in-depth look at the production. The doc covers everything from the development, casting, and casting, the complexity of the physical production, the real-life snakes, the visual FX, and more. Featuring comments by director David R. Ellis, stars Samuel L Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Rachel Blanchard, Bobby Cannavale, Elsa Pataky, Kenan Thompson, Flex Alexander, Lin Shaye, producer Craig Berenson, writer John Heffernan, and others.
Meet the Reptiles (12:59) – is an archival featurette on the work of snake wrangler Jules Sylvester and the snakes featured in the film. Just as much a look at Sylvester and how he came to work with snakes as it is about the work done for the production, and just how massive a task it was. Featuring comments by Sylvester, stars Samuel L Jackson, Bobby Cannavale, Kenan Thompson, Lin Shaye, producer Craig Berenson, writer John Heffernan, and others.
VFX (5:21) – is an archival featurette on the use of CGI featuring the crew at Visual FX House Café FX and the step-by-step process of bringing the snakes to the screen. Though over two decades old, the bones of how VFX still work are there, and it’s a fascinating look at the various shots and how they accomplished them.
Snakes on a Blog (10:07) – is an archival featurette on the online hype surrounding the film prior to its release. The featurette is quite quaint in the twenty years since the film’s release in terms of how online hype and virality occur nowadays.
Music Video (3:18) – the Snakes on a Plane music video by the band Cobra Starship, which actually plays during the end credits of the film,
Snakes on a Video (8:57) – is an archival making of the music video featurette featuring the band Cobra Starship.
Gag reel (4:41) – various actors flubbing their lines or hamming it up for the camera.
Deleted and extended scenes (11:51) – submenu allows you to play each of the deleted/extended scenes by itself, with or without commentary, or all at once with or without commentary by Director David R. Ellis, associate producer Tawny Ellis, and producer Craig Berenson.
Waiting at the Gate (0:52)
Eddie Kim Spars (1:09)
Boarding (2:12)
Three G’s and Mercedes (1:13)
Agent Flynn and Claire (1:18)
Longer Mrs. Bova Attack (1:46)
Music Video Talk (1:16)
Despair in the Cabin (0:41)
Water Crash Prep (0:43)
Flynn’s Offer (0:45)
Trailers (3:46) – submenu allows you to play each of the trailers separately or play all.
Teaster (0:59)
Unleashed (1:28)
Phobia (1:08)
TV Spots (2:41) – submenu allows you to play each of the trailers separately or play all.
Hype (0:33)
Everything (0:33)
Sit Back (0:33)
Bring It (0:33)
Sam Strikes Back (0:33)
Image gallery – the gallery consists of 40 production stills, behind-the-scene stills, and poster art.
Easter eggs
The Final Thought
Arrow Video continues to dominate the 4K UHD upgrade market with blockbuster cult titles. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Samuel L Jackson is tired of these Snakes on the Plane!!! The Cult Action Horror Comedy gets a new 4K UHD from Arrow Video.
The Films
You had to be there.
That is often what I think about films like Snakes on a Plane. The zeitgeist-y type of film that many just shrug at now. One that people have seen countless times on TBS or TNT (Bill Simmons devotes an entire podcast to them … The Rewatchables). Though the funniest thing was about Snakes on a Plane, for all of the proto-viral internet hype, it wasn’t a huge hit, or even a hit. It truly became a self-fulfilling prophecy of a cult hit because of the title and one super star, legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson’s line delivery…
“I’m tired of these mother fucking snakes on this mother fucking plane!”
Shakespeare couldn’t have been more poetic. Snakes on a Plane isn’t a bad movie. It’s just one with a long runway. A very long runway. The film is entertaining enough, directed by Stunt Coordinator turned director David R. Ellis, with the sort of crisp eye for action and visual gags that one hopes for in that kind of transitional director. Ellis crawled (with films like the fun B-Movie romps Cellular, Final Destination 2, The Final Destination, and Shark Night) so guys like David Lietch and Chad Stahletski could run.
Snakes on a Plane is the apex of Ellis’s career (though not his best) because the cheesy acting and line delivery worked in favor, not against, the entire premise. There is a sincerity to the film that makes one laugh at it, but time and time again, when that sincerity works on you, and by the time the giant boa constrictor kills the dog (yes, the dog dies), you’re actively rooting for these characters you were laughing at. It helps that the film is expertly cast by Mindy Marin with people like Julianna Margulies, Lin Shaye, Kenan Thompson, David Koechner, Todd Louiso, and Bobby Cannavale… actors that can make the most inane dialogue sing (and here they do over and over again).
The success of the film comes down to the man… Samuel L. Jackson. Beyond the iconic line, it’s his work as Agent Flynn (the in-joke is funny to those who know) that shows exactly why he was so omnipresent in this era and, at almost 80 years old in 2026, still is. There is always something compelling about Jackson on screen, and when he flashes that smile … it’s movie star charisma. You relate to his exasperation and admire him losing his shit in frustration. We all want to be able to curse in the thunderous manner in which Sam the Man does. Yes, you’re waiting for him to say the line, but it’s not what’s keeping you there. It’s his command of the screen and his reality that the unthinkable has happened.
At the end of the day, Snakes on a Plane could have been a lazy Asylum still z-grade trash. Samuel L. Jackson, David Ellis, and the cast and crew work overtime to ensure it’s not. It’s B-movie popcorn entertainment of the highest order. The kind that lathers on as much cheese as it does butter.
The Transfers
The all-new 4K restoration by Arrow Films, presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), is another excellent restoration done by the label. The transfer retains all of the beauty of the 35mm shot production. The film was shot by cinematographer Adam Greenberg in the Super35 format, which retains its 2.39 aspect ratio (the format is such that it shoots spherical or 1.85 and then crops the top or bottom off to format the image to the widescreen look, which is how many digital productions work now), and looks luminous in the 4K UHD format. The image is colorful, bright, and sharp. The highlight of the transfer is the contrast and black detail during the darker scenes of the film, with the amount of detail that is shown just cannot be reproduced by any other format. It cannot be understated that Arrow and Warner Bros.’ relationship has definitely borne some of the best-looking 4K restorations and transfers of recent memory, Snakes on a Plane included.
The Extras
They include the following;
The first of two audio commentaries is an all-new track by critics Max Evry and Bryan Reesman. The duo begins their track with their credentials before diving into the film that is in on its own joke. Some of the details include a discussion of the development process from the inception of the original idea to the film that we have today; the career and personal history of stunt coordinator turned second unit director turned feature director David Ellis; the fact that director Ronnie Yu was initially attached to direct this film; the title and its temporary change and the uproar online about the change and its eventual change back; a discussion of the casting of Samuel L. Jackson; the career, personal history of cinematographer Adam Greenberg; the film original PG-13 rating and how reshoots changed the film over to an R-Rating; the career and personal history of Samuel L. Jackson; the work of snake wrangler Jules Sylvester; a larger discussion of the various locations they used in both Hawaii and California; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more.
The second audio commentary is an archival track with cast and crew featuring director David R. Ellis, actor Samuel L. Jackson, producer Craig Berenson, associate producer Tawny Ellis, VFX supervisor Eric Henry, and second unit director Freddie Hice. The participants are recorded separately and edited together in the non-screen-specific track. The commentary goes into detail on every aspect from each participant’s perspective on how Snakes on a Plane came to be developed, and produced the film from all aspects, from pre-production, production, the stunt work, the physical nature of the production, and the post-production process.
Snakes on a Page (17:48) – is an all-new featurette diving into the wonderful world of Movie Tie-In Novelization and specifically the novelization for Snakes on a Plane. Beginning with a discussion, publisher Mark Miller discusses how the novelizations typically occur and how his publishing company (which creates novelizations for films that do not), how that occurs, and various examples of both, and also examples of different unique releases. The history of the movie novelization is also discussed in detail, and how popular this particular kind of literature was in the 70s, 80s, its decline in the 90s, and why these were so popular. They also discuss Christa Faust’s novelization – how she got the job, how she wrote the novelization, the style she approached the adaptation, and much more. Featuring interviews with publisher Mark Miller, historian David Spencer, author of the Snakes on a Plane novelization Christa Faust, and others.
Pure Venom: The Making of Snakes on a Plane (18:06) – is an archival feature on the making of the film, which is a relatively in-depth look at the production. The doc covers everything from the development, casting, and casting, the complexity of the physical production, the real-life snakes, the visual FX, and more. Featuring comments by director David R. Ellis, stars Samuel L Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Rachel Blanchard, Bobby Cannavale, Elsa Pataky, Kenan Thompson, Flex Alexander, Lin Shaye, producer Craig Berenson, writer John Heffernan, and others.
Meet the Reptiles (12:59) – is an archival featurette on the work of snake wrangler Jules Sylvester and the snakes featured in the film. Just as much a look at Sylvester and how he came to work with snakes as it is about the work done for the production, and just how massive a task it was. Featuring comments by Sylvester, stars Samuel L Jackson, Bobby Cannavale, Kenan Thompson, Lin Shaye, producer Craig Berenson, writer John Heffernan, and others.
VFX (5:21) – is an archival featurette on the use of CGI featuring the crew at Visual FX House Café FX and the step-by-step process of bringing the snakes to the screen. Though over two decades old, the bones of how VFX still work are there, and it’s a fascinating look at the various shots and how they accomplished them.
Snakes on a Blog (10:07) – is an archival featurette on the online hype surrounding the film prior to its release. The featurette is quite quaint in the twenty years since the film’s release in terms of how online hype and virality occur nowadays.
Music Video (3:18) – the Snakes on a Plane music video by the band Cobra Starship, which actually plays during the end credits of the film,
Snakes on a Video (8:57) – is an archival making of the music video featurette featuring the band Cobra Starship.
Gag reel (4:41) – various actors flubbing their lines or hamming it up for the camera.
Deleted and extended scenes (11:51) – submenu allows you to play each of the deleted/extended scenes by itself, with or without commentary, or all at once with or without commentary by Director David R. Ellis, associate producer Tawny Ellis, and producer Craig Berenson.
Trailers (3:46) – submenu allows you to play each of the trailers separately or play all.
TV Spots (2:41) – submenu allows you to play each of the trailers separately or play all.
Image gallery – the gallery consists of 40 production stills, behind-the-scene stills, and poster art.
Easter eggs
The Final Thought
Arrow Video continues to dominate the 4K UHD upgrade market with blockbuster cult titles. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Arrow Video’s 4K UHD Edition of Snakes on a Plane is out January 20th
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