Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frezzetta team up for one of the best sword and sorcery epics of the 1980s, Fire and Ice. Blue Underground brings the film newly restored to 4K UHD in this gorgeous, limited edition Steelbook with CD Soundtrack.
The Film
If you grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, it was almost impossible not to have seen Frank Frazetta’s artwork. Though you may not have known it was his art. Album covers, pulp novel covers, panel van art that shows a muscular barbarian usually atop a mound of dead bodies with a buxom maiden clasping onto his thighs… You know the ones. Frazetta’s art took brutality and savagery and made it Grecian Boschian works of art. The painter’s work, beyond launching many a heavy metal band, was the primary influence on the visual style of John Milius’ Conan: The Barbarian, which directly influenced most of the sword and sorcery genre as a whole.
What many did not realize was that Frazetta teamed up with another renegade artist, director Ralph Bakshi, to produce Fire and Ice. Beginning to film in 1981, it is as influential as Conan to not just to fantasy but also film writ large (Cameron would eventually use the rotoscope process as a framework for what would eventually be known as Performance Capture). You can see Fire and Ice’s influence on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The Herculoids, and many a Saturday Morning cartoon.
More than its design work, the story points have become tropes of the genre. The young hero, the grizzled battle-tested warrior, the idealistic princess, her conflicted father, the evil sorceress, and her evil power-hungry son. In Fire and Ice, the story is never played by the numbers; there’s a passion in which it’s told. Frazetta and Bakshi ensure that the overheated, overwrought pulp style that Robert E. Howard perfected is imbued in every animated frame of the film. That pulp style makes this PG-Rated film feel more R-Rated than it has any right to be. The film is more violent and more sexual than even your current live-action fantasy entries (even the rare R-Rated ones).
The entire movie feels like a fevered dream that’s compounded by the beautiful visual style that bleeds in and out of the background and foreground like the best of Frazetta’s paintings. This is Bakshi at his inspired best, not derailed or sidetracked by his own interests and fetishes. The streamlining and tighter story allow for a film that feels like the best of both the animation director’s and painter’s respective styles. The result is a film that doesn’t try to buck conventions and the systems of animated feature filmmaking at every turn.
Fire and Ice concerns itself with telling its story with as much brutality and ferocity as it can get away with. The result is a high point in 80s animation and fantasy storytelling. One that will delight both new and old audiences alike.
The Transfer
From the press notes for the release:
Blue Underground is proud to present FIRE AND ICE in a brand-new restoration, scanned in 4K 16-bit from the original negative, with Dolby Vision HDR and a new Dolby Atmos audio mix!
In a word… stunning. Blue Underground continually breathes life into their cult releases, but this is altogether a game-changer for the beautiful savagery of Fire and Ice. This all-new restoration is meticulous and nearly flawless. It’s sharp, while still retaining the filmic grain structure that makes films of the era look the way they do. The color reproduction is stunning, the Dolby Vision HDR adding subtlety and depth to the color spectrum and detail to the black and contrast levels that give the film a luster, staying away from those dreaded crushed blacks. There is nary a scratch or any sort of defect throughout the runtime of the film. Blue Underground continues their impressive restoration and perseveration of beloved (and sometimes not so beloved) cult film titles.
The Extras
Note: the special features are included on BOTH the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs.
They include the following;
- Audio Commentary with Co-Producer/Director Ralph Bakshi
- NEW! The Art Of Fire And Ice: The Frank Frazetta Legacy with Sara Frazetta
- NEW! Frank Frazetta’s Fire And Ice with Robert Rodriguez
- The Making Of Fire And Ice
- Bakshi On Frazetta
- Sean Hannon’s Diary Notes
- Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer
- NEW! Poster & Still Galleries
- BONUS! FIRE AND ICE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by William Kraft
The archival Audio Commentary with Co-Producer/Director Ralph Bakshi, which fellow director Lance Laspina moderates the commentary track. The duo begins with the origins of the film and the Frazetta collaboration. Some of the details include what he felt were the troubles with the initial script developed by Frazetta and the initial writers, who were comic book writers; the productions use of Frazetta’s art work not only as inspiration but taking the actual designs and work directly from the work and from the man himself in true collaboration and what that meant; the cagy response about the rotoscoping process and how all animation has some bit of rotoscoping in it; the casting process, especially of Teegra; the now famous background artist they hired; the time that Frazetta and Bakshi spent in LA/California and their conversations about art and life; a discussion of the budget and time it took to produce and the responsibility he felt making sure this did not go over budget; a discussion of how being an animation director differs from a live action director, which the film was a combination of both; a discussion of the various animation techniques, the challenges they presented, and how much they’ve changed; a larger discussion of the various ways they accomplished during the live action shoot; and much more. At several moments, Bakshi is quite prickly towards Laspina’s questions and prompts, who is quite infamous for being prickly to say the least. It just adds to the flavor and entertainment of the commentary track, which is not your typical track.
The Art Of Fire And Ice: The Frank Frazetta Legacy with Sara Frazetta (15:13) – in this all-new interview with Frazetta’s granddaughter, Sara, begins with his love of film (his favorite film being Night of the Hunter) and his lifelong desire to work in film. She goes on to discuss Frazetta’s collaboration with Bakshi on the production; what he found the most joy during the making of the film; what he found lacking in the overall execution of the film; what he loved about the film; the rotoscoping process, and just how laborious it was beyond what critics called “tracing”; the body positivity of Frazetta’s work; her viewing experiences and how that prompted her creation of a prequel comic book series; and much more.
Frank Frazetta’s Fire And Ice with Robert Rodriguez (7:20) – in this all-new interview with Robert Rodriguez opens with his first viewing experience in 1983 and his love of the film, so much so, he owns the original poster art. The director goes on to discuss the art and level of detail in the artwork and suggests all fans go see an exhibit of his work; meeting and working with Frazetta on the first From Dusk Till Dawn; his collaboration on a live-action version of Fire and Ice, and what that project could eventually be; and more.
The Making Of Fire And Ice (13:27) – This archival making-of is a fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes making of the film that was filmed at the time of production. The primary focus breaks down in detail the rotoscope process, from the live action shoot, to the key animation, to the background, to the coloring of the cells, and the shooting of the cells to complete the process. Including various interviews with key artists and b-roll footage pulled from the various stages of production. This is a truly wonderful documentary that one wishes we had a fully restored version of. Note: they do note that this making of was pulled from Bakshi’s own VHS copy and was the only surviving copy, though an exhaustive search was made to find the original materials.
Bakshi On Frazetta (8:02) – This archival interview with Ralph Bakshi on his collaboration with Frazetta opens with just how easy the work was with the iconic artist because of their similar backgrounds and interests. The director goes on to discuss watching Frazetta paint and what he took from the artist’s process; how the production and artists like Thomas Kinkade were influenced by working with Frazetta on the film; a great anecdote about Mick Jagger from his Lord of the Rings; and much more.
Sean Hannon’s Diary Notes (14:07) – This archival interview with actor Sean Hannon, who played the physical version of Nekron, is a unique one. Hannon, rather than discussing his thoughts about the film, reads from his diary as they mounted the live-action part of the rotoscope shoot back in 1981. There is a level of transparency and naivety to everything that is read; that’s a fascinating look into a production from a young actor. Hannon occasionally goes out of the diary to discuss the production, add fascinating plot points that were deleted, and give context. The featurette is beautifully edited, adding behind-the-scenes photos, production art, and scenes.
Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery (12:58) – This archival still gallery is a rare look behind the scenes at the making of the film. The gallery covers both the live action shoot they had for the film as a part of the rotoscoping process (which is a precursor to the Performance Capture process that James Cameron perfected on Avatar) and the animation production. The most fascinating aspect is just how much care went into the shoot and how the actors were in fairly accurate costumes. The gallery plays automatically, accompanied by William Kraft’s score.
Theatrical Trailer (1:17)
Poster & Still Galleries – this is broken down into several sub galleries in the menu.
- Posters – this gallery consists of 15 different pieces of poster art from around the world.
- Germany Lobby Cards – this gallery consists of 16 different German Lobby Cards.
- Color Stills – this gallery consists of 35 different animated stills pulled for publicity from the film.
- Frazetta Artwork Portfolio – this gallery consists of 14 different pieces of art (some full paintings, others sketches) from Frank Frazetta that appear to be pulled from a purchased Fire and Ice art package, along with a certificate of authenticity.
- Bakshi Artwork Portfolio – this gallery consists of 23 different pieces of art that vary from character design profiles to background to actual cell animation.
- Sketches – this gallery consists of 42 different sketches by the production team, including both Bakshi and Frazetta.
- Animation Cell & Backgrounds – this gallery consists of 45 different cells and backgrounds from the production. This gallery should not be missed as it was lovingly scanned at a super high resolution. So much so, you can see actual brush strokes on the art.
- Video, Comics & More – this gallery consists of 44 different home video art (from various formats, including rarities like CED and Laserdisc covers!), magazines, comic books, and a desktop game from around the world.
FIRE AND ICE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by William Kraft (70:20) – This is not a partial soundtrack but is the full musical score that’s included on this limited-edition set. The CD appears to be a remastered version, wonderfully produced with a beautiful sound field if listed on a proper AV system. This is a true treat for any fan of the film and its iconic score. The track listings:
- Main Title/Prologue/The Subhuman Appear/Nekron (7:01)
- Spoils of War/On the Run (5:28)
- Meet Teegra (1:07)
- Teegra is abducted (2:44)
- Escape from the Subhumans (4:09)
- Lunch is Served (1:14)
- Teegra Kills (1:29)
- Wolves/Dinner Guests (4:30)
- Larn and Teegra (2:42)
- Cephalopod Attack (1:11)
- Darkwolf (0:46)
- Botched Rescue (4:30)
- Roliel/Darkwolf’s stand (3:29)
- Thoughts of Teegra (2:57)
- Roliel’s Deal/Larn in Pursuit (2:43)
- Nekron’s Madness (3:19)
- Nekron’s Power (1:25)
- Larn Versus Nekron (2:31)
- Larn Escapes/Darkwolf Appears (2:38)
- Flight of the Dragonhawks/The End of Nekron/Reunited (10:00)
- Fire and Ice End Title (3:35)
The Final Thought
Blue Underground continues their 4K UHD upgrade streak unbroken. Fire and Ice has been beautifully restored to the format with both archival and new special features, with a full motion picture soundtrack on CD. All housed in a beautiful Steelbook package that makes this a must-have for any collector. Highest Possible Recommendations!!