John Cusack leads an all-star cast stuck in a motel in the middle of nowhere as a serial killer begins to murder each one of them in Identity. New on 4K UHD from Arrow Video.
The Film
Identity manages to do something rare in studio filmmaking. The serial killer mystery is a work of ingeniousness and completely and utterly stupid. The plot is taken liberally from Three Little Indians and Donald Kaufman’s The 3(Adaptation fans will know). The result is a completely ridiculous but highly entertaining film carried by its inspired direction, casting, and a game cast that never blinks.
On a rainy night, a group of strangers (led by John Cusack’s ex-cop turned limo driver to the stars) ends up stranded in a rundown roadside motel. On seemingly the same night, a serial killer (Puritt Taylor Vince) is brought before a judge for a late-night session. These two incidents that have nothing in common are tied to one another, and as the strangers begin to be killed off one at a time, we find the serial killer may have more in common with them than even he realizes.
The miracle that this film works is because of director James Mangold’s talents as a muscular storyteller. The ability of Mangold to understand the tone and visual style of the film, and all of his films, recalls the best classic golden era Hollywood directors. Mangold, in the best way, invokes Howard Hawks and Michael Curtis in that innate understanding of genre.
Logan and Copland are the best Modern Westerns of the last thirty years. Walk the Line wrote the book on Musical Bio Pics. Identity in that mold is the kind of ultimate horror-centric whodunnit to end all whodunnits. Which is part of the problem with the film. The twists and turns are so cravenly wild and out there it becomes a satire of the genre going into Giallo territory. Though it’s executed with such style and precision, the magic trickery of it all works; it is only upon repeated views that the foundation becomes shaky but still remains infinitely entertaining.
Mangold is aided greatly by the excellent cast headed by John Cusack and Puritt Taylor Vince. Cusack is right at the edge of his quirky leading man era, and Identity is the right balance of quirk and stoic leading man. Heavy is one of the truly great forgotten films of the 1990s (also directed by Mangold), and its greatest gift was Pruitt Taylor Vince. As the serial killer here, Vince is the reason why the film does not fall apart and also proves that he was/is one of our truly great unsung actors.
The rest of the cast, led by Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Ray Liotta, John Hawkes, Jake Buesy, Clea Duvall, John C. McGinley, and Rebecca DeMornay, all do exceptional work. A true ensemble that works overtime in creating a grounded reality when the blueprint could have been anything but. It is that cast and their uniform approach to the film that keeps it afloat and makes Identity one of the truly bonkers horror thrillers of the 1990s.
The Transfers
This all-new 4K restoration of the Theatrical and Extended Cuts was completed by Sony Pictures Entertainment from the original 35mm picture negative, presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). The work here is flawless and another win for Arrow Video. The 35mm widescreen shot film looks glorious on the format in the way that films shot on 35mm back in the early 2000s, the apex of 35mm photography and exhibition, can be. The way that disc gets everything right from the grain structure to the color reproduction, to the contrast level, perfectly emulates the darker visual look that Phedon Papamichael Jr. employed. Arrow’s newest partner (Sony Pictures) is showing promise out the gate with spectacular-looking 4K UHD releases.
The Extras
They include the following;
Archival audio commentary by director James Mangold
Archival audio commentary by screenwriter Michael Cooney
I Met a Man That Wasn’t There, Actor Pruitt Taylor Vince on Identity
Producing Identity, Producer Cathy Konrad on Identity
On The Set
Deleted scenes
Storyboard comparisons
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
The first of two Archival audio commentaries is by director James Mangold. Mangold opens with a warning about running the twists and turns of the film. Some of the details include how the screenplay came to him through Cathy Konrad; what attracted him to the project; the single-location films that inspired this film; the editing style that was both something he developed and was within the screenplay; the influence of film noir on the visual look, story, and character; the visual cues that point towards the ending; the work of John Cusack and what made him a unique choice for the lead role; his theories regarding building effective horror filled set pieces; his collaboration with cinematographer Phedon Papamichael Jr.; a larger discussion of the various actors, how they were cast, collaborating with them; a discussion of the studio and location shoots and how they melded them together; the scenes that were deleted from the film; and much more.
The second Archival audio commentary is by screenwriter Michael Cooney. Cooney opens with a bad joke about a writer. Some of the details include the development process and the lack thereof; the way that he wrote and developed the original screenplay, including reference points he used to frame the story and create characters; the purposeful inconsistencies that were in the screenplay and in the film; the research that he did on various points of interest in the film; a larger discussion/comparison of the original screenplay and the production draft and final film; and much more. Cooney does a deep dive into his craft and crafting the screenplay and the production through the course of the film.
I Met a Man That Wasn’t There, Actor Pruitt Taylor Vince on Identity (12:56) – is an all-new interview with actor Pruitt Taylor Vince that opens with working emotionally and technically as an actor on a movie set. Vince goes on to discuss how he found acting early in high school; how stage acting in New Orleans led to film acting; being cut from Down By Law but acting in then being cast and working with Alan Parker on Angel Heart and Mississippi Burning; how he was cast in Mangold’s Heavy; how he came to be cast in Identity; working on the film and how they accomplished the iconic mirror moment; his love of bad guys; a great Bob Dylan story; and more.
Producing Identity, Producer Cathy Konrad on Identity (26:22) – is an all-new interview with producer Cathy Konrad that opens with a discussion of how many of her best films began with no one wanting to make them. Konrad goes on to discuss her love of reading and a chance meeting with Dino DeLaurentis as a waitress that began her journey to becoming a producer; her first job as a Production PA on the film Suspect; working and being mentored by Kathleen Kennedy on Arachnophobia; her time at Amblin working with Kennedy – and how she learned how to develop material; working and producing the film Kids; how she came to produce Scream; the making her first film with Mangold, Copland at Miramax; leaving Miramax for Sony and beginning her collaboration with Mangold that eventually lead to Identity; the casting of John Cusack and the collaboration with him during development; the casting of the various other actors – Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Pruitt Taylor Vince; and much more.
On The Set (14:18) – an archival behind-the-scenes featurette look at the making of the film featuring a combination of clips, interviews, and b-roll footage. More a look at the story, character, and the themes of the film rather than a nuts-and-bolts making-of DVD special feature. Featuring interviews with stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, producer Cathy Konrad, and director James Mangold.
Deleted scenes – each of the deleted scenes can be accessed through a submenu and can be played individually or all at once through the “play all” option. There is also an option to play with director James Mangold’s commentary.
Domestic Disturbance (1:15)
I Put You In 8 (1:03)
The Search for Caroline (2:53)
The Face in the Mirror (1:13)
Storyboard comparisons – each of the scenes/storyboard can be accessed through a submenu and can be played individually or all at once through the “play all” option.
Lou’s Demise (3:31)
George’s Death (0:43)
Rhodes’ Backstory (0:38)
Theatrical Trailer (2:20)
Image gallery – features (an epic) 324 production stills and behind-the-scenes photos. The gallery can be navigated by using your next and back chapter stop buttons on your remote.
The Final Thought
Arrow continues its curation of some of the best cult titles of the 1990s to 4K UHD, filled with special features. Recommended!!
John Cusack leads an all-star cast stuck in a motel in the middle of nowhere as a serial killer begins to murder each one of them in Identity. New on 4K UHD from Arrow Video.
The Film
Identity manages to do something rare in studio filmmaking. The serial killer mystery is a work of ingeniousness and completely and utterly stupid. The plot is taken liberally from Three Little Indians and Donald Kaufman’s The 3(Adaptation fans will know). The result is a completely ridiculous but highly entertaining film carried by its inspired direction, casting, and a game cast that never blinks.
On a rainy night, a group of strangers (led by John Cusack’s ex-cop turned limo driver to the stars) ends up stranded in a rundown roadside motel. On seemingly the same night, a serial killer (Puritt Taylor Vince) is brought before a judge for a late-night session. These two incidents that have nothing in common are tied to one another, and as the strangers begin to be killed off one at a time, we find the serial killer may have more in common with them than even he realizes.
The miracle that this film works is because of director James Mangold’s talents as a muscular storyteller. The ability of Mangold to understand the tone and visual style of the film, and all of his films, recalls the best classic golden era Hollywood directors. Mangold, in the best way, invokes Howard Hawks and Michael Curtis in that innate understanding of genre.
Logan and Copland are the best Modern Westerns of the last thirty years. Walk the Line wrote the book on Musical Bio Pics. Identity in that mold is the kind of ultimate horror-centric whodunnit to end all whodunnits. Which is part of the problem with the film. The twists and turns are so cravenly wild and out there it becomes a satire of the genre going into Giallo territory. Though it’s executed with such style and precision, the magic trickery of it all works; it is only upon repeated views that the foundation becomes shaky but still remains infinitely entertaining.
Mangold is aided greatly by the excellent cast headed by John Cusack and Puritt Taylor Vince. Cusack is right at the edge of his quirky leading man era, and Identity is the right balance of quirk and stoic leading man. Heavy is one of the truly great forgotten films of the 1990s (also directed by Mangold), and its greatest gift was Pruitt Taylor Vince. As the serial killer here, Vince is the reason why the film does not fall apart and also proves that he was/is one of our truly great unsung actors.
The rest of the cast, led by Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Ray Liotta, John Hawkes, Jake Buesy, Clea Duvall, John C. McGinley, and Rebecca DeMornay, all do exceptional work. A true ensemble that works overtime in creating a grounded reality when the blueprint could have been anything but. It is that cast and their uniform approach to the film that keeps it afloat and makes Identity one of the truly bonkers horror thrillers of the 1990s.
The Transfers
This all-new 4K restoration of the Theatrical and Extended Cuts was completed by Sony Pictures Entertainment from the original 35mm picture negative, presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). The work here is flawless and another win for Arrow Video. The 35mm widescreen shot film looks glorious on the format in the way that films shot on 35mm back in the early 2000s, the apex of 35mm photography and exhibition, can be. The way that disc gets everything right from the grain structure to the color reproduction, to the contrast level, perfectly emulates the darker visual look that Phedon Papamichael Jr. employed. Arrow’s newest partner (Sony Pictures) is showing promise out the gate with spectacular-looking 4K UHD releases.
The Extras
They include the following;
The first of two Archival audio commentaries is by director James Mangold. Mangold opens with a warning about running the twists and turns of the film. Some of the details include how the screenplay came to him through Cathy Konrad; what attracted him to the project; the single-location films that inspired this film; the editing style that was both something he developed and was within the screenplay; the influence of film noir on the visual look, story, and character; the visual cues that point towards the ending; the work of John Cusack and what made him a unique choice for the lead role; his theories regarding building effective horror filled set pieces; his collaboration with cinematographer Phedon Papamichael Jr.; a larger discussion of the various actors, how they were cast, collaborating with them; a discussion of the studio and location shoots and how they melded them together; the scenes that were deleted from the film; and much more.
The second Archival audio commentary is by screenwriter Michael Cooney. Cooney opens with a bad joke about a writer. Some of the details include the development process and the lack thereof; the way that he wrote and developed the original screenplay, including reference points he used to frame the story and create characters; the purposeful inconsistencies that were in the screenplay and in the film; the research that he did on various points of interest in the film; a larger discussion/comparison of the original screenplay and the production draft and final film; and much more. Cooney does a deep dive into his craft and crafting the screenplay and the production through the course of the film.
I Met a Man That Wasn’t There, Actor Pruitt Taylor Vince on Identity (12:56) – is an all-new interview with actor Pruitt Taylor Vince that opens with working emotionally and technically as an actor on a movie set. Vince goes on to discuss how he found acting early in high school; how stage acting in New Orleans led to film acting; being cut from Down By Law but acting in then being cast and working with Alan Parker on Angel Heart and Mississippi Burning; how he was cast in Mangold’s Heavy; how he came to be cast in Identity; working on the film and how they accomplished the iconic mirror moment; his love of bad guys; a great Bob Dylan story; and more.
Producing Identity, Producer Cathy Konrad on Identity (26:22) – is an all-new interview with producer Cathy Konrad that opens with a discussion of how many of her best films began with no one wanting to make them. Konrad goes on to discuss her love of reading and a chance meeting with Dino DeLaurentis as a waitress that began her journey to becoming a producer; her first job as a Production PA on the film Suspect; working and being mentored by Kathleen Kennedy on Arachnophobia; her time at Amblin working with Kennedy – and how she learned how to develop material; working and producing the film Kids; how she came to produce Scream; the making her first film with Mangold, Copland at Miramax; leaving Miramax for Sony and beginning her collaboration with Mangold that eventually lead to Identity; the casting of John Cusack and the collaboration with him during development; the casting of the various other actors – Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Pruitt Taylor Vince; and much more.
On The Set (14:18) – an archival behind-the-scenes featurette look at the making of the film featuring a combination of clips, interviews, and b-roll footage. More a look at the story, character, and the themes of the film rather than a nuts-and-bolts making-of DVD special feature. Featuring interviews with stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, producer Cathy Konrad, and director James Mangold.
Deleted scenes – each of the deleted scenes can be accessed through a submenu and can be played individually or all at once through the “play all” option. There is also an option to play with director James Mangold’s commentary.
Storyboard comparisons – each of the scenes/storyboard can be accessed through a submenu and can be played individually or all at once through the “play all” option.
Theatrical Trailer (2:20)
Image gallery – features (an epic) 324 production stills and behind-the-scenes photos. The gallery can be navigated by using your next and back chapter stop buttons on your remote.
The Final Thought
Arrow continues its curation of some of the best cult titles of the 1990s to 4K UHD, filled with special features. Recommended!!
Arrow Video’s 4K UHD Edition of Identity is out August 24th.
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