So, here’s some brief home entertainment news in that Michael Mann’s The Keep is getting a 4K home release and is readily available online to buy now. The Keep on 4K also has a limited edition version running to just 12,000 copies.
The Keep was previously not available in decent quality on the home formats, but it looks like that all might have changed courtesy of the folks at Vinegar Syndrome stateside, whoo announced the news of the debut on the Ultra HD format this week.
Released all of the way back in 1983, The Keep stars Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne, Jürgen Prochnow, Alberta Watson, and Ian McKellen, and is set during the Second World War in Romania (though it was shot in Wales and Shepperton in England).
The story revolves around a group of Nazi soldiers who disturb a supernatural force in an ancient stone fortress in the Carpathian Mountains.
Related: Debut teaser for Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’
A bomb at the box-office upon its original release, taking just $4.2 million in the U.S. from a reported $6 million budget (some sources also report an $11 million budget), the film was apparently heavily edited down from Mann’s reported original 200 minute-plus original cut. Running at 96 minutes, the film remained unreleased on the home formats until an Australian release in 2020. With below par critic reviews, and little money from the box-office, the film pretty much disappeared, but has since got quite the cult following. News of The Keep on 4K is sure to delight fans.
Those wanting the rumoured Michael Mann 200-minute-plus cut might be left a little disappointed, though, as this new version of The Keep on 4K houses just the 96 minute version. There are tons of features that include a commentary track with film historian Matthew Aspery Gear, and tons of interviews, including one with the source material’s author, F. Paul Wilson. Sadly, no bonus features that include anything from Mann himself.
As far as I can see, this wasn’t released anywhere outside of the U.S. with Box-office Mojo reporting just that initial haul in theatrical ticket sales domestically.
Also, there’s no UK release as yet for this one but there is the option of shipping internationally. If you’re quick.
