Verdict
Summary
A twisty, supernatural romantic thriller with a sense of urgency thanks to Branagh’s stylish, Hitchcockian direction and a bombastic score by Patrick Doyle, Dead Again feels like a throwback to the thrillers of yesteryear, while also being an edgy, ’90s-era thriller with a slick glossiness that fit right in with the big thrillers of the era. It’s too bad these types of big canvas thrillers are no longer made in this vein because when they’re done correctly, they’re a blast. Branagh and Thompson (who were a couple at the time) had great chemistry, and supporting turns by Jacobi, Andy Garcia, and an unbilled Robin Williams in a crucial supporting role all help elevate this one well above the rest.
Plot:
A woman with amnesia is somehow connected to a woman who was murdered more than 40 years ago, and a detective helps her to remember.
Review:
A beautiful woman with amnesia (played by Emma Thompson) shows up at an orphanage that once belonged to a German composer in the 1940’s, and the administrators hire a two-bit detective named Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh, who also directed) to help her find her identity. His first step is to share her picture in the newspaper, which brings out a lot of quacks and weirdoes, but it also brings out a hypnotist who owns an antique store, a quiet, crafty man (played by Derek Jacobi) who begins a process of putting the woman under hypnosis. Soon enough, the woman (who has thus far been mute) begins communicating under her spell that she has memories of a woman named Strauss (also played by Thompson) who was married to the German composer (also played by Branagh) … who was executed more than 40 years ago for murdering her with a scissors. With some good old fashioned investigating, Church begins connecting dots and pieces, and while it may seem impossible, the woman with amnesia – whom he has begin to fall in love with, and she with him – might indeed have connections to the murdered woman from the past, but the twist is that so might he. As the amnesiac begins to remember her life and the life she may be reincarnated from, danger starts to manifest around them, namely a murderer, who escaped justice many years ago …
A twisty, supernatural romantic thriller with a sense of urgency thanks to Branagh’s stylish, Hitchcockian direction and a bombastic score by Patrick Doyle, Dead Again feels like a throwback to the thrillers of yesteryear, while also being an edgy, ’90s-era thriller with a slick glossiness that fit right in with the big thrillers of the era. It’s too bad these types of big canvas thrillers are no longer made in this vein because when they’re done correctly, they’re a blast. Branagh and Thompson (who were a couple at the time) had great chemistry, and supporting turns by Jacobi, Andy Garcia, and an unbilled Robin Williams in a crucial supporting role all help elevate this one well above the rest.
Kino Lorber brings Dead Again to crystal clear 4K Ultra HD in a two-disc combo pack that also includes a Blu-ray edition, and the scan is brand new from the original camera negative, making this the most definitive edition ever released to home video. Special features include a commentary by Branagh, and a separate commentary by writer Scott Frank, plus the trailer and a slipcover.
