The Lighthouse (2019)

"For Lobster Lovers Everywhere"

Robert Eggers' follow-up to his 2015's THE WITCH gets a whistles and bells limited 4K UHD release from Arrow.

In the dying years of the nineteenth century two men arrive at a remote New England lighthouse to take on the duties of lighthouse keepers, or 'wickies', for a period of four weeks, during which they will only have each other for company. The senior wickie, Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) is a former sailor and has the job of instructing the younger, Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson).

As time passes, Ephraim begins to notice the older man performing strange rituals, and Wake reveals that one of his previous lighthouse-keeping colleagues went insane and died. Things get stranger, with Ephraim discovering a mermaid washed up on shore, and events reach a head during a terrible storm during which the two men get as drunk as is humanly possible before things get even more insane.

Well what else would you expect from the director of THE WITCH? For that film director Robert Eggers used the 1.66:1 aspect ratio to help emphasise the claustrophobia of the characters' situation. Here he goes one further with a 1.19:1 ratio that renders the screen as a box. This works much better on a standard television screen than in the cinema, by the way, and that, combined with the stark black and white photography and intense performances by the two leads results in a film that's quite the cinematic experience.

Arrow have gone the extra mile here to provide some seriously worthwhile extras. First is a ported over commentary by Eggers but new to this disc is a second commentary by Guy Adams and Alexandra Benedict in which they discuss the film's literary antecedents, point out things on screen that might not otherwise have been noticed, offer interpretations of what the film is all about and generally make the whole thing a worthwhile listen. 

The two of them return in a new seven-part 71 minute making of which also includes new interviews with Eggers, production designer Craig Lathrop, cinematographer Jarin Blashcke, costume designer Linda Muir, and there's also a bit about the fascinating new instrument composer Mark Korven had built for him to perform the film's score on. It compliments well A24's 2019 making of that's also included on the disc, which as well as some of the above also includes interviews with Dafoe and Pattinson. 

There's a visual essay by Kat Ellinger on some of the film's folk horror influences which, as well as the traditional standbys, name checks some fascinating new European works that look worth checking out. Finally you get three minutes of deleted scenes, two trailers and an image gallery. The set also comes with a 60 page book, fold-out poster, six double-sided postcards and limited edition packaging.

Robert Eggers' THE LIGHTHOUSE is out in a limited edition 4KUHD set on Monday 12th June 2023