Spawn (1997)

Arrow are releasing, in limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray sets, the 1997 movie adaptation of Todd McFarlane's comic book character Spawn, here played by Michael Jai White. 

It's an origin story, depicting how expert Black Ops agent Al Simmons (also White) is tricked by his boss (Martin Sheen) and ends up being both burned alive and blown up. He ends up in Hell where he is offered a deal by an enormous late 1990s CGI devil called Malebolgia to lead the devil's armies against a forthcoming battle with Heaven or never see his wife again. Simmons, now Spawn, opts for the former but eventually comes to realise he is part of a greater plan to kill Sheen's character (who has also made a deal) and unleash a deadly virus on the world as part of the forthcoming apocalypse.

When SPAWN was released in 1997, its method of conveying narrative came as something of a shock with its rapid info-dump opening, noisy flashbacks and major characters (eg Nicol Williamson's force for good) dropped in with little in the way of introduction or development. Who would have thought such incoherence would become the norm for many a big budget effects-heavy 'blockbuster' in subsequent decades? Special mention should also be made of actor John Leguizamo who, with the character of Clown gave us perhaps still the most repellant and irritating screen interpretation of a comic book character to date. 

It's all very flashy, crashy and noisy and yet somehow tedious at the same time and ultimately, despite White and Sheen and a decent villainous turn from Melinda Clarke, SPAWN ends up as a very hard film to like. But if you do you'll be pleased to hear that Arrow's set comes with two discs with the director's cut (98 minutes) on disc one and the theatrical cut (96 minutes) on disc two.

All the extras are on disc one and all the new ones are worth the price of the set. A new commentary track by comics expert Dave Baxter is extremely illuminating about both the character and the comics industry in general at the time the film was made. The 1998 film-maker's commentary has also been ported over. Arrow have also included a batch of new interviews including White (16 minutes), Melinda Clarke and D B Sweeney (17 minutes), FX men Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger (20 minutes), music editor Happy Walters on assembling the soundtrack (10 minutes) and editor Michael Knue (17 minutes). 

Archival material from the 1998 release include a Making Of (22 minutes), a Todd McFarlane interview (20 minutes), plus storyboards, sketches and concept art. There's also the usual collector's booklet, reversible sleeve and double-sided poster.

SPAWN is out as a limited edition 4K restoration in both UHD and Blu-ray sets on Monday 6th October 2025