Cujo 4K (1983)

        Lewis Teague's 1983 adaptation of Stephen King's novel gets an impressive 4K UHD upgrade from Arrow Films as a part of a new limited edition release. It will also include a collector’s booklet with new writing on the film and a reversible sleeve.

Cujo the St Bernard is out chasing bunnies when he gets his nose stuck in an old tree stump. Unfortunately it leads into a cave of rabid bats and before you can say Marilyn Chambers Cujo's had his nose bitten and he's developing a severe case of the runny eyes, the drools, and the being covered in what looks like mud.

This is bad news for Cujo's car repairman redneck owner (Ed Lauter) and his friend, and it spells trouble of the 'trapped in the car with her six year old son' kind for Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace), who finds herself under siege in her broken down old banger while a great big drooly powerhouse tank of a mad dog waits outside to get her, when he's not ramming the doors.

The early 1980s was the era of Stephen King adaptations. Most of them weren't very good, but CUJO actually is, thanks to good performances and a skilled team behind the scenes who went all out to make the best film they could. 

Arrow’s new limited edition set comes with two discs. Disc One is a UHD disc giving you the US theatrical cut in 4K. This is the version that was seen in the US in cinemas and then worldwide on TV screenings and subsequent disc releases. It includes the commentary track by Lee Gambin from Eureka’s 2019 Blu-ray release (now OOP) but Arrow’s disc goes two better by also including both the archival Lewis Teague commentary and the commentary with Teague and Jeff McKay.

Also on Disc One is a 2014 2o minutes roundtable discussion with Teague, Wallace, Danny Pintauro and Daniel Hugh Kelly, and also carried over from previous releases is the 47 minute making of, plus over three hours of interviews with Dee Wallace, composer Charles Bernstein, stuntman Gary Morgan, stuntwoman Jean Colter, casting director Marcia Ross, dog trainer Teresa Miller, visual effects artist Kathie Lawrence, and special effects designer Robert Clark. You also get trailers, TV and radio spot, and an image gallery.

Disc Two will be of great interest to CUJO completists as it gives us the International Cut. This is the version seen in cinemas outside the US (including in the UK) but which hasn’t had a physical media release since the days of VHS. And yes there are differences, with a shorter running time (about three minutes) and some different scenes. Disc two also carries over an archival Kim Newman interview in which he talks about Stephen King adaptations in general and CUJO in particular. It lasts nearly half an hour and is up to his usual excellent standard. Also carried over from the Eureka release is 100 minutes of Lee Gambin interviewing Dee Wallace at the Cinemaniacs and Monster Fest 2015 convention. It's slightly fuzzy and shot from one angle only but it's good to have.

The Bottom Line: Arrow’s 4K two disc set represents a substantial upgrade in image quality, carries over all the extras from the previous UK Blu-ray release, and has extra material from other previous releases as well. Excellent stuff.

Lewis Teague’s CUJO is out from Arrow Films on 4K UHD in a limited edition two disc set on Monday 12th October 2026