By the time Dead Again was released in 1991, actor-director Kenneth Branagh had made his name on the British stage and received worldwide acclaim for his performance in the 1989 screen version of Henry V, which was also his directorial debut. Given his vast experience with Shakespeare, the fact that his first Hollywood feature would be a partially black-and-white Hitchcockian thriller. Working from a spec script by then unknown Scott Frank (Out of Sight (1998), Logan (2017), Branagh also plays dual roles.
In 1948, Margaret Strauss (Emma Thompson) is a cellist, who falls in love with and marries Roman Strauss (Kenneth Branagh). A whirlwind romance, the couple eventually fell on hard times. When Margaret is found murdered, Roman is convicted and executed for the crime.
In present day, Mike Church (also played by Kenneth Branagh), a former cop turned private investigator, is looking into “Grace,” (also played by Emma Thompson an amnesiac woman who’s turned up at the children’s home where he grew up. Grace suffers from intense nightmares but can’t articulate what they mean. When Mike can’t get any information about Grace, he is approached by an antiques dealer and hypnotist Franklyn Madson (Derek Jacobi) who suggests that she undergoes life regression after hypnosis fails to do the trick. When Grace provides details of Margaret and Roman’s lives in the third person, that sends Mike down a path that puts he and Grace in danger…
While the plot may sound a bit thin on paper, it offers several twists and turns, as well as an unexpected ending. Excellent too, is the appearance of Robin Williams as Dr. Cozy Carlisle, a former psychiatrist who now runs a grocery store and acts as Mike’s confidant and Wayne Knight as Mike’s buddy Pete, which allows him a scene stealing turn.
While Dead Again came early in Kenneth Branagh’s directorial career, his decision to have the past in black-and-white helps to tell the story and helps to create a noir feel. Edited very well with the colorized scenes of present day, eventually the two stories parallel with each other. Scott Frank’s excellent script fleshes out the four main protagonists and offers a series of interesting supporting characters who may or may not have anything to do with the murder. Despite its many themes—murder, reincarnation, hypnotism, romance, amnesia—Dead Again is never confusing, as the story is given plenty of time to unfold.
Married at the time, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson deliver excellent performances. Both have convincing American accents. Thompson is particularly good, playing the quiet Grace and the romantic bravura of Margaret. The always excellent Derek Jacobi imbibes his character of Madison with welcome humor. In an extended cameo, Robin Williams gives his Dr. Cozy Carlisle a gruffness he rarely showed on screen. Robin Williams’ performance serves as a reminder of just how versatile he could be.
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD is taken from a brand new HDR/Dolby Vision transfer created from the original 35mm camera negative. The results are excellent. Across the board, details are crisp. The Dolby Vision results in clarity that lets the intricate visuals shine. The black-and-white sequences are outstanding, with an impressive grayscale that delivers bright whites and inky blacks. The color sequences offer bright colors with shadow detail that maintains the noirish look of the film. The print is clean, with no obvious blemishes.
This release offers two audio options, a 2.0 lossless DTS-HD Master Audio track and a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio track. Both tracks exhibit clarity throughout. well mixed, Patrick Doyle’s score contributes nicely to the films noirish feel. There is no real distortion on either track. Dialogue is clean, clear and concise throughout.
English SDH subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- Audio commentary by Director and Star Kenneth Branagh
- Audio commentary by Producer Lindsay Doran and Screenwriter Scott Frank
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- Audio commentary by Director and Star Kenneth Branagh
- Audio commentary by Producer Lindsay Doran and Screenwriter Scott Frank
- Theatrical Trailer