Writer Eric Red had teased over the weekend that 1986 classic The Hitcher was finally getting a Blu-ray release, and the release has been confirmed today by Second Sight Films.
Second Sight, the company behind the recent 4K Ultra HD release of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, has unfortunately also revealed, however, that a 4K release is not possible.
The company tweets, “Confirming we will be releasing on Blu-ray! As original elements are missing / no longer exist a 4K release won’t be possible. We’ve searched via several film archive associations with worldwide members plus other routes. Only prints exist, and rarely.”
“We will be using the existing master taken from a print which is in the best condition we have seen,” they continue. “However, further restoration work is being done on the master to address several issues we can improve upon, including some image warping caused by rips/tears. Hours will be spent in manual restoration for further dirt and scratch removal, splice removal, improved stability and flicker repair. We are also re-grading to balance colour given the print source. We aim to give The Hitcher the best possible presentation it has ever had.”
Second Sight is a UK company, so the Blu-ray release will likely be locked to Region B. A 4K Ultra HD disc would’ve been Region Free, but alas, it sounds like it’s just not happening.
Released in 1986, The Hitcher starred the late Rutger Hauer as a murderous hitchhiker and C. Thomas Howell as the young man who makes the mistake of picking him up. The film was written by Eric Red (Near Dark, Bad Moon), and directed by Robert Harmon.
*THE HITCHER*
Confirming we will be releasing on Blu-ray! As original elements are missing / no longer exist a 4K release won’t be possible. We’ve searched via several film archive associations with worldwide members plus other routes. Only prints exist, and rarely.— Second Sight (@SecondSightFilm) May 6, 2021