Arcade (1993) (Full Moon Features) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Another one of my favorite Full Moon Entertainment's films has been given a rather nice Blu-ray release.

Studio: Full Moon Features
Release Date: March 30th, 1994 (video premiere) / July29th, 2025 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 21 minutes 5 seconds
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 1 (BD-25)
Picture: 1080i (1.33:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Slipcover: No
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Megan Ward, Peter Billingsley, John DeLancie, Seth Green, Sharon Farrell, A.J. Langer
Written by David S. Goyer
Directed by Albert Pyun
Rating: R (language)

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Poster

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What's It About?

All the kids in town are dying to play the hot new video game "Arcade". Trouble is once you play the game you can kiss reality good-bye. Arcade has seven levels of excitement, adventure, and terror for its players. The game transports you to another world with its stunning graphics, thrilling sound effects, and virtual reality simulation. It is the ultimate experience in a video game. But excitement like this doesn't come cheaply - when you battle with Arcade you're putting your life on the line. The kids have accepted the challenge and are absorbed into the game. Only Alex (Megan Ward, Encino Man, Freaked) and Nick (Peter Billingsley, A Christmas Story, Death Valley) realize that these mysterious disappearances are linked to Arcade. They must battle the game, alone.

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Video/Audio

Charles Band has searched high and low for ARCADE's original camera negative. He could not find one so he has decided to go back to the video file used for all of the previous home video releases (VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, and streaming) and upscale the footage. This upscale doesn't look too bad although there are problem areas. Darker scenes, like the ones that take palace in the club where the titular Arcade game is located can be a bit hard to make out at times. The film's director, the late, great Albert Pyun, uses alot of smoke, along with adding different colored lighting to give the film a unique look, and these can mess with the picture quality, given the circumstances. The film looks better than the DVD but also worse. I wish Band had just put the standard defition file from the DVD and not done any work, outside of enhancing the colors. As my regular readers already know, I am very leniant when it comes to picture and audio quality when very under special circumstances. I do not hold a transfer or release's problems to the studio releasing said film if the problems were out of their control. I mean, I am still going to criticism the problems but I will never lower any kind of score I give said transfer if what we are given is the best that can be done. The transfer used here is the best ARCADE will likely ever look unless the film's original camera negative can be found.

The audio here is not lossless, something that is true for all of Full Moon's Blu-rays released in the last five years or so, but that's fine as both tracks sound good. Sure, lossless would have made them better but they get the job done.

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Extras/Packaging

These promos play at disc startup and are not available to watch separately:

DeliriumTV Promo (1m, HD, 1.78:1)
Delirium Magazine Promo (30s, HD, 1.78:1)
Full Features Streaming Site Promo (1m 22, HD, 1.78:1)
The Full Moon Legacy Volume One Promo (49s, HD, 1.78:1)

Original Trailer (1m 44s, HD, 1.33:1) The footage used here looks so much better than the footage used for the main feature.

Commentary - Producer Charles Band and actor Megan Ward sit down for another chatty commentary track. This is a track well worth listening to.

Videozone (9m 43, SD, 1.33:1) This features the only input from director Albert Pyun, as this Blu-ray was created and released after his passing. It's a shame we couldn't get a commentary from him but having bits from an interview here is better than nothing.

Interview: John DeLancie (15m 42s, SD, 1.33:1) I have no idea when this interview was done but it's in standard definition and in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, so it had to have been done in the 90s (maybe but probably.) The questions and answers are pretty standard so there isn't very much to learn here. He does mispronounce Albert Pyun's last name as "Pie Oon." You would think a guy who has worked with Pyun more than once would get his last name right.

Rare VFX Reel (18m 3s, SD, 1.33:1)

This text proceeds the footage:

When ARCADE was finished with post-production, the decision was made to scrap the exisiting special computer effects and replace them with new effects.

An early workprint was discovered and featured the original special features that were once thought lost.

The following scenes offer a new look at the world of ARCADE.

The real reason this reel exists is because Full Moon was FORCED to change the effects after Disney thought they resembled TRON a little bit too much. Outside of the speeder bike looking things twoards the end of the film, they look nothing like TRON. This footage actually looks a lot better than the stuff used in the film proper. I don't know why Full Moon just didn't change the speeder bike stuff and call it a day. If the other stuff looks too much like TRON then so does the stuff from films like THE LAWNMOWER MAN. The footage here fits the film better than the redone stuff.

Full Moon Trailers

Savage Island (1m 21s, HD, 1.85:1)
Quadrant (2m 3s, HD, 1.90:1)
Bad Channels (1m 40s, HD, 1.78:1)
Crash and Burn (1m 5s, HD, 1.78:1)
Bad CGI Gator (1m 52s, HD, 1.78:1)

The film has been divided into 18 chapters.

The film's menu is basic. There are two of them: the main menu, where the special features, along with the "Play Feature" buttons, are, and a sub-menu for the "Full Moon Trailers" section.

Packaging here is simple: The film's original poster/video artwork is used here. The disc art features the flying creature from the poster art.\

The disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

I have a lot of nostalgia for ARCADE. As I have written before, Full Moon Entertainment was a big part of my film studies. I was getting into film about the time the company was formed and they were making films I wanted to see. I remember falling in love with ARCADE when it hit video store shelves in 1994 and it has always been one of my favorite Full Moon films.

That being said, ARCADE is kind of crap. The live action stuff is pretty well done. Pyun shoots this stuff with a lot of style which boosts the film production value. Pyun has always been known for being able to spread a buck. His films never cost very much but they look like they cost a small fortune. Once we get into the virtual reality stuff, the film gets worse. The effects had to be replaced because of Disney, and the replacement effects look way worse than the original stuff. The original effects footage is present on this disc and I wish they had kept what they could. Everything feels more in line with the live action stuff Pyun shot. This does bring the film down a bit but I still look at it with a sympathetic eye. I do think the film would have been better had Full Moon been able to use the original effects.

ARCADE may be kind of crap but I love it. I find the film fun and, if looked through the eyes of someone from the 90s, the effects are not that bad. They are bad but we know why. The effects could have been a whole lot worse. Watching the film today, I was transported back to my bedroom in 1994, being amazed but the effects while also watching the growing careers of Megan Ward and Seth Green. I really do love ARCADE and hope others do too.

The Blu-ray we have here is better than you would think it would be. Sure, the film doesn't look the greatest but we know why this is and can accept that. The special features really save this release from being mid at best. We get the original effects footage which is so much better than the footage in the film proper. We have the film's Videozone which is always a pleasure to revisit as well as an older interview with actor John DeLancie. The film's trailer along with a reel of Full Moon trailer round out this fun release.

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Extras/Menus