A 4K restoration of the trippy 1990 horror thriller Jacob’s Ladder is set to have its World Premiere at the American Cinematheque’s Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on September 28 before heading over to the IFC Center in New York City on Friday, October 3, with a national theatrical rollout to follow in the United States, courtesy of Rialto. Jacob’s Ladder is aiming to unsettle a new generation of moviegoers (along with its established fans) this Halloween season – and to support the release, a 4K restoration trailer has dropped online. You can check it out in the embed above!
Directed by Fatal Attraction‘s Adrian Lyne, Jacob’s Ladder stars Tim Robbins and was scripted by Bruce Joel Rubin – who won an Oscar for writing Ghost the same year this movie was released. Here’s the synopsis: Jacob Singer, a Vietnam War veteran plagued with troubling hallucinations and traumatic flashbacks, struggles to maintain his sanity as his terrible past invades his waking life. As girlfriend Jezzie and chiropractor friend Louis try to help him find balance, Jacob only descends further into madness and despair. Robbins was joined in the cast by Elizabeth Peña, Patricia Kalember, Danny Aiello, Matt Craven, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jason Alexander, Eriq La Salle, and Ving Rhames.
Rubin was inspired to write the screenplay after having a nightmare that he was trapped in a New York subway station. “I wanted to explore what is most terrifying to me. Not just scary, but psychically horrifying. (In the nightmare) my mind started projecting that the only way out was to go farther down. I woke up sweating and thinking, ‘What a great idea for a movie!’ Jacob’s Ladder ultimately became a story of terrible paranoia, of not knowing what is true. Every time you think you know where you’re standing — the rug gets pulled out from underneath you. To me, that’s a terrifying premise.“
The restoration was completed by Roundabout – USA from the original negative scanned and restored in 4K. The color grading and restoration was supervised by Adrian Lyne. This project comes to us from STUDIOCANAL and was supervised by Delphine Roussel and Jean-Pierre Boiget. Details on the national release have not yet been revealed, so keep an eye on your local listings!
Are you a fan of Jacob’s Ladder, and are you glad to hear that the 4K restoration is getting a national theatrical release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
