A magic mask turns a loveable loser into a living cartoon in Chuck Russell’s hilarious, zany, and unique The Mask, available in a smmmmmmoookin’ new 4K UHD and Blu-Ray from Arrow Video on November 11th.
The Film
1994’s The Mask is a movie I’m sure every reader of this site has seen at some point. It was a sizable, unexpected hit in its time, leading to a fun cartoon series and an abysmal sequel in Son of the Mask. Thirty-one years later, it remains a fantastic artifact of the rise of CG, a melding of the technology pushed forward in Jurassic Park and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and created stars in Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz.
It’s been a good minute since I watched The Mask, directed by Nightmare on Elm Street 3’s Chuck Russell, before popping in Arrow’s new 4k UHD edition for review. I was concerned I’d find humor that doesn’t land, special effects that no longer work, and an overall “Okay, I can see why that worked 30 years ago” feel. However, I’m incredibly glad to say it still slays. I laughed often and hard, wowed by the sheer fun and creativity of it all. The Mask is a total blast of cartoonish energy with great effects and a heck of a lead in Jim Carrey.
Jim Carrey, although leading Once Bitten in 1985, was known then for In Living Color and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which was filmed but not released when The Mask started production, plays loser Stanley Ipkiss (Dumb and Dumber would come out in December, making a hell of a 1994 for Carrey). He’s too nice of a guy, letting others trample right over him, with only a fellow bank employee and his Jack Russell terrier Milo as friends. It all changes when he finds the mask of Loki, bringing out his id and becoming essentially a living Tex Avery cartoon as he gets ingrained in the criminal underworld of a nightclub-running villain and his moll, Cameron Diaz.
Based on a Dark Horse comic created by Mike Richardson, and written by Mike Werb, director Chuck Russell (who co-wrote uncredited) transforms the more horror-tinged character into comic mayhem. Anything and everything can happen as all the shenanigans of Ipkiss, a reporter, dog Milo, and all the gangster mayhem run at full speed from start to finish. It moves with an incredibly musical beat (heck, it may have enough numbers to be considered a musical). It’s a film that wastes zero time setting up all its characters, the 40s tinged world (following the production values in the post-Batman superhero world of Darkman, The Shadow, and The Phantom), the stakes, and the internal logic of The Mask, and the plot details within minutes, allowing for a tornado of cartoonish violence, action, and humor.
Jim Carrey is pretty much a cartoon come to life, and The Mask is a perfect vehicle to put everything he had on full display. He’s 100% in, delivering an over-the-top commanding performance as The Mask (under 17 pieces of prosthetics built to allow him to be just as expressive as without), but he also pays the trod upon Ipkiss just as well, which often gets forgotten. It’s hard to believe this was Cameron Diaz’s first role. At age 20, she had never acted before, but she was such a delight and a shining star… at least when Carrey wasn’t running away with his schick. The pair has amazing chemistry. I do like seeing Amy Yasbeck a the Lois Lane reporter, and Peter Rigert as the harried cop. I’ve never felt Peter Greene as the villain was particularly strong; he’s a bit blah in a sea of insanity. Big love to Max as Milo the Dog. A natural comedic canine actor, he’s so fun.
The Mask still works due to the commitment in front of the camera with the performances of Carrey and Diaz and behind it, as Russell guides the viewer through everything being tossed at them (balancing effects, character, and story in Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and the Blob is how he landed this); backed by a solid script by Werb and the full commitment of Bob Shaye and New LIne. It helps that The Mask is a particularly unique film, reveling in its beautiful excess.
A few side notes just because:
-I loved seeing the Ghostbusters firehouse interiors as the mechanic’s shop (for that 1984 movie of which I cosplay, the exterior is in NYC, but the interior is LA).
-The Mask is forever linked to DVD for me. Sometime in the mid-90s, just as they came out, I was in K-Mart and they were advertising the new format with The Mask playing. I remember teenage me being wowed by scene selection and special features (I still watch all the features on my discs).
The Disc
VIDEO
Another gorgeous transfer, highlighting the wonderful special effects. It’s a new transfer, approved by Chuck Russell.
AUDIO
Audio is available in the original English 5.1, 2.0, and a new Dolby Atmos track. Subtitles only in English.
PACKAGE
The Limited Edition of The Mask is available as a single disc choice of either a 4k UHD or a Blu-ray. Both options contain the same special features and physical extras. The edition has a hard box containing the disc case, six lobby cards, a double-sided poster, and a booklet with an essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicolas and original production notes. The disc case has a reversible sleeve with the same art as the poster, the original movie poster of a close-up of the Mask, and a wider full-body shot.
The Features
The Arrow release has gathered an impressive set of new and archival features for its release of The Mask.
Commentaries: Both commentary tracks are archival
The first is Chuck Russell on his own. A fantastic track, he explores the creation: it started as a horror film to replace New Line’s “dead” Freddy Krueger, but he saw this as the wacky comedy it became. It’s fun listening to him talk of the melding of effects, heaping love on the crew putting it together, along with Carrey and Diaz.
Filmmakers- A non-scene specific track of Russell, Bob Shaye, Mike Werb, and a few others. Mostly a collection of recollections tied to the film with the rotating voices, it does repeat much of what will follow in the features, but still a good listen as an oral history of The Mask.
New Features
The Man Behind the Mask: Chuck Russell Interview. A nice talk, speaking to returning to comedy after his comedic horror flicks like Nightmare 3 and how that film got him there, and fighting to get Carrey. It does have some strange, overrunning background music that feels out of place. I assumed it was my phone. (20m)
From Strip to Screen – Interviews with Mike Richardson (creator), Mike Werb, and Mark Verheide, writer of the previous draft, whose work is still in the film but not enough to be credited. I always love to hear how something is molded and formed over drafts, shifts, and focus. (19m)
Green Face Blue Screens – Special effect supervisor Scott Squires looks back. With all the awesome and forward-thinking effects, it’s great to hear him. I do wish it were longer, as there is so much to explore. (14m)
SSSSPlicin’- Gotta love that name for the feature. Editor Arthur Coburn talks about editing as it went and finding the beat; as noted above, the film moves with a musical feel, and much of that is Coburn.
Ask Peggy. An interview with Amy Yasbeck about her time with the film and the wild run she had in the early 90s. (13m)
Toeing the Conga Line – A look at the creation of the dance sequences, with the stars, doubles, and others. A fine visual way to see all the elements that come together in a complex film sequence, though an interview with choreographer Jerry Evans (10m)
Terriermania – Gosh Doggie, I loved this one. In the early 90s, the Jack Russell terrier took off as a movie/TV dog with The Mask, Frasier, Wishbone, and others. Weirdly, it was a giant coincidence of all these terriers! I’ll let Elizabeth Purchell talk to it more. A unique feature is to take a break from the creative folks’ interviews. (10m)
Archival
Return to Edge City- a 2005 look back at the creation and cultural effect of The Mask.
Rather EPK-like but still good. (27m)
The Making Of – a 3m straight up EPK.
Interview Bites – extended review bits from the 2005 doc above (5m)
Introducing Cameron Diaz – featurette of finding Diaz for her first role and how she burst onto the scene with The Mask. (14m)
Cartoon Logic – A fun discussion of all the cartoons, specifically Tex Avery, that influenced the film. (14m)
What Makes Fido Run – Max the Dog as Milo is a standout in the film. Here, we see how his training and action on set went. (11 M)
Deleted Scenes: the removed Viking opening and Peggy’s death sequences, with commentary. Funny though is both are featured a few times in the other features.
B-Roll: 5 minutes of fly-on-the-wall footage
Arrow has put together another fantastic, stuffed-full set of features, both old and new, to build on an incredibly fun movie that still holds up extraordinarily well. The Mask 4K UHD is worthy of an upgrade to your collection upon release on November 11th, 2025.