First despised, then celebrated, suddenly relevant: cult action hit appears for the first time in 4K

Turbine Medien releases “Barb Wire” in 4K for the first time. Included is a completely new 4K restoration, which shows the science fiction actor in the best image quality and for which the soundtracks have also been reworked. Plus, the one Turbine published a few years ago is still there Unrated version of the film on an additional Blu-ray. In contrast to the worldwide theatrical version of the film, this actually only features Pamela Anderson’s famous comic strip at the beginning of the film. It is considerably longer – and most importantly repeatedly shows her bare breasts from different angles.

It expected from March 21, 2024 The available new release of “Barb Wire” offers the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and the Unrated Blu-ray in limited steelbook editions. You can choose from two different covers for the steel boxes.

Cover A offers probably the most famous motif from the film, which was also used on posters: Pamela Anderson with a slightly lustful look, black gloves and a big gun. Cover B is more of a collage that emphasizes the action aspect even more with a big explosion in the middle.

Both variants are only available exclusively in the Turbine Medien rental shop itself. In the following image you can see not only how the two lid variants are designed, but also what it looks like underneath:

‘Barb Wire’ is set in 2017. A new civil war is currently raging in America. Barbara Kopetski (Pamela Anderson) is a bounty hunter and nightclub manager for all the shady characters in the last free city in the country. When her ex-boyfriend Axel (Temuera Morrison) arrives at her home with scientist Cora (Victoria Rowell) in tow to escape from here to Canada, Barb also seems to have a chance at a different life. But the authorities around the unscrupulous Colonel Pryzer (Steve Railsback) are hot on their trail. There will be a huge crash soon…

From mega-flop to cult film on the Criterion Channel

“Barb Wire” was a disastrous box office flop. It grossed less than $4 million in the US. The film and the performance of lead actress Pamela Anderson were widely mocked. There were six nominations for the Golden Raspberries, the Razzies – including of course for Worst Film. Pamela Anderson even won the ignominious award, also known as the anti-Oscar.

But a counter-movement has long since emerged. Nowadays, the science fiction actor, in which German indie darling Udo Kier plays a supporting role, is gaining cult status. The title character’s outfit has long been iconic, cited by models, It girls and Instagram stars and starlets. As recently as March, the American streaming service Criterion Channel, which focuses mainly on film art, classics and masterpieces, even invaded ‘Barb Wire’, in addition to titles such as ‘Cruising’, ‘Heaven’s Gate’, ‘Showgirls’ and ‘The Wicker Man’. -Retrospective with special gems that were nominated for the shame prize upon publication. They are “films so crazy, so uncompromising, so outside the bounds of accepted ‘good’ taste that they command attention,” according to the series’ official announcement. “Pay tribute to controversial films that continue to fascinate and provoke debate.”

This is exactly the case with ‘Barb Wire’, as the cult-trashy sci-fi actor now even seems ahead of his time. Ultimately set in 2017, it depicts an America so deeply divided that a new civil war has broken out. Contemporary America is incredibly divided – at least since Donald Trump’s first presidency. It started in 2017. And while there is obviously no civil war, this division culminated in the storming of the Capitol in 2021.

This inspired filmmaker Alex Garland (“Extinction”, “Ex Machina”) to make a film in which he further reflected on the divisions: “Civil War” will be released in theaters on April 18, 2024. As the title made clear, a second American Civil War broke out here after the Civil War of 1861 to 1865 – just like in “barbed wire“.