If I had a nickel for every home video release of Twin Peaks, I’d be dead. From VHS cassettes and low quality recordings pulled from Bravo TV to laserdiscs and DVD sets, I have them all. One thing I’ve found is that if I wait long enough, quality of these home video releases improves. That is one reason why I couldn’t wait to acquire the 4K UHD Steelbook release of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me from StudioCanal’s Arthaus label in Germany. Here is a closer look at that set which offers vibrant colors and captures never-before-seen details.
WHAT IS STUDIOCANAL’S ARTHAUS IN GERMANY?
Associated with Kinowelt Home Entertainment Gmbh, Arthaus Video Vertriebsgesellschaft is a video distribution company founded in 1994 by brothers Michael and Rainer Koelmel. The company released its first ten films on VHS on May 1, 1994. Four years later in October, they released several DVDs followed by its first Blu-ray titles in 2007.
On January 16, 2008, StudioCanal bought Kinowelt for an estimated E90 million ($132 million US). The Koelmel brothers remained at the company, which was one of Germany’s biggest DVD distributors that also produced and distributed TV and cinema films. The company was no stranger to StudioCanal as they handled Canal Plus home video titles in German-speaking territories since 2000.
According to High Def Digest, Arthaus’ first 4K UHD was George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead which was released in November 2022.
RUMORS ABOUT A 4K UHD RELEASE FROM ARTHAUS
For Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, rumors of a 4K release appeared as early as August 19, 2023 as noted in this post from UnderTheFan on the Tulpa Forum. It was mentioned StudioCanal had the rights to David Lynch’s film in Germany and was planning the high-definition release for possibly November 2023. There was earlier chatter about a similar release taking place in France first appeared December 29, 2022 (that French release only recently happened on May 6, 2025).
The Tulpa Forum post included artwork for the proposed 4K UHD Steelebook. The cover included an image of Laura Palmer in the Red Room with a stylized blue rose overlayed on her hair.
Artwork for the back cover included an image of Special Agent Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer in the Red Room.
This is artwork for the back cover of the home video release.
The publicity images include shots of Laura Palmer seated in the Red Room which Special Agent Dale Cooper standing nearby.
Laura Palmer putting on lipstick at Jacques Renault’s cabin.
Special Agents Albert Rosenfield, Dale Cooper and Phillip Jeffries standing with Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole at the FBI Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Carl Rodd and Special Agent Dale Cooper at the Fat Trout Trailer Park.
James Hurley sitting on his Harley Davidson motorcycle speaking with Laura Palmer outside her home.
TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME ON 4K UHD RELEASED ON DEC. 12, 2024
The Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me 4K Ultra-High Definition and Blu-ray release took place on December 12, 2024. The UPC for this release is 4006680103419. The StudioCanal webpage in Germany for this film contains a link to purchase.
It is important to note that this disc will not play in North American Blu-ray players. You will need a region free player to watch the disc.
Interestingly, they didn’t promote the release until about five days later on the Arthaus.de Instagram account. Their post included a nod to both Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Lost Highway.
I translated the Instagram post which read: “The play with light and shadow, the ambivalence between good and evil – two masterpieces by David Lynch that redefine neo-noir. TWIN PEAKS and LOST HIGHWAY are now both available as Limited Steelbooks in 4K.”
The post contained an image carousel of screen grabs from both films. Here Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is seen both The Red Room and The Roadhouse.
Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) is seen with an image of the angel from The Red Room.
On December 30, the Arthaus.de Instagram account made a second post about the 4K UHD release. The post included a vertical video of Laura Palmer’s encounter with the Grandmother and Grandson at the Intersection outside the Double R Diner.
The translated caption read, “Mysterious, creepy, highly exciting: TWIN PEAKS – THE MOVIE tells the last seven days in the life of 17-year-old Laura Palmer. The prestory to the cult series was nominated for the Golden Palme and is now available as a 4K UHD Steelbook in limited edition for the first time. us The edition also includes THE MISSING PARTS: 90 minutes of distance and extended scenes from David Lynch’s surreal masterpiece reveal new details about the mysterious murder case.”
DETAILS OF THE 4K UHD STEELBOOK
The front cover of the 4K UHD Steelbook contained a paper sleeve with the film’s title – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. When the film was originally released in Germany on August 20, 1992, it was simply called Twin Peaks: Der Film or Twin Peaks: The Movie. The film has a German rating of FSK 16, which means it is only approved for people aged 16 and over. Even when accompanied by a parent or guardian, admission is not permitted for any person younger than 16 years.
The back cover appears similar to the original artwork. There are four publicity images in addition to a large graphic of Laura Palmer and Agent Cooper in the Red Room. Specifications include
- Audio: English (7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio), German (Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio)
- Subtitles: German
- Runtime: 135 Minutes
- Format: 4K UHD is 1,85:1 (2160p/SDR) and the Blu-ray Disc: 1,85:1 (1080/24p Full HD)
There is also more than 100 minutes of bonus material including Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces, Audio commentary by Professor Dr. Marcus Stiglegger and the original movie trailer.
Dr. Stiglegger is a professor of film studies at MKW Institut Freiburg. He posted a photo on his Instagram account on June 25, 2024 showing off his black and white chevron carpet in his kitchen. Clearly, he is a Twin Peaks fan!
The front and back of the steelbook contains the same images found in the previously shown artwork.
Inside, there is a plastic disc hold for two discs – one is the Blu-ray while the other is the 4K UHD disc.
Under those discs is an image of the Welcome to Twin Peaks sign spot seen very briefly in the 1992 feature film.
Here is the same image taken from the film. Of course, the actual spot in Snoqualmie, Washington along Reinig Road looks completely different today due to a revetment project completed in 2023. This project helped reinforce the embankment along Reinig Road to ensure the Snoqualmie River, which is known to flood, won’t completely destroy this important roadway.
The discs contain the same artwork of Laura Palmer in a half heart necklace that’s on fire.
The original German publicity for the 1992 release didn’t use the heart image; all press images only included Laura in her outfit from the Red Diamond City Motel.
IMAGE QUALITY FROM THE 4K UHD RELEASE
You may recall from January 2025, Matthew Haywood used the 4K transfer of Lynch’s film to help identify one of my holy grail props – Special Agent Sam Stanley’s Whiteman Machine.
A few days after Matthew’s discovery, I used the new high-definition transfer to identify the framed reindeer photo from the Deer Meadow Sheriff’s Office.
So the image quality is really top notch. There is a vibrancy to the film that captures every little detail. With every viewing, I pick out things that I might have missed in lower quality releases.
These are just a random sampling of screen grabs from the 4K release.
Donna Hayward is perplexed at how good the film looks.
Leland Palmer can’t believe it either.
Killer BOB has never looked scarier in high-definition.
And the angels do return so Laura can weep for joy.
I would love to see a proper release of the open matte release from Germany which gave a full frame, uncropped look. I doubt that will ever happen but then again, I never thought in 1993 that I’d ever see such a beautiful film in the highest-definition possible.
You can download super high-resolution images from this set on my Flickr account – https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/albums/72177720326385419
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