The Corner Penthouse

A24 recently released the X Trilogy Collector's Edition Box Set Blu-ray. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Three films written and directed by Ti West starring Mia Goth.

• X (2022) - In 1979, a group of young filmmakers - Maxine (Mia Goth), Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), Jackson (Scott Mescudi), Wayne (Martin Henderson), and RJ (Owen Campbell) - set out to make an adult film in a rural Texas farm. When their reclusive, elderly hosts, Pearl (Mia Goth) and Howard (Stephen Ure), catch them in the act, the crew find themselves fighting for their lives.

• Pearl (2022) - In 1918, a young woman, Pearl (Mia Goth), on the brink of madness, pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the drudgery, isolation, and lovelessness of life on her parents' farm.

• MaXXXine (2024) - In 1985 Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) finally gets her big break. As a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

Each movie is on its own disc, making this a three disc set. All movies feature English audio. All movies feature subtitles in English SDH.

• X (2022) - The movie is presented in a 1.90:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:46:20. The movie has been rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and language.

• Pearl (2022) - The movie is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:42:05. The movie has been rated R for some strong violence, gore, strong sexual content and graphic nudity.

• MaXXXine (2024) - The movie is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:43:33. The movie has been rated R for strong violence, gore, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and drug use.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the special features below can be found on the respective Blu-ray discs. (Disc 1 is X, Disc 2 is Pearl, Disc 3 is MaXXXine) It should be noted that these are NOT the same discs sold separately, as the audio commentaries are new and (to my knowledge) exclusive to this set.

• DISC 1: Audio Commentary - with director of photography Eliot Rockett and production designer Tom Hammock.
• DISC 1: Pearl Make Up Timelapse (1:33) - A time lapse video of Mia Goth getting into her "old age" Pearl make-up.
• DISC 1: The Farmer's Daughters (4:56) - A brief look at the supposed porno being shot.
• DISC 1: That X Factor (11:37) - A decent EPK featuring interviews with the principal cast and Ti West.
• DISC 1: Trailer (2:26)
• DISC 2: Audio Commentary - with director of photography Eliot Rockett and production designer Tom Hammock.
• DISC 2: Coming Out of Her Shell: The Creation of Pearl (11:37) - An above average EPK, with some good interviews with Mia Goth, Ti West, Tandi Wright, and David Corenswet.
• DISC 2: Time After Time (4:00) - Looks at how production design had to differentiate between the look of this film versus X.
• DISC 2: Trailer (2:09)
• DISC 3: Audio Commentary - with production designer Jason Kisvarday and set decorator Kelsi Ephraim.
• DISC 3: The Belly of the Beast (9:38) - Offers some nice interviews with the principal cast and crew, with Mia Goth expressing surprise at the audience reaction to the first two films.
• DISC 3: XXX Marks the Spot (11:19) - Focuses on the film's time period and Ti West's desire to capture that peculiar zeitgeist.
• DISC 3: Hollywood is a Killer (8:13) - A look at some of the special effects in various kill scenes.
• DISC 3: Q&A with Director Ti West (25:45) - An interview with the director.
• DISC 3: Deep Dive with Tyler Bates (8:26) - An interview with the composer.
• DISC 3: Trailer 1 (2:23)
• DISC 3: Trailer 2 (1:27)

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

The big draw to this so-called "Collector's Edition Box Set" is the rather massive packaging. A hard box, with a clear plastic slipcover, measuring 6"x9.25"x1" houses a custom photo-collage "digibook" that holds the three discs, as well as a 64-page book. While it all looks really nice, it is a far from an ideal way to store the discs. They are an utter pain in the ass to remove, without getting fingerprints on them or feeling like they're going to break. As seen in the photo below, they "float" in a sea of blackness because the fold-out "digibook" has to be much larger than the discs in order to match the size of the accompanying book.


The 64-page book features a new four-page essay "An XXX-traordinary History of Cinema" by Jon Dieringer, unreleased concept art, costume sketches, behind-the-scenes photography, original poster and VHS artwork created as set dressing for the films, and more. It's really beautiful, but it comes at the cost of making this more of a shelf-hog than a three-disc set needs to be.


[ NOTES ]

X Trilogy Collector's Edition Box Set is available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray. This is a hard set to recommend, especially given its $85 to $100 MSRP. For starters, despite all of the raves I heard about these films, I found them to be more style than substance. X is a very generic slasher with kills that are so choreographed that they are neither scary nor thrilling. Pearl is a bonkers character piece that really doesn't go anywhere, especially since, as a prequel to X, you know the fate of the character right from the start. MaXXXine definitely captures the 1980s style and the "satanic panic" of the times, but it seems like more of a thriller than a horror movie.

Putting aside my opinion of the films, there really isn't much here worth the asking price. There is very little content on each of the discs. The commentaries are new, but what little else there is is also found on the individual Blu-rays of the three films. So, you're really paying for a big box and the big book. I suppose if you're a die-hard fan of the films, you'll love the book. It certainly is well done, but not worth the price, honestly.

From what the product info states, this set is the first U.S. 4K releases of the first two movies. However, it's not the only 4K releases of the first two films. DVD Compare's pages for X and Pearl reveals that there are region-free German 4K releases for both films: X from Capelight Pictures and Pearl from Turbine Medien (both are 4K + Blu-ray combo packs). MaXXXine already has a U.S. 4K release from Lionsgate (it's a 4K + Blu-ray combo pack). So, if you want all three films on 4K UHD, and don't want the book and big box set, that is your only option. I can't guarantee that it will be cheaper, in total, than the $100 4K set.

If you want the three films on Blu-ray without the book and thick big packaging, all were released in the U.S.: X, Pearl, and MaXXXine. The Blu-ray releases all come with DVDs. So, there are all of your options. Choose wisely.

This item has been provided by A24 for review on this site.