FIRE AND ICE (1983) 3-Disc 4K UHD/BD/CD Limited Edition SteelBook Review and Blu-ray Screenshots

FIRE AND ICE (1983) 

3-Disc Limited Edition SteelBook 

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + CD Soundtrack 

Label: Blue Underground 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: PG

Duration: 81 Minutes 38 Seconds 

Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1), 5.1 DTS-HD MA, 2.0 DTS-HD MA with Optional English SDH, French, Spanish Subtitles 

Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: Ralph Bakshi

Cast: William Ostrander, Maggie Roswell, Steve Sandor, Stephen Mendel, Susan Tyrrell

Fire and Ice (1983) is a sword and sandal animated cult-classic from from Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat), the director of the original animated The Lord of the Rings, and painter Frank Frazetta, the iconic illustrator of Conan the Barbarian... OK, You can stop right there, you had me at Bakshi/Frazetta team-up, sold! The list of notable talent does not stop there however, the screenplay was written by comics writers Roy Thomas who penned the Conan the Barbarian for Marvel, and Gerry Conway, who wrote some terrific horror and fantasy for Marvel with the anthology comics House of Secrets and House of Mystery. The film also features gorgeous painted backgrounds done by Thomas Kincade and James Gurney. Kinkade is now best known for his photo-realistic painting of pastoral and small town scenes, while Gurney went on to be the creator of the illustrated fantasy books Dinotopia. Additionally, Peter Chung, the creator of the Aeon Flux animated series did layouts on the film, and we get a terrific score by composer William Kraft (Psychic Killer). The film is also notable, some might even say controversial, for being one of Bakshi's rotoscoped animated films, a process by which live-action scenes are captured on film and then meticulously traced over frame by frame and embellished to offer realistic action sequences and movement. This was by no means a new process, it's almost as old as film itself, is was used by Max Fleischer for his 1940 animated Superman shorts, and it was used extensively by Disney (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland), as well as on the cult-classic sci-fi/horror anthology film Heavy Metal (1981). This is a process that director Ralph Bakshi became known for, having used it on his films Wizards, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and American Pop. Fantasy icon Frank Frazetta designed the characters which are heavily based on his paintings, and he also directed the live-action sequences with the actors and stuntmen, and the film is really a love-letter to his iconic work as a painter, having been made with the goal of bringing his painting to life through animation.  

The pulpy sword and sorcery story is basically a tale of warring kingdoms, we have an evil sorcerer named Nekron (live-acted by Sean Hannon, voiced by Stephen Mendel, Scanner Cop II) who through the dark arts can control a giant glacier with his supernatural powers, and his diabolical mother, the evil Queen Juliana (live-acted by Eileen O'Neill, voiced by Susan Tyrrell, Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker) who rule with an iron fist from a frigid ice castle called Icepeak. As Nekron's destructive glacier and subhuman foot soldiers attack mankind, pushing them closer tot he warmer  environs near the equator, the survivors take refuge in the volcano citadel of the benevolent King Jarol (voiced and live-acted by Leo Gordon, Big Top Pee-Wee) in the kingdom of Firekeep, protected by the immense heat of subterranean volcanic lava flows. Queen Julianna sends a delegation to Firekeep to request the King's surrender, but has also secretly sent a cadre of subhuman minions to sneak into Firekeep and kidnap the king's nubile daughter Teegra (live-acted by Cynthia Leake, voiced by Maggie Roswell, TV's The Simpsons). 

While kidnapped the, at least initially, resourceful Teegra manages to escape her captors and encounters Larn (live-acted by Randy Norton, voiced by William Ostrander, Christine), a warrior who is the last of a tribe that have been wiped out by were all destroyed by Nekron's advancing glacial-terror. They team-up but she is soon kidnapped once more by the witch Roleil (voiced by Elizabeth Lloyd Shaw, Choose Me) and her enormous brute son Otwa (voiced by Micky Morton) after she and Larn are separated after he is attacked while swimming by a monstrous lake-dwelling octopus that has some nive Lovecraftian vibes. He manages to survive and while tracking the subhumans encounters a masked barbarian named Darkwolf (voiced and live-acted by Steve Sandor, Bonnie's Kids), who had vowed to destroy Nekron and Queen Julianna. With mutual end games the pair team-up and  and continue on to Icepeak where the final battle ensues.  

I was not lucky enough to see this at the cinema when it was released, the PG-rated animated sword and sorcery film was seemingly too kiddie for adults and too damn sexy and violent for kids, and it needed-up tanking at the box office, only recouping $860K of purported $1.2 million dollar budget, no bueno. I did end up catching in the mid-80's after it was released on VHS, while we were poor and didn't make it to the cinema a bunch, my pops was always renting us VHS tapes on the weekends. I was already familiar with some of Bakshi's work having watched his animated Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit films, which I'd seen during TV airing, and I was already a sword and sorcery fan because of cable TV airings of stuff like Hawk the Slayer Conan the Barbarian, The Beastmaster, Dragonslayer, Excalibur, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Ladyhawke, Legend and Krull. The early to mid-80s were absolutely overstuffed with sword and sorcerery and dark fantasy adventure flicks, if it was on cable and I had a couple of hours to spare I was watching it, so I loved the genre already. At that age I was already stealing copies of my Uncle Mike's not-so-well hidden Heavy Metal magazines which I would sneak onto he school bus and read on the way to and from school, and I was particularly drawn to the on-going stories of 'Den' by Richard Corben and 'Azrach' by Moebius, both of which ended up being in the animated Heavy Metal anthology film. These were very adult oriented fantasy comics with amazing artwork, they were literally setting my mind on fire every time I read them, they were so dark, sexual and fantastical. 

So, I think when I finally watched Fire and Ice for the first time I sort of had that in mind, that it would be R-rated and wild, but it was PG-rated, so I was only ever gonna get so much out of it, in terms of sexuality and violence, but even still, I remember being pretty awed by it. I have no problem admitting the story is sort of paper-thin, but still deliciously pulpy and savage, and sure there were tits on display, but Teegra is wearing an almost non-existent thong for the whole film, and looking curvaceous and sultry as Hell, her buxom design certainly triggered by hormones, I mean I was about ten when I saw this, so yeah, I loved it. Watching it now as a so-called adult it is a bit disappointing watching how much of a damsel in distress she is, but she is quite a beauty, and very easy on the eyes, she's basically a Frazetta centerfold brought to life, and that's alright. It's not exactly the sort of thing that as a father of daughters I would say was terrifically progressive, but what can I say, I dig it. 

While the animated film might have shorted as on T&A it delivered some of the barbaric savagery I wanted, sure, it was not a gut-ripping gore-fest, it was muscular and had a raw physicality and visceral edge to it that reeked of sweat-drenched, barbaric testosterone. The character of Larn is sinewy Tarzan/Ka-zar/The Beastmaster type warrior, while the masked warrior Darkwolf is more of a muscular barbarian archetype, straight out of Frazetta painting, dripping with a masculinity, wearing a wolf pelt, and carrying a battle-axe and capable of doing some serious damage. The villains are pretty one-dimensional, you never really understand the motivation for them to spread their ice kingdom across the land, like, why they crave world domination? They are just evil for the sake of being evil, one-note archetypes, one dark fantasy cliche after the other. 

So, yeah, Fire and Ice has some story and character shortcomings to be sure, it's cliched and predictable even for it's era, but it still holds up for me - the gorgeous artistry of the rotoscoped animation, the iconic Frank Frazetta character designs, those amazing backgrounds, and sword and sorcery badassedness of it all is still fantastically appealing, and perhaps most wonderful of all, it made me feel like a kid again while watching, I see the flaws, but I am unapologetically nostalgic about it, I am happy to let that nostalgia wash over me again and again, that's the magic of cinema. 

Audio/Video: Fire and Ice (1983) gets the 3-disc limited edition UHD/BD/CD treatment from Blue Underground, presenting the film 2160p Ultra HD with Dolby Vision/HDR10 color-grade, in the 1.85:1 widescreen theatrical aspect ratio, now scanned in 4K 16-bit from the original negative. I do believe this is the first time we get the film in the original theatrical aspect ratio as the previous DVD and Blu-ray editions were 1.78:1. The image looks magnificent, a gorgeous restoration all around, the source has been meticulously cleaned-up restored, but respectfully retains the sources filmic qualities with tight-knit grain, The rotoscoped animation lines are well-defined, and the artistry of the backgrounds showcases the individual brushstrokes and stippling. The WCG  color-grade is stunning, offering a  more nuanced color-balance with deeper blushes and and more vibrant hues throughout, with superior black levels and excellent contrast. The fiery glow of the lava flows during the finale look tremendously vibrant, and overall the colors are refreshed, with the painted backgrounds by Thomas Kincade and James Gurney now able to be better appreciated with deep suffuse colors and more appreciable detail and texture than ever before. Audio comes by way of English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) remix, plus both DTS-HD MA 2.0 stere and 5.1 surround mixes. The audio like the visuals is wonderfully refreshed and crisp sounding, especially the Atmos remix which really enhances the William Kraft (Psychic Killer) score, this is a terrific sonic upgrade all the way around.  

The accompanying Blu-ray offers the same 4K 16-bit scan without the Dolby Vision/HDR10 color-grade, but still look fantastic and is quite impressive on it's own. Blue Underground also include the Dolby Atmos remix on the Blu-ray, too. 

Blue Underground celebrate the film's 4K UHD debut with both new extras and archival extras. New stuff starts of with the 15-min The Art Of Fire And Ice: The Frank Frazetta Legacy with Sara Frazetta, in which the late artist's granddaughter warmly talks about a couple of Frazetta's favorite films she watched with him, among them Night of the Hunter and Fantasia, how he was a true independent, and was approached by Bakishi to team-up on this film. She discusses how he coached the actors and stuntmen in how to move for the live-action footage sequences, the process of casting Teegra, the rotoscoping process, the highlighting the background art of Thomas Kinkade and James Gurney. She also gets into seeing the film when she was five, the prequel comic series from Dynamite Comics, and some talk of another Bakshi/Frazetta team-up that never manifested. 

Also new the 7-min Frank Frazetta’s Fire And Ice with Robert Rodriguez, the From Dusk Till Dawn director recalls seeing Fire & Ice at a test-screening in San Antonio back in 1983, possibly even as early as 1982. He also highlights the Frazetta artwork pieces he owns, including the original Fire and Ice oil panting, and noting his love for Frazetta from early on, and how Fire and Ice was the first time he saw one his films theatrically. He talks a bit about the Frazetta poster Frank made for From Dusk Till Dawn, which because of Frank sufferings stroke was submitted too late to be the key artwork. He points out that Frazetta was drawn to Salma Hyek's character, which was not surprising as the character was clearly inspired by Frazetta's work. He compares the rotoscoping animation process to modern digital motion capture technology, before bringing it to an end by talking about his idea for a live-action Fire and Ice adaptation, which he says is still something he would like to so. 

The last of the new stuff are a massive upgrade of Poster & Still Galleries with separate galleries for Posters (17 Images,), German Lobby Cards (20 Images), Color Stills (37 Images), Frazetta Artwork Portfolio (15 Image), Bakshi Artwork Portfolio (25 Images), ,Sketches (44 Images), Animation Cells & Backgrounds (47 Images), Video, Comics & More (46 Images). The last of the new stuff is a bonus Cd containing the 70-min Fire and Ice Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by William Kraft, featuring 21-tracks of sword and sandal/fantasy awesomeness. 

Archival extras include the Audio Commentary with Co-Producer/Director Ralph Bakshi, the late director delves deeply into the production, highlighting the work of Bakshi, the rotoscope animators, directing the live-action actors, and background artists, and the score, which is a terrific track. 

We also get the 13-min The Making Of Fire And Ice. Unfortunately the original elements are missing, and despite an exhaustive search were not able to be found, so this is actually sourced from Bakshi's personal workprint VHS copy. The making of offers fascinating glimpses at the live film elements and the final rotoscoped images for comparison, even showing the nitty gritty process of animating it. We also get scenes of the Kinkade and Gurney painting the backgrounds, as well as artist working on the cel animation process, inking and painting.  

The 8-min Bakshi On Frazetta, in which the maverick animation icon talks about the style of the animation, the casting progress for Teegra which required over 2000 women to disrobe, spending a year with Frazetta at the studio, seeing him paint animation watching him work, the background by Kinkade and Gurney, who also learned a lot. How the animators would freeze in fear they were so intimidated by him, shooting his sword fight under the tutelage of stunt coordinator Loren Jones, how tge script hinted that Dark Wolf is Nekron's father, 

Next up is the 14-min Sean Hannon’s Diary Notes, Hannon is the the actor who was the physical live action version of evil sorcerer Nekron. The somewhat whimsical accounting of his time making the film is quite interesting, he mentions the role of actor Stephen Mendel who voiced the character of Nekron, and describes shooting in the overlit and quite hot studio, the rotoscoping process, the characters and actors, this has loads of BTS pics, the recast and reshoot of the live-action version of Juliana, and plenty more. 

Disc extras are buttoned-up with the 13-min  Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery with BTS stills of the live-action stuff, images of artists at work on background panels and cel animations, plus the 1-min Theatrical Trailer. 

The one-extras not carried over for this release is the fantastic Frazetta: Painting with Fire (2003) documentary which was included on the 2003 2-Disc Limited Edition DVD, which also included a commentary with director lance Laspina and producer Jeremy J. DiFiore, which is a bummer, but i have the DVD so no bid deal I guess. I should also note that the doc was also not included with the 2009 Blu-ray edition from Blue Underground either. 

The three-disc SteelBook edition looks terrific, a metallic and glossy affair featuring Frazetta's iconic Fire and Ice oil painting, newly scanned for a high quality reproduction. The back side features animation from the film featuring Teegra and Larn, while the interior artwork is a Bakshi sketch of Nekron's subhuman foot soldiers, which I love, don't get me wrong, but I was hoping it would have one of those Thomas Kinkade/Thomas Gurney background painting. There is also a insert with the credits and track list for the soundtrack CD

with an ad for the www.frazettagirls.com website. The discs inside are adorned with artwork from the film and the title treatment, with the exception of the soundtrack CD which only features the title card lettering. The SteelBook also includes a Clear Plastic Slipcover.  

Special Features - 4H Ultra HD + Blu-ray:
• Audio Commentary with Co-Producer/Director Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta: Painting with Fire director Lance Laspina 
• NEW! The Art Of Fire And Ice: The Frank Frazetta Legacy with Sara Frazetta (15:13) 

• NEW! Frank Frazetta’s Fire And Ice with Robert Rodriguez (7:20) 

• The Making Of Fire And Ice (13:27) 

• Bakshi On Frazetta (8:02)

• Sean Hannon’s Diary Notes (14:07)

• Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery (12:58) 
• Theatrical Trailer (1:17) 
• NEW! Poster & Still Galleries: Posters (17 Images,), German Lobby Cards (20 Images), Color Stills (37 Images), Frazetta Artwork Portfolio (15 Image), Bakshi Artwork Portfolio (25 Images), ,Sketches (44 Images), Animation Cells & Backgrounds (47 Images), Video, Comics & More (46 Images) 
• BONUS! FIRE AND ICE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by William Kraft (70:20) 

Blue Underground's 3-disc Limited Edition SteelBook of Fire and Ice (1983) is a must-own for fans of sword and sorcery, dark fantasy and/or Frank Frazetta and Ralph Bakshi completists. This 4K UHD world premiere offers a gorgeous restoration with Dolby Vision/Atmos upgrades, new and archival extras - including the CD Soundtrack, and collectible  SteelBook packaging with that iconic Frazetta artwork! I don't know how many of these are being made, but I suggest you  pre-order your copy today, available exclusively from at MVDShop!

Screenshots from the Blue Underground Blu-ray (2026): 

Extras: