Van Damme's biggest hit is getting a 4K box set, and only 1,500 will exist

If you grew up in the 90s, odds are you remember Jean-Claude Van Damme kicking his way through time in Timecop. It was the big-budget sci-fi actioner that, somehow, managed both proper time travel rules and Van Damme's signature splits. Now, Timecop is getting the sort of home release that would, frankly, baffle video shop punters in 1994: a tricked-out, Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Australia's Imprint Films, arriving just in time to hoover up the nostalgia market.

Only 1,500 sets of the Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray are slated for release this October.

If you're used to studio labels half-arsing catalogue titles, this one is a proper treat. Imprint is capping theirs at 1,500 copies, and it's loaded: inside a lenticular hardcase (which, yes, is as excessive as it sounds), you get a two-disc 4K UHD and Blu-ray set, plus a bloody massive poster and a 60-page hardcover booklet stuffed with behind-the-scenes ephemera, production notes and stills. Collector-bait, essentially.

The new 4K transfer does the usual bells and whistles: Dolby Vision and HDR10, kept at the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and both surround and mono audio options. But it's really the extras that set this edition apart if you're the kind who actually watches them:

• 'Turn Back the Clock: Directing Timecop' — an all-new sit-down with Peter Hyams, who not only directed the film but shot it himself (rare enough, even in the 90s). Hyams hasn't done much reminiscing on this one, so a fresh interview is better than gold dust.
• 'Out of Space and Time: Inside the Visual FX' — with John "JDJ" Des Jardin, the visual effects coordinator. Des Jardin's gone on to work on stuff like Watchmen and Man of Steel, but here he digs into the state of CGI in 1994 (prehistoric, basically).
• 'Past, Present, and Future' — a look back at the film's score with composer Mark Isham.
• Archival interviews with Van Damme, Hyams, and villain-in-chief Ron Silver (who also, sadly, passed away some years back), plus the film's original trailer.

For anyone who only knows Van Damme as the guy from Bloodsport or Kickboxer, Timecop marked a shift: he plays Max Walker, a cop levelling up to police the very fabric of time itself. Ron Silver is excellent as the corrupt senator cashing in on time travel to bankroll a White House run, with Mia Sara as Walker's wife (her onscreen death ties directly to the film's time-loop plot). Critically, the film was... tolerated, at best, in 1994 — but it's now often ranked as Van Damme's most substantial film. And yes, it made proper money: over $100 million globally on a budget that didn't crack $30 million. Not half bad for a film based on a Dark Horse comic and produced by Sam Raimi's team.

This isn't Timecop's first crack at 4K, either: Shout! Factory did a US release, StudioCanal handled it in Germany, and the French market had a go with SteelBooks and even a VHS-themed box. So, why should this one tempt you? It's the extras — the new interviews and the chunky booklet are all Imprint exclusives. Plus, Imprint's 4K discs are usually region-free, so Americans can import without jumping through technical hoops (shipping fees aside).

On the wider franchise front, there was a brief, nearly-forgotten ABC series, and Universal's reboot has been in 'development hell' for ages. The original film keeps finding new viewers, and it's now arguably got its definitive home release.

Pre-orders are open now via Via Vision, with the official street date set for 28 October.