Here are some highly recommended new titles on 4K-UHD and/or Blu-ray.
Birth — 4K-UHD/Blu-ray — Criterion
Jonathan Glazer has only made four feature films in the last 25 years, Sexy Beast (2000), Birth (2004), Under the Skin (2013) and The Zone of Interest(2023). The latter brought him the most acclaim and won the Oscar for Best International Feature. But my personal favorite, although it isn’t a perfect film, is Birth, and Criterion has done a remarkable job with the new 4K-UHD edition. Truly. The film looks extraordinary.
All four of Glaser’s cinematic gems are quite diverse yet have a distinct, idiosyncratic style about them. Birth is no exception. It’s an unsettling, though-provoking meditation on loss, grief and desire and lives somewhere in the filmic land of bizarre thriller, psychological drama and creepy satire.
Anchoring this fascinating work is a most audacious, penetrating, fully-committed Nicole Kidman deep into what I call the Nicole 3.0 phase of her career which began with Lars Von Trier’s audacious Dogville, made right before Birth. Phase 1 consisted of interesting work in pretty good films (Dead Calm, Billy Bathgate). Phase 2 is where she really started taking risks (To Die For, The Portrait of a Lady, Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, The Others, Birthday Girl, The Hours). I mean, what an output in just less than a decade.
In Phase 3 she pushes that envelope into the stratosphere with her work in The Human Stain, Margot at the Wedding, Nine, Rabbit Hole, The Paperboy, Lionand The Killing of a Sacred Deer. She’s currently in warp, go-for-broke, speed Phase 4 (Bombshell, Being the Ricardos, Babygirl).
When it comes to taking chances onscreen, only Blanchett and Winslet are currently in the same league.
But, back to Birth.
Anna (Kidman) is a widow still in mourning for her husband who died ten years earlier. She lives an affluent if rather frosty life. One day, on the eve of her engagement to the dull Joseph (Danny Huston), she is visited by a 10-year-old boy Sean (an other-worldly Cameron Bright), claiming to be the reincarnation of her dead husband. Things then get quite complicated, to say the least.
Lauren Bacall, who had just worked with Kidman on Dogville, is wonderful as her concerned mother. “How’s Mr. Reincarnation enjoying his cake?” she sardonically asks the boy after he crashes her birthday party.
Anne Heche is perfectly chilling in a small but meaty mysterious role.
With Birth, Kidman, Glazer, and his co-writers, Jean-Claude Carrière and Milo Addica take big risks that mostly pay off, although the sheer nervy nature of the film may have scared both audiences and critics in 2004 as it received mixed reviews. A mild bathtub scene (that could never be shot today) added notoriety to the film.
Harris Savides’s gorgeous camerawork, Alexandre Desplat’s atmospheric score and Kevin Thompson’s stark, spooky production design enhance the film —and are given their due via Criterion’s fab disc—made from a new 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by Glazer, with a 5.1 surround DTS-HD master audio soundtrack.
The Blu-ray disc’s special features include an informative Charlie Rose chat from 2004 with Glazer and Kidman, a new program on the film’s cinematography featuring interviews with camera operator Craig Haagensen and first assistant cameraman Eric Swanek, and a new doc on the making of the film featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Glazer, producers, and members of the cast. The latter includes script development conversations and Glazer discussing studio qualms about his choices, especially his insisting on Kidman’s boyish haircut.
Birth feels just as bold as when it was released, probably more so since our culture seems to be leaning puritanical. The film only missteps in the final quarter, where Glaser and team felt the need to over explain the narrative instead of leaving it fluid and ambiguous. Apparently, the ending moments were always a part of the creatives plan, but in this case less would have been so much more.
Birth will be available January 27, 2026
https://www.criterion.com/films/34221-birth
Kiss of the Spider Woman — 4K-UHD/Blu-ray — Criterion
With the recent release of Bill Condon’s reimagined screen adaptation of the stage musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, which itself was an adaptation of author Manuel Puig’s original novel. And that book and Puig’s play were first adapted into the 1985 Oscar-winning film of the same name. That’s a mouthful!
I found the Condon film misguided in many ways. I’ll leave it there.
The original Tony-winning Broadway musical, with a book by Terrence McNally, music by John Kander & lyrics by Fred Ebb, had its flaws, but worked so well because of the terrific cast and some potent songs. All three leads, Brent Carver, Chita Rivera and Anthony Crivello, won deserved acting Tonys.
Hector Babenco’s film was groundbreaking in a number of ways and, 40 years later, still provides great drama and some fabulous camp, even if William Hurt’s flamboyant, Oscar-winning turn hasn’t necessarily aged well. I was, however, entranced by Raul Julia, who was completely overlooked by AMPAS. It also struck me that this near two-hander is still quite alluring—as is Sonia Braga in the titular role.
The film explores the relationship between two prison inmates, Molina (Hurt) a queer, cinephile window dresser and Valentin (Julia), a leftist activist, during a Brazilian military dictatorship. What initially bonds them is Molina’s recounting his memories of past movies he’s obsesses with, in order to escape the reality he’s living—one of which is a Nazi propaganda film. Initially put off by Molina, Valentin grows fond of him and begins to take a different look at what it means to be masculine. And a very unpolitical Molina becomes somewhat changed on that front.
The novel was written by Argentinian Puig who fled his native country during Peron’s reign, to Brazil. Director Babenco, who had a similar background, was coming off a big international hit with Pixote. Interesting to note that Rainer Werner Fassbinder was among the directors who had considered taking on the project. David Weisman boarded as a producer.
In the early 1980s, Burt Lancaster became involved –very interested in the role of Molina. Adapting the piece became a challenge since mainstream films that dealt with homosexuality were still considered unmarketable.
Richard Gere committed to playing Valentin, but that didn’t work out. And Lancaster’s approach to Molina radically differed from Babenco’s so he was out, paving the way for Hurt and Julia.
Leonard Schrader, Paul’s brother, was hired to write the script.
Filming was rife with tension, especially between Babenco and Hurt, who stopped speaking to one another midway through. And apparently the first few cuts were an absolute mess. But with some re-looping and Weisman stepping in to recut the film, it was saved.
Much to everyone’s shock and surprise, the film became a massive critical and commercial hit and was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and Lead Actor for Hurt, who took home the gold statue.
I had not seen the film in decades, and I have to applaud Criterion for a wondrous job with the new 4K restoration with 5.1 surround DTS-HD master audio soundtrack (along with an alternate uncompressed monaural soundtrack).
Seeing it all these years later, I realized that Molina’s story can, today, be seen as a trans story. It is his fervent desire to be a woman. In the past, it was easier to see that his character was simply challenging antiquated notions of macho masculinity denoting maleness, so he could be seen as simply being sensitive gay man in a world that shuns that type. I think all readings can be true.
The film does a decent dance with being gritty and humanistic but then diving into the world of not-so-great cinema where fantasy takes hold. But, too often, Molina comes off as larger-than-life while Valentin remains grounded in realism.
Hurt, like Kathleen Turner, who he starred opposite in Body Heat in 1981, ruled the decade with great work in The Big Chill (1983), Children of a Lesser God(1986), Broadcast News (1987) and his best work IMO, The Accidental Tourist(1988), reuniting with Turner. He would then move on to character parts. Hurt received four Oscar nominations, the last for A History of Violence (2005).
Like Hurt, Julia had a successful career on stage, screen and TV, winning Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Awards for The Burning Season (1995), until his untimely death at the age of 54.
Babenco would follow up Spider Woman with the underrated Ironweed, starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep (both Oscar-nominated), but his subsequent work never quite caught fire.
Criterion’s Blu-ray contains a 2008 documentary that first appeared on a DVD release titled, Tangled Web: Making “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” This fascinating, near 2-hour account is often more compelling than the film itself as it details the turbulent journey the project took to get to the silver screen with often-conflicting interviews with the major players. It’s obvious that Babenco and Hurt did not coalesce at all–and that Hurt made quite a bit of trouble on set—mostly for creative reasons—he admits his reputation as being “difficult.” All the tension helped Hurt discover his Molina.
Babenco also comes off as slightly homophobic.
The doc goes on to delve into the creative process and describe how Hurt took it upon himself to suggest to Julia that they switch roles– and then presented it to Babenco as a test of sorts. He did not appreciate it.
“It was a 60-day shooting schedule that went for 104 days,” Weisman states. And then the lunatic editing process is expounded on, where the director was not even present. All of it leading to the world premiere at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the longest ovation in the history of the Fest, at that time, and Hurt won the Best Actor prize.
Someone should make a film about the making of this film.
The doc does have some misinformation claiming the pic was ‘the first independent film,’ which kinda spits in the faces of directors like John Cassavetes who was making indies in the early ‘60s, well into the ‘80s. Spider Woman was, however, one of the first of the new wave of indies.
It was also one of the first times that average filmgoers spent time with a gay hero (anti-hero?) onscreen.
Other special features on the disc include: an interview with Puig biographer Suzanne Jill Levine, about the adaptation as well as a short segment on Puig, himself.
This disc is a must for cinephiles, political film lovers, anyone interested in gay cinema history and/or anyone who wants to see the performance that (unjustly) beat out Jack Nicholson’s genius work in Prizzi’s Honor for the 1985 Oscar for Best Actor!
Kiss of the Spider Woman will be available January 27, 2026.
https://www.criterion.com/films/32177-kiss-of-the-spider-woman
Dogtooth – 4K-UHD/Blu-ray – Kino Lorber
Before The Favourite, Poor Things and Bugonia. Even before The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, there was Dogtooth! And while it wasn’t Yorgos Lanthimos’s first film, it is the one that would define his satiric, often-dystopian, idiosyncratic, fuck-convention-singular style. The seeds of his cinematic visions were planted in this Greek-language pic.
Yet, as absurdist, enigmatic and dark as Dogtooth gets, it’s mild in comparison to his recent work. But it still provides quite the palpably biting sting.
The absorbing narrative has the parents (Christos Stergioglou & Michelle Valley) of three young adults (Christos Passalis, Angeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni) shielding them from the destructive and corrupting forces of the outside world by keeping them locked inside and cultivating a strict life where there is no outside influence whatsoever. They’ve even redefined many taboo words to mean nicer things, like ‘zombie’ is now ‘a flower.’ Dad brings a female security guard home to have sex with the brother. The parents create odd games for the kids to play. And the sibs have been brainwashed to believe their brother is living a horrible life right outside the gates, punishment for venturing out before his dogtooth fell out, and grew back. Yikes!
In one wacky, warped and wonderful scene, the father asks his kids if they want to hear their grandfather sing. They enthusiastically respond. And he puts on a Frank Sinatra recording of “Fly Me to the Moon.” Dad then proceeds to interpret the English lyrics in his own manipulative manner.
But this controlled environment begins to fall apart as the children become more curious about things, which leads to some very violent moments as well as incest—and an unsettling ending that is both frustrating and brilliant.
The low-budget film premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Un Certain Regard prize and would go on to garner great critical acclaim and receive an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film (now International Feature).
The writer-director himself has been nominated for a total of six Oscars but has criminally never won. Note: this number has been mistaken on many sites, some even erroneously cite him as an Oscar winner. He may well receive more recognition when this week’s nominations are announced. Stay tuned.
Kino Lorber does an outstanding job with this 4K-UHD pressing, a restoration supervised by Lanthimos, restored from the 35mm camera and sound negatives.
Special features include two audio commentary tracks, one with Papoulia and Passalis, the second with critic Adam Nayman.
The Blu-ray includes two chats with Lanthimos, one from 2009 and a second from a 2019 Film Society of Lincoln Center event where the focus is mostly on The Favourite.
There are few deleted scenes including a hilarious sequence where the three siblings attempt to sing “Fly Me to the Moon” in their own brand of bastardized English.
This one’s a must-have gem!
https://kinolorber.com/product/dogtooth
Hanna K — Blu-ray — Kino Lorber
In 1983, Costa-Gavras was one of the most respected filmmakers in the world, having made the acclaimed films, Z (multiple Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay—1969), State of Siege (1972) and Missing (Best Picture and Director Oscar nominations and a win for Adapted Screenplay—1982).
Jill Clayburgh was among the most respected actors, receiving Academy Award nominations for both Paul Mazursky’s An Unmarried Woman (1978) and Alan J. Pakula’s Starting Over (1979) and starring in the Bernardo Bertolucci’s controversial and divisive La Luna (Golden Globe nomination, 1979), the Ronald Neame comedy First Monday in October (Globe nom, 1981) and Jack Hofsis’s critically acclaimed I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982).
Both artists would unite for Hanna K, a film released in the fall of 1983 as a prestigious Oscar picture that received mostly negative notices, was criticized for its sympathetic depiction of Palestinians and was abruptly pulled from circulation by Universal.
I was in high school at the time, but I did see it at the Cinema 2 in October of 1983 — every weekend my friends and me would train into Manhattan to see the new releases– and according to my notes, I gave it 2 ½ stars (yes a budding cinephile always notes the films he sees).
Both Costa-Gavras and Clayburgh would never quite achieve the success they had in the 1970s, which is a shame because both were ridiculously talented.
Watching the film again all these decades later, I was surprised by the many things that work, including Clayburgh’s fully invested performance and themes that would definitely play better today than back in the early ‘80s.
The film’s major weakness is the script, by Costa-Gavras and Franco Solinas, that takes on a bit too much, creates a lead character whose motivations often remain a mystery and boasts platitude-oriented dialogue.
But the nuances regarding the never-ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict, had never been presented so daringly and totally resonates today.
The basic plot centers on Hanna Kaufman, a Jewish-American attorney practicing in Israel, whose family survived the Holocaust, appointed to defend a Palestinian man, Salim (Mohammad Bakri). He is facing serious criminal charges for sneaking into the country and attempting to reclaim his family home. Hanna has an estranged husband (Jean Yanne) who lives in Paris, and she has just concluded an affair with the prosecutor (Gabriel Byrne, in one of his very first roles). Hanna finds herself conflicted…and pregnant. Oh, and she also begins to fall for Salim!
The final scene shows just how latent prejudices can easily emerge. And the last shot is both hilarious and frightening.
Hanna K was certainly an ambitious film — ballsy in its depiction of a Palestinian as anything but a terrorists—something we can’t even comprehend today, but films like Hanna K broke ground. And there was an outcry against the film as it was seen as anti-Israeli.
The film was unavailable on any format (VHS, laserdisc, DVD) for more than four decades—except for a Greek bootleg that popped up online a few years ago.
Mega kudos to Kino Lorber, firstly, for rescuing this interesting curio from obscurity and secondly for doing a grand job with the visuals and sound (the haunting score is by future Oscar-winner Gabriel Yared) via a brand-new HD master—from a 2K scan of the IP.
Special features include a new audio commentary by film critics Alain Silver and James Ursini and a very interesting interview with David Clennon who has a supporting role in the movie. Clennon calls the movie an ‘important, landmark movie’ and says it contained, “the first Palestinian character in an English language, Hollywood film that wasn’t portrayed as a crazed terrorist.” I don’t know if that statement is true, but it certainly had to be among the first.
