The Criterion Collection Opens The New Year With Five New 4K Ultra HD Releases Toplined By Director Stephen Frear's The Grifters (Jan. 21)

The Criterion Collection will ring in the New Year with five new 4K film restorations.   These will be delivered during each of the four street-date Tuesdays during the month of January.

It is, of course, always a subjective call when reporting on the lead title for the month.   There is much to be admired in Criterion’s January release slate, so selecting director Stephen Frear’s 1990 film adaptation of the Jim Thomson’s 1963 novel, The Grifters, was a difficult choice.

This is a new 4K film restoration approved by the director of photography, Oliver Stapleton, and it will be available on Jan. 21 as both 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack and stand-alone Blu-ray product offerings.

The rights to Thomson’s novel were originally shopped to Martin Scorsese as project for him to direct, but he ended up being the producer instead of directing.   Frears had just scored with Dangerous Liaisons and was approached by Scorsese to take on the directing chores.

There were a number of actors mentioned in the trades during the period as potential cast members, including Cher, Geena Davis and Melanie Griffith, but for various reasons they all dropped out.   Angelica Huston and Annette Bening landed the female leads as Lilly and Myra respectively … and were rewarded for their efforts with Oscar acting nominations.    John Cusack, as Lilly’s son Roy Dillon was always the first choice.

As to bonus features, commentary is provided by Frears and screenwriter Donald E. Westlake, who are joined by actors Cusack and Huston, plus there is a new video session with Bening, a making-of documentary and two featurettes — “Seduction, Betrayal, Murder: The Making of The Grifters” and “The Jim Thompson Story.”

Also on the January release calendar from the Criterion Collection are: Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa (featuring Yojimbo and Sanjuro … Jan. 7); The Mother and the Whore (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, plus double-disc DVD and stand-alone Blu-ray selections … Jan. 14); Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, also Blu-ray … Jan. 14) and Winchester '73 (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, also Blu-ray … Jan. 28).