Uncut gems / A24 presents ; an Elara picture ; produced by Scott Rudin, Eli Bush ; produced by Sebastian Bear-McClard ; written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie ; directed by Josh & Benny Safdie.
Edition:
Director-approved Blu-ray special edition.
Publisher:
Criterion Collection,
Copyright Date:
2021
Description:
1 videodisc (135 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet (43 pages : color illustrations, map ; 17 cm)
Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Eric Bogosian, Judd Hirsch, Keith William Richards, Mike Francesa, Jonathan Aranbayev, Noa Fisher, Abel Tesfaye. Title and credits from screen. Originally released as a motion picture in 2019. Wide screen (2.39:1). Accompanied by booklet (43 pages) containing essay by film critic J. Hoberman and a 2020 discussion of the film by the editorial staff of Jewish Currrents magazine. Special edition: Audio commentary from 2019 featuring the Safdies, writer and editor Ronald Bronstein, and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard ; New interviews with cinematographer Darius Khondji, costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, production designer Sam Lisenco, and casting director Jennifer Venditti ; Documentaries from 2019 and 2020 on the making of the film and soundtrack ; Screen tests featuring actors Adam Sandler and Julia Fox ; Goldman v. Silverman (a 2020 short film by the Safdies, featuring Sandler and Benny Safdie) ; Questions & answers (a 2020 short film by the Safdies, featuring Sandler and Benny Safdie) ; Audition tapes ; Deleted and extended scenes ; Beta Israelites: the plight of the Ethiopian Jews (1 min. film directed by Ron Bronstein) ; theatrical and Elara trailers ; In booklet: an essay by film critic J. Hoberman and a 2020 discussion of the film by the editorial staff of Jewish Currrents magazine.
Summary:
This jolt of pure cinematic adrenaline affirmed directors Josh and Benny Safdie as heirs to the gritty, heightened realism of Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes. Adam Sandler delivers an almost maniacally embodied performance as Howard Ratner, a fast-talking New York jeweler in relentless pursuit of the next big score. When he comes into possession of a rare opal, it seems Howard's ship has finally come in as long as he can stay one step ahead of a wife who hates him, a mistress who can't quit him, and a frenzy of loan sharks and hitmen closing in on him. Wrapping a vivid look at the old-school Jewish world of Manhattan's Diamond District within a kinetic thriller, Uncut Gems gives us one of the great characters in modern cinema: a tragic hero of competing compulsions on a shoot-the-moon quest to transcend his destiny.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.