Miller’s Crossing: Coen Brothers Film Is On Criterion

Gabriel Byrne stars as Tom Reagan in Miller's Crossing. Courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

Miller’s Crossing joins The Criterion Collection with a 2K digital restoration supervised by the Coen Brothers and Barry Sonnenfeld.

The film is being presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The digital transfer was created in 2K resolution from the 35mm original camera negative and supervised by the film’s cinematographer, Barry Sonnenfeld. The disc was mastered by Pixelogic Media. Both supervising sound editor and recrecording mixer Skip Livesay and composer Carter Burwell created a new 5.1 surround sound mix at Warner Bos. Sound last year.

Apologies for being super late to getting something about the new Blu-ray online. The Blu-ray arrived a few days after it was released and I was a bit on the busy side on this end especially with the delays in awards season due to the pandemic.

Miller’s Crossing is the third film that the brothers made together following Blood Simple and Raising Arizona.

Synopsis

A Roaring Twenties gangster saga that only the Coen brothers could concoct, Miller’s Crossing marries the hard-boiled sensibility of classic noir fiction with the filmmakers’ trademark savory dialogue, colorful characters, and finely calibrated set pieces. Gabriel Byrne brings a wry gravitas to the role of Tom Reagan, the quick-thinking right-hand man to a powerful crime boss (Albert Finney), whose unflappable cool is tested when he begins offering his services to a rival outfit—setting off a cascade of betrayals, reprisals, and increasingly berserk violence. The Hopperesque visuals of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, majestically elegiac score by Carter Burwell, and vivid supporting performances from John Turturro and Marcia Gay Harden come together in an intricately constructed slice of pulp perfection that crackles with sardonic wit while plumbing existential questions about free will and our own terrifying capacity for evil.

Bonus Features

  • 2K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Barry Sonnenfeld and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, with new 5.1 surround soundtrack mix, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
  • New conversation between author Megan Abbott and the Coens about film noir and hard-boiled crime fiction
  • New interview with actors Gabriel Byrne and John Turturro, moderated by Abbott
  • Interviews from 1990 with Byrne, Turturro, and actors Marcia Gay Harden and Jon Polito
  • New interviews with Sonnenfeld, composer Carter Burwell, music editor Todd Kasow, and production designer Dennis Gassner
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic Glenn Kenny

DIRECTOR: Joel Coen
SCREENWRITERS: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
CAST: Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J. E. Freeman, and Albert Finney

20th Century Fox released Miller’s Crossing in theaters on 1990. The film is available on Blu-ray through The Critieron Collection.

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Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.