Description
’Round Midnight is a love letter from director Bertrand Tavernier to the heyday of bebop and the Black American musicians who found refuge in the smoky underground jazz clubs of 1950s Paris. In a sui generis, Oscar-nominated fusion of performer and character, legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon plays Dale Turner, a brilliant New York jazz veteran whose music aches with beauty but whose personal life is ravaged by addiction. Searching for a fresh start in Paris, Turner strikes up an unlikely friendship with a struggling single father and ardent jazz fan (François Cluzet) who finds his life transformed as he attempts to help the self-destructive musician. Herbie Hancock’s evocative, Oscar-winning score sets the mood for this definitive jazz film, a bittersweet opus that glows with lived-in, soulful authenticity.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
- New interview with jazz and cultural critic Gary Giddins
- New conversation with music producer Michael Cuscuna and author Maxine Gordon, widow of musician Dexter Gordon
- Before Midnight, a 1986 behind-the-scenes documentary by Jean Achache
- Panel discussion from 2014 featuring Cuscuna, Maxine Gordon, director Bertrand Tavernier, and jazz scholar John Szwed, moderated by jazz critic and broadcaster Mark Ruffin
- Performance from 1969 of “Fried Bananas” by Dexter Gordon, directed by Teit Jørgensen
- New English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by scholar Mark Anthony Neal
New cover by F. Ron Miller
Criterion Collection:
Since 1984, the Criterion Collection has been dedicated to publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements. No matter the medium—from laserdisc to DVD and Blu-ray to streaming—Criterion has maintained its pioneering commitment to presenting each film as its maker would want it seen, in state-of-the-art restorations with special features designed to encourage repeated watching and deepen the viewer’s appreciation of the art of film.
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