Nightmare Alley 4K UHD (2021) (Criterion Collection)

[MifuneFan]

Criterion will be releasing Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley (2021) on 4K in October! This will include a brand new Black and White extended Director's Cut, as well as the original color version. It also includes plenty of new extras, including a new commentary track with GDT.

Nightmare Alley (2021) 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/35272-nightmare-alley

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• 4K digital master of Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light (2025), a new 159-minute, black-and-white extended director’s cut, supervised by director Guillermo del Toro, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• 4K digital master of the theatrical version of the film, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
• Two 4K UHD discs of the films presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the films and special features
• New audio commentary on the extended director’s cut featuring del Toro
• New documentary on the film’s performances, visual language, costume and production design, and score
• New conversation between del Toro and actor and producer Bradley Cooper
• New conversation between del Toro and coscreenwriter Kim Morgan
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
• PLUS: An essay by crime-fiction and true-crime expert Sarah Weinman

Noir fatalism has rarely been so alluring as in this vision of the world as a soul-sick carnival of corruption. Putting his own luxuriantly stylized spin on the classic hard-boiled novel by William Lindsay Gresham, master fabulist Guillermo del Toro conjures a sordid, seductive portrait of America on the cusp of World War II. The film follows Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), a roustabout in a traveling sideshow who uses charm and deception to become a phony mentalist preying on the rich and powerful—but at what cost? Brought to life by an all-star cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, and Rooney Mara, and nominated for four Oscars (including Best Picture), Nightmare Alley is a haunting descent into the illusory abyss of the American dream.

[CrimsonLegionVMCXIX]

I don't own the Disney release and I rather enjoyed this film, so easy pick up for me. I don't particularly care for B&W versions of color films, but good for those who want it.

[samlop10]

4 discs:

• 4K digital master of Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light, a new black-and-white extended director’s cut, supervised by director Guillermo del Toro, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• 4K digital master of the theatrical version of the film, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
• Two 4K UHD discs of the films presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the films and special features
• New audio commentary on the extended director’s cut featuring del Toro
• New documentary on the film’s performances, visual language, costume and production design, and score
• New conversation between del Toro and actor and producer Bradley Cooper
• New conversation between del Toro and coscreenwriter Kim Morgan
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
• PLUS: An essay by crime-fiction and true-crime expert Sarah Weinman

New cover by Thomas Ott

[traths]

I own the Disney release so I’m good on this one.

[Winslow Leach]

Great cover art. Will definitely be picking this up for the B&W version.

[mansardroof122]

helllllllllllllllll yes

i saw this twice in b/w in theaters and have refused to rewatch it in color - i loved it THAT much

this will be the easiest purchase i've made all year

[MifuneFan]

This will be a Digipak. I like the cool outline of the Criterion branding in the design.

[PowellPressburger]

I never bought the Disney release, and not in a major rush to rewatch, and since it will be in a digipack, I will wait and pick this up during the NOVEMBER Barnes & Noble 50% off Sale.

[Herry Dunston]

Del Toro's back on the Commentary chair. Seemed like he gave up on it since The Shape of Water.

[CrimsonLegionVMCXIX]

If I'm reading this right, only the B&W version is extended and there is no color version of the extended version?

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by CrimsonLegionVMCXIX

If I'm reading this right, only the B&W version is extended and there is no color version of the extended version?

Yes and yes. Also no Atmos for the extended cut, only 5.1.

[CrimsonLegionVMCXIX]

Originally Posted by nicwood

Yes and yes. Also no Atmos for the extended cut, only 5.1.

Guess I'll be forced to watch this in black and white, then. Not ideal, but not a deal breaker either.

[The Debts]

YouTube

Waited a long time for this release. Worth it. Also sick cover art, love the Junji Ito vibes of it.

[GeoffOliver]

Will probably pick this up. I didn’t like it as much as the original, but it was enjoyable enough, especially its design aesthetic and nice cinematography. Maybe I’ll enjoy the B&W version more.

[asmodeux21]

The current 4k UHD is really gorgeous. I'll probably pick up the Criterion edition as the extended black and white version interests me and the addition of Dolby Vision for both versions is also an incentive.

[MovieBuff647]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Will probably pick this up. I didn’t like it as much as the original, but it was enjoyable enough, especially its design aesthetic and nice cinematography. Maybe I’ll enjoy the B&W version more.

Take it from someone who found the Theatrical Cut too glossy: the B&W cut is very good and fixes this issue. Will be the second GdT I buy on physical media (THE SHAPE OF WATER is by far my favorite of his).

[PNguyen]

It says extended black and white, does that mean Del Toro went back and added more scenes to the previous black and white cut that was on streaming? I think the streaming version was just about the same runtime as the theatrical cut, so hm.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by PNguyen

It says extended black and white, does that mean Del Toro went back and added more scenes to the previous black and white cut that was on streaming? I think the streaming version was just about the same runtime as the theatrical cut, so hm.

Yes, this version is longer than the previous B&W version. GDT had mentioned he was working on it last year:

https://bsky.app/profile/realgdt.bsk.../3lcfzje6tkc2h



So I guess technically, there are 3 versions of the film now: the original color, the B&W version, and this new extended B&W cut. It would be nice if Criterion listed both runtimes on their page, rather than the theatrical one only.

[Herry Dunston]

I wonder how transformative the director's cut would be, beyond B&W. Most people seem happy enough with the theatrical version. Ain't one of my favorites, but it's very competently done; not really sure what can be improved story-wise.

[dwk]

There was a screening of the extended cut at some festival a couple months back, but I never came across any reviews of the new cut.