John Huston’s film noir classic THE ASPHALT JUNGLE gets the Criterion treatment

On December 13th, Criterion Collection will release John Huston’s 1950 film noir THE ASPHALT JUNGLE in an all new high-definition BluRay edition. BUY FROM AMAZON

Synopsis: In a smog-choked city somewhere in the American Midwest, an aging criminal mastermind, newly released from prison, hatches a plan for a million-dollar jewel heist and draws a wealthy lawyer and a cherry-picked trio of outlaws into his carefully devised but inevitably doomed scheme. Anchored by an abundance of nuanced performances from a gifted ensemble—including a tight-jawed Sterling Hayden and a sultry Marilyn Monroe in her breakout role—this gritty crime classic by John Huston climaxes in a meticulously detailed anatomy of a robbery that has reverberated through the genre ever since. An uncommonly naturalistic view of a seamy underworld, The Asphalt Jungle painstakingly depicts the calm professionalism and toughness of its gangster heroes while evincing a remarkable depth of compassion for their all-too-human fragility, and it showcases a master filmmaker at the height of his powers.

Special Features: New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray • Audio commentary from 2004 by film historian Drew Casper, featuring recordings of actor James Whitmore • New interviews with film noir historian Eddie Muller and cinematographer John Bailey • Archival footage of writer-director John Huston discussing the film • Pharos of Chaos, a 1983 documentary about actor Sterling Hayden • Episode of the television program City Lights from 1979 featuring John Huston
Audio excerpts of archival interviews with Huston • Excerpts from footage of the 1983 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony honoring Huston, featuring actor Sam Jaffe and the filmmaker • Trailer • New English subtitle translation • PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien And MORE…

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