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The film only had theatrical distribution in the US I think, but it had a wide release, which essentially guarantees a period of theatrical exclusivity. Netflix literally can't put it on their service here without violating the terms of their contract with A24. As for whether or not it was a smart move, the film made almost $50 million on a budget of less than $20 million, so I'm sure A24 are at least alright with how this specific arrangement turned out, even if the film ultimately got less awards attention than they wanted.

Also, unless there's been some amazing advances in piracy, streaming services and sometimes even disc releases are the only places to see films in 4K HDR and/or Dolby Vision. So if you want to see the film in the best quality at home, downloading a 1080p Netflix rip isn't gonna get that done. Most people don't care, but for those people there's got to have already been a pirated copy out in circulation for a couple of months now anyway

As it happens, 4K HDR rips are a thing now, or so someone told me... Dolby Vision included! :-"

But true enough, it's going to be a long time (if ever) before streaming/pirated quality exceeds that of a physical UHD disc.

It was hard not to compare this to The Gambler and Pusher trilogy while watching. Sandler’s giddy performance and matching soundtrack threw me off many times and kept me guessing if I was watching crap or not. The tremendous final won me over and I ended up loving the experience and became a fan of Safdine brothers’ caricaturistic twist on the downward spiral crime drama sub genre.

Casting comedian like Sandler as the lead reminds me of Richard Widmark in Night and the City (only American surrounded by British cast). Both stick out awkwardly which emphasizes the outsider aspect of a weasel character trying to act tough in criminal underworld.

Oedipax wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2020 4:59 am As it happens, 4K HDR rips are a thing now, or so someone told me... Dolby Vision included! :-"

Oh, jeez. Well then.

I'm not sure about DV rips, but HDR10 rips exist for quite some time now. As usual, the disc protection got decrypted very quickly.

There appears to be a 2 hour 34 minute extended cut coming to theaters this Friday, but other than listings at certain theaters I can't find much about it. Has anybody seen any other details elsewhere?

I think based on this trailer it will just include an added Q&A at the end.

I think the extended runtime is due to the inclusion of a Q&A with the Safdies and Sandler after the film, which itself is unchanged. A24 is doing the rerelease to try and get Uncut Gems to surpass Lady Bird at the domestic box office (it only needs $500,000 more to do so).

I believe that is what is known as "niche content."

This is now on US Netflix, just in case anyone has been feeling particularly stress-free these past few days and they need something abrasive to lull them out of complacency

I was listening to someone talk about UG on a podcast and one person said that a criticism of the film she's heard from a number of people is, "What is the subtext here? What's it about?"

Now, I don't want to discuss what the subtext is in UG in particular, what I'm wondering is, do you think a film has to have subtext or be about something to be great?

It depends of the movie I guess, but for a movie like Uncut Gems, I suppose it requires a certain depth to make it more captivating at least. It might not be "a subtext" per se, though. I found Uncut Gems' themes to be quite forward, for instance, and am surprised people might have missed it.

Is the Lionsgate Blu-ray the only other physical release for this film since Netflix has it everywhere else? I ask because the specs say the commentary is from 2019. Did Lionsgate just decide not to include it on their disc?

Can't find any evidence of another physical release, with or without the commentary. Either Lionsgate decided not to include it or (and I think this is more likely) it was recorded specifically for the Criterion release and they opted to get it out of the way early, instead of waiting a couple of years and running the risk that they might be too busy with other things.

I think the commentary was only available on the iTunes version.

I mentioned it in another thread, but the commentary WAS recorded for the original release, but due to the way Lionsgate handles productions of their discs, it was too late to be included on the disc. I believe I heard the Safdies mention it in an interview from around the time the film was initially released.

So the important question is: is it eligible for forum awards?

This has been updated and it will be a UHD!

Not a fan of the new cover, but at least they added a new interview with production designer Sam Lisenco.

dwk wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 3:52 pm This has been updated and it will be a UHD!

Looks like a logical update.

And, in so doing, becomes Criterion's first UHD / BD / DVD three-format release

Technically, though it's an upgrade, Mulholland Drive has been announced first on UHD, and since it already had a BD and a DVD release, was Criterion's 1st official three-format release.