161 Cutter's Way

[Finch]

The laid-back Californian gigolo Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) finds himself suspected of murder when he happens to see the wrong thing at the wrong time: the body of a young girl being dumped into a garbage can in a quiet Santa Monica neighbourhood. Bone’s friend, the capricious and paranoid Vietnam veteran Cutter, (John Heard), begins to suspect a conspiracy behind the killing, with local oil tycoon J.J. Cord (Stephen Elliott) at its centre. He persuades a reluctant Bone to try and take Cord down, leading to a sinister escalation of events that will change their lives forever. Featuring career-best performances from its cast, a memorable score from Jack Nitzsche and pitch-perfect direction from Ivan Passer, the cynical and devastating Cutter’s Way is one of the defining films of the post-Vietnam, post-Watergate era - a defiant howl of frustration at the corruption of the American dream, and one of the most essential California noirs ever made.

4K UHD & BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

New 4K restoration from the original camera negative
4K UHD and Blu-ray presentation of the feature; world premiere on 4K UHD
Option to view with the original Cutter and Bone title sequence, newly scanned for the first time
Uncompressed mono audio
Piety, Patriotism and Violence: The Legacy of Cutter and Bone: new featurette on the legacy of Cutter’s Way with contributions from writers Megan Abbott, Jordan Harper, and George Pelecanos
Archival audio commentary by novelist Matthew Specktor
Archival audio commentary by film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman
Archival audio commentary by assistant director Larry Franco and unit production manager Barrie Osborne
Archival video interviews with actor Lisa Eichhorn, UA Classics exec Ira Deutchman, director Ivan Passer, Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, and producer Paul Gurian
Archival video featurette on composer Jack Nitzsche
Archival audio introduction by star Jeff Bridges
Archival video introduction by director Bertrand Tavernier
Theatrical trailers
Optional English SDH subtitle track
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition 80 page bound book featuring new writing from Christina Newland, Nick Pinkerton, and Travis Woods, plus an archival interview with Ivan Passer
Limited edition of 5000 copies, presented in rigid box and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Released in the UK/US: 23rd/24th March

[rapta]

A great film, and surprising upgrade (had no idea there was a 4K restoration). I'll be upgrading at some point as it's a favourite, though slightly annoyed as I had pre-ordered the FCE from Radiance and now just 3 years later this is being released.

[beamish14]

I love this film, but damn, it’s had a lot of releases. I’d love for other works by Passer to get some attention, such as Creator

[Finch]

It's my second upgrade going from the TT disc to the FCE edition to Radiance's 4K now. I love the film too but thinking this is the last time for me, and it helps that we're likely not going to see 8K physical media. Polish cinema holds little interest for me and I'd have appreciated Miike's brand of ultraviolence when I was in my twenties but now I have no appetite for it, so the Cutter's Way announcement saved the March lineup for me, personally.

[John Cope]

I love Cutter's Way but this will be something like the fourth time I've had to buy this (and I really thought the last time would be the last time); but I've gotta do it for the 4K and the 80 page book of essays. So here we go again. I think only Communion compares for the amount of times I've had to repurchase a title. Meanwhile, one can't help but feel a little resentful amongst all the appreciation for this new edition. Why not release, oh, I don't know, John Heard's Mindwalk, which has never received a decent release (I'm still watching my Brazilian DVD and that's unconscionable).

[nowhereisaplace]

I would definitely purchase a nice release of Mindwalk!

[beamish14]

I would definitely purchase a nice release of Mindwalk!

Same. A very indifferent high school teacher screened it on VHS and I enjoyed it quite a bit

[Walter Kurtz]

I’d love for other works by Passer to get some attention, such as Creator

Damn I thought I was the only person in the Western Hemisphere that liked both Cutter's Way and Creator. Saw Creator when I was 4 or 5 at my granndpa's when he was babysitting me. It was my Wizard of Oz. Saw Cutter's Way later on and said fuck it I want to make movies. Came to LA and went down past Newport Beach and lifted a piece of shingle from O'Toole's [Creator] beach house. It was my lucky charm. Got to make movies.

[rapta]

I love Cutter's Way but this will be something like the fourth time I've had to buy this (and I really thought the last time would be the last time); but I've gotta do it for the 4K and the 80 page book of essays. So here we go again. I think only Communion compares for the amount of times I've had to repurchase a title. Meanwhile, one can't help but feel a little resentful amongst all the appreciation for this new edition. Why not release, oh, I don't know, John Heard's Mindwalk, which has never received a decent release (I'm still watching my Brazilian DVD and that's unconscionable).

I too was wondering why they'd upgraded Cutter's Way so soon, but today I realised it's for the US as well as the UK, so that makes sense now. Fun City's MGM rights have expired, so it makes sense to jump on any of those now before another US label starts having the same idea. I'm hoping they'll also do Born to Win, and perhaps a few others we never got in the UK like Rancho Deluxe, Smile and Heartbreakers (though I do have that last one as it was Region B friendly, perhaps by accident as their other MGM licenses weren't).

Never heard of Mindwalk but does sound interesting cast-wise (Heard, Ullmann, Waterston, Skye). It's not really an either-or situation but I understand!

PS: By the way, by Communion do you mean the 1989 film? Because I really want a UK label to release that and have no idea why it hasn't been done already. I grew up in a house with it on VHS and don't think I've actually watched it since then, but obviously love Walken and am very much still excited by UFO stuff, and I seem to remember it being quite wacky in a good way. Would perhaps be a great suggestion for Transmission to release, as it does fall under the kind of VHS cult film they're trying to represent.

[BoltzmannBrain]

It would have been great if they had included Jack Nitzsche's film score on a CD, but I suppose it wasn't possible or would have been too costly. Same thing with The Hot Spot, although I suspect that that would have a higher price tag than this. But while THS soundtrack has been issued many times and is not a rare item, the Cutter's Way soundtrack has been released only in Spain and that disc (which was a limited edition as well) is out of print, so if Radiance could put out a Cutter's Way CD on its own, I would buy it. Perhaps someone could ask on Discord if there's any chance of doing a separate release of the soundtrack.

[Maladroit Aggregator]

Don't mind the upgrade at all as this is one of my favorites. Lisa Eichhorn's heartbreaking performance here is one for the ages.

[Walter Kurtz]

Ditto on Eichhorn's performance AND the soundtrack. This and Nitzsche''s The Razor's Edge are two of my all-time favorites.

[Aunt Peg]

Are there any special features on the original Blu Ray release of Cutter's Way that is not included on this disc?

I just got the 4K edition today and it is the 5th time I've purchased the film.

1. MGM/UA DVD - long sold
2. Twilight Time Blu Ray - sold back in February
3. Imprint Blu Ray
4. Radiance Blu Ray
5. Radiance 4K/Blu Ray

I don't want to get rid of the Radiance Blu Ray if it includes something that this recent release doesn't have. Though I must admit I'm sort of loathed to sell it off because whilst I'm not somebody who is into slip cases the Radiance Blu Ray is gorgeous and given this is one of my all time favourite films it will not be easy to let go of it.

[MichaelB]

Surely you’re in a stronger position to answer this question than most other people?

[Aunt Peg]

Surely you’re in a stronger position to answer this question than most other people?

I find the special features listed on the back of the Blu Ray really difficult to read even with a magnifying glass.

I suppose if a put the disc in the player and then check it against the information on this thread I should be able to clarify this or find the thread for the original release and compare that way.

Edit: Unwrapped the 4K and love the way all the extras are clearly written on the inside reversible cover. Found the information of the earlier release and all the special features from that disc are on this one.

Interesting side note. Decades ago I collected lobby cards and have hundreds of sets, some dating back to the the 1960s. I sold off all my lobby cards that pre-dated the 60's back in 2018-2019. My Cutter's Way set are the original and only pressing which displays the titles Cutter and Bone. UA clearly never bothered to do a reprint with the name change. I think that is the only set I own is not the title film as released.

I can't remember if the cinema that showed the film on it's first run in Sydney displayed the lobby cards for the film or not.

[brundlefly]

Is there any reason one couldn't just check here?

https://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/ ... ?fid=60197
https://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/ ... ?fid=74747

[PfR73]

When you say "Radiance Blu Ray", I assume you mean the Fun City Editions Blu-ray that was distributed in the UK via partnership with Radiance. That release has 3 features not included on the new Radiance 4K combo:

- "Two Plus One: Jeffrey Alan Fiskin on Cutter's Way" interview (also on the Imprint release)
- "Cutter's Way" theatrical trailer (also on the Imprint release); apparently the Radiance only has the alternate "Cutter and Bone" trailer?
- A more extensive image gallery (running 17 mintues); the Radiance release has a gallery with around 20 images

The US version of the FCE release also had its own booklet, not sure if the UK version had one.

[PfR73]

OK, so my copy arrived last night. The "Two Plus One: Jeffrey Alan Fiskin on Cutter's Way" interview is actually encoded on the disc, but isn't present on the menu. Is it an Easter Egg? I can see it using my computer, but can't figure out if there's a secret way to actually play it.