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A Dostoevskian family tragedy in the form of a gangster drama, the darkly elegant debut feature by James Gray heralded the arrival of a singular voice in contemporary American cinema. Cloaked in the shadows of New York’s underworld, Little Odessa follows Joshua (Tim Roth), a volatile hit man whose latest assignment takes him back to the Brooklyn neighborhood where he grew up. After his return home, his criminal life collides with the grim domestic world of his abusive father (Maximilian Schell), ailing mother (Vanessa Redgrave), and loyal teenage brother (Edward Furlong). Channeling the brooding fatalism of classic noir, Gray—who won the Venice Film Festival’s Silver Lion at just twenty-five—composes a haunting reflection on violence that begins at home and ripples ever outward.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director James Gray, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Audio commentary from 2000 featuring Gray
Once Upon a Time . . . “Little Odessa,” a making-of documentary by David Thompson produced for French television
New conversation between Gray and critic and podcaster Sean Fennessey
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by film critic Glenn Kenny

New cover by Michael Boland

A bit surprised at the tumbleweeds in here, or do the forum's James Gray fans just not like his debut? It's not had a domestic release since the 2002 (!) DVD and only one French Blu-Ray. This qualifies as a rescue as much as The Blade.

@chris, does the press release say if they got this from Lionsgate or someone else?

It's a very welcome announcement. A good movie that's release hopefully predicts more, better Gray films down the line. Really I just want The Yards with the Soderbergh commentary

As far as Edward Furlong as a troubled youth films go, it’s not on par with American Heart (which serves as a quasi-remake of Streetwise, which is in the Collection) or American History X

I’m excited to revisit, I had to buy the very old and OOP non-anamorphic DVD to see it around when Lost City of Z came out. My memory is it’s a promise of great things to come rather than great on its own, and I’d be surprised if it rises above last-place in his filmography for me. But any director would be thrilled to have such a solid last-place that’s in conversation with everything else they’ve made. And it’s well-timed for Gray’s return to “your family will kill you slowly” crime dramas.

Finch wrote: Mon May 18, 2026 6:52 pm A bit surprised at the tumbleweeds in here, or do the forum's James Gray fans just not like his debut? It's not had a domestic release since the 2002 (!) DVD and only one French Blu-Ray. This qualifies as a rescue as much as The Blade.

I like this film a lot, more than The Yards actually, and agree that it's an important rescue. It's an auspicious and startling debut in many ways, not least in its seriousness and cultural & regional specificity, both of which were (and continue to be) alien to American genre filmmaking in the wake of the '80s excesses. I tend to think of it alongside Pulp Fiction, released only a few months before, as a fork in the road for a certain strain of auteur cinema in the US. The two films appear to have arrived from different planets! Tarantino's film of course remade much of the landscape that followed in his image, whereas Little Odessa stands as the road not taken by anyone except James Gray, who has continued to impress me with each film.

Finch wrote: @chris, does the press release say if they got this from Lionsgate or someone else?

The press releases no longer include licensor info, unfortunately.

I find it the best of his early films.

Recall loving the score. Have seen this getting mentions (along with Armageddon Time) in notices for the new one screening in Cannes.

beamish14 wrote: Mon May 18, 2026 7:10 pm As far as Edward Furlong as a troubled youth films go, it’s not on par with American Heart (which serves as a quasi-remake of Streetwise, which is in the Collection) or American History X

Tragic what happened to him

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 12:40 am

beamish14 wrote: Mon May 18, 2026 7:10 pm As far as Edward Furlong as a troubled youth films go, it’s not on par with American Heart (which serves as a quasi-remake of Streetwise, which is in the Collection) or American History X

Tragic what happened to him

My health teacher in high school was the person his parents allowed him to live with and be sexually abused by. Student journalists busted the story open and completely shamed said institution for hiring her. The ending of American History X was actually filmed there (and across the street from my middle school; my mom bumped into Elliott Gould while it was filming)

The timing of this almost feels as if Criterion are predicting a Palme d’Or win for Paper Tiger.

I saw this at the '94 Toronto Festival of Festivals (TIFF) with my friend from film school, Rani, and her classmate, John L'Ecuyer (both a year below me), who would go on to drop out of Ryerson and direct his first feature, Curtis' Charm, using the financial award he received from Atom Egoyan for his second year student film.

I was pretty floored by Little Odessa and John absolutely hated it, and even though we would pass each other frequently in the halls, and help on each other's films, he went pretty hard at me that night for falling for its "phoney street". Given that, and how much I hated Curtis' Charm the following year, it's no surprise our friendship did not continue.

It remains my second favourite Gray after Two Lovers, and it wasn't even the best thing I saw at TIFF that year!

jazzo wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 3:00 pm I saw this at the '94 Toronto Festival of Festivals (TIFF) with my friend from film school, Rani, and her classmate, John L'Ecuyer (both a year below me), who would go on to drop out of Ryerson and direct his first feature, Curtis' Charm, using the financial award he received from Atom Egoyan for his second year student film.

I was pretty floored by Little Odessa and John absolutely hated it, and even though we would pass each other frequently in the halls, and help on each other's films, he went pretty hard at me that night for falling for its "phoney street". Given that, and how much I hated Curtis' Charm the following year, it's no surprise our friendship did not continue.

It remains my second favourite Gray after Two Lovers, and it wasn't even the best thing I saw at TIFF that year!

God, Curtis’ Charm would be perfect for Canadian International Pictures.

If this means a Two Lovers 4K release is down the line, I'm up for it. Haven't seen this one in years, but I'm more than happy to revisit it.