Press Release Criterion Press Release: Exotica (1994) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

​

One of the defining independent films of the 1990s, Atom Egoyan’s mesmerizing international breakthrough Exotica takes the conventions of the psychological thriller into bold new territory—unsettling, dreamlike, and empathetic. At the neon-drenched Toronto strip club of the film’s title, a coterie of lost and damaged souls—including a man haunted by grief (Bruce Greenwood), a young woman with whom he shares an enigmatic bond (Mia Kirshner), an obsessive emcee (Elias Koteas), and a smuggler of rare bird eggs (Don McKellar)—search for redemption as they work through the traumas of their mysteriously interconnected histories in an obsessive cycle of sex, pain, jealousy, and catharsis. Masterfully weaving together past and present, Egoyan constructs a spellbinding narrative puzzle, the full emotional impact of which doesn’t hit until the last piece is in place.

FILM INFO​

• Canada
• 1994
• 103 minutes
• Color
• 1.85:1
• English
• Spine #1150
  
  

  DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES​

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Atom Egoyan and director of photography Paul Sarossy, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
  • Audio commentary featuring Egoyan and composer Mychael Danna
  • New conversation between Egoyan and filmmaker and actor Sarah Polley
  • Calendar, a 1993 feature film by Egoyan, with a new introduction
  • Peep Show, a 1981 short film by Egoyan
  • En passant, a 1991 short film by Egoyan featuring Maury Chaykin and Arsinée Khanjian
  • Artaud Double Bill, a 2007 short film by Egoyan, commissioned for the sixtieth anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival
  • Audio from the film’s 1994 Cannes Film Festival press conference, featuring Egoyan, Khanjian, actor Bruce Greenwood, and producer Camelia Frieberg
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by author and filmmaker Jason Wood
    
    New cover by David de las Heras
    
    September 20, 2022

 

[Ronald Epstein]

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[JoshZ]

Excellent movie, awful cover art.

 

[titch]

Excellent movie, awful cover art.

I'd have to disagree with you there, Joshua. All the original posters tried to market the film as a sex drama. I'm a fan of cult and exploitation movies, but a sleazy exploitation drama a la Wild Things, Exotica most certainly is not. I'm not always taken by Criterion's custom design art, but I certainly prefer this, to the original. I think the cover is a good interpretation of the many themes of the film.

The film itself is a masterpiece, a haunting mystery, which has a massive M. Night Shyamalan-like reveal in the final scene, a good five years before he came out with The Sixth Sense. The blu-ray quality of both Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter has up until now been wretched. I really hope Criterion will do a two-fer, and subsequently release The Sweet Hereafter as well.

 

[JoshZ]

I'd have to disagree with you there, Joshua. All the original posters tried to market the film as a sex drama. I'm a fan of cult and exploitation movies, but a sleazy exploitation drama a la Wild Things, Exotica most certainly is not. I'm not always taken by Criterion's custom design art, but I certainly prefer this, to the original. I think the cover is a good interpretation of the many themes of the film.

I don't disagree with you about the original poster art being inadequate, but Criterion's ugly child's watercolor painting is just bad in a different way. It's an eyesore, IMO.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I really hope Criterion will do a two-fer, and subsequently release The Sweet Hereafter as well.

I am looking forward to the release of Exotica, but I really would love to see The Sweet Hereafter get a quality Blu-Ray transfer. Hard to believe that it has been nearly twenty five years since seeing it theatrically, but the viewing still stays with me. (It was my first Egoyan film and I've only seen Exotica on home video.)

- Walter.

 

[RobertMG]

I am looking forward to the release of Exotica, but I really would love to see The Sweet Hereafter get a quality Blu-Ray transfer. Hard to believe that it has been nearly twenty five years since seeing it theatrically, but the viewing still stays with me. (It was my first Egoyan film and I've only seen Exotica on home video.)

- Walter.

Glad people are happy - sadly no real hollywood classic in this bunch like from the 30's 40's and 50's

 

[JoshZ]

I am looking forward to the release of Exotica, but I really would love to see The Sweet Hereafter get a quality Blu-Ray transfer. Hard to believe that it has been nearly twenty five years since seeing it theatrically, but the viewing still stays with me. (It was my first Egoyan film and I've only seen Exotica on home video.)

- Walter.

Sadly, those are basically his only good movies. Nothing else he's done lives up to those two, IMO.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Sadly, those are basically his only good movies. Nothing else he's done lives up to those two, IMO.

I did enjoy Felicia's Journey (mostly for Bob Hoskins) but I would agree that Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter are the standout films for Egoyan.

- Walter.

 

[B-ROLL]

I did enjoy Felicia's Journey (mostly for Bob Hoskins) but I would agree that Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter are the standout films for Egoyan.

- Walter.

I'll throw in Ararat ...

Ararat (film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JoshZ]

I'll throw in Ararat ...

Throw it where? I suffered through that one. It's tedious.

 

[Dick]

While agreeing with the majority that TSH and EXOTICA are his two best, I also like ARARAT and would throw in CHLOE, with Julianne Moore and the beautiful Amanda Seyfried. It's a borderline thriller with a quite interesting plot.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Preorder added post #2