’Round Midnight - Criterion Collection (Blu-Ray)

’Round Midnight - Criterion Collection (Blu-Ray)Round Midnight is a love letter from director Bertrand Tavernier to the heyday of bebop and the Black American musicians who found refuge in the smoky underground jazz clubs of 1950s Paris. In a sui generis, Oscar nominated fusion of performer and character, legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon plays Dale Turner, a brilliant New York jazz veteran whose music aches with beauty but whose personal life is ravaged by addiction. Searching for a fresh start

Round Midnight is a love letter from director Bertrand Tavernier to the heyday of bebop and the Black American musicians who found refuge in the smoky underground jazz clubs of 1950s Paris.

In a sui generis, Oscar-nominated fusion of performer and character, legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon plays Dale Turner, a brilliant New York jazz veteran whose music aches with beauty but whose personal life is ravaged by addiction. Searching for a fresh start in Paris, Turner strikes up an unlikely friendship with a struggling single father and ardent jazz fan (François Cluzet) who finds his life transformed as he attempts to help the self-destructive musician. Herbie Hancock’s evocative, Oscar-winning score sets the mood for this definitive jazz film, a bittersweet opus that glows with lived-in, soulful authenticity.

Region B Blu-ray : Australian compatible

• New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.
• Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
• New interview with jazz and cultural critic Gary Giddins.
• New conversation with music producer Michael Cuscuna and author Maxine Gordon, widow of musician Dexter Gordon.
• Before Midnight, a 1986 behind-the-scenes documentary by Jean Achache
• Panel discussion from 2014 featuring Cuscuna, Maxine Gordon, director Bertrand Tavernier, and jazz scholar John Szwed, moderated by jazz critic and broadcaster Mark Ruffin.
• Performance from 1969 of “Fried Bananas” by Dexter Gordon, directed by Teit Jørgensen.
• New English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
• PLUS: An essay by scholar Mark Anthony Neal.