The Fugitive Kind (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Four Oscar-winning actors—Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward, and Maureen Stapleton—excel in this enthralling film, which also brings together the legendary talents of director Sidney Lumet and writer Tennessee Williams. A smoldering, snakeskin-jacketed Brando is Val Xavier, a drifter trying to go straight. He finds work and solace in a small-town southern variety store run by the married, sexually frustrated Lady Torrance (Magnani), who proves as much a temptation for Val as local wild child Carol Cutrere (Woodward). Lumet captures the intense, fearless performances and Williams’s hot-blooded storytelling and social critique with his customary restraint, resulting in a drama of uncommon sophistication and craft. DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • High-definition digital restoration, approved by director Sidney Lumet, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • Interview from 2009 with Lumet • Three Plays by Tennessee Williams, an hour-long 1958 television presentation of one-act plays, directed by Lumet and starring Ben Gazzara and Lee Grant, among others • Program from 2010 discussing Williams’s work in Hollywood and The Fugitive Kind • PLUS: An essay by film critic David Thomson