From the Collection: Birth (2004)
Jonathan Glazer’s sophomore feature, Birth, has been added to the Criterion Collection.
Jonathan Glazer’s second feature film is a haunting cinematic enigma that explores the mysteries of the heart. Nicole Kidman delivers a masterfully multilayered performance as Anna, a widow still mourning the death of her husband a decade earlier, when she meets Sean (Cameron Bright), a ten-year-old boy who claims to be his reincarnation—leading her into a wrenching confrontation with her own unresolved grief and desires. Featuring painterly cinematography by Harris Savides and a hypnotic orchestral score by Alexandre Desplat, Birth plays its outré premise with unflinching sincerity, yielding a profound emotional reverie on the possibilities of love beyond the physical realm.
Here’s What the Disc Includes:
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Jonathan Glazer, with 5.1 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
- Interview from 2004 with Glazer and actor Nicole Kidman
- New documentary on the making of the film featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Glazer, producers, and members of the cast
- New program on the film’s cinematography featuring interviews with camera operator Craig Haagensen and first assistant cameraman Eric Swanek
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- New cover by Neil Kellerhouse
- PLUS: An essay by author Olivia Laing
The Criterion cover for Birth is simply a picture of Nicole Kidman’s face, and, frankly, there couldn’t have been a better cover. Birth is an outstanding movie, one that could be argued as Garland’s best, and its success hinges on the performance of Kidman. This is a complicated, delicate performance that finds Kidman’s Anna is actually in love with a teenager. Despite the film’s strange plot, it never feels weird or awkward. Glazer’s direction is skillfully reserved. He understands the emotional weight of the film. It is one of the greatest movies about grief I have ever seen, and one of the best performances of Nicole Kidman’s career.
The Criterion release of Birth doesn’t offer much in terms of special features. There is a program on the film’s stunning cinematography that was fascinating, and an interview with Glazer and Kidman. Despite the few special features, the 4k edition of Birth is a spectacular addition to the Criterion Collection.
You can find Birth on the Criterion Collection website or wherever you find Criterion DVDs.
More From the Collection
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How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser
From the Collection is an analysis of non-new-release movies, whether seen on DVD, streaming, or in a theater. It includes a brief history of the film, a review of the film, and content about the experience of seeing the film and/or the contents of the film’s DVD.
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