From the Collection: Born in Flames
Director Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames has been added to the Criterion Collection.
A blistering rallying cry issued loud, clear, and unapologetically queer, Lizzie Borden’s explosive postpunk provocation is a DIY fantasia of female rebellion set in America ten years after a revolution that supposedly transformed the country into a social-democratic utopia. In reality, racism, sexism, and economic inequality are as virulent as ever, and a band of radicals—led by Black, lesbian, and working-class women—join forces to fight back. Told through a furiously fractured, kinetically edited flurry of television news broadcasts, pirate radio transmissions, agitprop, and protests shot guerrilla-style on the streets of New York City, Born in Flames is a shock wave of feminist futurism that’s both an essential document of its time and radically ahead of it.
Here’s What the Disc Includes:
- 2K digital restoration—preserved by Anthology Film Archives, with restoration funding from the Golden Globe Foundation and The Film Foundation, and supervised and approved by director Lizzie Borden—with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Introduction by Borden
- New audio commentary featuring Borden; cast members Adele Bertei, Hillary Hurst, Sheila McLaughlin, Pat Murphy, Marty Pottenger, and Jeanne Satterfield; and camerapeople DeeDee Halleck and Chris Hegedus
- Regrouping (1976), Borden’s directorial debut, an experimental documentary about a New York City women’s group
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- New cover by Jillian Adel
- PLUS: Essays by film scholar Yasmina Price and author So Mayer
September was a big month for the Criterion Collection, as several major titles were released. Films from Jaques Audiard, a box set of Wes Anderson films, the 2024 winner for Best Animated Feature, and a classic Akira Kurosawa film restored in 4K. But there was also a little, lesser-known film released as well, and that was Lizzie Borden’s 1983 stunner Born in Flames. I had never heard of this movie before receiving my screening copy, but Born in Flames is just another reason why the Criterion Collection is such a vital resource in the film world right now.
Born in Flames is a brilliant, passionate, creative, and timeless film. Borden’s use of docufiction really makes the film feel like it was a film found amongst the rubble of a previous era. You don’t know any of the actors (except for the few scenes featuring a very young Kathryn Bigelow), the dialogue and personalities are unique, and the setting and world feel real, but also surreal. It has a kinetic energy that keeps you locked in the entire time. Born in Flames is unlike any dystopian sci-fi movie you will ever see.
You can find Born in Flames on the Criterion Collection website or wherever you find Criterion DVDs.
More From the Collection
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling
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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