Criterion Catch-Up 2, Part 3: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

2001's Hedwig and the Angry Inch is John Cameron Mitchell's career-making rock musical based on his 1998 stage show, itself based on a character he'd been performing as for several years before.  I first encountered it as another in a long line of must-see Killer Films produced by Christine Vachon, but it's turned out to be quite a cult hit.  Co-starring Michael Pitt (Bully, the Funny Games remake) and Andrea Martin (SCTV, Black Christmas), it's loud, queer, colorful, funny, tragic and substantially less recondite than you usually associate with the Criterion Collection.

Admittedly, in 2025, this film could be, and has been, described as problematic.  This is a story by a cis/ nb guy made well over twenty years ago.  Mitchell's tale is autobiographical in some senses, and a total fantasy in others; and crafting the perfect depiction of the trans experience doesn't seem to have been on his agenda.  It would incur some serious spoilers to get too into the specifics, so I'll just say that the whole concept of the "angry inch" isn't exactly PC, and Hedwig is a collection of troubling flaws that make him a dramatically dynamic and challengingly relatable character; but if you're looking for a role model, or even healthy representation, this may not be what you're looking for.  Like, you probably wouldn't list characters with names like "Fat Man" and "Tranny Hooker" in your closing credits today unless you were being funded by The Daily Wire.  So y'know, just so you're not taken by surprise: different times.

New Line released this as a new release DVD back in 2001 as part of their Platinum Series.  Apart from being released in a snapper case, it was all you could ask for at the time: anamorphic widescreen special edition.  And it was later reissued in a plastic amary case.  But by the time Criterion rolled around, it was high time for an HD option.  They released it on blu with an all new 4k restoration, which the enclosed booklet explains is "from the 35 mm original camera negative and a 35 mm interpositive."  Sadly, Criterion really dragged their feet getting into 4k Ultra HD, so there is no UHD option, but they did give us a pretty great blu.

2001 New Line DVD top; 2019 Criterion BD bottom.

So yeah, New Line's DVD was already anamorphic, widescreen at 1.81:1 and free of the common bugaboos like edge enhancement, combing or DNR.  But Criterion has done more than just bump it up to HD.  First , you can see they tweaked the AR to exactly 1.85:1, pulling out to reveal more image along all four edges in the process.  Increasing the resolution naturally sharpens up the image and makes lines cleaner, but colors are a little deeper, too.  Notice, for example, the yellows in that second set of shots.  What's more, many shadowy areas have been brightened to reveal more info, additional extras and things in the background.  Look at the far right-hand side of that first set of shots to see what I mean.  Some film grain is restored to the picture compared to the DVD, but it could definitely have been even better if Criterion had sprung for a proper 4k disc.

New Line might've gotten a little carried away with audio options, including a 5.1 DTS track, a 5.1 Dolby Digital track and a 2.0 Dolby Digital track.  Criterion just boils it down to the one 5.1 mix in DTS-HD.  Both discs also offer optional English subtitles.

New Line already had some great extras, especially their feature length The Story of Hedwig documentary, which tells the whole story of this project, from Mitchell's original small stage performances to the filming to the aftermath at festivals, etc.  It's a great doc that really takes you through everything.  There's also a very relaxed and candid commentary by Mitchell and his DP, a couple alternate/ deleted scenes (also with commentary) and the trailer.

Happily, all of this was secured by Criterion, because that documentary is an essential companion to this film.  And then they cooked up some more stuff, including a fun reunion of the key players, a half hour conversation between the composer and a music critic on the songs of this film, three new interviews with Mitchell, the costume designer and the make-up artist.  There's also a 20-minute Sundance channel featurette with a bunch of exclusive cast and crew interviews, and it includes a glossy 52-page booklet with notes by critic Stephanie Zacharek.

So Criterion's blu is a pretty fantastic upgrade of an already high quality DVD.  The only reason to maybe consider holding off on it is the hope that Criterion will eventually pull their head out and give us a proper UHD.  But it's already been six years, so if that's coming, it's not doing so in a hurry.