CRITERION SESSIONS: ANORA + PRINCE OF BR...

Hang onto your slipcases because Blake Howard & Isaac Feldberg will discuss the canonisation of Sean Baker with the special CRITERION COLLECTION releases of ANORA and PRINCE OF THE CITY.

Anora

Contemporary cinema’s foremost chronicler of American dreamers and schemers hustling on the margins of capitalist promise, Sean Baker, reaches new heights of mastery with this audacious anti–Cinderella story—a whirlwind neorealist screwball comedy with an aching heart. In an electric, star-is-born performance, Mikey Madison soars as Anora, an enterprising, ferociously foulmouthed Brooklyn erotic dancer and sex worker whose Prince Not-So-Charming comes along in the form of a Russian oligarch’s wild-child son (Mark Eydelshteyn). This is the beginning of a fractured fairy tale—also featuring standout performances from Karren Karagulian, Yura Borisov, and Vache Tovmasyan—that turns the cruel realities of class inside out. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Anora confirms Baker as one of our preeminent auteurs.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital master, supervised by director Sean Baker and producer Alex Coco, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
• Two audio commentaries: one featuring Baker, Coco, producer Samantha Quan, and cinematographer Drew Daniels, and the other featuring Baker and actors Yura Borisov, Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, Mikey Madison, and Vache Tovmasyan
• New making-of documentary
• New interviews with Baker and Madison
• Cannes Film Festival press conference
• Q&A with Madison and actor-stripper Lindsey Normington
• Deleted scenes
• Audition footage
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
• PLUS: Essays by film critic Dennis Lim and author Kier-La Janisse
• New cover by Bianca Parkes and GrandSon, with photography by Max Abadian

Prince of Broadway

A raw, disarmingly moving slice of neorealism, this early-career triumph from DIY auteur Sean Baker plunges into the world of West African immigrant Lucky (Prince Adu) and his Armenian Lebanese boss Levon (Karren Karagulian), two unlikely friends who peddle knockoff designer goods in Manhattan’s wholesale district. When a long-forgotten ex forces him to take care of a young son he didn’t even know he had, Lucky must figure out how to become a father without losing his edge in the counterfeit-merch game. Capturing the chaos of urban life through expressive handheld camera work, remarkably naturalistic performances, and flashes of manic humor, Prince of Broadway is one of Baker’s most vivid explorations of the illusory nature of the American dream.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Sean Baker and restoration supervisor Alex Coco, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• Two audio commentaries: one featuring Baker and the other featuring producer and cowriter Darren Dean, associate producer and actor Victoria Tate, and actor Karren Karagulian
• New introduction by Baker
• Archival interviews with Baker and actor Prince Adu
• Two documentaries on the making of the film
• Restoration demonstration featuring Baker and Coco
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Robert Daniels
• New cover by Drusilla Adeline/Sister Hyde, with additional photography by Ivory Woods

Isaac Feldberg

Isaac Feldberg is an entertainment journalist currently based in Chicago, who’s been writing professionally for nine years and hopes to stay at it for a few more. On a typical evening, he sits down to surf the Criterion Channel and ends up, inevitably, on Shudder. You can find him on Twitter at @isaacfeldberg.

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