Sean Baker’s Oscar-winning film Anora makes its home media debut through the Criterion Collection, allowing them to be the first boutique Blu-Ray label to debut a Best Picture Oscar winner on home video. While watching Anora, it’s not hard to see why this film made such waves through its film festival run to its eventual wide release – for Sean Baker’s films have often observed the lives of marginalized people with an unflinching realism but also great empathy for his characters.
Picture
A first for any of Sean Baker’s movies, Criterion presents Anora on the 4K Ultra HD format. As with many of Criterion’s newest releases, the home media label’s commitment to the 4K format has only brought out the best that many of these films have ever looked. But as with the case for many of Sean Baker’s recent films, Anora was shot on 35mm film and thus this digital master is one that came fresh from the film’s original negative. Despite this, the film was still edited digitally, yet on this release you would not have been able to tell otherwise as the grain still shines through. Because this film might also be Sean Baker’s most colourful film to date, especially owing to many of the scenes set in the Headquarters strip club where Ani works, the 4K Ultra HD master allows this film to take a similar life at home comparable to what one would hope to see upon receiving the chance to finally watch the film on any form of home media.
The addition of HDR is also a major plus; especially within the film’s nighttime sequences. Every moment of Anora looks astonishing – but considering the fact that this master was one that was supplied by the studios, it’s easy enough to expect that it would look great off the bat. It’s also helpful with allowing the film to stay true to its filmic origins, so you can only expect that this release delivers on this front.
Sound
The Blu-Ray’s audio is presented in a 5.1 DTS-HD Master. It’s a track that feels very appropriate for a film where there’s so much talking present, but it really helps boost the film’s soundtrack to give it the extra oomph for the right moment. This isn’t just limited to the many needle drops that make up the film’s music, but in quieter scenes you can really feel the power of the ambience – background details all feel subtle but never overwhelming, and dialogue comes perfectly clear thanks to the balance within this sound mix. Everything feels mixed so that you still feel the general impact of the scene, but it also helps with allowing this movie to feel bigger than it might seem.
Extras
Considering the fact that this home media release of Anora is the film’s home video debut, you can only expect that Sean Baker has worked extensively with Criterion to provide many extras. Many of these can be found on the film’s in-packaged Blu-Ray discs; which has been the standard for Criterion’s own 4K Ultra HD releases – but included on the film’s 4K disc are two commentary tracks: one featuring Sean Baker together with producers Alex Coco and Samantha Quan and DOP Drew Daniels, the other features Baker together with actors Mikey Madison, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Yura Borisov, and Mark Eydelshteyn.
The first commentary track is an insightful look into the technical aspects of making Anora, as it’s a commentary track from the film’s producing team. The four of them share words about working with a very modest budget, considering the fact that the film was shot for around $6 million – but this also would inevitably come with challenges due to the size of the production. Still, I think that any aspiring filmmaker will find that this track might offer a whole lot of very inspiring insight, especially while Baker is often very self-deprecating in this commentary track and details even possible legal problems he encountered during the film’s making.
For the second commentary track, Baker, Madison, and Karragulian are all watching the film in the same room together, whereas Eydelshteyn, Borisov, and Tovmasyan are all spliced in – but it all feels like they’re sharing a space with each other all the same. It’s a very entertaining commentary track, with Karragulian even talking about how in his close collaborations with Sean Baker he helped keep the production afloat. It’s also entertaining enough just getting to listen to the stars reminisce about certain scenes (Mark Eydelshteyn’s memories are a highlight). It is a very anecdotal commentary track in nature, but it is no less fun to listen to.
The first extras to dig right into are the ten minute introduction recorded by Sean Baker. It’s a very insightful bit that delves into the many influences that Sean Baker had pulled from for Anora, among these films include Nights of Cabiria, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, and as you would guess from the cover artwork, Vampyros Lesbos. It’s also really fun getting to listen to Sean Baker talk about these films, because his enthusiasm is enough to feel so enticing for any moviegoer. Another standout extra is a brand new interview recorded between Mikey Madison and Sean Baker, a beautiful reflection on the making of the film and ultimately what it would mean for many sex workers. It’s a very charming interview, but you’ll probably find yourself charmed even more if you’re an animal lover because of the way it ends.
An extensive feature-length making-of documentary is also included called Anora: Stripped Down and it’s maybe one of the most fun making-of documentaries you might find yourself watching in recent memory. Considering the fact that this was edited together in shooting order, you might only ever find yourself in awe at how thorough the production is, especially for its very tight budget and timeline. It’s a very detailed exploration of the production process, but this fly-on-the-wall featurette is made even more engaging thanks to how much it shows about what could easily go wrong when filming a seemingly simple scene – or even how to take care of the film reels that were used for each take. It’s a very thorough extra, and it will prove essential for anyone learning about how things go when working on a film set.
One of the most significant extras you’ll find on the in-packaged Blu-Ray disc is a Q&A featuring Mikey Madison together with Lindsey Normington, who portrays Ani’s rival Diamond in the film. The Q&A, moderated by dancer Laura Arbios, was presented for an exclusive screening of the film in Los Angeles hosted for local sex workers and dancers provides a great deal of perspective into what this movie has achieved for sex workers themselves. Normington, having also worked as a stripper, talks a great deal about her own insight and how her personal experiences have been helpful for Sean Baker with regards to capturing a sense of authenticity towards the lives of sex workers in and out of their work life. It’s a very fun Q&A, and the relationship that Normington and Madison share with one another off set, is also a whole lot of fun to watch.
The YouTube accessible Cannes Film Festival press conference can also be found in this edition – not only is it a fun watch, but it provides a great deal of insight towards how Anora had come to be. Around fifteen minutes worth of deleted scenes are included, together with audition footage from actors that include Ivy Wolk (Crystal), Darya Ekamasova (Galina Zakharova), and Vincent Radwinsky (Jimmy).
Overall Stance on the Film
It goes without saying that I personally found Anora to be one of last year’s very best movies, owing to Sean Baker having a great deal of empathy for people from marginalized communities and shining lights on the lives of sex workers. Obviously, Baker’s approach is not an end-all-be-all when it comes to allowing sex workers the representation that they deserve on the screen, but much like his preceding film, Red Rocket, I found it very wildly entertaining from start to finish. I had already reviewed the film previously on here, and thus it will be linked below.
Worth picking up?
For fans of this movie, then this 4K UHD presentation of Anora certainly won’t disappoint: it’s the closest that it might ever come to carrying that same look that you would remember very well from having seen in theaters. Granted, the sanctity of the theatrical experience is something that has always meant a great deal to Sean Baker, so it’s no surprise that the amount of care you’ll see with making sure that every minute of Anora looks great at home is immense.
All images via Neon and The Criterion Collection.
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