Criterion has released a combination 4K UHD Blu-ray / standard Blu-ray Collector’s Edition of Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film, New York, New York.

The set includes both the expanded 155-minute theatrical premiere cut of the film on both 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray as well as the shorter, 136-minute international edition on Blu-ray along with a wealth of extras.

The film itself was one of the most highly anticipated films of its year as well as one of the most disappointing.

Although nominated for Golden Globes for Best Picture, Actor (Robert De Niro), and Actress (Liza Minnelli) in the Comedy or Musical category, and Best Song, the film failed to receive a single Oscar nomination even for Best Song for its iconic theme song which should have been a slam dunk winner over the drivel that was nominated.

Although Martin Scorsese would go on to receive 16 Oscar nominations and one win to date, 12 for Best Director and 4 for Best Picture, with one win for his direction of 2006’s The Departed, he had yet to receive a single nomination even for 1976’s Taxi Driver for which DeNiro received a Best Actor nomination for.

DeNiro, who came to stardom in Scorsese’s 1973 film, Mean Streets, had already won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1974’s The Godfather Part II and Minnelli had already won a Best Actress Oscar for 1972’s Cabaret.

DeNiro gives a decent performance, but his egotistical saxophonist who falls in and out of love with lounge singer Minnelli is not a likeable character.

Minnellli, who was top billed over DeNiro is good in the film, especially when performing the Kander and Ebb title song which, though successful out of the box, did not become the anthem it later became when recorded by Frank Sinatra.

In a lesser year for actresses, she may have had a shot at another Oscar, but she had no chance against the five women who were nominated – Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine in The Turning Point, Jane Fonda in Julia, Marsha Mason in The Goodbye Girl, and winner Diane Keaton in Annie Hall.

The best loved film songs of 1977 were Minnelli’s “New York, New York” and the Bee Gees songs from Saturday Night Fever which were also ignored by Oscar although “How Deep Is Your Love” was nominated by the Globes.

Oscar’s Best Song nominees were “Candle on the Water” from Pete’s Dragon, “Nobody Does It Better” from The Spy Who Loved Me, “The Slipper and the Rose Waltz (He Danced with Me / She Danced with Me)” from The Slipper and the Rose,
“Someone’s Waiting for You” from The Rescuers, and “You Light Up My Life” from You Light Up My Life, which won.

You Light Up My Life had earlier won the Golden Globe over “Nobody Doest It Better” and “Deep Down Inside” from The Deep as well as “New York, New York” and “How Deep Is Your Love”.

Criterion has also released a combination 4K UHD Blu-ray / standard Blu-ray edition of Sidney Lumet’s 1957 breakthrough film, 12 Angry Men.

Kino Lorber had previously released a similar combination, but the Criterion offers a wealth of extras that the Kino Lorber set didn’t have including the 1954 TV version of Reginald Rose’s play directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.

The film version had been nominated for Oscars for Best Picture (shared by Reginald Rose and the film’s star-producer, Henry Fonda), Best Director for Lumet and Best Adapted Screenplay for Rose.

Fonda played Juror no. 8, the single holdout who voted “not guilty” on the jury’s first ballot following the trial of a teenage boy on trial for the murder of his father. The most vocal members of the jury in favor of a guilty verdict were Juror no. 3 played by Lee J. Cobb and Juror no. 10 played Ed Begley. The other jurors were played by Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Joseph Sweeney, George Voskevec, and Robert Webber.

The TV version which aired live on Studio One starred Robert Cummings as Juror no. 8, Franchot Tone as Juror No. 3, and Edward Arnold as Juror no. 10. The other jurors were played by Norman Fell, John Beal, Walter Abel, Lee Phillips, Bart Burns, Paul Hartmen, Joseph Sweeney, George Voskevec, and Larkin Ford.

There was also a 1997 TV version directed by William Friedkin starring Jack Lemmon as Juror no. 8, George C. Scott as Juror no. 3 and Mykelti Williamson as Juror no. 10, which received Emmy nominations for Friedkin, Lemmon, Scott, and Hume Cronyn as elderly Juror no. 9, the role in both the earlier TV version and the film by Joseph Sweeney.

That version, previously released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber, is out of print.

Happy Viewing.