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Melodrama casts noirish shadows in this portrait of maternal sacrifice from Hollywood master Michael Curtiz. Joan Crawford’s iconic performance as Mildred, a single mother hell-bent on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship, solidified Crawford’s career comeback and gave the actor her only Oscar. But as Mildred pulls herself up by her bootstraps, first as an unflappable waitress and eventually as the well-heeled owner of a successful restaurant chain, the ingratitude of her materialistic firstborn (a diabolical Ann Blyth) becomes a venomous serpent’s tooth, setting in motion an endless cycle of desperate overtures and heartless recriminations. Recasting James M. Cain’s rich psychological novel as a murder mystery, this bitter cocktail of blind parental love and all-American ambition is both unremittingly hard-boiled and sumptuously emotional.
4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Conversation with critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito
Excerpt from a 1970 episode of The David Frost Show featuring actor Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, a 2002 feature-length documentary
Q&A with actor Ann Blyth from 2006, presented by filmmaker Marc Huestis and conducted by film historian Eddie Muller
Segment from a 1969 episode of the Today show featuring Mildred Pierce novelist James M. Cain
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith
Cover by Sean Phillips
Joan Crawford