Revanche (2008) - The Criterion Collection

Synopsis

A gripping thriller and a tragic drama of nearly Greek proportions, Revanche is the stunning, Oscar-nominated international breakthrough of Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. In a ragged section of Vienna, hardened ex-con Alex (the mesmerizing Johannes Krisch) works in a brothel, where he falls for Ukrainian hooker Tamara. Their desperate plans for escape unexpectedly intersect with the lives of a rural cop and his seemingly content wife. With meticulous, elegant direction, Spielmann creates a tense, existential, and surprising portrait of vengeance and redemption, and a journey into the darkest forest of human nature, in which violence and beauty exist side by side.

Cast

Alex	Johannes Krisch
Tamara	Irina Potapenko
Susanne	Ursula Strauss
Robert	Andreas Lust
Hausner	Hannes Thanheiser
Konecny	Hanno Pöschl

Credits

Director	Götz Spielmann
Cinematography	Martin Gschlacht
Producer	Sandra Bohle, Mathias Forberg, Götz Spielmann and Heinz Stussak
Screenplay	Götz Spielmann
Sound	Heinz Ebner
Editing	Karina Ressler
Production Design	Maria Gruber
Costumes	Monika Buttinger
Makeup	Susanne Weichesmiller
Casting	Rita Waszilovics
Sound editor	Bernhard Bamberger
Production manager	Stephanie Wagner

Disc Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION

New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Götz Spielmann (with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
New video interview with Spielmann
The Making of “Revanche,” a half-hour documentary shot on the set
Foreign Land (Fremdland), Spielmann’s award-winning student short film, with an introduction by the director
U.S. theatrical trailer
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Armond White

From the Current

The State of Criterion’s Art

Mar 4, 2010

Our own Eric Skillman, who has crafted the covers for numerous releases over the years (including Red Beard, Yi Yi, The . . .

Press Notes: Revanche

Mar 1, 2010

The name Götz Spielmann is still unknown to many North American movie watchers, but if reviews of Criterion’s release of his Oscar-nominated drama Revanche are any indication, this commanding Austrian filmmaker won’t remain in the shadows much longer. At Film.com, http://www . . .

Revanche:
Revival of the Fittest

by Armond White Feb 11, 2010

Revanche begins with a reflection of trees in a lake at twilight. They’re seen upside down—an image of nature reversed—yet the earth is eerily calm. This almost otherworldly illusion arouses . . .

Revanche Is Coming

Apr 21, 2009

Mark your calendars: Janus Films and the Criterion Collection’s theatrical release Revanche opens next Friday, May 1, in New York, Seattle, and Boston, and the early press is awesome. Götz Spielmann got a rave for his tense, thrilling drama from no less an authority than auteurist kingmaker . . .

Criterion Goes to the Oscars

Jan 22, 2009

Last fall the Criterion Collection and Janus Films joined forces to acquire a first-run film for theatrical distribution—a rare move for two companies best known for handling the classics of cinema history. Revanche, both an existential thriller and a quiet, character-driven rumination . . .

Janus and Criterion Team Up for Revanche

Oct 29, 2008

Goetz Spielmann’s Revanche, a 2008 festival favorite and Austria’s submission for the best foreign film Oscar, has found a North American home with sister companies Janus Films and the Criterion Collection. In a rare step into the first-run business, Janus will launch the thriller theatrically . . .