Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie

Uncut Gems

Uncut Gems

This jolt of pure cinematic adrenaline affirmed directors Josh and Benny Safdie as heirs to the gritty, heightened realism of Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes. Adam Sandler delivers an almost maniacally embodied performance as Howard Ratner, a fast-talking New York jeweler and gambler in relentless pursuit of the next big score. When he comes into possession of a rare opal, it seems Howard’s ship has finally come in—as long as he can stay one step ahead of a wife (Idina Menzel) who hates him, a mistress (Julia Fox) who can’t quit him, and a frenzy of loan sharks and hit men closing in on him. Wrapping a vivid look at the old-school Jewish world of Manhattan’s Diamond District within a kinetic thriller, Uncut Gems gives us one of the great characters in modern cinema: a tragic hero of competing compulsions on a shoot-the-moon quest to transcend his destiny.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 2019
  • 135 minutes
  • Color
  • 2.39:1
  • English
  • Spine #1101

Director-Approved 4K UHD+Blu-ray Special Edition Features

  • 4K digital transfer, approved by writer-directors Josh and Benny Safdie, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and supplements
  • Audio commentary from 2019 featuring the Safdies, writer and editor Ronald Bronstein, and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard
  • New interviews with cinematographer Darius Khondji, costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, production designer Sam Lisenco, and casting director Jennifer Venditti
  • Documentaries from 2019 and 2020 on the making of the film and soundtrack
  • Screen test featuring actors Adam Sandler and Julia Fox
  • Goldman v Silverman, a 2020 short film by the Safdies, featuring Sandler and Benny Safdie
  • Question & Answer,” a 2020 short film featuring the Safdies, Sandler, actor Jason Bateman, and comedy writer Megan Amram
  • Audition tapes
  • Deleted and extended scenes, including a full performance of “The Morning” by the Weeknd
  • Trailers
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic J. Hoberman and a 2020 discussion of the film by the editorial staff of Jewish Currents magazine

Cover photography by Inez & Vinoodh

Purchase Options

Director-Approved 4K UHD+Blu-ray Special Edition Features

  • 4K digital transfer, approved by writer-directors Josh and Benny Safdie, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and supplements
  • Audio commentary from 2019 featuring the Safdies, writer and editor Ronald Bronstein, and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard
  • New interviews with cinematographer Darius Khondji, costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, production designer Sam Lisenco, and casting director Jennifer Venditti
  • Documentaries from 2019 and 2020 on the making of the film and soundtrack
  • Screen test featuring actors Adam Sandler and Julia Fox
  • Goldman v Silverman, a 2020 short film by the Safdies, featuring Sandler and Benny Safdie
  • Question & Answer,” a 2020 short film featuring the Safdies, Sandler, actor Jason Bateman, and comedy writer Megan Amram
  • Audition tapes
  • Deleted and extended scenes, including a full performance of “The Morning” by the Weeknd
  • Trailers
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic J. Hoberman and a 2020 discussion of the film by the editorial staff of Jewish Currents magazine

Cover photography by Inez & Vinoodh

Uncut Gems
Cast
Adam Sandler
Howard Ratner
Lakeith Stanfield
Demany
Julia Fox
Julia De Fiore
Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett
Idina Menzel
Dinah Ratner
Eric Bogosian
Arno
Judd Hirsch
Gooey
Abel Tesfaye
The Weeknd
Keith William Richards
Phil
Mike Francesa
Gary
Jonathan Aranbayev
Eddie Ratner
Noa Fisher
Marcel Ratner
Jacob Dylan Igielski
Beni Ratner
Credits
Director
Josh Safdie
Director
Benny Safdie
Written by
Ronald Bronstein
Josh Safdie
Benny Safdie
Produced by
Scott Rudin
Eli Bush
Sebastian Bear-McClard
Edited by
Ronald Bronstein
Benny Safdie
Director of photography
Darius Khondji
Score by
Daniel Lopatin
Costume design by
Miyako Bellizzi
Production design by
Sam Lisenco
Casting by
Jennifer Venditti
Francine Maisler

Current

Uncut Gems: “Taking It to the Rack”
Uncut Gems: “Taking It to the Rack”

The Safdie brothers explore money, basketball, and racial tensions in this manic tale of a New York City jewelry dealer’s existential meltdown.

By J. Hoberman