Light Sleeper (1991) (Blu-ray) (UK Import)

An impressive neo-noir, which sees writer/director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Hardcore, Blue Collar) revisit rainswept New York, Light Sleeper tells of John LeTour (Willem Dafoe, Auto Focus), a drug dealer servicing a high-society clientele of Manhattan professionals. When his boss (Susan Sarandon, The Hunger) announces she is going straight and John encounters an old flame he still loves, his life is thrown into crisis. As he becomes involved in a police investigation surrounding a mysterious drug death, John prowls the night-time streets in search of redemption.

Specials

High Definition remaster
Original mono audio
Audio commentary with writer and director Paul Schrader (2002)
Selected scenes commentary with actors Willem Dafoe and Susan Sarandon (2002, 18 mins)
The Guardian Interview with Willem Dafoe (1998, 66 mins): archival audio recording of the actor in conversation with critic Jonathan Romney, recorded at London’s National Film Theatre
The Midlife Movie (2021, 18 mins): Paul Schrader remembers the production of Light Sleeper
The BAM Interview with Ed Lachman and Paul Schrader (2008, 31 mins): the cinematographer and director in conversation on-stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, after a screening of Light Sleeper
Dear Paul Schrader, Thank You for ‘Light Sleeper’ (2021, 11 mins): a personal meditation on Schrader’s film from the critic and filmmaker Mark Cousins
Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

Rezensionen

Lexikon des Int.​Films: "Die Folie des Kriminalfilms dient als Transportmittel für die Geschichte einer Erlösung und die Suche nach Gnade.​ Wegen seiner inhaltlichen Tiefe und der Leistung des Hauptdarstellers ist der Film überzeugend.​"