Hedwig and the Angry Inch [Criterion Collection]

Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Overview

Adapted from the hit off-Broadway musical of the same name, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the tale of an "internationally ignored" rock & roll singer who hails from Communist Berlin and who dreams of becoming an American sensation. Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell), born a boy named Hansel, is raised by a single mother (Alberta Watson) who wishes to see her son do better than his poverty-stricken family. Some years later, Hansel is attracted to a good-looking American G.I., who promises a better life overseas for young Hansel, under one condition: that he undergo a sex-change operation to become a fully functional female whom he can then marry. The operation is seriously botched, leaving the now-renamed Hedwig with an "angry inch" only to be stranded in a dingy Kansas trailer park on the day the Berlin Wall comes tumbling down. Hedwig then supports herself through a series of ill-fated lounge gigs and side jobs, meeting up with 16-year-old Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt), a religious type who befriends her and later steals her songs and becomes the rock star Hedwig always dreamed of being. Undeterred, Hedwig continues to perform in the shadow of Tommy's sold-out stadium tour, attempting to make herself whole in spirit, if not physically. The film features several songs by composer Stephen Trask, who also appears as a member of Hedwig's disinterested rock band; Miriam Shor portrays Hedwig's newfound love and backup singer.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/25/2019
UPC:	0715515231312
Original Release:	2001
Rating:	R
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	16,576

Special Features

Audio commentary from 2001 featuring Mitchell and DeMarco; New conversation among members of the cast and crew ; New conversation between composer and lyricist Stephen Trask and rock critic David Fricke about the soundtrack; Documentary from 2003 tracing the development of the project; Close look at the film's Adam and Eve sequence ; New programs exploring Hedwig's creation, look, and legacy through its memorabilia; Deleted scenes with commentary by Mitchell and DeMarco; Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Cameron Mitchell	Hedwig/Hansel
Michael Pitt	Tommy Gnosis
Miriam Shor	Yitzhak
Stephen Trask	Skszp,Composer
Theodore Liscinski	Jacek
Rob Campbell	Krzysztof
Michael Aronov	Schlatko
Andrea Martin	Phyllis Stein
Ben Mayer-Goodman	Hansel (age 6)
Alberta Watson	Hansel's Mom
Gene Pyrz	Hansel's Dad
Karen Hines	Tommy's Publicist
Max Toulch	Goth Menses Boy
Maurice Dean Witt	Sgt. Luther Robinson
Ermes Blarasin	Fat Man
Sook Yin Lee	Kwahng-Yi
Maggie Moore	Trailer Park Neighbor
Renat Options	Tranny Hooker
Maurice Wint	Luther
Michael Stevens	HedHead

Technical Credits

John Cameron Mitchell

John Cameron Mitchell	Screenwriter
Tim Good	Special Effects
Amy Henkels	Executive Producer
Pamela Koffler	Producer
Katie Roumel	Producer
Susan Shopmaker	Casting
Mark Tusk	Executive Producer
Christine Vachon	Producer
Michael DeLuca	Executive Producer
Paul Urmson	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Criterion Collection)
1. "Tear Me Down"
2. Yitzhak
3. "Bilgewater's Restaurant, St. Louis": The Tour Begins
4. "East Berlin 1968"
5. "Bilgewater's Chicago": "The Origin Of Love"
6. American Radio
7. Luther
8. "Bligewater's Miami Beach": "Sugar Daddy"
9. "Bilgewater's Baltimore": "Angry Inch"
10. "Junction City, Kansas": Freedom
11. "Wig In A Box"
12. "Providence, R.I.": Tommy Gnosis In Person
13. Tommy Speck
14. "Wicked Little Town"
15. Knowledge
16. Love
17. "I'm Going To Guam"
18. Reunion
19. "Bilgewater's Times Square": "Hedwig's Lament"/"Exquisite Corpse"
20. "Wicked Little Town": Tommy Gnosis Version
21. "Midnight Radio"
22. End Credits
Disc #2 -- Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Criterion Collection)
1. Beginnings/SqueezeBox [15:21]
2. The Off-Broadway Years [17:06]
3. The Jane Street Theatre [13:05]
4. Hedwig Numbers 2-7 [3:56]
5. Hedheads [4:08]
6. Sundance Lab [3:12]
7. Preproduction [4:55]
8. The Shoot [14:30]
9. The Sundance Film Festival [4:44]
10. Hedwig Lives On [4:21]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Criterion Collection)
Play The Movie
Chapters
Commentary: Off
Commentary: On
A "Hedwig" Reunion
The Music Of "Hedwig"
Trailer
Disc #2 -- Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Criterion Collection)
Whether You Like It Or Not: The Story Of Hedwig
Play
Index
From The Archives
Play All
Mitchell
Phillips
Potter
Anatomy Of A Scene
Deleted Scenes
Play All
Play All With Commentary: On

Editorial Reviews

A mixed-bag effort to translate John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's ambitious rock musical to the screen, this remains a worthwhile movie experience on any account, successfully opening up its heartfelt, often sad account of an "internationally ignored" rock singer suffering from a botched sex change operation. Mitchell's fierce, hypnotic performance is as indelible on film as it was on-stage -- fearful, hilarious, and moving. His direction is a bit less remarkable, as the movie offers much to look at, but little of it comes through in quite the same way as the music. The filmmakers too often literalize what should be expressed musically, which robs the viewer of some of the discoveries that might have made the film more successful. A few stretches sag as well, but the movie springs to life the most in its final reel -- when the title character takes on a young protégé (a quietly effective Michael Pitt) -- even if it fails to fully reach its emotional mark. Audiences at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival clearly found Hedwig refreshing: it won the Audience Award as well as a Grand Jury directing prize for Mitchell.