The Crying Game 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.0

The Crying Game 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 4, 2026

Neil Jordan's "The Crying Game" (1992) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Neil Jordan; new program with actor Stephen Rea; archival documentary; archival audio commentary; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Note: The text below was previously used in our review of the British Film Institute's release of The Crying Game, published in 2017.

Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game is one of the quintessential ‘90s films. It genuinely surprised critics and casual filmgoers, creating big and lasting ripple effects in the industry from which it emerged. Unlike other very good and equally successful films from the era, The Crying Game never disappeared into oblivion.

Its narrative is broken into two contrasting parts. In the first, a British soldier named Jody (Forest Whitaker, Blown Away) is kidnapped by members of a rogue IRA cell and relocated to a cabin somewhere in the countryside. It is here that Fergus (Stephen Rea, The Butcher Boy) and Jody quickly develop an unusual relationship while waiting for the cell’s leaders to negotiate an important deal with the British government. But when the negotiations abruptly collapse, Fergus is immediately ordered to kill Jody. On the night before the execution, Jody shows Fergus a picture of a beautiful girl whom he never stopped loving. Soon after, British soldiers surround the cabin, and in the ensuing chaos Jody dies while Fergus miraculously escapes.

In the second part, Fergus travels to London and assumes a new identity, hoping that his former partners will forget about him and he can rebuild his life. Shortly after landing a job at a construction company, however, he visits a nightclub where Jody’s lover, Dill (Jaye Davidson, Stargate), occasionally performs. Despite his desire to erase his past, Fergus begins seeing Dill and very quickly falls in love with her. But their relationship is put to the test when two of Fergus’ former partners, Jude (Miranda Richardson, Damage) and Maguire (Adrian Dunbar, Innocent Lies), reappear and demand that he helps them take out a prominent target. Around the same time, Fergus also makes a shocking discovery that casts an entirely new light on his relationship with Dill.

The secret behind the brilliance of The Crying Game is very simple. Jordan’s screenplay is extraordinary. This is not to imply that Jordan’s direction is vastly inferior. However, if one were to argue that Jordan is a better writer than he is a director, then The Crying Game can easily be used to build a very strong case for the former. Indeed, the characterizations and the evolution of the relationships are scripted with such pitch-perfect precision that they even give The Crying Game virtually all of its unique ambience. The framing and lighting preferences, the camera movement and editing choices only add minor stylistic enhancements to what is already a wonderfully structured film.

The cast is excellent, but the strength of the performances is again largely determined by the screenplay. Even seemingly minor exchanges, such as those between the impish bartender (Jim Broadbent, Le Week-End) and the two lovers, carry a lot of weight and the actors clearly respond with the right attitude. On the other hand, the more dramatic material is completely free of artificial emotions.

Jordan and cinematographer Ian Wilson let plenty of natural, unfiltered light into The Crying Game, giving it a distinctive organic look that suits the desired atmosphere.

The soundtrack blends original music by Anne Dudley and classic and popular songs, such as Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman”, Mungo Jerry’s “Baby Jump”, and Pet Shop Boys/Carol Thompson’s “Let The Music Play”. Two versions of the title song, “The Crying Game”, are used, too. The first is a classic recording by Dave Berry, while the second is the sultry ‘90s version by Boy George that became a club hit.

The Crying Game 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of The Crying Game is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked". Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the Blu-ray. We have not provided screencaptures from the 4K Blu-ray.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this release:

"Supervised and approved by director Neil Jordan, this new 4K restoration was created from the original 35mm camera negative. A 35mm print provided by the Academy Film Archive was used as a color reference. The original 2.0 surround track was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track. Please be sure to enable Dolby Pro Logic decoding on your receiver to properly play the 2.0 surround track.

Mastering supervisors: Lee Kline, Giles Sherwood.
Colorist: Giles Sherwood.
Image restoration: Silver Salt Restoration, London.
Audio restoration: The Criterion Collection."

In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision. Later, I also spent time with its 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray.

Several years ago, the British Film Institute restored The Crying Game in 2K from the original camera negative and produced this Region-B Blu-ray release. The 2K restoration did not reach America, but I have a copy of it in my library. It is a very faithful, very attractive 2K makeover of The Crying Game.

This combo pack release brings a 4K digital reimagination of The Crying Game that will easily be dismissed by anyone who attended a theatrical screening of the film in the early 1990s. It is so bad, it looks grotesque. It is very easy to group with one of the many botched restoration jobs that L'immagine Ritrovata and the French lab Eclair are famous for, like Lucky Luciano and The Damned. It tints The Crying Game and, in the process, destabilizes and eliminates entire ranges of primaries and nuances. As a result, the visuals acquire a brand new, very distracting digital appearance, as seen here. The erasure of the native period appearance of The Crying Game also eliminates plenty of detail. For example, many darker areas lose fine nuances and shadow detail, as seen here and here and here and here. In native 4K, the Dolby Vision grade helps the 4K reimagination look even worse. Several areas look too dark, while elsewhere the teal makes entire sections appear as stylized as various sections in Wes Anderson's Asteroid City. Image stability is excellent. Also, I did not encounter any age-related imperfections to report in our review. (The review also includes several screencaptures taken from the British Film Institute's 2K restoration of The Crying Game).

The Crying Game 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

All exchanges and all action material sounded great. The music, which has very important role, sounded terrific as well. I did not perform any comparisons with the lossless track from my Region-B release of The Crying Game because I did not encounter anything strange while revisiting the film. Stability was excellent.

The Crying Game 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this archival audio commentary, Neil Jordan discusses his childhood years, his time in the film business, the production history of The Crying Game, the socio-political environment in which it emerged, etc. The commentary was recorded in 2005.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this archival audio commentary, Neil Jordan discusses his childhood years, his time in the film business, the production history of The Crying Game, the socio-political environment in which it emerged, etc. The commentary was recorded in 2005.

• Neil Jordan - in this new program, Neil Jordan discusses his childhood years and early stages of his career, as well as the conception and production of The Crying Game. The program was produced for Criterion in 2026. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Stephen Rea - in this recent program, Stephen Rea recalls his collaboration with Neil Jordan on The Crying Game. The program was produced for Criterion in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• The Making of The Crying Game - in this archival documentary, Neil Jordan discusses his career in the film business and the production of The Crying Game. Also included are clips from interviews with producer Stephen Woolley, Stephen Rea, writer Jane Giles, and writer and managing director of Renaissance Films Angus Finney, amongst others. The documentary was produced in 2005. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles.. (51 min).

• Alternative Ending with Commentary - Neil Jordan addresses the alternative ending he shot for The Crying Game. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring essays by critics Tasha Robinson and Willow Catelyn Maclay, as well as technical credits.

The Crying Game 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Several years ago, the British Film Institute restored The Crying Game in 2K from the original camera negative and produced this Region-B Blu-ray release. Unfortunately, the 2K restoration did not reach America. If you wish to have a proper presentation of Neil Jordan's film in your library, plan to acquire the British Film Institute's Blu-ray release. Criterion's combo pack pack brings a perplexingly poor digital reimagination of this excellent film that is impossible to recommend. A standalone Blu-ray release with the same problematic digital reimagination is available for purchase as well. AVOID.