The Crying Game Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.0

The Crying Game Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 4, 2026

Neil Jordan's "The Crying Game" (1992) arrives on 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-A "locked".

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Crying Game arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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."

The new 4K restoration of The Crying Game is also made available on 4K Blu-ray in this combo pack release. I viewed it in its entirety on 4K Blu-ray and later spent time with its 10870p 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.

The new 4K restoration is perplexingly poor. It reminds of some of the most disappointing digital makeovers to emerge from L'immagine Ritrovata and the French labs Eclair and VDM. It does not just replace the native period appearance of The Crying Game. It does some very particular things to destroy various primaries and supporting nuances that are essential for its identity. (For reference, this is how the native period appearance of Red Sonja was destroyed after it was restored by one of these labs). 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. Grain exposure is good. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks spotless as well. (The review also includes several screencaptures taken from the British Film Institute's 2K restoration of The Crying Game).

The Crying Game 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.

I viewed the new 4K restoration of The Crying Game on 4K Blu-ray and later spent time with its 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray. The comments below are from our review of the combo pack release.

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 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• 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 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 Blu-ray release brings a perplexingly poor digital reimagination of this excellent film that is impossible to recommend. The same digital reimagination is made available on 4K Blu-ray in this combo pack. AVOID.