Tom Jones (The Criterion Collection)

In the early 1960s, at the height of the British New Wave, a movement whose gritty realism they had helped establish, director Tony Richardson and playwright John Osborne set out for more fanciful narrative territory. Tom Jones brings a theatrical flair to Henry Fielding s canonical eighteenth-century novel, boisterously chronicling the misadventures of the foundling of the title (Albert Finney, in a career-defining turn), whose easy charm seems to lead him astray at every turn from his beloved, the wellborn Sophie Western (Susannah York). This spirited picaresque, evocatively shot in England s rambling countryside and featuring an extraordinary ensemble cast, went on to become a worldwide sensation, winning the Oscar for best picture on the way to securing its status as a classic of irreverent wit and playful cinematic expression. TWO-DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES - New 4K digital restorations of the original theatrical version of the film and the 1989 director s cut, both supervised by director of photography Walter Lassally - New program on the film s cinematography featuring a conversation between Lassally and critic Peter Cowie - Excerpt from a 1982 episode of The Dick Cavett Show featuring actor Albert Finney - New interview with actor Vanessa Redgrave on director Tony Richardson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1967 - New interview with film scholar Duncan Petrie on the movie s impact on British cinema - Illustrated archival audio interview with composer John Addison on his Oscar-winning score for the film - New interview with the director s-cut editor, Robert Lambert - PLUS: An essay by scholar Neil Sinyard