As I noted when I reviewed the 1944 film of that title, “gaslight” has become a popular term in recent years due to the proclivities of a certain American president. In the same vein, we hear “grifting” a lot more than we did years ago, and that triggered me to re-visit 1990’s The Grifters.

Set in Los Angeles, Roy Dillon (John Cusack) operates as a small-time con man. When a scam goes wrong, he winds up injured, and his estranged mother Lilly (Anjelica Huston) forces him to go to the hospital.

Also a grifter, Lilly bumps heads with Roy’s girlfriend Myra Langtry (Annette Bening), yet another scammer. This eventually leads Roy to find himself trapped between the two women in his life as various swindle operations fly.

34 years down the road and I suspect Grifters remains best-known as the film that put Bening on the map. Only her third film, she got her first Oscar nomination for Grifters and established herself as a serious talent.

Bening offers the only scene I remembered from my lone screening of Grifters in 1990: a full-frontal nude shot. I don’t think I disliked the film back then, but nothing else about it stayed with me.

If still alive 34 years from now, I suspect I’ll still not recall much about Grifters. While it shows glimmers, it mostly feels fairly forgettable.

Unquestionably, the movie’s best moments come from those in which the story engages various scams. When we watch the characters ply their trade, the film boasts a lively, playful sense that makes us want more.

However, Grifters views itself as something more serious, and those pretensions undercut its effectiveness. Whereas it considers itself a strong character piece, the roles and interactions tend to feel forced.

We don’t get much that I’d call insightful via the take on Roy and the women in his life, and Grifters tends toward melodrama. The film overdoes emotional themes and tends to seem overwrought.

I can’t fault the casting of Grifters, as we find a rock-solid crew here. In addition to Huston, Bening and Cusack, we get professionals such as Stephen Tobolowsky, Pat Hingle, Eddie Jones, JT Walsh and others. Heck, we even see a fairly young – and already balding – Jeremy Piven in a small part.

All do find in their roles, but Grifters ultimately feels unsatisfying. While I can appreciate a dark take on the subject matter, this rendition lacks bite.

The Grifters appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This became a strong Dolby Vision presentation.

Sharpness worked well. Next to no signs of softness crept into this tight and concise image.

I saw no jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain felt natural, and the movie lacked print flaws.

Grifters came with a palette that leaned a bit toward amber and teal, though not to a heavy degree. More vivid hues came through as well – like Lilly’s crimson jacket – and the disc replicated the tones nicely, with a boost from HDR.

Blacks were dark and firm, and low-light shots offered appealing clarity. HDR gave blacks and contrast extra punch. I felt highly pleased with this scan.

We got a more than decent DTS-HD MA 2.0 soundtrack of Grifters, as it seemed dated but fine. Music showed positive stereo presence, while effects offered decent breadth and movement to the sides.

Scenes at racetracks or bars added some impact. These used the side/rear channels to bolster the soundscape in a moderate manner.

Speech appeared reasonably natural and concise, without obvious edginess. Some iffy looping appeared but that wasn’t a substantial issue.

Music presented more than adequate range and depth, and effects showed good clarity and accuracy. Nothing here excelled, but the soundtrack held up well enough.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the simultaneously released Criterion BD? Both came with identical audio.

As for the Dolby Vision image, it showed superior delineation, though the UHD's higher resolution meant some of the film's "rough edges" became more obvious. Colors and blacks also got a boost from HDR, though the hues actually felt a bit cooler here.

The Criterion release packed a mix of old and new extras, and on the 4K disc, we open with an audio commentary from director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Donald Westlake, and actors John Cusack and Anjelica Huston. All four sit separately for this edited take on the source and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, costumes and visual design, editing and deleted scenes, and connected domains.

Some don’t like the edited format, but it works well here, as the track integrates the four participants well. They offer lots of insights and allow this to become an informative and enjoyable piece.

The remaining extras appear on the included Blu-ray copy. The Making of The Grifters runs 16 minutes, 26 seconds and offers info from Frears, Westlake, Cusack, Huston, and production designer Dennis Gassner.

“Making” looks at the movie’s path to the screen, cast and performances, the source and its adaptation, costumes and visual design, sets and locations, Frears’ approach to the project, and the flick’s release/reception. Some of this repeats from the commentary, but “Making” nonetheless becomes a decent overview.

The Jim Thompson Story fills eight minutes, one second with notes from Westlake and biographer Robert Polito. They reflect on novelist Thompson and his work, with an emphasis on Grifters. This ends up as an acceptable view of Thompson.

New to the Criterion release, we get a 2024 Interview with Actor Annette Bening. This reel spans 20 minutes, four seconds.

Bening tells us about her career and how she got her Grifters role as well as her character/performance, her co-stars and collaborators, experiences during the shoot and related notes. Bening delivers a strong and rich chat.

From 2018, Seduction, Betrayal, Murder occupies one hour, 14 minutes, 41 seconds. It brings notes from Frears, cinematographer Oliver Stapleton, editor Mick Audsley, producer Barbara De Fina and co-producer Peggy Rajski.

“Seduction” examines the source and its path to the movie screen, how various participants became involved, the source and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, photography, music, editing, the movie’s release and legacy. Despite a little repetition from the commentary, this nonetheless turns into a quality overview of the production.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we conclude with a booklet that includes credits, art and an essay from critic Geoffrey O’Brien. It offers a little boost to the set.

On the surface, The Grifters feels like it should opt for Ocean’s Eleven-style antics, but instead, it prefers semi-Oedipal melodrama. These choices don’t work especially well and they make the movie drag. The 4K UHD comes with strong visuals, generally positive audio and a nice mix of bonus features. This becomes a very good release for an erratic film.

To rate this film visit original review of THE GRIFTERS