Nightmare Alley: Guillermo del Toro (The Criterion Collection)

Can you truly remake a classic and improve upon it? Guillermo del Toro certainly can and did with Nightmare Alley, a lavishly twisted reimagining of America on the brink of World War II. With his trademark mix of beauty and decay, the master fabulist transforms William Lindsay Gresham’s dark novel into a hypnotic vision of a world rotting beneath its own glitter, a soul-sick carnival of corruption where every smile hides a secret.

Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley is not just a remake of Edmund Goulding’s 1947 noir but a resurrection, an act of cinematic alchemy that fuses the old and new into something that feels both timeless and dangerous. Even those unfamiliar with the earlier film or novel can sense the inevitability of Stan Carlisle’s descent. From the first flicker of light to the final, devastating revelation, we’re trapped in his psychological maze, following a man whose charm and deceit pull him higher only to drag him down into the darkness.

Bradley Cooper inhabits the haunted drifter Stan Carlisle with a smoldering restraint, perfectly matched by Cate Blanchett’s icy elegance as the femme fatale psychiatrist who knows his every weakness. Alongside them, an extraordinary cast including Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, David Strathairn, and Mary Steenburgen populates this shadowy world of sideshows and smoke-filled ballrooms.

Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Nightmare Alley is del Toro’s love letter to film noir and old Hollywood, but with sharper teeth. It’s an experiment in atmosphere and moral decay, a film that luxuriates in its own darkness. With every ornate set and every flickering bulb, del Toro invites us deeper into the illusion, daring us to look closer as the dream curdles into a nightmare.

By the time the curtain falls, one question lingers: in a world built on deception, who’s conning whom, and how long can the dream last before the lights go out?

The pairing of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley with the original 1947 classic is a perfect combination, and Criterion has brought them together in stunning form. The two films complement each other beautifully, showing how one story can be told across generations through different styles and sensibilities. The original captures the grit and fatalism of classic noir, while del Toro’s version reimagines it with rich atmosphere and emotional depth.

For film lovers and collectors, this Criterion release is essential. It offers the best possible presentation of both versions, complete with pristine restorations, thoughtful extras, and expert commentary. Whether you prefer Tyrone Power’s magnetic presence or Bradley Cooper’s brooding intensity, this edition lets you experience Nightmare Alley in its most complete and cinematic form, a fascinating look at ambition, deception, and the shadowy corners of the human spirit and all from the comfort of home.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• 4K digital master of Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light (2025), a new 159-minute, black-and-white extended director’s cut, supervised by director Guillermo del Toro, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• 4K digital master of the theatrical version of the film, with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack
• Two 4K UHD discs of the films presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the films and special features
• New audio commentary on the extended director’s cut featuring del Toro
• New documentary on the film’s performances, visual language, costume and production design, and score
• New introduction by del Toro on the different versions of the film
• New conversation between del Toro and actor and producer Bradley Cooper
• New conversation between del Toro and coscreenwriter Kim Morgan
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
• PLUS: An essay by crime-fiction and true-crime expert Sarah Weinman