Risky Business 4K release from Criterion includes the director’s cut with the original, darker ending

The 1983 classic Risky Business is getting the Criterion Collection treatment with an upcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray release – and the list of special features reveals that this release will feature both the theatrical cut of the film as well as writer/director Paul Brickman’s director’s cut, which has the original, darker ending. That ending was available as a bonus feature on a previous Blu-ray release of Risky Business, but these Criterion discs will be the first to actually have a full, official “director’s cut” of the film on them.

Risky Business has the following description: A sly piece of pop subversion, this irresistible satire of Reagan-era materialism features Tom Cruise in his star-is-born breakthrough as a Chicago suburban prepster whose college-bound life spirals out of control when his parents go out of town for the week and an enterprising call girl (Rebecca De Mornay) invites him to walk on the wild side. While Cruise boogying in his briefs yielded one of the most iconic pop-cultural moments of the 1980s, it is the film’s unexpected mix of tender romance (enhanced by a moody synth score by Tangerine Dream) and sharp-witted capitalist critique that remains fresh and daring.

Here are the special features that will be found on the Criterion 4K and Blu-ray release:

– New 4K digital restorations of the director’s cut and the original theatrical release, supervised and approved by director Paul Brickman and producer Jon Avnet, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
– One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
– Audio commentary for the original theatrical release featuring Brickman, Avnet, and actor Tom Cruise
– New interviews with Avnet and casting director Nancy Klopper
– New conversation between editor Richard Chew and film historian Bobbie O’Steen
– The Dream Is Always the Same: The Story of “Risky Business,” a program featuring interviews with Brickman, Avnet, cast members, and others
– Screen tests with Cruise and actor Rebecca De Mornay
– Trailer
– English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
– PLUS: An essay by film curator and critic Dave Kehr

The differences between the theatrical cut ending and the director’s cut ending come down to just a few moments, but the lines and character interactions in those moments are enough to ensure that the director’s cut comes to a more downbeat conclusion than the theatrical cut does.

Sporting a new cover illustration by Jeremy Enecio, the Criterion release of Risky Business is available for pre-order and is scheduled to be released on July 23rd. Will you be buying a copy? Let us know by leaving a comment below.