Inspired by the incidents in the lives of Francis Paudras & Bud Powell.

Originally released as a motion picture in 1986.

Wide screen (2.39:1).

Special features: New interview with jazz and cultural critic Gary Giddins; New conversation with music producer Michael Cuscuna and author Maxine Gordon; Before Midnight, a 1986 behind-the-scenes documentary by Jean Achache; Panel discussion from 2014 featuring Cuscuna, Maxine Gordon, director Bertrand Tavernier, and jazz scholar John Szwed, moderated by jazz critic and broadcaster Mark Ruffin; Performance from 1969 of "Fried Bananas" by Dexter Gordon; essay by scholar Mark Anthony Neal

Director of photography, Bruno de Keyzer ; editor, Armand Psenny ; music, Herbie Hancock.

Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Lonette McKee, Christine Pascal, Herbie Hancock, John Berry, Martin Scorsese.

It is a love letter from director Bertrand Tavernier to the heyday of bebop and to the Black American musicians who found refuge in the smoky underground jazz clubs of 1950s Paris. In a miraculous, sui generis fusion of performer and character that was nominated for an Oscar, legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon plays Dale Turner, a brilliant New York jazz veteran whose music aches with beauty but whose personal life is ravaged by addiction. Searching for a fresh start in Paris, Turner strikes up an unlikely friendship with a struggling single father and ardent jazz fan who finds his life transformed as he attempts to help the self-destructive musician. Herbie Hancock's evocative, Oscar-winning score sets the mood for this definitive jazz film, a bittersweet opus that glows with a lived-in, soulful authenticity.

MPA rating: R.

DVD, NTSC, region 1; wide screen (2.39:1 aspect ratio); 2.0 surround.

English and French dialogue; English subtitles; subtitled for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH).