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4K UHD Blu-ray with the Director's Cut (Criterion) |
Comparison between the theatrical version on the German Blu-ray from Walt Disney and the Black & White Director's Cut on the American/British 4K Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection (also includes the theatrical version)
38 differences, including 11 alternative sequences
A few additional differences with a duration of less than 0.5 seconds each were not listed in the report.
In 1946, William Lindsay Gresham wrote Nightmare Alley, and just one year later, the book was adapted into a film for the first time. Guillermo del Toro revisited the material in 2020 and directed an ambitious neo-noir thriller starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, Ron Perlman, and Rooney Mara. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the final filming, completion, and theatrical release to be postponed slightly. This also created additional pressure to perform at the box office. Del Toro had always intended to present the film in black and white, in keeping with the times of the original novel, but in order to appeal to a wider audience, a color version was released in December 2021 - and flopped, partly due to the rampant Omicron variant at the time and the corresponding decline in (potential) cinema visits. At least the studio still allowed smaller screenings of a black-and-white version in the months that followed. As del Toro confirmed, these black-and-white theatrical showings were otherwise identical in content to the theatrical version. The situation is now different with the version released for the first time on home cinema by The Criterion Collection on October 28, 2025, in the US (and a few days later in the UK). The black-and-white version available on 4K UHD Blu-ray is also called “A Vision in Darkness and Light” and is designated as a Director's Cut. It is almost 10 minutes longer than the already relatively long theatrical version, which has a running time of 150 minutes. Some critics complained about the length at the time, so is even more a good idea for the film – and does the “colorless” version work in general?
The differences in the black & white Director's Cut of NIGHTMARE ALLEYBoth questions can be answered in the affirmative for the most part. The theatrical version tended toward yellowed colors, with dark yellow to green-blue tones creating a retro feel. Bright lights in particular are now somewhat blurred in black and white, although this is better represented in 4K with HDR/Dolby Vision than can be documented on our small screenshot size. In general, however, the 'noir' look fits perfectly with the already atmospherically dark material. In the end, this is of course a matter of taste, but the comparative images at the beginning of the report give a small impression of this. Apart from a few rather brief moments that were probably omitted from the theatrical version purely for reasons of streamlining, there are a few striking differences in terms of content. This is most noticeable in the character of Zeena (Toni Collette). In several scenes, it becomes much clearer that Stan (Bradley Cooper) is having an affair with her and how she is also suffering as a result. Similarly striking are several small dream sequences in which an old man (presumably Stan's father) literally runs confusedly through a “Nightmare Alley.” This is a very interesting foreshadowing of Stan's fate. Both round off the respective characters a little better, or at least give them further facets. This also applies to the introductory scene with Stan, in which it becomes clearer that he has committed murder in addition to arson. It is also worth noting that four briefly presented tarot cards divide the film into chapters in the Director's Cut, so to speak. A small trick that structures the story a little differently. In addition, there are many small gimmicks, especially on the soundtrack, which we only touch on a little bit. Often these are just short music cues or changes in the sound mix, which would go beyond the scope of our report. We have described at least one striking scene with a completely different song in more detail and reproduced it with an audio sample. Last but not least, fans will be delighted that del Toro himself has contributed an audio commentary to the Director's Cut, in which he explains his vision in even greater detail. Anyone who enjoyed the theatrical version will now be offered a thoroughly worthwhile alternative in the form of the belated Director's Cut. The Criterion release also includes the theatrical version on a separate disc, as well as various new bonus featurettes and a booklet with an essay and a “director's note” on the new cut. It is questionable whether the director's cut will ever be released in other countries.
Running times are listed according to the following scheme
Criterion naturally has its own logo at the beginning. This is missing from the old Disney releases.
12 sec
The next logos are still identical in color, but from the first credits screen onwards, the film is in black and white.
Alternative / Additional material in the theatrical version 01:16-01:20 / 01:28-01:53 This first shot is also slightly longer in the Director's Cut. Stan kicks over two more containers and the camera follows the gasoline. This reveals a dead body on the floor.
In the theatrical version, the subsequent shot begins earlier and Stan first takes his hand away from his mouth.
Director's Cut 20.8 sec longer Additional material in the theatrical version 01:51-01:52 / 02:24 The first shot outside begins a little earlier in the theatrical version. + 1.4 sec
Here are a few more comparison images of color vs. black and white from the rest of this shot and other scenes in the film.
01:59 / 02:30-03:05 The first outdoor shot is a little longer, and then a tarot card appears with text superimposed on it. The film is divided into chapters, so to speak, starting with “The Fool.” Next, we see Stan earlier in the car, already playing around with the handkerchief, putting the watch in it and looking down. 35 sec
09:54 / 11:01-11:12 Stan takes a few more steps forward and someone calls him over. 11.3 sec
10:16 / 11:34-11:36 A shot starts a little earlier and the “I'll meet you on the other side” is shifted slightly on the audio track. 2.4 sec
13:03 / 14:23-14:25 Here, too, there is an insignificant moment at the beginning of the shot. Clem's comment is also slightly shifted, but identical in itself. 2.5 sec
13:24 / 14:47-15:04 The dialogue between the two is also slightly longer. Clem: “Would a steady job be of interest to you, young buck?” Stan: “Yes, sir.” Clem: “Good. Come see me in the morning. We'll talk.” 16.7 sec
Additional material in the theatrical version 13:45-13:49 / 15:24 Here, two shots at the end/beginning are slightly longer in the theatrical version. This is probably only because Clem's “Would a steady job be of interest to you, young buck?” has now been included in the first off-screen shot. This was no longer necessary in the director's cut due to the previous extension. + 4.4 sec
14:11 / 15:46-15:50 An additional shot of an old man (later revealed to be Stan's father) walking down a hallway. 4.3 sec
Alternative / Additional material in the theatrical version 15:11-15:14 / 16:50-16:54 A different take of Stan looking at Molly. Director's Cut 0.3 sec longer
15:14 / 16:54-17:42 Only in the Director's Cut does Stan follow Molly and try to flirt with her. She leaves him standing there and sits down at the ring. Major Mosquito stands in the ring and makes disparaging comments about Stan. Bruno, however, is only interested in training. Stan: “Mornin'.” Molly: “Mornin'.” Stan: “You do that electric show, am I right?” Molly: “Sure, I do.” Stan: “Are you Miss Electric?” Molly: “Molly.” Stan: “Stan Carlisle, nice to meet you. I'm gonna see your show, I wanna see it.” Molly: “Good, get a ticket. I'll catch you around.” Stan: “I will. Mornin'.” Major Mosquito: “That mug's still here?” Bruno: “Major. Come on, left leg. Hard. So I can do the slam.” 48.5 sec
Alternative / Additional material in the theatrical version 22:21-22:23 / 24:49-24:51 When Zeena asks “Can you feel it?”, she can be seen in the theatrical version. Meanwhile, the Director's Cut shows Abigail's balloon continuing to rise into the air. Theatrical version 0.4 sec longer
Alternative / Additional material in the theatrical version 24:29-24:40 / 26:56-27:09 The theatrical version stays longer in the shot from the side and Stan gives Zeena (implied) his wristwatch. Pete is then seen earlier, before he turns around.
In the Director's Cut, the camera cuts to Pete instead, and he says (referring to the item Stan is supposed to give Zeena), “Make sure that I can't see it.” Stan then hands over his wristwatch, but also caresses Zeena's stomach. She pushes his hand away and her sentence “Please concentrate...”, which is identical to the theatrical version, is therefore emphasized differently by her. This little flirtation by Stan and her reaction to it is therefore only present in the Director's Cut.
Director's Cut 1.8 sec longer At 27:16 / 29:45, Pete comments off-screen, only in the Director's Cut: “That's how easy it is to fool the fool.”
27:37 / 30:06-30:18 Before Zeena lowers her arm again, Pete says: “And if they wait... Oh, if they wait... you got 'em, boy.” 12.1 sec
30:41 / 33:22-33:29 Stan continues to look at the embryo and Clem adds: “This is really important, Radio Flyer.” 6.3 sec
Note: This is immediately followed by his explanation that the red box contains wood alcohol (methanol), while the blue one is okay. The boxes are not shown very clearly here, but this plot device generally works better in the colored version, of course. 44:35 / 47:23-48:46 A camera pan through the alley, and here a new ‘geek’ is obviously being recruited. Stan gives a man a bottle of alcohol, and Clem then says to him, “So, you're interested in a job?” Then you see Stan having sex with Zeena. Afterwards, she reads a few cards and talks about his future. Zeena: “So your future's bright. This here indicates happiness, luck, a gift coming your way.” Stan: “Another one? That looks like a bad card.” Zeena: “There are no bad cards, just what you do with them. This is upside, not upside down, which could be bad. But this just means change. A big, good change coming.” Stan gives her a kiss; "Mmm. I like things the way they are." 83 sec (= 1:23 min)
47:15 / 51:26-51:38 Stan rummages around in the box of bottles for a while. The locked-up ‘geek’ rattles the bars a little more and Stan gets scared before taking a few more steps. An interesting change, by the way, because this moment leaves it somewhat open as to whether Stan accidentally grabbed the deadly bottle of methanol for Pete out of fright, whereas in the theatrical version it clearly looks intentional. Finally, a shot of him begins a little earlier. 12.2 sec
Alternative 50:47-50:51 / 55:10-57:47 After Pete's death, the theatrical version fades to black and then back to a shot of the fairground. In the Director's Cut, Stan is seen going back inside and breathing heavily. The camera then pans to the malformed embryo, followed by a chapter card: The second part focuses on the high priestess. It begins with a shot of Zeena in front of the mirror. She takes another deep breath. Then she watches a movie with Stan at the cinema, they kiss and are amused. Zeena gives Stan Pete's book and wishes to run away with him, but he doesn't really respond. Stan: “He's got panache, doesn't he?” Zeena: “Don Ameche? He's got nothing on you, honey.” Stan: “Yeah... You think a traveling brush on me would look good?” Zeena: "Sure. I'm just so happy. I want to make you happy too. I want to give you something special. Pete's book. Let's just go, Stan. You and me. Hmm? Maybe we can do the act like you always wanted to. I believe we can. I didn't look my age, you even said so yourself." He doesn't respond and just laughs at something in the movie. Zeena looks a little annoyed. Director's Cut 153.1 sec (= 2:33 min) longer
56:25 / 63:21-63:38 At the end of the shot, Clem says euphorically: “Oh, fuck this beer. Go get us a whole case of my sweet sugarcane. On me! Hurry! We earned it! And by gum, we're gonna get it. Yeah?” Stan stands up. 16.8 sec
Alternative 59:58-60:06 / 67:11-67:19 Only in the director's cut does a (digitally added) balloon fly into the picture from the left as the camera moves backward. In addition, the image does not simply darken from the sides, but a circle appears in the upper right corner where the balloon is still visible in the distance. No time difference
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