With this trailblazing musical, writer–director–star John Cameron Mitchell and composerlyricist Stephen Trask brought their signature creation from stage to screen for a movie asunclassifiable as its protagonist.
Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig (Mitchell) undergoes a traumatic personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an“internationally ignored” but divinely talented rock diva, characterized by Mitchell as a “beautiful gender of one.”
The film tells Hedwig’s life through her music, an eclectic assortment of original punk anthems and power ballads by Trask, matching them with a freewheeling cinematic mosaic of music-video fantasies, animated interludes, and moments of bracing emotional realism. A hard-charging song cycle and a tender character study, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a tribute to the transcendent power of rock and roll.
Extras
New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director John Cameron Mitchell and cinematographer Frank G. DeMarco, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
Audio commentary from 2001 featuring Mitchell and DeMarco
New conversation with members of the cast and crew
New conversation between composer and lyricist Stephen Trask and rock critic David Fricke about the film’s soundtrack
Documentary from 2003 tracing the development of the project
Close look at the film’s Adam and Eve sequence
New programmes exploring Hedwig’s creation, look and legacy through its memorabilia
Deleted scenes with commentary by Mitchell and DeMarco
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by critic Stephanie Zacharek, portraits of Hedwig by photographer Mick Rock, along with, illustrations by animator Emily Hubley, and excerpts from two texts that inspired the film: Plato’s Symposium and The Gospel of Thomas.
