'Round Midnight (Blu-ray)

THE CRITERION COLLECTION

'Round Midnight is a love letter from director Bertrand Tavernier (Coup de torchon) 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, 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, Turner relocates to Paris, where he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a struggling single father and ardent jazz fan (The Intouchables’ François Cluzet) 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 lived in, soulful authenticity.