Cul-de-sac (Blu-ray)

Directed by Roman Polanski

Cul-de-sac is a darkly comic, claustrophobic psychological thriller from Roman Polanski’s acclaimed 1960s period. Donald Pleasence and Françoise Dorléac play a troubled couple living on an isolated island castle whose fragile domestic world is upended by the unexpected arrival of a brutish American gangster on the run, portrayed by Lionel Stander.

What unfolds is a bizarre and tense “mental ménage à trois,” a shifting series of power plays filled with sexual, emotional, and psychological humiliations. Blending absurdism, paranoia, and pitch-black humor, Cul-de-sac stands as one of Polanski’s most inventive and unsettling explorations of identity and entrapment.

Key Features

• Directed by Roman Polanski during his celebrated 1960s creative period
• Stars Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, and Lionel Stander
• A darkly comic psychological thriller with absurdist undertones
• Presented by The Criterion Collection on high-quality Blu-ray
• Includes English subtitles
• Run time: 1 hour and 52 minutes
• Release date: August 16, 2011
• Media Format: Blu-ray

Product Details

MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Director: Roman Polanski

Actors: Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, Lionel Stander

Studio: Criterion Collection

Subtitles: English

Number of Discs: 1

ASIN: B005152C6Y

Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.93 ounces

Item Model Number: CRRN2031BR

Special Features