Female Trouble The Criterion Collection 06/18 Blu-ray (Rental)

Glamour has never been more grotesque than in Female Trouble, which injects the Hollywood melodrama with anarchic decadence. Divine, director John Waters’ larger-than-life muse, engulfs the screen with charisma as Dawn Davenport—who progresses from a teenage nightmare hell-bent on getting cha-cha heels for Christmas to a fame monster whose egomaniacal impulses land her in the electric chair—in the ultimate expression of the film’s lurid mantra, “Crime is beauty.” Shot in Baltimore on 16 mm, with a cast drawn from Waters’ beloved troupe of regulars, the Dreamlanders (including Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Edith Massey, and Cookie Mueller), this film, the director’s favorite of his work with Divine, comes to life through the tinsel-toned vision of production designer Vincent Peranio and costume designer/makeup artist Van Smith. An endlessly quotable fan favorite, Female Trouble offers up perverse pleasures that never fail to satisfy. DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director John Waters, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • Audio commentary from 2004 featuring Waters • New conversation between Waters and critic Michael Musto • New and archival interviews with cast and crew members Mink Stole, Pat Moran, Vincent Peranio, Susan Lowe, Mary Vivian Pearce, and more • Deleted scenes and alternate takes • Rare on-set footage • More! • PLUS: An essay by film critic Ed Halter