Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Release: Heat and Dust

Digital Release Date: Dec. 12, 2017, Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Dec. 12, 2017
Price: DVD $20.16, Blu-ray $22.59
Studio: Cohen Media

Merchant Ivory Productions’ modern classic Heat and Dust, the 1983 multi-generational drama about the clash between modern-day India and its past Raj era of British rule, arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms in a striking new 4K digital restoration.

Heat and Dust moves between the vibrant world of modern India and the magnificent splendors of the Raj, cross-cutting between two generations. As she searches for answers to the mystery surrounding a long-ago affair between her Aunt Olivia (Greta Scacchi, The Player) and an Indian prince (the late Indian cinema icon Shashi Kapoor), Anne (Julie Christie, McCabe & Mrs. Miller) becomes immersed in the local culture, the pull of the past simultaneously leading her into a clearer view of her own future.

Directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant and written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (adapted from her own novel), the film earned the Merchant Ivory team nine BAFTA nominations and a Palme d’Or nomination at Cannes for director Ivory.

The two-disc DVD includes a feature-length audio commentary track; the film’s original trailer as well as its 2017 re-release trailer; and the the rarely shown 1975 Merchant Ivory film Autobiography of a Princess, starring James Mason. The two-disc Blu-ray includes all of the aforementioned materials plus an interview with producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory, writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, composer Richard Robbins, and cast members Greta Scacchi and Nickolas Grace; the featurette Remember HEAT AND DUST; a new conversation between Ivory and filmmaker Chris Terrio; and a new on-stage Q&A with co-star Madhur Jaffrey.