State of Grace (1990)
4K UHD + Blu-ray · Imprint Films
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In Brief
Phil Joanou’s bruising Hell’s Kitchen crime drama makes its 4K debut in a director-approved restoration, backed by a strong Imprint hardbox and a stack of new interviews. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, and Robin Wright are terrific, but the movie’s hard-R fury is a lot if gangster pictures are not already your thing. Stream First.
The Facts
Synopsis: After ten years away, Terry Noonan comes home to Hell’s Kitchen, falls back in with his reckless best friend Jackie and Jackie’s gang-boss brother Frankie, and rekindles things with their sister Kathleen. He hasn’t told anyone why he’s back.
Starring: Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright
Directed by: Phil Joanou
Rated: R
Running Length: 134 minutes
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The Package
Label: Imprint Films
Format: 4K UHD + Blu-ray
Release Date: May 13, 2026
Video: 2160p, Dolby Vision and HDR10, 1.85:1. New 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative, overseen by Phil Joanou. Blu-ray in 1080p from the same restoration
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English 2.0 stereo, isolated score
Subtitles: English HOH
Discs: 2 discs (4K UHD + Blu-ray), Imprint Collection #567. Limited-edition hardbox of 1,500 copies with a 60-page hardback booklet. Region free
The Film
State of Grace had rotten timing before audiences ever had a chance to discover it. Screenwriter Dennis McIntyre died in February 1990 while the film was still in post-production, and the movie opened that September in the same month as Goodfellas. One of the strongest gangster pictures of the year was instantly reduced to being the other gangster picture of the year, then spent decades being passed from one movie fan to another like a secret.
Getting it made was its own fight. Dennis Hopper was initially attached to direct the project under the title Westies, after the real Hell’s Kitchen gang that inspired the story. When Hopper left, Phil Joanou, still young and coming off U2: Rattle and Hum, stepped in and found himself directing a cast that would be intimidating even now.
Terry Noonan (Sean Penn, One Battle After Another) returns to Hell’s Kitchen after ten years away and falls back in with childhood friend Jackie Flannery (Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour), who never met a drink, insult, or bad decision he couldn’t make worse. Jackie’s older brother Frankie (Ed Harris, The Abyss) now runs the Irish crew and is trying to stay useful to the Italian mob, while their sister Kathleen (Robin Wright, Blade Runner 2049) has built a life outside the neighborhood and isn’t convinced Terry belongs back in it. Terry has reasons for returning that are better left for the movie to reveal.
Oldman doesn’t play Jackie so much as turn him loose on the neighborhood. It is a wired, funny, dangerous performance, and Leonardo DiCaprio has cited it as an influence. Penn gives the movie a coiled center, Harris plays Frankie like every decision is a business calculation, and Wright brings warmth to a story that otherwise has very little interest in mercy. John Turturro, John C. Reilly, and Burgess Meredith only deepen an already impressively talented cast.
Jordan Cronenweth, who shot Blade Runner, gives the bars, tenements, and wet streets a bruised beauty, while Ennio Morricone’s score aches where a lesser gangster movie might strut. The Goodfellas comparisons are unavoidable, right down to the sudden violence and a script with profanity to spare, but State of Grace has a mournful streak that belongs to it alone. It may not have won the box-office fight in 1990, but time has been much kinder to it.
The Transfer
Video
Phil Joanou (Final Analysis) personally oversaw the new restoration from the original 35mm negative, presented in native 4K at 1.85:1 with Dolby Vision and HDR10. The Blu-ray uses the same restoration in 1080p. This is a new source compared with the older MGM master used for previous Blu-rays. There is noted heavier grain management in some shots, particularly a few close-ups, so viewers who are especially sensitive to digital cleanup may want to keep that in mind. The important point is that this is not simply the old HD master moved onto a UHD disc.
Audio
The set includes English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo, along with English HOH subtitles. An isolated score is also included, giving Morricone’s music a track of its own. The 5.1 presentation mirrors the multichannel option available on the 2022 U.S. Blu-ray, while the stereo track provides an alternate presentation similar to earlier editions.
Transfer Notes
This is the film’s first 4K UHD release anywhere. The UHD is authored on a BD-100, the Blu-ray on a BD-50, and both discs are region free. Earlier Blu-rays from Second Sight in the U.K. and a 2022 U.S. release used the older MGM master. A deleted opening sequence also appears among the extras here.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary by Director Phil Joanou and Film Historian Nick Redman: The archival track, included on both discs, covers casting, reshoots, locations, and Morricone’s score.
- Isolated Score: Morricone’s music presented on its own on both discs.
- Interview with Director Phil Joanou (NEW): Joanou looks back on the production and the film’s difficult path to release.
- Interview with Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth (NEW): Jordan Cronenweth’s son, an acclaimed cinematographer himself, discusses the movie’s visual style and his father’s work.
- Interview with Film Music Historian Daniel Schweiger (NEW): A closer examination of Morricone’s score.
- Deleted Opening Sequence with Introduction by Phil Joanou (NEW): A look at how the film nearly began.
- Interview with Producer Ned Dowd (NEW): Dowd discusses the production from the producer’s side.
- Hardback Booklet: 60 pages featuring an essay by Rachel Walther, production notes, and publicity photography.
The new interviews give the set real weight. Owners of the older Second Sight disc may still want to keep it, since that edition’s Ed Harris interview has not been carried over.
Shelf Worthy?
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The performances are tremendous, the script is tight, and Oldman alone makes State of Grace worth discovering. It is also a hard-R gangster picture that throws violence and profanity around without apology, so anyone who doesn’t already live comfortably in the world of Goodfellas and Mean Streets should probably sample it first.
For fans, Imprint’s hardbox is a handsome edition with a new restoration, strong supplements, and a substantial book. Everyone else should spend some time with Jackie Flannery before inviting him onto the shelf, because while Hell’s Kitchen cleans up nicely, Jackie never does.
Shelf Worthy: Buy it. This one earns a spot on the shelf.
Stream First: Watch it before you buy.
Completionists Only: For collectors who need every edition.
Imprint Films provided a copy for review. My opinions are my own.
Reviewed by Joe Botten
Joe Botten is The MN Movie Man, a Twin Cities film critic writing spoiler-free reviews since 2012. He also writes for Loud and Clear Reviews, a Rotten Tomatoes approved site. Find him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
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