''Ti West and Mia Goth's Best (So Far)?"
Second Sight Films are releasing both standard and posh whistles and bells 4K UHD editions of PEARL and MAXXINE, the latter two thirds of writer-director Ti West's and star Mia Goth's 'X' trilogy. If they could they would have released X as well but rights issues (very) unfortunately prevented it.
PEARL, the second film in the trilogy, is the prequel to X. Whereas that film took place in the 1970s, PEARL is set in 1918. Pearl (Mia Goth) lives on her Texas farmstead with her overbearing mother Ruth (Tandi Wright) and her paralysed and uncommunicative father (Matthew Sunderland). Pearl's husband has joined the war effort while Pearl herself dreams of getting away from the small town in which she lives and becoming a dancer in Hollywood. But Pearl's fantasy existence has a dark side, one that involves murder of both animals and human beings and, as the story progresses, it turns out there might be a very good reason for her mother being so restrictive about Pearl's day to day activities.
A showcase for Goth, who is in every scene and had to work an understandably exhausting schedule in order to complete filming, PEARL is a gem of a character study that benefits not just from excellent performances and rich colour photography, but from Ti West's willingness to go with the flow of the piece. The result is something unlike any other movie from this decade, and perhaps even this century. What's more it's a film that rewards repeat viewings, allowing you to view the story from different angles each time and wonder just how much of what you are seeing might actually be in Pearl's head.
If ever that was a 21st century film made for 4K it's PEARL and Second Sight's transfer does not disappoint. New extras include a commentary track from academic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, plus interviews with West (19 minutes), director of photography Eliot Rockett (13 minutes), production designer Tom Hammock (19 minutes) and actress Tandi Wright, who was also the intimacy coordinator on X (28 minutes). Archival extras consist of two making of pieces that also include interview footage with Goth - Coming Out of Her Shell (12 minutes) and Time After Time (4 minutes). The limited edition box set comes with a 120 page book with new writing on the film, six collector's art card and a rigid slipcase with new artwork to keep it all in.
Ti West's PEARL is out in both limited and standard 4K UHD editions on Monday 17th November 2025
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