Hester Street

Carol Kane garnered an Oscar nomination in 1975 for her intimately realized performance here as Gitl, a Russian immigrant to New York in the 1890s. Shot in moody black-and-white--which looks crisp and clean in the new digital transfer--this is the first film from director Joan Micklin Silver (Crossing Delancey), and while her labor-of-love trials in getting the film produced (commented on in the DVD extras) are commendable, Hester Street does suffer from low-budget-itis. In fact, the drama of Gitl's assimilation into American society comes across as stagey and static, confined mostly to small sets that seem to restrain the energetic cast, from Steven Keats, as Gitl's husband, who's been in New York for years prior to his wife's arrival and has taken up with another woman (more sophisticated than embarrassingly provincial Gitl), to multiple-Emmy winner Doris Roberts as the kindly neighbor who takes Gitl under her wing. DVD extras include commentary by the director and spouse/producer Raphael Silver, cast and crew interviews, and excellent liner notes by Victoria Brownworth and Judith Redding (authors of the book Film Fatales) that place the film in history-of-cinema context. Optional. (M. Johanson)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—Mar. 10, 2015—Kino Lorber, 90 min., PG, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1975's Hester Street features a fine transfer but no extras. Bottom line: Carol Kane shines in this gritty indie drama making a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]