One of the very finest films of the Coen Brothers, Miller’s Crossing is a gangster movie set during the Prohibition era that was first released in 1990. Over two decades later, and with a high definition upgrade it’s no less compelling and better looking than ever before.

Starring Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney and Marcia Gay Harden, the film, based on the hard-boiled detective fiction of Dashiell Hammett, has at its centre a violent power struggle, as a new organisation seeks to assert itself on the reigning crime boss’s territory. Caught between these two forces is Byrne’s Tom Regan, doing his best to stay the right side of the gun barrels.

Behind these great performances, inevitably, the stars of the show are the Coen Brothers, who put together a technically brilliant, lyrically shot gangster movie that one part homage to the golden age of Cagney and Edward G. Robinson and one part devoted to inventive storytelling and ladling on the atmosphere.

In its new Blu-ray guise, the visuals look absolutely glorious and Carter Burwell’s score has never sounded better.

It’s great to see such a brilliantly crafted film as Miller’s Crossing receiving this level of attention, and its high definition upgrade is a very, very welcome one. A must-buy.--Jon Foster