Sexy Beast (2000) Limited Edition Dual 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box Set Review

Sexy Beast (2000) Limited Edition Dual 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box Set Review

More than a quarter of a century ago Sexy Beast – Jonathan Glazer’s seminal gritty, swear-fest gem of a Brit gangster movie landed on screens with a bang. Now Second Sight Films is only bloody giving it their Limited-Edition treatment and it’s slated for release this September.

Described as ‘a crime film like no other’ by The Times and ‘the last great British gangster flick’ by Empire, acting giants Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley give career defining roles, alongside memorable turns from Ian McShane and Amanda Redman in the lauded director’s darkly funny, ferociously violent original cockney gangster geezer feature.

The film will be presented in a Second Sight Films 4K restoration supervised and approved by the director himself and will arrive in a stunning Limited Edition Dual 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box Set alongside standard editions on 28 September 2026.

Following a long stretch behind bars Gal Dove (Winstone) is ready to hang up his swag bag and retire from a career in crime. Enjoying his new life of luxury with his true love Deedee (Redman), in a sprawling villa in sunny Spain, he’s happy just lazing by the pool in his yellow speedos… but the calm soon becomes a storm when his nemesis, the dangerously unhinged criminal Don Logan (Kingsley), turns up announced on his doorstep.

Gal knows trouble’s not far behind, and his blissful world is about to be shattered. When Don tries to tempt him with the promise of one last major job in London, one that’ll mean he’ll never have to work again, Gal refuses to be swayed. Unfortunately, Don won’t take no for an answer and makes his feelings known in no uncertain terms.

With Gal desperate to hold on to his newfound paradise, the hard as nails pair lock horns and the battle of wills from hell ensues, forcing Gal is to go back to his old ways to save his wife, his life and prove who’s the boss.

The brand-new collector’s set is presented in a stunning rigid slipcase with new artwork from Neil Kellerhouse, complete with a slew of brand-new cast interviews, a new commentary, a fantastic 160-page hardback book and much more. Please see full details below.

I first saw Sexy Beast around the time of its original release. The film had been warmly received by critics and, as a fan of British cinema and of leading man Ray Winstone, I was particularly keen to see what director Jonathan Glazer had delivered. Yet, at the time, I came away feeling somewhat underwhelmed. Looking back, I suspect my younger self approached the film with a preconceived idea of what I wanted it to be, rather than simply accepting it on its own terms.

Twenty-six years on, I’m now old enough and ugly enough to do precisely that: appreciate what is in front of me rather than judging it against what I thought it should be.

And what is in front of me is an impressively stylish and highly visual piece of filmmaking. Sexy Beast is also remarkably tight and lean, with virtually every second of screen time serving a purpose and pushing the narrative forward. There is no flab here, either in the storytelling or the filmmaking.

Sir Ben Kingsley’s performance as sociopathic gangster Don Logan is every bit as vulgar, aggressive and bullying as I remembered. What I had perhaps forgotten, however, was just how relatively little time Kingsley spends on screen. His impact is so enormous that his presence seems far greater than the amount of screen time would suggest. It is little wonder that he received a thoroughly deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Kingsley was rightly showered with praise for his powerhouse performance, but he certainly isn’t alone in bringing the acting goods. The entire cast hits the mark, and on revisiting Sexy Beast, it is Ian McShane as London crime boss Teddy Bass who ultimately steals the acting honours for me.

Where Kingsley’s Don Logan is tightly coiled, explosive and constantly threatening to erupt, McShane operates on an entirely different frequency. He can convey menace with little more than a glance or a smile. There is something deeply unsettling about the calmness of Teddy Bass, and McShane proves every bit as frightening as Kingsley, albeit in a much more restrained fashion. For me, his performance is the one that lingers longest.

Sexy Beast also marked Jonathan Glazer’s feature-film directorial debut, an impressive starting point for a filmmaker who would go on to deliver the truly remarkable science-fiction drama Under the Skin. For my money, that remains one of the finest films of the 21st century to date.

Interestingly, while researching Sexy Beast, I discovered that the film originated as a stage play, which perhaps explains why so much of the story takes place in a relatively confined setting. Written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto, the play was originally conceived under the title Gangster No. 2, with the writers envisaging a trilogy. Mellis and Scinto were also behind Gangster No. 1, released in the same year.

Given its theatrical origins, considerable credit is due to Glazer and the filmmakers for expanding the world of Sexy Beast sufficiently to prevent it from ever feeling like a stage play simply transplanted to the screen. The film makes excellent use of its locations, visual style and cinematic language, creating something that feels much larger and more expansive than its relatively contained story might initially suggest.

Perhaps the biggest difference between my first viewing and this one is that I no longer feel the need for Sexy Beast to be the film I imagined it would be. Seen on its own terms, it is a lean, stylish and superbly acted British crime thriller, with Kingsley and McShane delivering two very different but equally memorable portrayals of menace.

Twenty-six years later, I finally got it.

Special Features

New Second Sight Films 4K restoration from the original camera negative supervised and approved by Director Jonathan Glazer
Dual format edition including UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
New audio commentary by John Bleasdale
That’s the Job: a new interview with Actor Ray Winstone
Poetic Drama: a new interview with Actor Sir Ben Kingsley
The Real Criminal: a new interview with Actor Ian McShane
That’s Cinema: a new interview with Producer Jeremy Thomas
Finding the Rhythm: a new interview with Editor Sam Sneade
Beast Mode: Creating Don Logan – a video essay by Leigh Singer
Behind the Scenes
On Location
Archive Cast & Crew Interviews
Limited Edition Contents

Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Neil Kellerhouse
160-page hardback book with new essays by David Michael Brown, Jamie Graham, Joel Harley, Nathan Lunn, Christina Newland, Katie Rife, Hannah Strong and Travis Woods
7 collectors’ art cards