The Edition: A US Release of the 4K Restoration
The American Blu-ray edition ofThe Razor's Edge is the first North American release of the restored version of Jocelyne Saab's fiction debut. It is distributed by independent labelSeveral Futures, which acquired the North American distribution rights for this new 4K restoration.
The film will be released in a standard edition, as well as in a limited edition of500 copies featuring a slipcase with exclusive new artwork by Tyler Rubenfeld. The release date is scheduled forAugust 25, 2026.
The Film: A Restored Masterpiece
Released in 1985,The Razor's Edge (original titleGhazl al-banat) is Jocelyne Saab's first fiction feature. It was presented at the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival that year. The film is set during the Lebanese Civil War and tells the story of Karim (played by Jacques Weber), a fortysomething painter, and Samar (Hala Bassam), a teenager who grew up in war-torn Beirut. It is described as a "striking meditation on humanity's struggle in the face of unthinkable horror".
The film's screenwriter is Gérard Brach, known for his work on Roman Polanski'sThe Tenant and Michelangelo Antonioni'sIdentification of a Woman.
The 2025 4K restoration was carried out by the Association Jocelyne Saab in collaboration with the Cinémathèque suisse and La Cinémathèque québécoise. It was sourced from a positive preservation copy of the original cut presented at Cannes in 1985.
Content and Features
The Blu-ray edition is rich in bonus features and includes:
- The film in 1080p (1.85:1 aspect ratio).
- DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack (Arabic and French).
- Two newly restored short films by Jocelyne Saab:
- Children of War (1976)
- Lebanese Hostages of Their City (1982)
- A re-release trailer.
- A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Cici Peng.
- English subtitles.
- (Limited Edition) A slipcase with exclusive artwork by Tyler Rubenfeld, limited to 500 copies.
Context and Critical Reception
The US release follows a distribution agreement signed by Several Futures ahead of the film's presentation at theNew York Film Festival in September 2025. The film was also screened atBAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) in October 2025. Several Futures' distributor Graham Carter described Jocelyne Saab as "one of the most important filmmakers of the 20th century".
Critical response has been positive.In Review Online notes that the film, "perhaps tragically, still has much to tell us about our present some 40 years on".Mubi Notebook observes: "The rediscovery of 'The Razor's Edge' is a reminder that even the fragile, febrile medium of film can be more lasting than concrete, to say nothing of flesh. Much of the urban fabric that appears in the film has vanished… and exists now only in the images painted by light on the screen".