Show Boat first appeared as a best-selling novel by Edna Ferber (Giant) in 1926. It was adapted into a legendary musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, which opened on Broadway in late 1927. It has been made into a film three times, in 1929, 1936, and 1951.

Fans have been anticipating a Blu-ray package of all three films for years, but that hasn’t happened. Criterion, however, has released a Blu-ray Special Edition featuring a 4K restoration of the 1936 film with audio commentary by musical theatre historian Miles Kreuger from 1989, a new interview with director James Whale’s biographer James Curtis, a new program on the treatment of race in the film and the 1979 Oscar winning documentary short, Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist, narrated by Sidney Poitier. Also included is a four-song prologue to the 1929 film and twenty minutes of silent excerpts from the film as well as two radio adaptations.

James Whale was chosen to direct the film by producer Carl Laemmle Jr. because of his ability to open up films as diverse as 1931’s Waterloo Bridge and Frankenstein, but the principal cast, all of whom had appeared in various productions of the show, were skeptical, thinking of him as a director of horror films even though he had only made four: Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, and The Bride of Frankenstein. They were also dismayed by Whale’s intention to make the film from the ground up, not simply repeat what worked on stage. They needn’t have worried. Whale’s vision proved masterful with Irene Dunne from the touring company as Magnolia, Allan Jones from the Canadian production as Ravenal, Charles Winninger and Helen Morgan from the original Broadway production as Captain Andy and Julie respectively, Paul Robeson from the London production as Joe, and Hattie McDaniel from the Los Angeles production as Queenie, all used to perfection. Helen Westley was a last-minute replacement for Edna May Oliver, Broadway’s original Parthy.

Every song is brilliantly performed with Robeson’s “Ol’ Man River”, Morgan’s “Bill”, and the combination of Dunne, Morgan, Robeson, and McDaniel on “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” the highlights.

The 1929 film, which had also been produced by Laemmle, was taken from the novel and not the Broadway musical, but by the time of its release the songs had become so ingrained in the public’s conscience that four of them were recorded as prologue to the film and are shown as part of the extras here. The first two are throwaway numbers performed by Tess Gardella, who was a white performer who appeared in blackface under her stage name Aunt Jemima. She was replaced in the 1936 version by McDaniel. Her character did not appear in the 1951 version. Also performed are “Ol’ Man River” by Jules Bledsoe who created the role of Joe on Broadway and “Bill” by Helen Morgan who was not otherwise in the 1929 version.

There are two major differences between all three versions of the film. One has to do with the fates of Magnolia’s parents, Captain Andy and Parthy, and her husband, Ravenal. All three die in the novel, but only Captain Andy and Parthy die in the 1929 film. All three are alive at the end of the 1936 and 1951 versions. The other is the fate of Julie, the original star of the showboat, who reappears in the novel as the secretary to a notorious madam, but in the 1929 film is the madam herself. In the 1936 and 1951 versions, she is a singer who falls on hard times.

The 1929 version starred Lura LaPlante as Magnolia, Joseph Schildkraut as Ravenal, and Alma Rubens as Julie. Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, and Ava Gardner had those roles in the 1951 version.

Also new from Criterion are Bu-ray upgrades of 1957’s The Cranes Are Flying and 1991’s The Prince of Tides, both of which include a plethora of extras.

The Cranes Are Flying is notable as the first internationally successful Russian film since the1920s. The film, which released in the U.S. in 1960, is about lovers separated when the guy is drafted into military service during World War II. It is noted for its breathtaking black-and-white cinematography.

The Prince of Tides features Nick Nolte in a role patterned after author Pat Conroy (Conrack, The Great Santini) and is noted for Nolte’s strong Oscar-nominated performance as a Southern football coach finding himself in New York as he helps shrink Barbra Streisand get to the bottom of his twin sister Melinda Dillon’s repeated suicide attempts. Kate Nelligan is also memorable in her Oscar-nominated portrayal of Nolte’s mother from hell. Streisand, who also directed, was heavily criticized at the time for her over-indulgent close-ups of herself, but nevertheless gives a credible performance in what was an unusual role for her. She provides commentary for the film and appears in several of the extras on the disc.

Two other film set in New York are Godspell and Jeffrey, both of which have had recent Blu-ray Special Editions worth catching up with.

1973’s Godspell, from the Stephen Schwartz musical based on The Gospel According to St. Matthew, features Victor Garber in his film debut as Jesus and David Haskell as both John the Baptist and Judas. Extras include audio interviews with Schwartz, Producer Edgar Lansbury (Angela’s brother), and several cast members.

1995’s Jeffrey, from the play by Paul Rudnick (The Addams Family, In & Out), is a comedy about a gay man afraid of commitment in the time of AIDS. It stars Steven Weber (Single White Female) with Michael T. Weiss as the object of his affection and Patrick Stewart (Logan) and Bryan Batt (12 Years a Slave) as his closest friends. Nathan Lane, Sigourney Weaver, and Olympia Dukakis have cameos.

Recent films released on Blu-ray and standard DVD include The Current War: Director’s Cut and The Song of Names.

The Current War: Director’s Cut is the 2019 U.S. release of the film originally shown at film festivals and non-U.S. markets in 2017 and 2018. Rescued from the Weinstein Company, this absorbing re-edited version is more coherent but still suffers from an emphasis on Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) at the expense of Nicola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), the true hero of the 1880s electricity current war who was cheated by both Edison and J.P. Morgan (Matthew Macfayden), dying penniless in 1943 at the age of 86. It was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me, Earl and the Dying Girl).

A different kind of holocaust drama, The Song of Names stars Tim Roth (Rob Roy) as an Englishman who searches for thirty-five years to find his childhood friend, violin prodigy Clive Owen (Children of Men), who disappeared the night he was to have given his first concert. The reason for his disappearance slowly comes into focus in this absorbing film. It was directed by Francois Girard (The Red Violin).

This week’s new releases include 2019’s Little Women and 1935’s The Lives of a Bengal Lancer.