Atom Egoyan

Exotica

Exotica

One of the defining independent films of the 1990s, Atom Egoyan’s mesmerizing international breakthrough Exotica takes the conventions of the psychological thriller into bold new territory—unsettling, dreamlike, and empathetic. At the neon-drenched Toronto strip club of the film’s title, a coterie of lost and damaged souls—including a man haunted by grief, a young woman with whom he shares an enigmatic bond, an obsessive emcee, and a smuggler of rare bird eggs—search for redemption as they work through the traumas of their mysteriously interconnected histories in an obsessive cycle of sex, pain, jealousy, and catharsis. Masterfully weaving together past and present, Egoyan constructs a spellbinding narrative puzzle, the full emotional impact of which doesn’t hit until the last piece is in place.

Film Info

  • Canada
  • 1994
  • 103 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #1150

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Atom Egoyan and director of photography Paul Sarossy, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • Audio commentary featuring Egoyan and composer Mychael Danna
  • New conversation between Egoyan and filmmaker and actor Sarah Polley
  • Calendar, a 1993 feature film by Egoyan, with a new introduction
  • Peep Show, a 1981 short film by Egoyan
  • En passant, a 1991 short film by Egoyan featuring Maury Chaykin and Arsinée Khanjian
  • Artaud Double Bill, a 2007 short film by Egoyan, commissioned for the sixtieth anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival
  • Audio from Exotica’s 1994 Cannes Film Festival press conference, featuring Egoyan, Khanjian, actor Bruce Greenwood, and producer Camelia Frieberg
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by author and filmmaker Jason Wood

    New cover by David de las Heras

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Atom Egoyan and director of photography Paul Sarossy, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • Audio commentary featuring Egoyan and composer Mychael Danna
  • New conversation between Egoyan and filmmaker and actor Sarah Polley
  • Calendar, a 1993 feature film by Egoyan, with a new introduction
  • Peep Show, a 1981 short film by Egoyan
  • En passant, a 1991 short film by Egoyan featuring Maury Chaykin and Arsinée Khanjian
  • Artaud Double Bill, a 2007 short film by Egoyan, commissioned for the sixtieth anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival
  • Audio from Exotica’s 1994 Cannes Film Festival press conference, featuring Egoyan, Khanjian, actor Bruce Greenwood, and producer Camelia Frieberg
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by author and filmmaker Jason Wood

    New cover by David de las Heras
Exotica
Cast
Bruce Greenwood
Francis
Mia Kirshner
Christina
Elias Koteas
Eric
Don McKellar
Thomas
Arsinée Khanjian
Zoe
Sarah Polley
Tracey
Victor Garber
Harold
David Hemblen
Customs inspector
Peter Krantz
Man in taxi
Credits
Director
Atom Egoyan
Written by
Atom Egoyan
Producer
Camelia Frieberg
Producer
Atom Egoyan
Associate producer
David Webb
Director of photography
Paul Sarossy
Music
Mychael Danna
Production designer
Linda Del Rosario
Production designer
Richard Paris
Sound design
Steven Munro
Costume designer
Linda Muir
Editor
Susan Shipton

Current

Exotica: Formula for Seduction
Exotica: Formula for Seduction

The Canadian auteur Atom Egoyan’s strip-club-set drama is an intricate tapestry of grief and trauma, held together by a longing for human connection.

By Jason Wood

The Artistic Synthesis That Gave Bloom to Our Exotica Cover
The Artistic Synthesis That Gave Bloom to Our Exotica Cover

For this new illustration, Spanish artist David de las Heras combined his signature use of bold colors with the lush style of French postimpressionist Henri Rousseau, a key visual influence on Atom Egoyan’s 1994 film.

By Benjamin Mercer