This adaptation of a James Joyce short story serves as a poignant and powerful swansong for the filmmaker
John Huston’s The Dead feels less like an adaptation and more like a final act of communion, a great filmmaker quietly sitting with the words of his favorite writer, James Joyce, and letting them breathe one last time through cinema. Set in Dublin in 1904, The Dead unfolds almost in real time over the course of an annual social gathering hosted by the elderly Morkan sisters. There is fine dining, music, polite conversation, and the small, telling quirks of guests who drift in and out of focus.
At the center are Gretta and Gabriel Conroy (Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann), a semi-affluent couple whose time at the event takes a turn. A song sung by one of the guests unlocks something long buried in Gretta, the memory of a youthful love, the loss of which still stings decades later. Her subsequent confession to Gabriel is devastating in its simplicity, not because of betrayal, but because of what it reveals about what we carry within us, unseen even by those closest to us.
McCann plays Gabriel with precision and restraint, a man defined by intellect and composure, while Huston gives a performance steeped in history and weariness. She doesn’t so much act emotion as carry it, regret, nostalgia, contemplation all etched into her posture and voice. The final sequence, moonlit and quietly transcendent, expands the film’s intimate concerns into something more profound and resonant.
Huston’s direction is minimal and exacting, embracing the strength of the writing and the performers. The camera observes patiently, allowing conversations to unfold naturally, giving space to secondary characters to carve out fleeting but vivid moments of charm and humanity. There’s a lived-in quality to the performances that makes the gathering feel real, a snapshot of a particular time, class, and culture, now long vanished. It would be easy for The Dead to tip into sentimentality, but it never does. The weight of emotion anchors it firmly in something more honest and more painful. A recognition of the “what could have been” that haunts even happy lives.
Huston, near the end of a career spanning six decades, from The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre to The Misfits, strips cinema back to its barest essentials. What remains is a poignant reflection on memory and regret, and the fragility of life. That The Dead serves as Huston’s swan song only deepens its power. A family affair too, with the adaptation written by his son Tony Huston and featuring his daughter in one of her finest performances, the film feels like a farewell, not just from a filmmaker, but from a life steeped in art, storytelling, and reflection.
The Package
The film is dark, moody, and highly atmospheric, and this new 4K transfer, approved by director of photography Fred Murphy, showcases the production design, costumes, and cinematography with aplomb. Textures and fine detail is appreciable even in smaller elements of set dressing. Cloting and organe furniture is well visible. Colors are firm and natural, predominantly drawing from blacks, greens, and browns. The image quality and detail is high and consistent, as is a natural grain. Extra features are few, but of a high quality to complement the film:
- New interview with author Colum McCann on the James Joyce short story and its adaptation for the film: A dive into how faithful the adaptation is, comparing and contrasting the text and Huston’s take
- New 2K restoration of John Huston and the Dubliners (1987), a behind-the-scenes documentary by Lilyan Sievernich: The wife of one of the film’s producers, Sievernich is as you might expect a rather personal glimpse at the making of the film, one that largely centers around Huston himself, notably his aspirations for the project and connection to Ireland. A standout extra
- Audio excerpts from actor Anjelica Huston’s 2014 memoir, Watch Me: Read by Huston herself
- PLUS: An essay by author and film critic Michael Koresky and a 1987 piece by screenwriter Tony Huston about the making of the film
- New cover by Leanne Shapton
The Bottom Line
Quiet, pensive, and profoundly moving, The Dead is a meditation on how fleeting everything is, life, love, and even understanding of ourselves. It’s a premise that speaks to all of us, told with tenderness, restraint, and an understanding that some emotions, once awakened, never truly fade. Criterion presents a handsome new transfer and a spate of extra features that warmly underscore the deep personal resonance of this work to Huston, and all involved in the production.
John Huston’s The Dead is available on 4K-UHD via Criterion now
