NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (March 2020): Criterion have transferred Barbra Streisand's The Prince of Tides to Blu-ray. It is from a "New 4K digital restoration, supervised by actor, producer, and director Barbra Streisand". It's on a dual-layered disc with a very high bitrate. The film itself is gorgeous, right form the opening shots. Kudos to DoP Stephen Goldblatt (The Hunger, The Pelican Brief, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief). dark scenes can be a bit more textured but overall the visuals are pristine. The 1080P supports the HD presentation extremely well.

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel stereo track (24-bit) in the original English language. There are plenty of subtle water-related effects in The Prince of Tides and a wonderful score by James Newton Howard (Waterworld, Unbreakable, 8 Million Ways to Die, 2005's King Kong, Batman Begins, The Bourne Legacy, I Am Legend, The Lookout etc.)  sounding buoyant and very clean in the lossless. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles (see sample below) on their Region 'A' / 'B' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray has so many supplements. Voicing her enthusiasm for this monumental project Barbra updates her audio commentary from 18-years earlier on Criterion's LaserDisc and she has a lot to say with detailed memories citing specifics addressing hurdles etc. Fans will find this informative. NOTE: The Criterion LD was delayed after Barbra Streisand found some typographical errors in the supplement and thinking better of a couple of comments on the commentary track wanted them changed (it took a year-and-a-half.) There are a girth of other extras on this Blu-ray including the previous Making-of... featurette, plus new material ex. on February 22, 1992, Barbra Streisand appeared on the British television program Aspel & Company for a lengthy interview (35-minutes) with Michael Aspel about The Prince of Tides and her career overall. That interview is presented on the Blu-ray along with an excerpt from a November 26, 2018, interview with Streisand on filmmaker Robert Rodriguez's program The Director's Chair for El Rey Network running 11-minutes. Filmmaking requires a command of highly technical processes, but for Barbra Streisand it also requires inspiration and instinct. Calling herself the "version queen," Streisand embraces these challenges by keeping various alternatives alive through postproduction. This approach encourages a constant organic evolution of the film. Her unique process combines the roles of producer, writer, director, and star, as she deftly handles the balancing act of competing needs. Barbra Streisand made use of 8 mm video footage to gauge the audience response to a test screening of the film. The test screening received a very enthusiastic response but indicated to Streisand that the timing of certain cuts did not sufficiently allow for audience reaction, especially the laughter induced by the shrimp-and-dog-food flashback. The included excerpt records the audience reaction that led her to insert three feet of film into the already-cut negative. These deleted scenes and negative-cut reversions are available as supplements. After an eight-year hiatus from filmmaking following her directorial debut, Yentl, something clicked for Barbra Streisand when she read Pat Conroy's 1986 best seller The Prince of Tides. In order to turn a 576-page novel into a two-hour film, she had to find the essence of the story she wanted to tell. Streisand schooled herself thoroughly in her subject matter, visiting the South and spending time with the author to get to know the man whose personal experiences inspired the character of Tom Wingo. There is an interview with author Pat Conroy from a 1992 episode of Cinema Showcase with Jim Whaley. A version of the closing credits of The Prince of Tides featuring Barbra Streisand's vocal performance of a song written for the film, "Places That Belong to You," was well received by test audiences and eagerly anticipated by Columbia Pictures for promotion, soundtrack album sales, and the possibility of an Academy Award nomination for best song. But Streisand felt that this was Tom Wingo's story, and that the last thing the audience should hear was Nick Nolte's voice-over ... not Susan Lowenstein suddenly singing a song. That alternate version is included in the supplements.  We get notes from Conroy to Streisand, a gag reel, trailers and more plus a liner notes booklet with an essay by film historian Bruce Eder.

Criterion's "Director-Approved" Special Edition of The Prince of Tides is an overloaded package of a touching, well-acted and expertly realized film. It's an experience that I initially repelled, but it overcame my cynicism, and it's hard to deny its ability to touch you. Great story. Not a typical Criterion-chosen film for Blu-ray (or original Criterion LaserDisc) but in the long run - a worthy one. An exceptionally stacked package. Recommended!

Gary Tooze