The Criterion Collection has announced its December releases, which will include Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, the first feature film by director Tim Burton. The 1985 film has become a cult favourite and one of the more beloved comedies of the ’80s. It stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman. When his cherished red bicycle is stolen, he embarks on a cross-country journey to recover. Along the way, his childlike innocence and eccentric charm lead to a series of bizarre encounters, from biker gangs to movie stars, turning a simple search into a surreal and hilarious adventure.
Criterion will release Pee-wee’s Big Adventure on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on December 16.
You can check out the rest of the director-approved special features below:
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Tim Burton, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary by Burton and actor-cowriter Paul Reubens
- Audio commentary by composer Danny Elfman (over a music-only soundtrack to the film)
- New interview with Burton and actor-filmmaker Richard Ayoade
- New interviews with cowriter Michael Varhol, editor Billy Weber, production designer David L. Snyder, and producer Richard Abramson, conducted by critic Mark Olsen
- Interview from 2005 with Reubens
- Excerpts from the fortieth anniversary screening of the film presented by Nostalgic Nebula and hosted by comedian Dana Gould
- Deleted scenes
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by radio and podcast host Jesse Thorn
Reubens died in 2023, but before his death, he sat down with documentarian Matt Wolf for a series of revealing interviews. The result was Pee-wee as Himself, a two-part documentary that was released on HBO Max earlier this year. “Reubens was seen as elusive, as typically when he appeared on chat shows – if at all – he would only do so as Pee-wee Herman, rather than as himself,” wrote our own Chris Bumbray in his review. “So we’ve never really heard from him at length, making Wolf’s documentary pretty mind-blowing for long-time fans of the man, such as myself. Reubens is mostly an open book, even if he can’t resist hamming it up for the camera, prompting Wolf to try to re-steer the conversation constantly.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.
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