The latest home video edition of Killers of the Flower Moon reframes an already discussed film through the meticulous standards of the Criterion Collection. This Martin Scorsese picture resists comfort: it unfolds slowly, explores moral rot, and asks viewers to sit with discomfort. Adapted from David Grann’s reporting, the film recounts an often-overlooked chapter in American history involving the Osage Nation in Oklahoma and the deadly consequences of sudden oil wealth. The new 4K release bundles a high-quality remaster with a suite of documentaries and archival supplements that probe how and why Scorsese chose to depict these events the way he did, and how the cast approached morally fraught roles.
Scorsese’s production deliberately occupies a space between crime saga and elegy, using length and slow-building scenes to let ethical contradictions breathe. The film centers on characters whose motives are tangled: a scheming local power broker, a conflicted relative, and the Osage families caught between prosperity and exploitation. The Criterion package emphasizes context, gathering voices from the creative team and the Osage community to explain why the filmmakers insisted that making audiences uneasy was necessary for truth-telling. For collectors and newcomers alike, the new edition promises a deeper, more textured encounter with the material.
History, exploitation, and the story at the center
At its core, Killers of the Flower Moon dramatizes a series of real murders that occurred after World War I when members of the Osage Nation became wealthy from oil discovered on their land. Racist structures like the guardian system funneled control of Native wealth into white hands, and local figures conspired to seize fortunes by any means. Robert De Niro’s character, William King Hale, is depicted as an influential figure orchestrating violence to acquire wealth from Osage heirs. The film lays bare how greed, entitlement, and systemic racism converged to convert prosperity into a target, and the Criterion materials expand on that historical frame with commentary from author David Grann and Osage leaders.
Character complexity and the uneasy love story
Rather than drawing clean moral lines, Scorsese stages a study in contradiction. The narrative follows Ernest Burkhart, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, whose relationship with Mollie, portrayed by Lily Gladstone, becomes the film’s emotional center even as it implicates him in the harm surrounding her family. DiCaprio originally considered another role, and the screenplay adjustments that made Ernest the focus allowed the movie to explore how personal attachment and moral compromise can coexist. Scenes depicting care and tenderness sit beside actions that implicate Ernest in murder and the administration of what the film suggests is insulin poisoning, leaving the audience to weigh love against culpability.
The performances that anchor the moral ambiguity
Performances drive the film’s ethical tension. De Niro’s Hale is chilling because he often appears sincere in his relationships with the Osage, a choice meant to reveal how perpetrators rationalize violence. Gladstone’s work—recognized during awards season and widely praised—entails portraying an intimate bond while spending large stretches of the story weakened by illness, and she and DiCaprio collaborated closely to craft a believable, fraught marriage. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker shaped the pacing that makes the love story register as authentic even when it sits alongside betrayal, reinforcing Scorsese’s point that human beings can be both affectionate and monstrous.
What the Criterion 4K package includes and why it matters
The physical set follows Criterion’s familiar format: a newly remastered 4K UHD disc plus two Blu-rays, one of which is devoted to supplements. Highlights include a new behind-the-scenes documentary featuring Scorsese, DiCaprio, Gladstone, author David Grann, Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, cultural consultant John Williams, and members of the crew. Another film, titled “WahZhaZhe”: A Song for the Osage, examines the meaning of the final shot and centers Osage voices. The set also contains archival commentary from cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, excerpts from the Cannes press conference, and new essays by critics and programmers that contextualize the production.
Enduring relevance and rewatch value
The movie’s reception acknowledged its ambition: critics praised the control of tone and the rigorous performances while noting the film’s demands on viewers’ attention. The film’s closing moments function as a reflexive note—the epilogue calls attention to who narrates history—reminding audiences that this is a story about the Osage even as it’s framed by white filmmakers. The Criterion extras strengthen that awareness by amplifying Osage perspectives and archival material, which makes the new release a vital resource for anyone who wants to revisit the film’s themes of greed, law, and human contradiction.