'Midsommar' Director's Cut Coming To 4K Blu-Ray In July

Ari Aster's Midsommar was already long to begin with, but the director's cut clocks in at a whopping 171 minutes. While the director's cut was previously screened in select theaters and has been available to purchase digitally, it hasn't been made available on Blu-ray in the U.S. – until now. A24 is releasing a special edition Midsommar director's cut on 4K in July, complete with new artwork and a written foreword by none other than Martin Scorsese.

I'm a big fan of Ari Aster's Midsommar. It's a big, bold, ambitious blend of horror and comedy featuring a killer lead performance from Florence Pugh. But as much as I love the film, I have yet to see the director's cut. Sure, I could've purchased the cut digitally by now, but I'm a stickler for physical media. And while the director's cut has been available on Blu-ray overseas, I've been holding out for a U.S. release. Thankfully, it looks like my patience has paid off, because A24 is finally releasing the director's cut here in the states – and on 4K, to boot.

The 4K director's cut comes "enclosed in a hardcover, clothbound slipcase and includes an illustrated book featuring a foreword by Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese and original artworks from the film by artist Ragnar Persson." In the past, Scorsese has professed his love for Aster's debut feature Hereditary, and it looks like that love extends to Midsommar as well.

This 171-minute cut promises to offer "a richer sampling of Aster's psychedelic vision in its most unadulterated (and unrated!) form." There will also be a standard edition of the Blu-ray if you don't have a 4K player.

In Midsommar, "A couple travel to Sweden to visit their friend's rural hometown for its fabled midsummer festival, but what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult." I imagine by now everyone knows what happens in the film, even if you haven't seen it. That said, if you're somehow still in the dark, but curious about watching, I urge you to go in as cold as you possibly can for maximum surprise. Trust me, it's worth it.

The Midsommar director's cut will ship by July 20, 2020.