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An unnamed South American country, the early 1970s. The members of a radical leftist group kidnap high-ranking U.S. official Philip Michael Santore (Yves Montand) and announce that he will be freed only after the government releases all political prisoners. When the negotiations collapse, the country is rocked by a series of tragic events.

With State of Siege, director Costa-Gavras completes a trilogy of incursion that arguably gains strength with each subsequent entry. If Z effectively created the template for the contemporary political thriller and The Confession dialed down the pulsating inclinations for a hard-edged examination of ideological injustice, the final entry synthesizes the two approaches, creating a work that's thrilling for its interest in process, procedure, and collective responsibility over the ill deeds of a few.

BD50 + DVD9 | 1080p AVC, NTSC | 02:01:34 | 43.1 Gb + 7.70 Gb
Language: Francais
Subtitles: English
Genre: Drama, Thriller

Director: Costa-Gavras
Cast: Yves Montand, Renato Salvatori, O.E. Hasse
Country: France, Italy, West Germany

Extras:

• Costa-Gavras and Peter Cowie - in this new filmed conversation, director Costa-Gavras explains how State of Siege became a reality (it was shot in Chile with the approval of Salvador Allende), Franco Solinas contribution, the casting of Yves Montand (the French actor also appeared in Costa-Gavras' hit Z and The Confession), some of the real political events that are partially recreated in the film, the lensing by cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn (Francois Truffaut's A Gorgeous Girl Like Me, Day for Night), the film's critical reception in Europe and the United States, etc. The conversation was filmed at the Cinematheque francaise in January 2015 exclusively for Criterion. In English, not subtitled. (32 min, 1080p).

• NBC News Broadcast on Dan A. Mitrione - the character Yves Montand plays in State of Siege, Philip Michael Santore, was inspired by the real-life figure of Dan A. Mitrione, who was kidnapped by the left-wing radical group Tupamaros in Uruguay on July 31, 1970. Presented here are excerpts from NBC's coverage of the kidnapping case. These excerpts originally aired from August 8 to August 12, 1970. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080i).