Criterion to Release 4K Restoration of Youssef Chahine’s Cairo Station
The restoration of the film was done with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack, preserving the film’s sonic and visual textures.
The Criterion Collection, the American company known for licensing, restoring, and distributing significant works of world cinema, has announced the release of a newly restored version of ‘Cairo Station’ (Bab el Hadid) by late Egyptian auteur Youssef Chahine. The 4K restoration will be available from the 12th of August 2025 through the company's various platforms.
First released in 1958, Chahine not only directed but also starred in the film, playing the role of Qinawi, a disabled newspaper vendor whose obsessive infatuation with a charismatic soft drinks seller- played by the inimitable Hind Rostom- spirals into operatic tragedy on the platforms of Cairo’s main railway station.
A blend of Italian neorealism and bold melodrama, Cairo Station is often lauded for its raw, street-level aesthetic and psychological depth. The film captures the turbulence of a society undergoing rapid political and social change in the wake of the 1952 revolution, and the struggles of individuals searching for a foothold in a redefined national identity.
The upcoming Criterion edition features a new 4K digital restoration with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack, faithfully preserving the film’s original sonic and visual textures. It also includes a newly restored version of ‘Al Qahira Kama Ra’aha Chahine’ (Cairo As Seen by Chahine, 1991), a short documentary by Chahine that offers a personal and cinematic portrait of the Egyptian capital, restored in 2K.
The release is further enriched by an introductory feature from film critic Joseph Fahim, who places Cairo Station in its historical and artistic context. In addition, it presents newly translated English subtitles, offering greater fidelity to the original Arabic dialogue with an ear for its rhythm and nuance.
