I found my birthday present. (My birthday is this Saturday, in case you want to buy me something.)

I'm late to the news, but the Criterion Collection is releasing a new special edition of my favorite John Waters film, Polyester, on September 17. Originally released in 1981, Polyester is Waters and Co.'s first studio picture, and it's chaotic and thrilling to watch Waters get ahold of a bigger budget. The film straddles the line between contemporary Waters and classic Waters, and it's a sweet spot that's pure, filthy magic. Waters hires Tab Hunter, a certified movie star, to star alongside Divine, a certified monster—a dream come true for Divine, who worshipped Hunter as a kid. This pairing is one of the greatest accomplishments of the 20th century, right up there with landing on the moon.

Below are the full features on the Criterion release, which you can buy here. I've bolded what I'm most excited about:

* New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director John Waters, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
* Audio commentary featuring Waters from the 1993 Criterion laserdisc release of the film
* New conversation between Waters and critic Michael Musto
* New program featuring interviews with Waters collaborators Tab Hunter, Dennis Dermody, Pat Moran, Vincent Peranio, Mink Stole, Mary Garlington, and Greer Yeaton
* Interviews from 1993 with cast and crew members Waters, Divine, Moran, Peranio, Edith Massey, and Van Smith, featuring footage from the making of the film
* Archival interviews
* Deleted scenes and alternate takes
* Trailer
* Scratch-and-sniff Odorama™ card
* PLUS: An essay by film scholar Elena Gorfinkel and a foldout poster of the cover

The thing I really want is that poster, but the scratch-and-sniff Odorama™ card is enough to shell out the money for this release. When Polyester premiered, audience members were given Odorama cards that used "Smell-o-Vision" technology to assault the audience with funny, gross smells at specific parts of the film. They looked something like this:

The smells are, in order:

1. Roses
2. Flatulence
3. Model airplane glue
4. Pizza
5. Gasoline
6. Skunk
7. Natural gas
8. New car smell
9. Dirty shoes
10. Air freshener

Sexy!

The film also features my favorite Waters character, Lulu Fishpaw. A hot take, I know.

To celebrate the new release, a free screening of Polyester, hosted by Central Cinema and Scarecrow Video, is happening on Thursday, September 19. Seating is first-come, first-served, so get there early and leave me a spot. Thanks!