Wikipedia

Uncut Gems

Uncut Gems is a 2019 American crime thriller film[5] directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, who wrote it with Ronald Bronstein. It stars Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, and Eric Bogosian. Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a jeweler and gambling addict who must retrieve an opal to pay off his debt. Filming took place from September to November 2018. Daniel Lopatin composed the score.

Uncut Gems
A black and white image of Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) with a tissue paper stuffed into one of his nostrils.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJosh Safdie
Benny Safdie
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDarius Khondji
Edited by
  • Ronald Bronstein
  • Benny Safdie
Music byDaniel Lopatin
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • August 30, 2019 (2019-08-30) (Telluride)
  • December 13, 2019 (2019-12-13) (United States)
Running time
135 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million[4]
Box office$50 million[4]

Uncut Gems premiered at the 46th Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019. A24 gave it a limited release in the United States on December 13 and a wide release on December 25. It was a box-office success and received acclaim, especially for Sandler's against-type performance, which several reviewers called the best of his career. Uncut Gems was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2019, and it has been included in lists of the greatest films of the 21st century.[6][7]

Plot

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In 2010, Ethiopian Jewish miners retrieve a rare black opal from the Welo mine in Ethiopia. In 2012, gambling addict Howard Ratner runs KMH, a jewelry store in New York City's Diamond District. He struggles to pay off his gambling debts, which include the $100,000 he owes to Arno, his loan shark brother-in-law. His domestic life is split between his wife Dinah, who has agreed to divorce after Passover, and his girlfriend Julia, a KMH employee.

Howard's business associate, Demany, brings the basketball star Kevin Garnett to KMH. While he is there, the opal, which Howard had smuggled from Africa, arrives. Garnett becomes obsessed with the opal, insisting on holding onto it for good luck at his game that night. Howard reluctantly agrees, accepting Garnett's 2008 NBA Championship ring as collateral.

After Garnett leaves, Howard pawns the ring and wins a six-way parlay on Garnett playing extraordinarily well in that night's game. The next day, Demany says that Garnett still has the opal, angering Howard. Howard is ambushed at his daughter's school play by Arno and his goons, Phil and Nico. Howard's winning bet should have earned him $600,000, but Arno reveals that he placed a stop on the bet because it was made with money Howard owed him. Phil and Nico strip Howard naked and lock him in the trunk of his car, forcing him to call Dinah for help.

Howard meets Demany at a nightclub party hosted by the singer the Weeknd to retrieve the opal, but learns that Garnett still has it. Howard discovers Julia snorting cocaine in a bathroom with the Weeknd and gets into a fight with him. Feeling betrayed, Howard confronts Julia and demands that she move out of his apartment.

Garnett returns the opal before an auction and offers to purchase it for $175,000, but Howard refuses, believing it is worth much more. Garnett demands his ring back, but Howard lies, saying it is at his house. After Garnett leaves in dismay, Howard berates Demany for allowing Garnett to hold onto the opal for so long. Incensed, Demany quits and trashes Howard's office. After an awkward Passover dinner, Dinah rejects Howard's plea to give their marriage another chance.

Just before the auction starts, Howard discovers the opal has been appraised for significantly less than his initial estimate of $1 million. He convinces his father-in-law, Gooey, to bid on the gem to drive up the price, but the plan backfires when Garnett fails to top Gooey's final bid. A furious Gooey gives Howard the opal before Arno, Phil, and Nico assault Howard outside the auction house. Howard returns to KMH, bloody and in tears. Julia comforts him, and they reconcile.

Howard learns that Garnett is still willing to purchase the opal. Garnett goes to KMH to pay, giving Howard enough money to repay his debt to Arno. Arno, Phil, and Nico arrive at KMH just before Garnett leaves, but before they enter his office, Howard tells Julia to bet the cash on a three-way parlay on Garnett playing well. Julia escapes as the thugs find Howard in his office and threaten him, while Julia travels by helicopter to the Mohegan Sun casino to place the bet. Arno tells Howard to call Julia and cancel the bet, but he refuses. Furious, the three attempt to pursue her, but Howard locks them between the store's security doors. Howard watches the game on television while Arno, Phil, and Nico remain trapped.

Garnett's Boston Celtics win the game, winning Howard $1.2 million. An ecstatic Howard frees Arno, Phil, and Nico, but the enraged Phil shoots Howard dead. Arno protests and tries to escape, but Phil shoots him dead, too. Julia leaves the casino with Howard's winnings as Phil and Nico loot the store.

Cast

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  • Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, a jeweler and gambling addict
  • LaKeith Stanfield as Demany, an intermediary who recruits clients for Howard
  • Julia Fox as Julia De Fiore, Howard's employee and mistress
  • Kevin Garnett as a fictionalized version of himself during his years with the Boston Celtics
  • Idina Menzel as Dinah Ratner, Howard's wife
  • Eric Bogosian as Arno Moradian, a loan shark married to Dinah's sister
  • Judd Hirsch as Gooey, Howard's father-in-law
  • Keith William Richards as Phil, Arno's quick-tempered lead goon
  • Mike Francesa as Gary, Howard's bookie
  • Jonathan Aranbayev as Eddie Ratner, Howard's elder son
  • Noa Fisher as Marcel Ratner, Howard's daughter
  • The Weeknd[8] as himself
  • Tommy Kominik as Nico, one of Arno's goons
  • Maksud Agadjani as Yussi, Howard's employee
  • Andrea Linsky as Joani, Howard's employee
  • Roman Persits as Roman, the bench jeweler at Howard's shop
  • Arthur Borukhov as Elan, Howard's employee
  • Ronald Greenberg as Rodney Bronstein, a pawnbroker
  • Marshall Greenberg as Steve Bronstein, a pawnbroker
  • Jacob Igielski as Beni Ratner, Howard's younger son
  • Hailey Gates as the receptionist at the Adley's auction house
  • Mitchell Wenig as Larry, one of Howard's creditors
  • Keren Shemel as Eiline Goldfarb, the mother of one of Marcel's classmates
  • Aren Topian as Eric Goldfarb, the father of one of Marcel's classmates
  • Louis Anthony Arias as Buddy, one of Arno's goons
  • Anthony Mecca as Michael, one of Arno's goons
  • Jake Ryan as "Dwarf 2"
  • Greg "Mr. Flawless" Yuna as a fictionalized version of himself, a jeweler to celebrities
  • Benjy Kleiner as Aaron, Dinah's brother
  • Josh Ostrovsky as Noah, Dinah's cousin
  • Alexander Gilkes as the Adley's auctioneer
  • Wayne Diamond as the High Roller (a fictionalized version of himself), a fashion designer and gambler[9]

John Amos, Ca$h Out, and Trinidad James appear as themselves, Amos as Howard's neighbor and the others as acquaintances of Demany.[10] Tilda Swinton and Natasha Lyonne have vocal cameos as the auction manager and a Celtics staff member, respectively.[11] and Matthew Sabia makes a cameo as himself playing a nightclub promoter.[12] Celtics head coach Doc Rivers wrote and delivered a voiceover pep talk for the film.[13] Pom Klementieff has a brief cameo as Lexis, a friend of Julia who greets Howard outside his Manhattan apartment during the opening credits.

Production

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Concept and screenplay

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Josh and Benny Safdie came up with the idea of a Diamond District movie in 2009, influenced by their father's stories of working as a diamond salesman.[14][15][16] Co-writer Ronald Bronstein came from a similar background, as his father worked in the Garment District.[17] Their shared Jewish upbringing was essential to their crafting of the film. The Safdies have said that "the film is about belonging" but also "about cheating God".[16] Slate called it "the most Jewish movie in years".[18] IndieWire's David Ehrlich wrote, "Uncut Gems is the movie that Jews were promised in the Torah. Uncut Gems is gonna be the theme of my son's bar mitzvah."[19]

The question that everyone had about this movie before it even came out is whether it's antisemitic to make a movie about a crooked Jewish diamond dealer. The assumption built into that question is that the diamond dealer is a symbol of the wealthy Jew. But what we see in this movie is that he's a symbol of the working-class Jew, the desperate Jew. Maybe he's not meaningfully working-class in terms of his place in the American economy, but he is culturally marked as working-class, and that is what's actually embarrassing about it.

— Ari Brostoff[20]

When creating the character of Howard, the Safdies were heavily influenced by Jewish humor and actors from the 20th century. Howard has been likened to a schlimazel, a stock Jewish humor character marked by his poor luck,[21][22] or a schlemiel, marked by his ineptitude and clumsiness,[20][23] though The Village Voice's J. Hoberman argued that Howard's shamelessness precludes the latter comparison.[24] The Safdies said they wanted Howard to encompass Jewish stereotypes proudly and treat them as a "superpower", saying, "it was very important to make Howard a strong guy who doesn't back down."[18] Josh Safdie said that one of his goals was to prove "that people can look beyond a flaw. ... That's why the movie is called 'Uncut Gems.' Uncut gems are rough things that are considered ugly by most people, but when you scope them out and get underneath you can find the beauty and value in them."[25]

The Jewish concept of "learning through suffering" was also important for the character.[18] In a round-table hosted by Jewish Currents, David Klion said, "the overriding effect that the movie seems to have on virtually everyone who sees it is one of intense anxiety, which feels like a very Jewish theme."[20] Arielle Angel wrote that Howard embodies a combination of "insecurity plus power" and that his Jewishness makes him "white enough to have access" while leaving him "with this immigrant hustler mentality".[20]

The Safdies designed Howard to channel Jewish "stereotypes that were forced onto us in the Middle Ages, when ... our only way of accruing status as an individual, as a person who was considered a human being, was through material consumption."[18] Production designer Sam Lisenco worked with the Safdies to depict a new-money striver who, despite his wealth, retains the trashy tastes of his childhood. Lisenco noted that Howard buys expensive but dated items he could not afford when he was younger, like the Sony Trinitron television in his Manhattan apartment, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and large fish tanks. The Ringer's Katie Baker called the overall effect "a study in tacky midtownish entropy".[17]

Development

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In May 2016, it was announced that the Safdies would direct the film from a screenplay they wrote with Bronstein,[26] and that the Safdies' company Elara Pictures and RT Features would produce, with Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Martin Scorsese as executive producers.[26] In May 2017, the Safdies announced that Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, and Sebastian Bear-McClard would produce the film, and A24 would distribute it.[1] Netflix acquired the international distribution rights.[6]

Casting

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The Safdies initially approached Adam Sandler to star in 2010 and 2015,[16][27] but his manager rejected the script.[28] Once Scorsese agreed to executive-produce, actors started taking the film more seriously.[16][27] Jonah Hill was cast as Howard in May 2017, and the Safdies tried to rewrite the character to be younger, but Hill dropped out due to scheduling problems and chose to direct Mid90s.[28][29] In April 2018, Sandler agreed to play Howard after watching the Safdies' film Good Time.[27][30] Other actors considered for the role included Sacha Baron Cohen, Harvey Keitel, and James Caan (around 2011).[27][31]

Eric Bogosian, Judd Hirsch, Lakeith Stanfield, and Idina Menzel joined the project in August and September 2018.[32][33][6][34] Tom Sizemore, Jerry Ferrara, John David Washington, and Isla Fisher read for those parts at a table-read during development.[27] Three hundred actresses auditioned for the role of Julia, and the names of Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, and Kim Kardashian were thrown around; but the role eventually went to Julia Fox.[35] Riley Keough also read for the part at a table-read during development.[27]

For the role of the basketball player, Kevin Garnett was cast in September 2018.[36] Kobe Bryant, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Joel Embiid were also considered.[36] The Safdies originally wrote the part with Bryant in mind, and planned to focus on the day that Bryant broke the Madison Square Garden single-game scoring record,[13][37] but Bryant's agent said Bryant was interested only in directing.[38] The Safdies were drawn to Stoudemire due to his joint black and Jewish heritage, as well as his years with the New York Knicks, the Safdies' favorite team.[18][39] (Josh Safdie said, "There's a strong correlation with Judaism and Knicks basketball ... it has to do with suffering and trying to understand your life."[39]) But Stoudemire refused to shave his head to mirror his Knicks-era look.[27] Embiid initially agreed to join, but was forced to drop out when the Safdies moved filming to the basketball season.[39] The Safdies began to look at retired players and settled on Garnett, even though Garnett's Celtics and the Knicks have a historic rivalry.[40]

In October 2018, it was revealed that the Weeknd, Trinidad James, and Pom Klementieff had joined the cast.[41] The Weeknd specifically requested to play the role as an egotistical punk, saying that was how he treated people in 2012.[8] Klementieff's scenes, apart from a brief cameo during the opening credits, were cut.

Filming

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Principal photography began on September 25, 2018, in New York City,[42] and concluded on November 15.[43] The film was shot by Darius Khondji, primarily on 35 mm film, using vintage anamorphic prime and long zoom lenses. Night sequences were filmed using the Arri Alexa Mini camera outfitted with the same pairing of lens types.[44][45] O'Kiep, South Africa doubled as the Welo mine in Ethiopia, but Ethiopians were cast as extras.[18] For verisimilitude, the filmmakers borrowed real footage from Garnett's NBA games, assuming that it qualified as fair use.[13] The opening and closing sequences were inspired by the gemological photomicrography of Eduard Gübelin and Danny J. Sanchez.[46][47]

Music

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Daniel Lopatin composed the original score.[48] He also recorded several songs with the Weeknd for the film. They were not used, but he has production credits on the Weeknd's 2020 album After Hours.[49] A soundtrack album was released on December 13, 2019, on CD, vinyl, and digital streaming services.[50]

Release

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Uncut Gems had its world premiere at the 46th Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019.[51][52] It screened at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9 and at the 57th New York Film Festival on October 12.[53] It received a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 13 before its nationwide release on December 25.[54] The film was released internationally on Netflix on January 31, 2020, and began streaming on the service in the U.S. on May 25.[55][56]

The Criterion Collection acquired the rights to distribute the film on home video, and issued a DVD in 2021.[57] The Safdies rented and ripped Criterion discs from Netflix growing up; Josh Safdie said that being acquired by Criterion felt like sneaking into a museum.[58]

Reception

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Box office

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The first weekend of its limited release, Uncut Gems made $537,242 at five theaters; its per-venue average of $107,448 was the highest ever for A24 and the second-best of any film released in 2019.[59] It made $241,431 its second weekend in theaters.[60]

Uncut Gems made $5.9 million on the first day of its wide release (including $1.1 million from previews on Christmas Eve), the highest single-day gross in A24 history.[61] It made $18.5 million over the five-day holiday weekend ($9.6 million of that during the weekend proper), finishing sixth at the box office.[62] In its second weekend of wide release, it made $7.5 million, finishing eighth at the box office.[63] By the end of its theatrical run, it had earned $50 million and was A24's highest-grossing film domestically until it was surpassed by Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2022.[64]

Critical response

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Adam Sandler's performance garnered critical acclaim, with several critics deeming it the best of his career.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Uncut Gems has an approval rating of 91% based on 351 reviews, with an average score of 8.4/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Uncut Gems reaffirms the Safdies as masters of anxiety-inducing cinema—and proves Adam Sandler remains a formidable dramatic actor when given the right material."[65] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 93 out of 100 based on reviews by 56 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[66] Audiences polled by CinemaScore during the limited release gave it an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Following the wide release, CinemaScore re-polled audiences and its score declined to "C+", and Uncut Gems received an average score of 2 out of 5 stars on PostTrak.[59][62]

Sandler's performance received acclaim, with some commentators calling it the best of his career.[67][68][69][70] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Many will agree that this is Sandler's best performance, and the Safdies will finally move from the fringes of the commercial film scene to somewhere closer to the center."[71] Some considered Sandler a possible Academy Award for Best Actor nominee.[72] On The Howard Stern Show, he joked that if he did not win an Oscar, he would make the "worst movie ever ... so bad on purpose just to make you all pay."[73] After learning that he had not been nominated, he congratulated Kathy Bates—his co-star in The Waterboy (1998)—on her Best Supporting Actress nomination, and joked that he finally "can stop wearing suits".[72]

Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave Uncut Gems a grade of "A", calling it "a riveting high-wire act, pairing cosmic visuals with the gritty energy of a dark psychological thriller and sudden bursts of frantic comedy".[74] Jake Cole of Slant Magazine gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, writing: "As in Good Time, Uncut Gems finds the Safdies working in a genre rooted in the grimy, character-oriented crime films of the '70s."[75] Radheyan Simonpillai of Now wrote, "there's so much propulsive, forward momentum even when the characters never get anywhere."[76] In her roundup of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, Wendy Ide of The Guardian ranked Uncut Gems one of the best films of the year, calling it "Audacious, thrilling and exhausting" and Sandler's "remarkable performance" one of the best of the year, and praising the cinematography.[77]

Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Directed with relentless tension and diamond-hard intelligence by Josh and Benny Safdie (who earlier this month won directing honors from the New York Film Critics Circle), Uncut Gems is a thriller and a character study, a tragedy and a blast."[70] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it "a cinema of pure energy and grungy voltage, and the Safdies make it look very easy. This will be the year's most exciting film."[78]

The soundtrack and sound editing were acclaimed. Jon Caramanica of the New York Times wrote: "there is no opportunity for sonic escape in 'Uncut Gems,' a film that often sounds like it is itself taking in three movies at once. The thrum of the thing is massive, varied and thick—the noise of the city, a paranoid score, and sometimes you even hear the dialogue."[79] Kevin Garnett's performance was also praised,[80][81] with Brady Langmann of Esquire calling it the year's best breakout performance, and Alan Siegel of The Ringer calling it "one of the best acting performances by an athlete ever".[82][83]

Accolades

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According to a list compiled by Metacritic, Uncut Gems was included on the fifth-most year-end "Top Ten" lists of the best films of 2019 published by major film critics and publications.[84]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result
Casting Society of America[85] January 30, 2020 Feature Big Budget – Comedy Francine Maisler Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards[86] January 12, 2020 Best Picture Uncut Gems Nominated
Best Director Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie Nominated
Best Actor Adam Sandler Nominated
Best Editing Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society[87] December 9, 2019 Best Actor Adam Sandler Nominated
Best Use of Music Uncut Gems Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle[88] December 23, 2019 Best Original Screenplay Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, and Josh Safdie Won
Best Score Daniel Lopatin Won
Golden Raspberry Awards[89] March 16, 2020 Razzie Redeemer Award Adam Sandler Nominated
Gotham Awards[90] December 2, 2019 Best Feature Uncut Gems Nominated
Best Actor Adam Sandler Nominated
Breakthrough Actor Julia Fox Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards[91] February 8, 2020 Best Feature Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, and Sebastian Bear-McClard Nominated
Best Director Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie Won
Best Male Lead Adam Sandler Won
Best Screenplay Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, and Josh Safdie Nominated
Best Editing Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award[92] December 8, 2019 Best Editing Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie Runner-up
National Board of Review[93] January 8, 2020 Best Actor Adam Sandler Won
Best Original Screenplay Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, and Josh Safdie Won
Top Ten Films Uncut Gems Won
New York Film Critics Circle[94] January 7, 2020 Best Director Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie Won
San Diego Film Critics Society[95] December 9, 2019 Best Actor Adam Sandler Nominated
Best Director Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie Won
Best Original Screenplay Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie Runner-up
Best Editing Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie Runner-up
Satellite Awards[96] December 19, 2019 Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Uncut Gems Nominated
Best Actor – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical Adam Sandler Nominated
Saturn Awards[97] 2021 Best Thriller Film Uncut Gems Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society December 19, 2019 Best Picture Uncut Gems Nominated
Best Director Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie Nominated
Best Actor Adam Sandler Nominated
Best Film Editing Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie Won
Best Score Daniel Lopatin Won
St. Louis Film Critics Association[98] December 15, 2019 Best Actor Adam Sandler Won

Legacy

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The A.V. Club ranked Uncut Gems the 92nd-best film of the 2010s.[99] In June 2025, The New York Times named it the 58th-best film of the 21st century,[100] and New York Times readers voted it 72nd-best.[101] In July 2025, Rolling Stone named it the 75th-best.[102]

Uncut Gems influenced the visual language and camera work in the Pixar film Inside Out 2. The main characters are personifications of the feelings of Riley, a teenage girl, and Uncut Gems influenced the framing of Anxiety's scenes, particularly when Anxiety takes charge of Riley's brain.[103][104]

Diamond District workers praised the accurate portrayal of the industry and high-stress setting, though some said that certain aspects of Howard's character were exaggerated for dramatic effect, including his gambling addiction, his large debts, and his willingness to evade anti-smuggling laws.[105][106][107][108] Several real-life industry figures had cameos.[109]

Uncut Gems was the Safdie brothers' last feature film before they dissolved their partnership in 2024,[110] though they also collaborated with Sandler on the 2020 short film Goldman v. Silverman.[111] The Safdies worked on a followup film that also starred Sandler, but Benny dropped out. He said that Josh would continue to work on the film and that he had not made significant contributions during pre-production.[112] After the split, Josh turned his attention to Marty Supreme[113] and shot a Netflix comedy special with Sandler.[111]

References

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  1. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 16, 2017). "A24, Jonah Hill, Scott Rudin, Martin Scorsese & Safdie Brothers Team For 'Uncut Gems' – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  2. ↑ Barfield, Charles (September 12, 2018). "Lakeith Stanfield Joins The Safdie Brothers' 'Uncut Gems' As Netflix Signs On For International Distribution". The Playlist. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Uncut Gems". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Uncut Gems (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Uncut Gems". a24films.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2022. an electrifying crime thriller
  6. 1 2 3 "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century". The New York Times. June 23, 2025. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 12, 2026. Cite error: The named reference "The New York Times-2025" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ↑
  8. 1 2 Willman, Chris (September 10, 2019). "How the Weeknd Came to Play Himself in the Safdie Brothers' Berserk 'Uncut Gems'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  9. ↑ Diamond, Wayne (December 17, 2019). "Meet Wayne Diamond, the man who made Uncut Gems unfuggedable". Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  10. ↑ Harris, Hunter (January 8, 2020). "The Safdie Brothers Explain John Amos's Uncut Gems Cameo". Vulture. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  11. ↑ Dowd, A. A. (December 20, 2019). "The Safdie brothers on Uncut Gems and how they convinced Adam Sandler to take the role of his career". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  12. ↑ www.imdb.com https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5727208/. Retrieved May 22, 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. 1 2 3 Lowe, Zach (December 13, 2019). "Lowe: How Kevin Garnett teamed up with Adam Sandler in 'Uncut Gems'". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  14. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 7, 2019). "How The Safdie Brothers & Scribe Ronald Bronstein Took A Decade To Carve Out 'Uncut Gems' – The Contenders NY". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  15. ↑ Safdie, Benny and Josh Safdie [@@JOSH_BENNY] (April 18, 2012). "Our dad ran gems borough2borough for an outsider gem distributor who was constantly getting ripped off by the fabric around him #inspiration" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2020 – via Twitter.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Adam Sandler's starring role in Uncut Gems almost didn't happen". Vox. December 12, 2019. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Baker, Katie (December 23, 2019). "New York State of Mind: The Hallucinatory World of 'Uncut Gems'". The Ringer. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schwedel, Heather (December 24, 2019). "Uncut Gems' Directors on Making the Most Jewish Movie in Years". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  19. ↑ Ehrlich, David (September 10, 2019). "A ★★★★ review of Uncut Gems (2019)". letterboxd.com. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "An Unserious Man". Jewish Currents. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  21. ↑ Grieving, Tim (December 28, 2019). "Inside 'Uncut Gems': A Cosmic Score In A Frantic Film". NPR. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  22. ↑ Bond, Mindy (December 24, 2019). "What You Missed at A24's Uncut Gems NYC Pop-Up". www.theculturefiles.com. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  23. ↑ Nechamkin, Sarah (December 3, 2019). ""Uncut Gems" and the Delirious Wonder of the American Schmuck". Interview Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  24. ↑ Hoberman, J. (November 23, 2021). "Uncut Gems: "Taking It to the Rack"". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  25. ↑ Pond, Steve (December 26, 2019). "The Safdie Brothers Detail the 10-Year Journey to Make the Adam Sandler Drama 'Uncut Gems'". TheWrap. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  26. 1 2 Hipes, Patrick (September 28, 2018). "Safdie Brothers' 'Uncut Gems' Scores Financing From RT Features & Scorsese's Sikelia – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ryan, Mike (December 10, 2019). "The Safdie Brothers On All The Crazy Casting That Had For 'Uncut Gems'". UPROXX. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  28. 1 2 Adam Sandler Was Offered A Role In "Uncut Gems" 10 Years Ago - CONAN on TBS (video). Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  29. ↑ "'Uncut Gems' directors reveal how the movie would've changed without Adam Sandler (exclusive)". uk.movies.yahoo.com. January 6, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  30. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr (April 3, 2018). "Adam Sandler To Star In 'Uncut Gems' For Safdie Brothers And A24". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Before Adam Sandler Took the Role, James Caan Almost Starred in Uncut Gems". July 11, 2022.
  32. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (August 14, 2018). "Eric Bogosian To Join Adam Sandler In Safdie Brothers & A24's 'Uncut Gems'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  33. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (August 16, 2018). "Adam Sandler, A24 Pic 'Uncut Gems' Adds Hollywood Veteran Judd Hirsch". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  34. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (September 13, 2018). "'Frozen' Star Idina Menzel Joins The Safdie Brothers' Crime Pic 'Uncut Gems'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  35. ↑ Fox, Killian (January 12, 2020). "Uncut Gems star Julia Fox: 'I was nervous… what if I had no idea how to act?'". The Observer.
  36. 1 2 Sneider, Jeff (November 7, 2018). "Kevin Garnett Joins Adam Sandler in A24's Crime Movie 'Uncut Gems'". Collider. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  37. ↑ "This Day in History: Kobe Bryant drops 61 points at MSG in 2009 | NBA.com". www.nba.com. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
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  105. ↑ Greenspan, Rachel E. (January 8, 2020). "'This Is What Most People Go Through Here on the Block.' The Jewelers of the Diamond District on What's Real and What's Fiction in Uncut Gems". TIME. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
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  113. ↑ Shoard, Catherine (December 16, 2025). "'I fear electromagnetic catastrophe': Josh Safdie on Marty Supreme, latent Jewish anxiety and why men are lost". The Guardian. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
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