British distributors Eureka Entertainment have officially announced and detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of Fritz Lang's Spione (1928). The release will be available for purchase on November 17th.
Fritz Lang's penultimate silent film, Spione [Spies], is a flawlessly constructed labyrinthine spy thriller. Hugely influential, Lang's famous passion for meticulous detail combines with masterful story-telling and editing skills to form a relentless tale of intrigue, espionage, and blackmail.
Setting in stone for the first time many elements of the modern spy thriller, Spione perhaps represents the zenith of Lang's silent artistry.
Special Features: New high-definition 1080p presentation of the film on the Blu-ray Original German intertitles with optional English subtitles 69 minute documentary about the film • 40-PAGE BOOKLET including new and exclusive writing by critic Murielle Joudet and an essay by Jonathan Rosenbaum
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have officially announced their upcoming Ultimate Collector's Edition of Fritz Lang's futuristic epic Metropolis. The release will be available for purchase on January 19, 2015.
Metropolis Ultimate Collector's Edition, the mother of all sci-fi films and a major influence on Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), George Lucas (Star Wars), and pop culture in general (referenced by Madonna, Beyonce and countless others) will be re-released in a 2-disc Blu-ray set in brand new SteelBook packaging, now featuring Giorgio Moroder presents: Metropolis and a 45-min documentary exploring the film's rediscovery. Limited to just 4000 units worldwide and including an opportunity with every SteelBook to win a unique bespoke Metropolis engraved solid gold bar, Metropolis Ultimate Collector's Edition will be released as part of the Masters of Cinema Series.
With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot, Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars, among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse,The Big Heat, etc.), its jaw-dropping production values, iconic imagery, and modernist grandeur – it was described by Luis Buñuel as "a captivating symphony of movement" – remain as powerful as ever.
Drawing on – and defining – classic sci-fi themes, Metropolis depicts a dystopian future in which society is thoroughly divided in two: while anonymous workers conduct their endless drudgery below ground their rulers enjoy a decadent life of leisure and luxury. When Freder (Gustav Fröhlich) ventures into the depths in search of the beautiful Maria (Brigitte Helm in her debut role), plans of rebellion are revealed and a Maria-replica robot is programmed by mad inventor Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and master of Metropolis Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel) to incite the workers into a self-destructive riot.
A "Holy Grail" among film finds, Metropolis is presented here in its reconstructed and restored version, as lavish and spectacular as ever thanks to the painstaking archival work of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung and the discovery of 25 minutes of footage until recently thought lost to the world. Lang's enduring epic can be seen as the director originally intended, and as seen by German cinema-goers in 1927.
Special Features: Opportunity in every SteelBook to win a unique bespoke Metropolis engraved solid gold bar, Weight Approx. 180g 150-minute reconstructed and restored 2010 version (including 25 minutes of footage previously thought lost to the world) Metropolis Refound - a 2010 documentary by Evangelina Loguerico exploring the rediscovery of the most complete print of the Fritz Lang masterpiece in an Argentinean film museum. Giorgio Moroder presents: Metropolis - the 1984 re-imaging of Metropolis featuring a soundtrack by Moroder himself and artists such as Adam Ant, Pat Benatar, Freddie Mercury and many more. The Fading Image – Documentary which goes behind the scenes of Giorgio Moroder's restoration and scoring Pristine HD transfer (1080p on Blu-ray) 2010 symphony orchestra studio recording of the original 1927 Gottfried Huppertz score in 5.1 Newly translated optional English subtitles as well as the original German intertitles Full-length audio commentary by David Kalat and Jonathan Rosenbaum Die Reise nach Metropolis (2010, 53 minutes), a documentary about the film 2010 re-release trailer 56-page booklet featuring archival interviews with Fritz Lang, a 1927 review by Luis Buñuel, articles by Jonathan Rosenbaum and Karen Naundorf, and restoration notes by Martin Koerber and more!
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have officially announced and detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of Raymond Bernard's Wooden Crosses (1932). The release will be available for purchase on March 30.
Synopsis: The film that most firmly established the talent of French director Raymond Bernard before his epic adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les misérables, Wooden Crosses [Le croix de bois] was widely hailed at the time of its release in 1932 for its searing depiction of the horrors of the European front during World War I; subsequently, Bernard was named soldier of honour of the 39th Infantry Division.
Adapted from a novel by Roland Dorgelès (a former corporal of the 39th), Wooden Crosses offers a kaleidoscope of cinematographic technique to present a visceral, enveloping recreation of one regiment's experience of battlefield hell. (Its entire cast is comprised of war veterans.) It is an epic tapestry that rivals John Ford's Four Sons and Lewis Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front in both its poetry of trauma and steadfastness of conviction that war must be held in contempt.
Special Features: New HD 1080p presentation of the film from Pathé's astonishing 2014 restoration Optional English subtitles Video interview with historian Marc Ferro and film historian Laurent Veray A short documentary on the new restoration Wooden Crosses: A Sonic Adventure, documentary exploring early sound design Archival interview with Roland Dorgelès Archival interview with Raymond Bernard Vintage 1914 newsreels Documentary piece on early 20th century poster artist Adrien Barrère The Absent Battle, the Omnipresent War, a collection of photography from WWI taken by André Schnellbach who served with Dorgelès in the 39th Booklet featuring a new and exclusive interview by film critic Emmanuel Burdeau, and rare archival material.
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have officially announced and detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of director Sidney Lumet's The Offence (1972), starring Sean Connery, Trevor Howard, Vivien Merchant, Peter Bowles, and Ian Bannen. The release will be available for purchase on April 20.
"After 20 years, what Detective-Sergeant Johnson has seen and done is destroying him." — In their third screen collaboration, the iconic Sean Connery and director Sidney Lumet (Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon) plumb the depths of what is perhaps their most psychologically complex creation: a member of the British Police Force who has perhaps witnessed one horror too many.
Two decades into a career marked by fraught investigations into murders and sex crimes, Detective-Sergeant Johnson (Connery) loses all composure whilst conducting an interrogation with a suspected rapist, assaulting him and, subsequently, beating him to death. The lead-up to this moment is charted across the course of the film in a careful flashback structure... and the lines between guilt and innocence, protector and sadist, become ineradicably blurred.
Released only one year before the director's Serpico and almost a decade before Prince of the City, The Offence offers an early Lumetian investigation into the psyche of a policeman under duress, and the potential for corruption within a high-stakes profession.
Special Features: New 1080p presentation of the film on the Blu-ray 32-PAGE BOOKLET with a new essay on the film by Mike Sutton, an archival interview with Sidney Lumet, and more!
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have revealed that they are planning to release on Blu-ray Samuel Fuller's Pickup on South Street (1953), starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, and Richard Kiley. The release will be available for purchase on May 18.
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will release on Blu-ray Peter Bogdanovich's film Paper Moon (1973), starring Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, and Noble Willingham. The release will be available for purchase on May 18.
Continuing a run of Seventies smash-hits for director Peter Bogdanovich after the enormous success of his The Last Picture Show and What's Up, Doc?, Paper Moon saw the filmmaker sustaining his collaboration with actor Ryan O'Neal, and introduced the world to the precocious talent of the future Barry Lyndon star's daughter Tatum, then 10, who for her performance was the youngest-ever actress to be awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
After meeting a newly orphaned girl named Addie Loggins (Tatum O'Neal), con man Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal), who may or may not be Addie's father, is enlisted to deliver the newly orphaned Addie to her aunt in Missouri. Shortly after however, the two realise that together they make an efficient scam-artist duo. Adventure ensues as the pair blaze through the American Midwest, stealing, swindling, and selling the moon…
With its stunning black-and-white cinematography shot by the great László Kovács and its superb evocation of Depression-era locales, Paper Moon endures as one of the key American comedies of the 1970s. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film in its UK home viewing premiere in a new Dual-Format edition.
Special Features: Glorious new 1080p transfer of the film Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Full-length audio commentary with director Peter Bogdanovich A group of documentaries about the making of the film 36-PAGE BOOKLET featuring a new essay on the film by Mike Sutton, rare production stills, and more!
French label Carlotta Films has sent us an official theatrical trailer for the recent 4K restoration of director King Hu's classic film Dragon Inn (1967), starring Paula Tsui Siu-Fung, Wong Jun, Liu Ching, Lam Lam, Yip Ching, and Yee Yuen. The film will open in cinemas across France on August 12.
In 2014, the 4K restoration was introduced in the Classics section of the Cannes Film Festival.
Synopsis: In the mid-Ming dynasty, a loyal and upright Minister Yu is accused and killed by the evil and powerful eunuch Cao. Yu's children are sentenced to exile to the border Dragon Gate. Cao sends several assassins to kill Yu's children on their way, yet failed. Cao then sends killers of East Chamber, the espionage agency. The righteous swordsman Xiao and Yu's former staffs come to Dragon Inn to rescue Yu's children. The two groups have many fights there. Then Cao himself comes and has fierce fights with Xiao and others. In the end, Cao dies and Yu's children are saved.
4K Restoration Details:
L'Immagine Ritrovata film laboratory received Dragon Inn materials from the Chinese Taipei Film Archive.
The subject of this project was the preservation of the original material of Dragon Inn by digitization in 4K resolution, and the restoration of the film in 4k by producing a set of digital elements. The original film negative is generally in good preservation condition. The restoration of Dragon Inn was aimed at solving the main issues: flickering, tramlines, major dirt and scratches and all splice-marks, jittering, tilting and in general unstable image. The only very tricky part was a tear going along 7 frames in reel 2, that was solved with manual clone reconstruction and luminance adjustment. Due to the high number of scratches, a final speckle filter was applied, for a wet-gate scratch removal effect without creating many single artifacts. There was no vintage copy available to be used as a reference for color restoration. The notes provided by the Taipei Film Archive and the research carried out on the film were key information for this task. The condition of the sound positive was excellent. Only a slight cross modulation distortion was present, due to image spread (an effect caused by wrong exposure of the print). This required an extra high-frequencies work. (Courtesy of CFF).
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of director King Hu's classic film Dragon Inn (1967), starring starring Paula Tsui Siu-Fung, Wong Jun, Liu Ching, Lam Lam, Yip Ching, and Yee Yuen. The release will be available for purchase on September 28.
Eureka Entertainment to release King Hu's DRAGON INN, the influential 1967 blockbuster which broke box-office records on release in Taiwan, Korea and the Philippines, on Blu-ray in a Dual Format edition for the first time in the UK on 28 September 2015.
A quintessential entryway into the highly stylized, tightly choreographed wuxia genre of martial arts cinema, Dragon Inn was a global breakthrough for the form's greatest practitioner, King Hu. Its influence remains incalculable, from its annihilation of traditional expectations of what kind of role an actress should inhabit (also chipped away at by Hu's previous masterpiece Come Drink with Me), to the formation of many of the genre's archetypes — such as the Eunuch, the Swordswoman, and the Family of Murdered Loyal Officials — that are still recognizable in the martial arts films of today.
It's the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The powerful eunuch Cao (Pai Ying) has killed the Loyal Minister Yu, and Yu's children are exiled to the border, whereupon Cao undertakes efforts to massacre the remnants of the family. As Yu's children take refuge in the Dragon Gate Inn, Xiao the righteous swordsman (Shih Jun) and the surviving loyalists of Minister Yu engage in a series of battles to the death against the forces of the blood thirsty eunuch.
After having returned to the spotlight in 2003 as the backdrop for Tsai Ming-liang's modern classic Good Bye Dragon Inn, Hu's film is again resurrected by way of the dazzling 2014 4K restoration presented here, so that a new generation may revel in some of the most astonishing action sequences ever committed to film: Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly in a dance of death, pointing forward to the modern films of Tsui Hark and Johnnie To. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Dragon Inn for the first time in the UK in a Dual Format special edition.
Special Features: Gorgeous 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray from the 2014 4K Chinese Taipei Film Archive restoration New documentary and interview material to be announced soon Optional English subtitles 36-PAGE BOOKLET containing a testimonial about King Hu by Tsui Hark; the eight characteristics of "the inn" in King Hu's films; a King Hu dossier; archival imagery; and more!
British distributors Eureka Entertainment will add two new titles to their Blu-ray catalog: John Frankenheimer's Seconds (1966) and Cornel Wilde's The Naked Prey (1965). The two releases will be available for purchase in October.
The Naked Prey
Known mostly as an actor of the studio era, Cornel Wilde took on a parallel career as an independent producer, writer, and director to create a series of films that explored man in the midst of extreme dramatic situations and The Naked Prey is perhaps his most personal and violent rumination.
Set in nineteenth-century Africa's colonial periods, Wilde portrays an unnamed safari guide whose group encounters and subsequently insults a local tribe. Following the execution of the other party members, Wilde alone is the last to be spared and is given a head start to elude his pursuers as game to be hunted for retributive satisfaction, unless and until he can attain safety...
The Naked Prey remains a special entry in the cinema of actors-turned-auteurs, which also includes such luminaries as Robert Montgomery, Charles Laughton, and Ida Lupino. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Wilde's most ruthless picture for the first time in the UK in a Dual Format special edition.
STREET DATE: OCTOBER 19.
Seconds
Academy Award nominee Rock Hudson delivers a power-house performance in this critically acclaimed suspense-thriller from director John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate, Seven Days in May and three-time Emmy Award winner).
Desperate to escape his dreary, dead-end life, aging banker Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) succumbs to a mysterious organization's offer of a new identity and a fresh start. Surgically transformed into the handsome, young Tony Wilson (Hudson), he begins a jet-set existence among a shadowy community of similar "Reborns". But Tony's heady exhilaration spirals into a heart-stopping terror as he discovers that his newly purchased life carries a terrifying price.
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have confirmed that they will add three new titles to their Blu-ray catalog in November: John Ford's The Quiet Man (1952), George Stevens' Shane (1953), and Byron Haskin's Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964).
Robinson Crusoe on Mars
A futuristic retelling of Daniel Defoe's classic story, Robinson Crusoe on Mars has gained a beloved cult reputation ever since its debut in the years leading up to the space race. As a mingling of speculative science-fiction with an extraordinary visual design, it proved to have a significant influence on fantasy filmmaking on both the big and small screen.
Paul Mantee plays American astronaut Kit Draper, stranded (with his pet monkey in tow) on the Red Planet after an emergency crash landing. Now he must find ways to adapt and survive, physically and emotionally, in the alien landscape - but he may not be as alone as he thought...
Shot in magnificent Techniscope, Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a landmark for fans of genre cinema, and remains a uniquely charming and thrilling adventure, filled with contemplative humanity and wild imagination.
Special Features: Gorgeous 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray Original theatrical trailer Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing 24-page booklet featuring an essay on the film, rare archival imagery, and MORE! STREET DATE: NOVEMBER 23.
Shane
One of the landmark and most enduring Westerns of the 1950s, George Stevens' Shane struck a chord with audiences at the time of its release, and continues to influence admirers today, even as it served as a template for the series of groundbreaking spaghetti-westerns of Sergio Leone.
Alan Ladd plays the titular gunslinger, the archetypal 'man alone' who wanders into town and shortly afterward becomes embroiled in a conflict between a group of Wyoming homesteaders and the nefarious cattle baron who has designs to wrest away their land. As the conflict escalates, and a romance develops between Shane and homesteader Marian Starrett (Jean Arthur in her last screen role before an early retirement from motion pictures), a who's-who of studio system character talent revolves through the production - Van Heflin, Jack Palance, Elisha Cook, Jr. - before the proverbial ride into the sunset...
Writing in The New York Times in 2001, Woody Allen said: 'Shane, I think, is [Stevens'] masterpiece. I've seen it many, many times. Certainly more than 20.'
Special Features: Gorgeous 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray Full length audio-commentary by George Stevens, Jr. and Ivan Moffat Original theatrical trailer Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing 24-page booklet containing writing on the film, archival imagery, and MORE! STREET DATE: NOVEMBER 16.
The Quiet Man
An exemplary entry in the filmography of master director John Ford, The Quiet Man contains all the aspects that mark Ford s work: a poetic, deeply felt sentiment for an unregainable past, for tradition and ceremony, for the country of Ireland and its emigrant bloodlines, for the camaraderie within community, and for the profound yet mutable bond of the marital union. Within a seven-decade career filled with high points, The Quiet Man represents one of Ford's highest, and from his richest period.
Set in the 1920s, The Quiet Man stars John Wayne as Sean Thornton, an Irish-born American who has travelled to his birthplace of Innisfree to lay claim to his family farm. Although warmly embraced by the denizens of the village, Thornton s outsider status is thrown into relief when the abrasive landowner Squire Will Danahan (Victor McLaglen) objects both to the turnover of the land, and to the handing over of his sister Mary Kate s (Maureen O Hara) dowry to the man whose community stature now threatens to show up his own. What follows is a confrontation with custom and with the personal past, all before an unforgettable extended brawl sprawling the entire very countryside whereupon nothing less hinges than the peace of Innisfree itself.
Winton Hoch s astonishing Technicolor cinematography (for which he won an Academy Award) has cemented the images of The Quiet Man within the minds and hearts of viewers across the decades. This is a film that, with its epic, yet intimate, canvas and its near-Shakespearean sense of character only grows in power over time and the more times it is seen. It is an ideal entry-point into Ford s massive body of work, and a summation of his art; as a result, Ford was awarded the 1952 Oscar for Best Director.
Special Features: Gorgeous 1080p restoration of the film on Blu-ray, years in the making New and exclusive video essay on the film by Ford expert and scholar Tag Gallagher The Making of THE QUIET MAN documentary Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing 36-page booklet featuring the words of Ford, writing on the film, rare archival imagery, and MORE! STREET DATE: NOVEMBER 23.
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will release on Blu-ray Samuel Fuller's Fixed Bayonets! (1951), starring Richard Basehart, Gene Evans, Michael O'Shea, Craig Hill, and Skip Homeier. The release will be available for purchase on February 15, 2016.
Synopsis: Iconoclastic American director Samuel Fuller's first production for a major studio was this tense, snowbound Korean War drama.
A small platoon of army grunts are ordered to stay behind to protect a 15,000-man division as it moves out under heavy enemy fire. One corporal, whom the platoon has mistakenly come to believe is a hero, is left with the responsibility of protecting the men - a decision that may cost them dearly amidst escalating and unpredictable circumstances.
One of Hollywood's most impassioned and unvarnished war films, bursting with first-hand detail from Fuller's own experiences of soldier life in World War Two, and rendered unforgettably with his inimitably vivid filmmaking style, Fixed Bayonets! features Richard Basehart (La Strada), Fuller regular Gene Evans (Park Row, Shock Corridor) and an early appearance by James Dean. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film in a new Dual-Format special edition.
Special Features: New 4K restoration by Twentieth Century Fox Uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray Audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin Original theatrical trailer Gallery of production and publicity photos Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Glenn Kenny and excerpts from Fuller's autobiography A Third Face
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of Sydney Pollack's classic thriller Three Days of the Condor (1975), starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow, and John Houseman. The release will be available for purchase on April 11.
Synopsis: Robert Redford and director Sydney Pollack teamed up for their third collaboration on Three Days of the Condor, a sinuous tale of deceit and corruption, as well as one of Hollywood's finest conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s.
Redford stars as Joe Turner, a junior analyst in the C.I.A., scrutinising published texts from around the world for coded messages. But once he discovers an unusual anomaly, his own existence comes crashing down, with every error carrying fatal consequences.
Special Features: New high-definition presentation Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired Stereo and 5.1 soundtrack options Exclusive new video interview with film historian Sheldon Hall The Directors: Sydney Pollack, a career-spanning appreciation of the director's works Original theatrical trailer 32-PAGE BOOKLET featuring a new essay on the film by critic Michael Brooke, an extensive interview with Pollack, and archival images.
British distributors Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will add a number of new titles to their Blu-ray catalog. Amongst them are Wolfgang Petersen's Enemy Mine, Billy Wilder's Fedora, and Robert Aldrich's The Flight of the Phoenix.
That Cold Day in the Park
Just prior to his career breakthrough M*A*S*H*, director Robert Altman made That Cold Day in the Park, a memorably unsettling psychological thriller, which originally premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Special Features: New high-definition master Uncompressed audio on the Blu-ray New video interview with critic and filmmaker David Thompson, editor of Altman on Altman English subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired STREET DATE: JUNE 20.
Buster Keaton: The Complete Short Films 1917-1923
A 4-Disc Blu-ray Box, containing thirty-two films with a running time of over 740 minutes this collection documents Buster Keaton s short films between 1917-1923 and captures Keaton's first steps in front of a camera. This box set charts his early association with ex-Keystone Kop Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle through to starring in, headlining, and directing his own box office smash hits.
STREET DATE: JULY 18.
Fedora
One of Billy Wilder's most poignant films, Fedora, tells the tale of an American producer (William Holden) who tries to lure the reclusive actress Fedora (Marthe Keller) out of retirement. Full of melancholy and sadness Fedora is as impressive today as when it was first released.
STREET DATE: AUGUST 8.
F.W. Murnau: Five Films 1921-1926
One of the most revered directors of early cinema, the legendary F. W. Murnau created many masterpieces that are still unrivalled today in their beauty, mystery and horror. During his pre-Hollywood career he made his most influential features. Presented for the first time in the world in high-definition are five of these masterpieces, Schloß Vogelöd, Phantom, Der Letzte Mann, The Grand Duke's Finances and Tartuffe, which will be released in a Special Masters of Cinema Edition 2-disc Blu-ray box set.
STREET DATE: AUGUST 22.
Cocoon
Ron Howard's Cocoon won two Academy Awards when released twenty years ago and is still as charming now as it ever was. When visitors from outer space arrive on earth for a rescue mission to retrieve a secret that has laid here for a thousand years, they share a wondrous adventure of love and friendship with a group of senior citizens.
STREET DATE: JULY 18.
The Flight of the Phoenix
Robert Aldrich's Oscar nominated film, Flight of the Phoenix, follows the plight of the survivors of a plane crash fighting to repair the wreckage into a machine of flight. Starring Richard Attenborough and James Stewart, this classic adventure is beautifully realised and wonderfully acted, and will be released in a Special Masters of Cinema Blu-ray edition.
STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 12.
Enemy Mine
From director Wolfgang Petersen (Troy, The Never Ending Story) comes Enemy Mine, a tale of two enemies thrown together in a hostile world where to survive they must become allies. Starring Dennis Quaid and Louis Gosset Jr. this sci-fi adventure is a tale of an unexpected friendship and newly found respect. Eureka Classics present the film in high-definition for the first time in the UK in a special edition Blu-ray.
STREET DATE: JUNE 20.
Queen of Earth
Elisabeth Moss delivers a fearless performance in this tour-de-force portrait of psychological breakdown. In her second collaboration with acclaimed director Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip), she stars as Catherine, a woman careening towards emotional collapse after a one-two punch of heartbreaking events. Seeking peace and solitude, she heads to the secluded lakehouse of her best friend, Virginia (Inherent Vice's Katherine Waterston). But their quiet country retreat becomes a journey into steadily mounting hysteria as past and present collide and the love-hate relationship between the two women threatens to tear them apart. Driven by Moss' unforgettable performance, this darkly funny psychological thriller immerses viewers in the shattered mind of a woman on the edge.(Synopsis courtesy of IFC Films).
STREET DATE: LATE 2016.
Sweet Bean
Festival darling Naomi Kawase's latest picture AN (SWEET BEAN) has been screened in almost every important festival over the last year, including entry into the prestigious Un Certain Regard category at Cannes and a spot at the London Film Festival.
The owner of a street food stall finds himself confronted with an odd but sympathetic elderly lady looking for work. One taste of her home-made bean jelly convinces him, starting a relationship that is about much more than just street food.
British distributors Eureka Entertainment will add to their Blu-ray catalog director Stanley Kubrick's film Paths of Glory (1957), starring Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, and Wayne Morris. The release will be available for purchase on September 19.
Synopsis: A shattering masterpiece by one of the medium's greatest artists, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory announced the definitive arrival of a towering figure in cinema.
In the French front lines of World War I, after giving the order for an impossible and disastrous mission to capture a nearby stronghold, the upper ranks move to save face by having three randomly selected soldiers held and tried for cowardice under pain of death. Their leader, Colonel Dax (in a powerhouse performance by Kirk Douglas) a former lawyer in civilian life, handles their defence against overwhelming odds.
A stylistically astonishing, emotionally overwhelming anti-war drama, Paths of Glory is one of the screen's most brilliant condemnations of the power structures guiding warfare.
Special Features: New video interview with Kubrick scholar Peter Kramer New video interview with filmmaker Richard Ayoade New audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin Original theatrical trailer English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired Isolated music & effects track PLUS: A booklet featuring the words of Kubrick, and more!
British label Eureka Entertainment has announced that it will add a number of new titles to its Blu-ray catalog. Amongst them are Rupert Wainwright's Stigmata, Robert Aldrich's Twilight's Last Gleaming, and Tobias Nölle's Alloys.
Twilight's Last Gleaming
High among idiosyncratic auteur Robert Aldrich's most powerful and intense dramas, Twilight's Last Gleaming is a thunderous political thriller and race-against-time doomsday classic.
Burt Lancaster stars as the Air Force general Lawrence Dell who seizes control of a stockpile of nuclear missiles to force the US President (Charles Durning) to tell the truth about the Vietnam war. As negotiations get ever more desperate, General MacKenzie (Richard Widmark) leads an elite fighting team into the complex to disable Dell and his team directly.
Special Features and Technical Specs: High-definition digital restoration Uncompressed PCM audio on the Blu-ray English subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired "Aldrich Over Munich - The Making of Twilight's Last Gleaming" documentary PLUS: A booklet featuring new writing and archival images STREET DATE: OCTOBER 17.
Aloys
Aloys Adorn is a middle-aged private detective who lives and works with his father. He experiences life from a safe distance, through a video camera he keeps recording 24 hours a day, and the massive collection of surveillance tapes he organises and obsessively watches at home. But when his father dies, Aloys is left on his own and his sheltered existence begins to fall apart. After a night of heavy drinking, Aloys wakes up on a public bus to find that his camera and precious observation tapes have been stolen. Soon after, a mysterious woman calls to blackmail him. She offers to return the tapes if Aloys will try an obscure Japanese invention called 'telephone walking' with her, using his imagination as their only connection. As he is drawn deeper and deeper, falling in love with the voice on the other end of the phone, the woman opens up a new universe that may allow Aloys to break out of his isolation and into the real world.
Making its premiere at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival in 2016, Tobias Nölle's film has been compared to the works of the like of Charlie Kaufmann. Beautifully lensed and scored Aloys is a feast for the senses, Eureka entertainment are proud to present this film for the first time in the world on Blu-ray and DVD.
Special Features and Technical Specs: 1080p High Definition transfer 5.1 and stereo soundtrack options Optional English subtitles Original Theatrical Trailer (UK & Ireland) STREET DATE: OCTOBER 24.
Jinnah
An epic biopic about the life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Christopher Lee), the man who created the Muslim nation of Pakistan in the wake of Great Britain's relinquishment of control over India. After his death in 1948, Jinnah awaits final judgement in the afterlife and must tell the story of his life, before celestial bureaucrats decide his fate. Covering the political strife and bloody events that led to the formation of Pakistan, Jinnah is an intelligent and moving piece of cinema, with a performance by Sir Christopher Lee that he personally believed to be the finest of his career.
STREET DATE: OCTOBER 10.
Wolf Creek: The Complete First Series
Murderous psychopath Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) returns in Wolf Creek, an epic 6-part continuation of the international horror film sensation of the same name. Mick stills prowls the Australian Outback, brutally murdering any tourists unfortunate enough to cross his path, and having a ripper of a time doing it.
It's business as usual for Mick when he comes across the Thorogood family, on holiday to experience the outdoors, enjoy the open road, and help their 19-year-old daughter Eve (Lucy Fry) overcome her addiction to painkillers. Mick targets the family and a bloody massacre ensues, but this time things are different. Eve survives (barely) and manages to escape. After recovering from her injuries, Eve sets out on a cross country mission of vengeance, determined to hunt down Mick Taylor and end his killing spree once and for all. The hunter has become the hunted.
Highly cinematic in style and filled with all the bloody violence and dark humour that made the original film a sensation, Wolf Creek is a horror series like no other, and is not to be missed. First shown on Fox UK in August / September 2016, the 6-part mini-series will be available to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD as a 2-disc Blu-ray set and a 2-disc DVD set, two days after the series finale has aired on Fox UK.
STREET DATE: OCTOBER 6.
Stigmata
When Frankie Paige (Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette, True Romance, Boyhood), a young hairdresser from Pittsburgh, begins to suffer the stigmata – a physical manifestation of Jesus Christ's crucifixion wounds – the Vatican's top investigator, Father Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne, Miller's Crossing, The Usual Suspects) is sceptical of their authenticity. However, as the severity of the wounds increases, Kiernan realises Frankie has become the vessel for an extraordinary and provocative message that threatens the very foundations of the Catholic Church, and now the stigmata is not the only thing threatening her life.
Also starring Jonathan Pryce in a supporting role and featuring a fantastic cutting-edge score by The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and Elia Cmíral, Stigmata is a visually stunning, intelligent supernatural horror.
Special Features and Specs: 1080p High Definition transfer 5.1 and uncompressed stereo soundtrack options Isolated music & effects track Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Feature-length audio commentary with director Rupert Wainwright Divine Rights: The Story of Stigmata Deleted scenes Alternate ending Music Video – "Identify" By Natalie Imbruglia Original theatrical trailer STREET DATE: OCTOBER 17.
British label Eureka Entertainment will add various new titles to its Blu-ray catalog in March and April. Amongst them are Tom Holland's Fright Night, John Ford's Two Rode Together, and James Hill's Born Free.
Two Rode Together
Stewart plays gloriously against type as Marshal Guthrie McCabe, a cynical and amoral U.S. Marshal assigned to trade guns with the fearsome Comanche in exchange for hostages, with the promise of a large reward if he is successful. McCabe and old friend Lieutenant Jim Gary (Richard Widmark, Pickup on South St, Kiss of Death) set out to track down the Comanche and their captives, with tragic consequences for all involved.
With a screenplay by Frank Nugent (The Searchers) and cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr. (The Lady from Shanghai, 3:10 to Yuma), Two Rode Together was one of the first Westerns to recognize the dignity and value of the Native American way of life and the Masters of Cinema series is proud to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK in a special Dual-Format edition.
STREET DATE: MARCH 13.
Born Free
This wondrous true adventure from the best-selling novel about a woman who raised a lioness and eventually set her free is beautifully photographed on the vast, golden savannas of central Africa.
When game warden George Adamson (Bill Travers) is forced to kill a menacing lion and lioness, he and his wife Joy (Virginia McKenna) adopt their three cubs. Two are sent off to zoos, but the third is kept – a female they name Elsa – to which they have become particularly attached. When Elsa becomes a full grown lioness, the Adamsons realise that she must be set free and taught to survive on her own. A year later the Adamsons return to the savanna and are surprised by a very special welcome from their old friend.
Highly acclaimed for its cinematography and music, Born Free is a story of courage and love, nature, and a relationship unlike any other ever filmed. Eureka Entertainment is proud to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, in a special Dual-Format edition.
STREET DATE: MARCH 20.
Fright Night
He's sweet, sexy, and he likes to get in late. You might think he's the perfect neighbour. But before inviting Jerry in for a nightcap, there's something you should know. Jerry prefers his drinks warm, red, and straight from the jugular! It's Fright Night, a horrific howl starring Chris Sarandon as the seductive vampire and William Ragsdale as the frantic teenager struggling to keep Jerry's deadly fangs out of his neck.
Only 17-year-old Charley Brewster (Ragsdale) knows Jerry's bloodcurdling secret. When Charley can't get anybody to believe him, he turns to TV horror host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), who used to be the "Great Vampire Killer" of the movies. Can these mortals save Charley and his sweetheart Amy (Amanda Bearse) from the wrathful bloodsucker's toothy embrace? If you love being scared, Fright Night will give you the nightmare of your life!
SPECIAL FEATURES: 4K digital restoration Original stereo PCM soundtrack and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio options (on the Blu-ray) English subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired You're So Cool, Brewster! A new two-hour version of the definitive 2016 documentary on the making of Fright Night, focusing on the first film, created exclusively for this release What is Fright Night featurette, a 2016 video piece featuring cast and crew interviews (BLU-RAY ONLY) Tom Holland: Writing Horror, a 2016 video piece featuring interviews with Holland and his collaborators (BLU-RAY ONLY) Rowdy McDowall: From Apes to Bats, a 2016 video piece featuring archival footage of McDowall and cast and crew interviews (BLU-RAY ONLY) Fear Fest 2 2008 reunion panel featuring Tom Holland, Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Stephen Geoffreys, Amanda Bearse, Jonathan Stark and moderated by Rob Galluzzo (BLU-RAY ONLY) Shock Till You Drop Present Choice Cuts with Tom Holland and Ryan Turek, a three-part video interview on the film (BLU-RAY ONLY) The full electronic press kit, featuring extensive on-set interviews and behind-the-scenes footage (BLU-RAY ONLY) Stills and memorabilia from Tom Holland's personal collection (BLU-RAY ONLY) G-rated and R-rated theatrical trailers (BLU-RAY ONLY) STREET DATE: APRIL 10.
Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis
Based on the classic comic created by revered manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka (Astroboy), written by anime legend Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and directed by Rintaro (Galaxy Express 999), Metropolis is a spectacular film featuring stunning imagery and unforgettable characters.
In the industrial, tri-level world of Metropolis, Duke Red is a powerful leader with plans to unveil a highly advanced robot named Tima. But Duke Reds violent son Rock distrusts robots and intends to find and destroy Tima. Lost in the confusing labyrinth beneath Metropolis, Tima is beginning a friendship with the young nephew of a Japanese detective. But when Duke Red separates the two innocents, Timas life – and the fate of the universe – is dangerously at stake.
Special Features: Japanese and English DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks on the Blu-ray Optional English Subtitles The Making of Osamu Tezukas Metropolis a documentary on the films production Interviews with the films creators Multi-angle animation comparisons Original Trailer Standard Dual Format edition to feature reversible sleeve STREET DATE: MARCH 13.
Harmonium
From the director of Au Revoir L'Ete and Hospitalité, Fukada's HARMONIUM is an off-kilter take on that most venerable of Japanese genres — the family drama, which screened to great acclaim at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Un Certain Regard Jury prize.
In this slow-burn Japanese thriller Toshio invites an old acquaintance, Yasaka (just released from prison) to come and live with his family. Toshio lives above the small workshop that he owns with his wife, Akie, and their daughter, Hotaru. It is not clear why Toshio offers Yasaka a job; it doesn't seem to be out of friendship or goodwill. Akie and Hotaru are wary of the new lodger, but with his persistent charm and goodwill, Yasaka befriends Toshio's wife Akié and as Yasaka starts teaching their daughter Hotaru to play the harmonium, the family's fragile domestic bliss is forever altered. Director Kôji Fukada is a master of incremental development, drawing the audience into the unfolding outcome.
'Expertly calibrated to reflect emotional realities … the film's insights into the isolation evident in the relationships most take for granted – marriages, parent-child connections and long-term friendships – don't merely hit their targets; they smash them with a sledgehammer.' (Screen Daily).
STREET DATE: JUNE 19.
ALSO COMING TO BLU-RAY IN 2017
Drunken Master
The Original Kung Fu Comedy! Won Fei Hung (Jackie Chan) stars as the mischievous young son of a martial arts school master who is constantly clowning around when he should be learning kung fu. After his comic antics injure the son of a powerful local man, his father enlists the help of his sadisticuncle to teach his son a little self-discipline. This strange man, who has a reputation for crippling his students, tries to teach Fei Hung a bizarre style of kung fu. At first, Fei Hung resists, butafter losing a fight with a local assassin who has been hired to kill his father, he realizes he must master the special art of the 's trademark slapstick comedy, DRUNKEN MASTER ushered in the new genre of kung fu comedy and established Chan as its uncontested king.
The Buster Keaton Collection
Featuring Buster Keaton's The General, Sherlock Jr., and Steamboat Bill.
Destiny
Synopsis: When a woman's fiancé disappears, Death gives her three chances to save him from his fate. 2K digital restoration by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation.
British label Eureka Entertainment will add three new titles to its Blu-ray catalog: Lubitsch in Berlin (1918-1921), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), and Suntan (2016).
British label Eureka Entertainment will add three new titles to its Blu-ray catalog: Lubitsch in Berlin (1918-1921), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), and Suntan (2016).
Special Features and Specs: 4K Restoration of the film Optional stereo PCM soundtrack and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio options Isolated music and effects track Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Audio Commentary with Actress Diane Baker and Film Historians Steven C. Smith & Nick Redman New video interview with critic and author Kim Newman Featurette on the film's restoration Original theatrical trailer PLUS: A booklet featuring an original review of the film from 1959; a poster gallery; and a selection of rare archival imagery STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 11.
Lubitsch in Berlin
Synopsis: Before he arrived in Hollywood to leave his indelible (and inimitable) mark on timeless comedies like Trouble in Paradise and The Shop Around the Corner, Ernst Lubitsch created an expansive body of work in Germany that proved to be as varied in its tone as it was sophisticated in its measure of man and woman. This set collects six recently restored works from the silent phase of Lubitsch's career, and casts new light on the director both as a fully-formed comic master, and as a virtuoso of cinematographic technique.
Featuring : Ich möchte kein Mann sein [I Don't Want to Be a Man] (1918), Die Puppe [The Doll] (1919), Die Austernprinzessin [The Oyster Princess] (1919), Sumurun (1920), Anna Boleyn (1920) and Die Bergkatze [The Mountain Cat] (1921).
Special Features and Specs: High-definition restored transfers of all six films Original German intertitles with optional English subtitles Robert Fischer's 2006 feature-length documentary Ernst Lubitsch in Berlin: From Schönhauser Allee to Hollywood Exclusive concertina score for Die Puppe, by Bernard Wrigley PLUS: A booklet containing liner notes for all six features by film-writers David Cairns, Anna Thorngate, and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 18.
Suntan
Synopsis: A middle-aged doctor becomes obsessed with a young tourist when she lets him tag along with her group of hard partying friends. on a hedonistic Greek Island, a middle-aged doctor becomes obsessed with a young tourist when she lets him tag along with her group of hard partying friends.
*Suntan will appear under Eureka Entertainment's recently revealed new world cinema sub-label Montage Pictures.
Special Features and Specs: 5.1 Surround and Stereo soundtrack options Optional English subtitles An interview with director Argyris Papadimitropoulos filmed exclusively for this release A behind the scenes documentary chronicling the films production Deleted scenes STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 4.
Was Eureka not able to get TT's isolated score for Journey? I'm not getting this because I live in the US and already have one of TT's editions of this film, but I find it odd that Eureka list an isolated score and effects track when TT's isolated score track had absolutely no sound effects at all.
