‘The White Reindeer’ [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray April 8, 2019!
The directorial debut of Finnish cinematographer Erik Blomberg, The White Reindeer is one of world cinema s criminally under-seen masterpieces. A vampiric fairy-tale set amongst the starkly beautiful fells of Finnish Lapland, Blomberg combines an almost documentary filming style with avant-garde experimentation to produce a dreamy art-house horror film without compare. A newly-married young woman, Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen), becomes frustrated and lonely as her husband, a reindeer herder for a small Arctic village, spends much of his time away from home in devotion to his work. Desperate for affection, she visits a shaman who offers a potion that makes her an irresistible object of desire, but there is a terrible cost. Pirita becomes a bloodthirsty shapeshifter who lures men out into the barren wilderness where she consumes them.
A beautiful and haunting folk tale based on Lapland mythology
The directorial debut of Finnish cinematographer Erik Blomberg, The White Reindeer is one of world cinema s criminally under-seen masterpieces. A vampiric fairy-tale set amongst the starkly beautiful fells of Finnish Lapland, Blomberg combines an almost documentary filming style with avant-garde experimentation to produce a dreamy art-house horror film without compare.
A newly-married young woman, Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen), becomes frustrated and lonely as her husband, a reindeer herder for a small Arctic village, spends much of his time away from home in devotion to his work. Desperate for affection, she visits a shaman who offers a potion that makes her an irresistible object of desire, but there is a terrible cost. Pirita becomes a bloodthirsty shapeshifter who lures men out into the barren wilderness where she consumes them.
With its portrayals of gender inequality, societal pressures and sexual anxiety (represented through animal transformation, echoes of Jacques Tourneur s Cat People…), The White Reindeer is a timeless classic that deserves to be rediscovered and recognised as a defining film in the horror and fantasy genres. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film from a new 4K restoration for the first time ever in the UK.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- Limited Edition O Card Slipcase [2000 copies ONLY]
- 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K restoration completed in 2017 by the National Audio-visual Institute of Finland
- LPCM audio (original mono presentation)
- Optional English subtitles
- Feature Length Audio Commentary by critic and film historian Kat Ellinger
- Religion, Pleasure, and Punishment: The Portrayal of Witches in Nordic Cinema a new and exclusive video essay by film journalist and writer Amy Simmons
- With The Reindeer Erik Blomberg s 1947 documentary short
- Colour Test Footage
- 1952 Jussi Awards Ceremony featurette
- Reversible Sleeve
- PLUS: A collector s booklet featuring new writing by film critic and writer Alexandra Heller Nichols and journalist Philip Kemp
DETAILS:
Label: Eureka!
Title| THE WHITE REINDEER (Masters of Cinema) Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition
Starring| MIRJAMI KUOSMANEN | KALERVO NISSILÄ | ÅKE LINDMAN
Director| ERIK BLOMBERG
Dual Format Cat. No.| EKA70334
Dual Format Barcode| 5060000703344
Dual Format RRP| £19.99
Release Date| 8 April 2019
Certificate| PG (TBC)
Run Time| 68 minutes
OAR| 1.37:1
Picture| B&W
Genre| Fantasy / Horror
Year| 1952
Country| FINLAND
Language| FINNISH
Subtitles| ENGLISH (Optional)
The White Reindeer is released on
Blu-ray & DVD in the UK April 8, 2019!
ORDER NOW!
