Archive for the 'Eureka! Masters of Cinema' Category
August 21st, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Waxworks (Das Wachsfigurenkabinett) was the final film Paul Leni directed in Germany before striking out for Hollywood, where he made such classic genre films as The Cat and the Canary, The Man Who Laughs, and The Last Warning. Its sophisticated medley of genres was in fact what inspired Universal s Carl Laemmle to invite Leni to come to Hollywood, as Laemmle was hoping to capitalize on the emerging comedy-horror craze of the 1920s. Stylistically, Waxworks was celebrated as a late example of German Expressionism. Its stylized sets (designed by Leni), fantastical costumes, chiaroscuro lighting, and startlingly bold performances are characteristic of that cinematic movement and contribute to the film’s lasting appeal. As the original German version of Waxworks) has not survived, this newly restored English edition – a joint effort by the Deutsche Kinemathek and Cineteca di Bologna, L Immagine Ritrovata (with funding from the German Commission for Culture and the Media) – is composed of vintage exports prints and additional film materials from archives around the world. The elements, including English intertitles, were scanned in 4K resolution and then restored in 2K. Presented by Flicker Alley and Eureka Entertainment in a Blu-ray/DVD dual-format edition, there is an option of two scores to accompany the film: a new piano score by Richard Siedhoff and a new instrumental score by Bernd Schultheis, Olav Lervik, and Jan Kohl, commissioned by ZDF/ARTE and performed by Ensemble Musikfabrik. Continue reading ‘‘Waxworks’ [Flicker Alley] on Blu-ray November 17!’
August 21st, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers is a classic horror story that takes a perfect Normal Rockwell town and turns it inside out. Brian Krause, Mädchen Amick (Twin Peaks), and Alice Krige (Chariots of Fire) star in this terrifying tale of modern-day vampires who move from small town to small town to prey on virtuous young women. Imperceptibly inhuman to everyone except for felines, these vicious shape-shifters have their eyes on a new victim: Tanya (Amick), who has fallen for Charles, the new boy at her school. Making its debut on Blu-ray in the UK, Eureka Classics is proud to present Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers. Continue reading ‘‘Sleepwalkers’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray October 19!’
July 31st, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Director Robert Englund (the iconic Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street series) dials up a gothic tale of high-tech horror in 976-EVIL. High school underdog Hoax (Stephen Geoffreys – Fright Night) fills up the idle hours in his seedy little hometown fending off the local leather-jacketed thugs, avoiding his overbearing mother (Sandy Dennis) and dreaming of a date with trailer park temptress Suzie (Lezlie Deane), But his quietly desperate life takes a terrifying turn when his cousin introduces him to an unusual new hobby – phoning in for his “horrorscope”. Hoax is hooked up with a compellingly hideous demonic force that slowly begins to overtake his entire life and now there’s more than just a phone bill to pay for anyone who ever dared cross “the neighborhood nerd”. Continue reading ‘‘976-Evil’ on Blu-ray October 19, 2020!’
July 23rd, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Happily married Alice’s (Emilie Piponnier) life is turned upside down when she discovers her husband (Martin Swabey) has spent all their money on prostitutes and they are now a year behind on their mortgage. In a last-ditch bid to support herself and her child, Alice becomes a high-end escort, which challenges her perceptions of life and love. At times bitterly funny but always brutally honest, the film traces Alice’s journey to her own kind of freedom. Writer-director Josephine Mackerras’ powerful debut feature won the Grand Jury Award at last year’s SXSW, and the ‘Spirit of The Festival Award’ at the 27th Raindance Film Festival, and stars Emilie Piponnier in a breakout performance.
Continue reading ‘Alice (Movie Review)’
July 13th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Eureka Entertainment to release THIS GUN FOR HIRE, a highly influential film-noir starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, presented on Blu-ray from a 4K scan of the original film elements. Available for the first time in the UK as part of the Eureka Classics range September 14, 2020! One of the most revered film-noir hits of the 1940s, This Gun for Hire was also the debut teaming of Veronica Lake, in one of her sultriest and most iconic roles, and Alan Ladd. Following the success of the film, the duo would go on to team up in several more features, although This Gun for Hire remains their most fondly remembered pairing. Ladd as a frightening yet oddly sympathetic hit man was only fourth-billed in this defining early noir, yet it became the breakout role that turned him into a star. As The New York Times said of Ladd upon the film’s 1942 release, “He is really an actor to watch. After this stinging performance, he has something to live up to or live down.” Lake is nightclub chanteuse Ellen, and her police detective boyfriend Michael (Robert Preston) is on the hunt for assassin-for-hire Philip Raven (Ladd), after Raven performed a hit on a chemist with a secret formula and a taste for blackmail. When Raven’s employer Gates (Laird Cregar) double crosses him after the job is done, Raven seeks revenge, and his path crosses with Ellen after she is hired to perform at Gates’ club. Raven learns that the stolen formula is for a poison gas that is to be sold to the Japanese, and his pangs of conscience and revelations of his tortured past turn Ellen’s fear into compassion, just as dangerous forces close in on Raven. But Ellen is still unsure if Raven can be trusted… Continue reading ‘‘This Gun for Hire’ on Blu-ray September 14, 2020!’
July 3rd, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Released to critical acclaim in 1997, the year of the Hong Kong handover, Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong was praised as an anarchic masterpiece, a powerful distillation of urban alienation and youthful despair. Moon (Sam Lee) is a small-time triad, stuck in an endless cycle of pointless violence with no hope of escape. After he and his friends witness the suicide of a young girl, they embark on a journey to deliver two letters she had on her when she died. Produced on a shoestring budget, with non-professional actors and using discarded film reels for stock, the film was rescued from obscurity and fully restored in 4K in time for its 20th anniversary in 2017, thanks to the Far East Film Festival, in collaboration with Andy Lau’s Hong Kong production company, Focus Film. Continue reading ‘‘Made in Hong Kong’ on Blu-ray September 21, 2020!’
June 27th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Illicit passion, greed, robbery, and murder collide in Criss Cross, a crime suspense tale from a true master of the genre, Robert Siodmak (The Killers). Steve Thompson (Burt Lancaster Novecento, Birdman of Alcatraz) is a hardworking armoured car driver with a fatal attraction to his ex-wife Anna (Yvonne DeCarlo The Munsters), who’s now married to notorious hoodlum Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea Winchester 73). Unable to stay away from her, Steve has a secret tryst with Anna … only to be discovered by Dundee. To cover up their affair, Steve convinces Dundee that he only met with Anna to get Dundee’s help in robbing an upcoming payroll shipment he will be driving. The hood falls for the ruse, which triggers a series of harrowing events that ultimately lead to violence and death. From a new 4K restoration, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this essential film noir in its UK debut on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘Criss Cross [Masters of Cinema] (Blu-ray Review)’
June 27th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
From Sergio Corbucci, the legendary director of Django, Navajo Joe, The Great Silence, Companeros and The Mercenary comes The Specialists (Gli Specialisti, aka Drop Them or I ll Shoot) , a thrilling spaghetti western starring French music and film great Johnny Hallyday (The Man on the Train, Détective, Vengeance). Notorious gunfighter Hud Dixon (Hallyday) arrives in Blackstone, a town where his brother was wrongfully accused of robbing a bank and lynched for it. As Hud seeks revenge, he starts to discover the truth behind the stolen loot, and has to contend with an idealistic sheriff, a beautiful and seductive female banker, a corrupt businessman and a one-armed Mexican bandit, who was once his friend. Also starring Gastone Moschin (The Conformist, Caliber 9), Françoise Fabian (Belle de Jour, My Night at Maud s), and gorgeously filmed by Dario Di Palma (The Seduction of Mimi, The Oldest Profession), Eureka Classics is proud to present Gli Specialisti on Blu-ray from a new 4K restoration. Continue reading ‘The Specialists [Eureka Classics] (Blu-ray Review)’
June 27th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
After enjoying fantastic success with Fritz Lang’s two-part “Indian Epic” in 1959, German producer Artur Brauner signed the great director to direct one more film. The result would be the picture that, in closing the saga he began nearly forty years earlier, brought Lang’s career full-circle, and would come to represent his final celluloid testament by extension: his final film masterpiece. The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse [Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse] finds that diabolical Weimar name resurfacing in the Cold War era, linked to a new methodology of murder and mayhem. Seances, assassinations, and Nazi-engineered surveillance tech all abound in Lang’s paranoid, and ultimate, filmic labyrinth. One of the great and cherished “last films” in the history of cinema, The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse provides a stylistic glimpse into the 1960s works on such subjects as sex-crime, youth-culture, and LSD that Lang would unfortunately never come to realize. Nonetheless, Lang’s final film remains an explosive, and definitive, closing statement. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Fritz Lang’s final film on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse [Masters of Cinema] (Blu-ray Review)’
June 15th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Between 1920 and 1929, Buster Keaton created a peerless run of feature films that established him as “arguably the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies”. Collected here are three further films from that era; Our Hospitality, Go West and College. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present all three films from brand new restorations in their UK debuts on Blu-ray. Eureka Entertainment to release BUSTER KEATON: 3 FILMS (Volume 3), a further collection of unparalleled films from the silent comedy genius. Presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, from brand new restorations, as part of The Masters of Cinema Series. The Limited Edition Three Disc Box Set (3000 copies ONLY) will be available August 24, 2020. Continue reading ‘Buster Keaton: 3 Films (Volume 3) [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray August 24, 2020!’
June 12th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Only the second Hollywood film directed by Billy Wilder, the riveting World War II spy thriller Five Graves to Cairo is an underrated early gem from the filmmaker, who would ascend to the industry’s highest ranks with his next project, Double Indemnity. Five Graves demonstrates that Wilder and screenwriter Charles Brackett who would collaborate on thirteen films, winning screenplay Oscars for The Lost Weekend and Sunset Boulevard were already working at the peak of their powers, delivering an espionage yarn that never lets up on the suspense. The only survivor in his unit after a battle with Rommel’s soldiers in North Africa, British Corporal Bramble (Franchot Tone) staggers through the desert until arriving at the largely deserted Empress of Britain hotel, staffed only by owner Farid (Akim Tamiroff) and his French employee Mouche (Anne Baxter). While Bramble hopes to hide there, the hotel doesn’t remain deserted for long Rommel (a scene-stealing Erich von Stroheim) and his men arrive and take over the building as new headquarters. Bramble assumes the identity of a recently killed waiter…only to soon discover that this waiter was also serving as a German spy, a role Bramble now has to adopt for his own survival. And while Mouche knows Bramble’s true identity, she has her own reasons for not wanting to aid in his plot. Continue reading ‘‘Five Graves to Cairo’ [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray August 17, 2020!’
June 11th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Illicit passion, greed, robbery, and murder collide in Criss Cross, a crime suspense tale from a true master of the genre, Robert Siodmak (The Killers). Steve Thompson (Burt Lancaster Novecento, Birdman of Alcatraz) is a hardworking armoured car driver with a fatal attraction to his ex-wife Anna (Yvonne DeCarlo The Munsters), who’s now married to notorious hoodlum Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea Winchester 73). Unable to stay away from her, Steve has a secret tryst with Anna … only to be discovered by Dundee. To cover up their affair, Steve convinces Dundee that he only met with Anna to get Dundee’s help in robbing an upcoming payroll shipment he will be driving. The hood falls for the ruse, which triggers a series of harrowing events that ultimately lead to violence and death. From a new 4K restoration, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this essential film noir in its UK debut on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘‘Criss Cross’ [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray June 22, 2020!’
June 11th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
From the inimitable Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend) comes this classic comedy that mixes romance with hard-boiled wit in a story about stiff-necked Iowa congresswoman Phoebe Frost (Jean Arthur – Shane) mired in jaded postwar Berlin. As she investigates the morale of American troops, Phoebe is cynically wooed by fellow Iowan Captain John Pringle (John Lund), who is trying to cover up his affair with Nazi-tainted chanteuse Erika von Schlütow (Marlene Dietrich – Witness for the Prosecution, The Blue Angel). Filled with sharp dialogue and satiric jabs, A Foreign Affair is one of Wilder’s most beloved comedies, and The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film in its UK debut on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘‘A Foreign Affair’ [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray June 22, 2020!’
June 8th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
One of the most visually striking of all the later silent films, The Man Who Laughs reunites German Expressionism director Paul Leni and cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton from their horror hit the previous year, The Cat and the Canary (1927). Both films are often considered to be among the earliest works of legendary horror classics from Universal Studios, yet the undeniably eerie The Man Who Laughs is more accurately described as a Gothic melodrama. However, its influence on the genre and the intensity of the imagery art director Charles Hall and makeup genius Jack Pierce would go on to define the look of those 1930s Universal horror landmarks have redefined it as an early horror classic, bolstered by one of the most memorable performances of the period. Adapted from the Victor Hugo novel, The Man Who Laughs is Gwynplaine (an extraordinary Conrad Veidt), a carnival sideshow performer in 17th-century England, his face mutilated into a permanent, ghoulish grin by his executed father’s royal court enemies. Gwynplaine struggles through life with the blind Dea (Phantom of the Opera‘s Mary Philbin) as his companion though she is unable to see it, his disfigurement still causes Gwynplaine to believe he is unworthy of her love. But when his proper royal lineage becomes known by Queen Anne, Gwynplaine must choose between regaining a life of privilege, or embracing a new life of freedom with Dea. Continue reading ‘‘The Man Who Laughs’ [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray August 17, 2020!’
May 27th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
In this visually arresting action drama from acclaimed director Johnnie To (Mad Detective, Election), legendary Judo fighter Szeto Bo (Louis Koo; Flash Point, The Legend of Zu) unexpectedly gave up the sport and now lives the life of an alcoholic gambler who runs a pub. However, cocky Judo newcomer Tony (Aaron Kwok) wants to challenge him, while old foe Kong (Tony Leung Ka Fai, Ashes of Time) demands Szeto to finish the match that never took place, Soon Szeto’s pub becomes the ultimate arena where the greatest Judo fighters challenge one another. Filled with brutal, no-holds-barred Judo fight scenes, Throw Down is director To’s ultra-stylish homage to the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, and is an emotional tale of one man’s determination to rediscover himself and win at all costs. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Throw Down in its UK debut from a 4K restoration. Continue reading ‘Throw Down [Masters of Cinema] (Blu-ray Review)’
May 19th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
One of the most genre-defining (not to mention genre-defying!) horror-comedies imaginable, and one of the key Hong Kong blockbuster hits of the 1980s, the popularity and influence of Mr. Vampire cannot be overstated. Spawning at least four sequels and countless spin-offs and imitations, this Hong Kong horror-comedy to end them all was an understandable crowd-pleasing sensation, and triggered a wave of jiangshi (“hopping vampire”) movies. Produced by the legendary Sammo Hung, the original Mr. Vampire is essential viewing for anyone interested in the 80s golden age of Hong Kong cinema. In a career-making performance, the late Lam Ching-ying is Master Kau, expert on all matters of the supernatural. When Kau and his two bumbling students, Man Choi (famous comedian Ricky Hui) and Chou (Fist of Legend‘s Chin Siu-ho), exhume a corpse for reburial, things go frighteningly and hilariously awry when the cadaver is revealed to be a hopping vampire. With the undead on the loose, Master Kau is blamed for the chaos, and must work with his students to put the spirits to rest before the vampire’s own granddaughter (80s Hong Kong action icon Moon Lee) gets bitten. Fighting the vampires with everything from sticky rice to filing down the bloodsucker’s fangs, the trio must defeat an increasing number of ghoulish dangers. Continue reading ‘‘Mr. Vampire’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray July 20, 2020!’
May 15th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
This trio of classic 1930s horror films—Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, and The Raven—is also distinguished by a trio of factors regarding their production. Most notably, each film is based on a work by master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe. Part of the legendary wave of horror films made by Universal Pictures in the 30s, all three feature dynamic performances from Dracula‘s Bela Lugosi, with two of them also enlivened by the appearance of Frankenstein‘s Boris Karloff. And finally, all three benefit from being rare examples of Pre-Code studio horror, their sometimes startling depictions of sadism and shock a result of being crafted during that brief period in Hollywood before the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code’s rigid guidelines for moral content. Director Robert Florey, who gave the Marx Brothers their cinema start with The Cocoanuts in 1929, worked with Metropolis cinematographer Karl Freund to give a German Expressionism look to Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), with Lugosi as a mad scientist running a twisted carnival sideshow in 19th-century Paris, and murdering women to find a mate for his talking ape main attraction. Lugosi and Karloff teamed forces for the first time in The Black Cat, a nightmarish psychodrama that became Universal’s biggest hit of 1934, with Detour director Edgar G. Ulmer bringing a feverish flair to the tale of a satanic, necrophiliac architect (Karloff) locked in battle with an old friend (Lugosi) in search of his family. Prolific B-movie director Lew Landers made 1935’s The Raven so grotesque that all American horror films were banned in the U.K. for two years in its wake. Specifically referencing Poe within its story, Lugosi is a plastic surgeon obsessed with the writer, who tortures fleeing murderer Karloff through monstrous medical means. Continue reading ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, and The Raven on Blu-ray July 20, 2020!’
April 27th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, Kwaidan features four nightmarish tales adapted from Lafcadio Hearn’s classic Japanese Ghost Stories about mortals caught up in forces beyond their comprehension when the supernatural world intervenes in their lives: “The Black Hair”, “The Woman of the Snow”, “Hoichi the Earless”, and “In a Cup of Tea”. Breathtakingly photographed entirely on hand-painted sets, the film is an abstract wash of luminescent colors from another world. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the complete 183-minute original Japanese cut of Masaki Kobayashi s masterpiece on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. Continue reading ‘Kwaidan [Masters of Cinema] (Blu-ray Review)’
