Archive for the 'Eureka! Masters of Cinema' Category
June 12th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
A riveting urban tension thriller, and a fantastic snapshot of 1967 New York City in all its seedy, black-and-white glory, The Incident also features an iconic 60s cast that must be seen to be believed. Martin Sheen makes his feature film debut as one of two small-time hoods the other is Tony Musante (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) in one of his earliest roles terrorizing a subway car full of trapped passengers, portrayed by an ensemble cast including Thelma Ritter (Rear Window), Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys), Ed McMahon, Donna Mills (Play Misty for Me), Jack Gilford (Save the Tiger), Brock Peters (To Kill a Mockingbird), Ruby Dee (A Raisin in the Sun), and a host of other instantly recognizable faces from NYC films and television of the era. Continue reading ‘‘The Incident’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray & DVD August 12, 2019!’
June 10th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
One of the most important films in all of Australian cinema, and perhaps the key critical work of that country’s internationally acclaimed film movement of the 1970s, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is nothing short of a masterpiece a bracing and emotionally wrenching study of the effects of institutionalized racism and colonialism on a land’s indigenous peoples, and an unflinching look at the repercussions of violence for both aggressors and victims. Based on the early 20th-century exploits of Jimmy Governor, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith follows its title character, a half-Aboriginal, half-white young man attempting to make his way as a farmhand, but facing only prejudice and deception from society. When the parentage of his child is called into question and he is further robbed by his white employers, Jimmie’s barely suppressed rage explodes, triggering a wave of violence that would shock a nation. Continue reading ‘‘The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith’ [Eureka! Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD August 19, 2019!’
June 8th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
A hilarious cult favourite from director Robert Zemeckis (The Back to the Future Trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Used Cars is a high-octane comic salute to the super salesmen whose persuasive pitches transformed rattling wrecks into your dream car. Kurt Russell (Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China) is Rudy Russo, the top salesmen at the New Deal used car lot run by Luke Fuchs (Jack Warden). Caught up in a crazy feud between Luke and his brother Roy (also played by Warden) who runs the rival car lot across the street, Rudy must put his grifting skills into overdrive as the battle for sales supremacy escalates into all-out war! Under-appreciated on release, Used Cars is now recognized as one of the funniest comedies of the 1980s. Eureka Classics is delighted to present Used Cars in its UK debut on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘‘Used Cars’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray & DVD August 12, 2019!’
June 2nd, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is one of the wonderful highlights of an under-appreciated chapter of director Robert Altman’s career. Between the box office disappointment of Popeye (1980) and the explosive comeback of The Player (1992), Altman returned to lower-budgeted, independent filmmaking, often boldly experimenting with how theatre work could be inventively adapted for cinema and television. This period of Altman’s oeuvre also includes such masterworks as Streamers (1983), Secret Honor (1984), and Tanner ’88 (1988), but was initiated by Come Back, and this funny, touching film of the play by Ed Graczyk (who adapted it for the screen) is a triumph. Continue reading ‘‘Come Back To The 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean’ [Eureka! Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD July 22, 2019!’
June 2nd, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
Director Elia Kazan’s first film, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn shows that the filmmaker’s great empathy for his characters was already quite evident at this early juncture, and this endures as one of the most moving Hollywood dramas of the 1940s. Based on Betty Smith’s novel a bestseller in the U.S. but also one of the most popular books among American soldiers overseas in WWII Kazan’s debut is a sensitive, masterful adaptation. Set among Brooklyn tenements circa 1912, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a portrait of the Nolans, an Irish-American family living in financially challenging circumstances, often made worse by father Johnny’s drinking and employment problems. But matriarch Katie keeps the family together during all of the obstacles, caring for son Neeley and daughter Francie, as well as Katie’s outspoken, oft-married sister Sissy. But just as Francie’s gift for writing opens up new avenues, more tragic developments test the family’s resolve. Continue reading ‘‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ [Eureka! Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD July 22, 2019!’
May 10th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
When Marine Captain Bob Hyde (Bruce Dern) leaves for Vietnam, his wife Sally (Fonda) volunteers at a local hospital. There she meets Luke Martin (Voight), a former sergeant whose war injury has left him a paraplegic. Embittered with rage and filled with frustration, Luke finds new hope and confidence through his growing intimacy with Sally. The relationship transforms Sally s feelings about life, love and the horrors of war. And when, wounded and disillusioned, Sally s husband returns home, all three must grapple with the full impact of a brutal, distant war that has changed their lives forever. One of director Hal Ashby’s biggest hits (second only to Shampoo), The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Coming Home for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK. Continue reading ‘‘Coming Home’ [Eureka Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD July 15, 2019!’
May 10th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
At the height of the Second World War, a battalion of German ships are safely docked at the “unassailable” port of Bordeaux. Newly promoted Major Stringer (José Ferrer, also behind the camera as director) has a unique idea send a team of commandos out in collapsible canoes, have them paddle seventy miles upriver in arduous conditions and blow up the German ships with limpet mines. Also starring Trevor Howard and Christopher Lee, The Cockleshell Heroes is the true story of one of the most daring raids in British military history, and Eureka Classics is proud to present the film in its worldwide debut on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘‘The Cockleshell Heroes’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray & DVD July 15, 2019!’
May 10th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
In the Donbass, a region of Eastern Ukraine, a hybrid war takes place, involving an open armed conflict alongside killings and robberies on a mass scale perpetrated by separatist gangs. A journey through the Donbass unfolds as a chain of curious adventures, where the grotesque and drama are as intertwined as life and death. This is not a tale of one region, one country or one political system. It is about a world, lost in post-truth and fake identities. It is about each and every one of us. Continue reading ‘‘Donbass’ [Montage Pictures] on Blu-ray & DVD June 24, 2019!’
April 21st, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
German filmmaker Arnold Fanck made this beautifully photographed Bergfilm, or mountain film , in 1926. Written in three days and nights especially for Leni Riefenstahl The Holy Mountain took over a year to film in the Alps with an entourage of expert skiers and climbers. Ostensibly a love triangle romance between Riefenstahl s young dancer and the two explorers she encounters Fanck relishes the glorious Alpine landscape by filming death-defying climbing, avalanche dodging, and frenetic downhill ski racing. Continue reading ‘‘The Holy Mountain’ [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD June 17, 2019!’
March 24th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
One of legendary director Fritz Lang’s first noir films, The Woman in the Window is also rightfully considered one of the most important examples of the genre, a landmark movie that became one of the initial representations of noir first singled out by French critics after WWII. A triumph for Lang, legendary writer/producer Nunnally Johnson (The Grapes of Wrath), and leading man Edward G. Robinson (shedding his earlier gangster roles to portray a love-struck obsessive), the film remains a classic American nail-biter. Robinson is Richard Wanley, a successful psychiatrist biding his time while his wife and children are on vacation when he encounters beautiful Alice (a radiant Joan Bennett), who bears an uncanny resemblance to the subject of a portrait he had just admired. When Richard and Alice retire to her home, her wealthy, jealous boyfriend intrudes, and is killed after a struggle. Alice convinces Richard to cover up the crime, but as Richard’s district attorney friend (Raymond Massey) investigates and the boyfriend’s bodyguard (Dan Duryea) begins to apply pressure to Richard, the walls begin to close in… Continue reading ‘‘The Woman In The Window’ [Eureka! Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD May 20, 2019!’
March 11th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
One of the most inventive, magical, and also exceedingly funny films of recent international cinema, November evokes influences as varied as Guy Maddin and The Brothers Grimm, Bela Tarr and Jan vankmajer, while also remaining wholly and deliriously original. It’s unlike anything else you’ve ever seen and that’s even if you’ve seen a bunch of black-and-white Estonian fairy tale films. Young Lina and Hans are preparing to marry in their village in the woods, when Hans becomes entranced by the arrival of a visiting baroness. Love spells are conjured so that each receives their intended mate, but there are more sinister things afoot. Death can visit in the form of a farm animal…but it’s fine because one can hide by wearing trousers on the head. And, besides, the dead can come back to the village and chat anyway…although when the devil arrives, don’t try to cheat him. And then there are the “kratts” supernatural servants made from discarded bones, tree branches, and trash…just make sure to give them work to do, or else. Continue reading ‘‘November’ [Montage Pictures] on Blu-ray & DVD May 13, 2019!’
February 18th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
Evil bites when a monstrous canine terrorises a helpless family in this legendary cult classic. Based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel, Cujo gives horror a new name. While Donna (Dee Wallace, The Howling, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) and Vic Trenton struggle to save their rocky marriage, their son Tad befriends the loveable St. Bernard who belongs to their mechanic. But what they don t realise is that a bat bite has transformed Cujo from a docile pup to a vicious killer. With Vic away on business, Donna and Tad’s car trouble pushes them into a living nightmare trapped by the demonic, relentless dog from hell. This critically acclaimed thriller promises to have you glued to your seat and foaming at the mouth! Making its UK debut on Blu-ray, with over 7 hours of extra content, Eureka Classics is proud to present Lewis Teague’s Cujo in this special Limited Two-Disc Blu-ray Edition. Continue reading ‘‘Cujo’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray & DVD April 29, 2019!’
February 13th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
One of the rare Hollywood studio films to address spiritual belief and religious conviction in a serious and complex fashion, the beloved classic The Song of Bernadette made a star of its leading lady Jennifer Jones, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress, in addition to taking home a Golden Globe during those awards’ very first ceremony (the film also won Globes for Best Dramatic Film and Best Director). A moving portrait of faith, the film is one of the crowning achievements of director Henry King (Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing). Buoyed by outstanding supporting performances by Vincent Price, Lee J. Cobb, Charles Bickford, and Gladys Cooper, The Song of Bernadette with sumptuous cinematography by Arthur C. Miller (How Green Was My Valley) is a profoundly affecting drama, no matter what one’s own personal beliefs. Eureka Classics is proud to present this landmark title in UK debut on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘‘The Song of Bernadette’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray & DVD April 8, 2019!’
February 11th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
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. Continue reading ‘‘The White Reindeer’ [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray April 8, 2019!’
January 24th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
From a brand new 2K restoration comes perhaps the greatest martial-arts comedy of all time, Sammo Hung’s Wheels on Meals, starring Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao as the most exciting triple act in action movie history! Fast food chefs Thomas (Chan) and David (Biao) find themselves cooking up trouble when detective Moby (Hung) involves them in the case of a missing heiress. The three friends need all of their daring and physical dexterity when they find themselves facing a triple helping of danger. Also starring Lola Forner ( Armour of God) and Benny The Jet Urquidez (Dragons Forever), who faces off against Chan in an incredible fight sequence that is legendary amongst martial-arts film fans, Wheels on Meals has to be seen to be believed. Eureka Classics is extremely proud to present this iconic piece of action cinema on Blu-ray for the first time ever in the UK! Continue reading ‘‘Wheels on Meals’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray & DVD March 18, 2019!’
January 23rd, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
One of director Billy Wilder’s biggest box office hits following his landmark comedies Some Like It Hot and The Apartment, the spectacular Irma La Douce — adapted from the 1956 musical for the French theatre — reunites Wilder with his Apartment stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, providing the latter with one of her most fondly remembered (and Oscar®-nominated) early roles. MacLaine is Irma, a popular Parisian prostitute whose new pimp is an unlikely procurer: Nestor (Lemmon) is a former honest cop who was just fired and framed by his boss after Nestor inadvertently had him arrested in a raid. However, Nestor’s love for Irma is making his newfound vocation impossible, so he poses as a phoney British lord who insists on being Irma’s one and only “client.” But when “Lord X” appears to have become the victim of foul play…further comedic complications ensue! Continue reading ‘‘Irma La Douce’ [Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD March 18, 2019!’
January 18th, 2019 by Gerard Iribe
One of the finest British war films ever made, Sink the Bismarck! tells the true story of one of World War II s most notorious sea battles. In the Spring of 1941, Nazi Germany s greatest battleship the Bismarck, scourge of Atlantic shipping, is pinned down at her anchorage in Norway. Making a break for freedom and the safety of air cover from the Luftwaffe, the great ship is chased by the Royal Navy, led by the Admiralty s Chief of Operations, Captain Jonathan Shepard (Kenneth More), and WRNS Second Officer Anne Davis (Dana Wynter). Directed by the late Lewis Gilbert (Alfie, The Spy Who Loved Me), Sink the Bismarck! received acclaim for its authenticity and nail-biting combat sequences. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film in its UK debut on Blu-ray. Continue reading ‘‘Sink the Bismarck!’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray & DVD March 11, 2019′
December 13th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
Picnic is a portrait of the desires and frustrations simmering under the surface on an ordinary Labor Day in a small Kansas town. Starring William Holden in one of his most iconic roles, and Kim Novak in the performance that made her a star, the film is one of the most fondly remembered American classics of that decade, adapted by director Joshua Logan from his own Broadway production (which won a Pulitzer for playwright William Inge). Drifter Hal (Holden) returns to his hometown, unemployed and with his college football glory days long behind him. Reunited with his old friend Alan (Cliff Robertson), Hal soon becomes acquainted with the Owens sisters, beautiful Madge (Novak) and budding poetess Millie (Susan Strasberg), along with the Owens family’s boarder, schoolteacher Rosemary (Rosalind Russell). While Millie longs for Hal, his affections turn to Madge, and at the holiday picnic, passions ignite, jealousies erupt, accusations and rage explode, and Hal and Madge must decide if they can escape their small, stifling hometown. Continue reading ‘‘Picnic’ (Eureka Classics) on Blu-ray – February 2019!’
