Archive for the 'Eureka! Masters of Cinema' Category
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!’
December 6th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) has been closeted in her mansion since the grisly murder of her married lover many years earlier. When the county wants to tear down the house to build a highway, the spinster s relatives and friends appear to rally behind her, but each slowly preys on her mind until the gruesome rumours of the last 40 years appear to be coming true. On hand are cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland), Dr. Drew Bayliss (Joseph Cotten), Jewel Mayhew (Mary Astor), and the scariest inhabitant of all, loyal servant Velma (Oscar® nominee Agnes Moorehead). Continue reading ‘‘Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte’ (Masters of Cinema) Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition – January 2019!’
December 6th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
Paula Biren, Ruth Elias, Ada Lichtman, Hanna Marton: Four Jewish women, witnesses and survivors of the most insane and pitiless barbarism, and who, for that reason alone, but for many others also, deserve to be inscribed forever into the memory of humankind. What they have in common, beside the specific horrors to which each of them were subjected, is a searingly sharp, almost-physical intelligence, which rejects all pretense or faulty reasoning. In a word, idealism. Continue reading ‘‘Shoah: The Four Sisters’ (Masters of Cinema) Blu-ray & DVD editions – February 2019!’
November 15th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
A World War II epic both sweeping and intimate, Yanks is a triumph for director John Schlesinger ( Midnight Cowboy, Sunday Bloody Sunday), and a moving showcase for its splendid ensemble cast led by Richard Gere and Vanessa Redgrave. A war film without battle scenes, Schlesinger’s drama instead focuses on relationships far from the front, examining the romantic entanglements between the stationed U.S. soldiers and the locals in a small town in Northern England in the 1944 period before the Normandy landings. Three very different women find themselves attracted to the American G.I.s at a new military base in town. Gere is Sgt. Matt Dyson, initiating a tentative courtship with a young woman still pining for her fiancée overseas. Redgrave is wealthy socialite Helen, engaged in an affair with a captain (William Devane), while both of them long for their respective spouses far from home. And Sergeant Ruffelo’s fling with Mollie (Wendy Morgan) occurs just as the interactions between the Yanks and their British hosts begin to strain under the tension of the war, and uncertainty about what happens to their new romances. Continue reading ‘‘Yanks’ (Eureka Classics) Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition – December 2018′
November 7th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
The only question about Laura is whether it’s simply one of the greatest film noir releases ever made, or if it’s indeed the quintessential film noir. Decide for yourself. This 1944 murder mystery classic from director Otto Preminger (replacing a fired Rouben Mamoulian) has only grown in stature over the years, with its hypnotic mixture of doomed romantic obsession, dizzying intrigue, and fatalistic cynicism marking it as essential noir. Police detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is drawn into Manhattan high society as he investigates the death of stunning ad exec Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), apparently shotgunned in her own apartment. The slithery suspects are numerous, led by effete, snobbish columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), and Laura’s philandering fiancé Shelby (Vincent Price), who’s also been cavorting with Laura’s wealthy aunt (Judith Anderson). McPherson begins to fall in love with Laura through a portrait in her home and the memories relayed by those who knew her…just as it becomes apparent that even the basic facts of the case might not be what they seemed. Continue reading ‘‘Laura’ (Masters of Cinema) Blu-ray edition – January 2019′
November 5th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
This dark suburban satire tells the story of a man who is accused of adultery by his ex-fiancée and forced to move in with his parents. While he fights for custody of his four-year-old daughter, he is gradually sucked into a bitter dispute between his parents and their neighbours regarding an old and beautiful tree that casts a shadow on the neighbours’ deck. As the dispute intensifies – property is damaged, pets mysteriously go missing, security cameras are being installed and there is a rumour that the neighbour was seen with a chainsaw. Continue reading ‘‘Under the Tree’ [Montage Pictures] Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition – January 2019′
October 9th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
Perhaps the greatest rock documentary ever made, Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz captures what was advertised as legendary rock group The Band’s final farewell concert appearance. Joined on stage by more than a dozen special guests, including Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Muddy Waters and Joni Mitchell, The Last Waltz started as a concert, but it became a celebration. Interspersed with candid discussions between director Scorsese and members of The Band, The Last Waltz has been called “the greatest rock concert movie ever made – and maybe the best rock movie, period” , and The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this iconic documentary on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK in a special Limited Edition 4-Disc Box Set (3000 copies). And remember, “This film should be played loud! ” Continue reading ‘‘The Last Waltz’ [Eureka! Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD November 12!’
October 8th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
John Carroll Lynch’s directorial debut featuring Harry Dean Stanton (Cool Hand Luke; Alien; Paris, Texas; Repo Man) in one of his last starring roles. Lucky follows the spiritual journey of Harry Dean Stanton s character Lucky , a cantankerous, self-reliant 90 year old atheist, and the quirky characters that inhabit the Arizona town where he lives. Having out-lived and out-smoked all of his contemporaries, the fiercely independent Lucky finds himself at the precipice of life, thrust into a journey of self-exploration, leading towards that which is so often unattainable: enlightenment. Released in the US just days after Stanton’s death at age 91, Lucky, is at once a love letter to the life and career of Harry Dean Stanton as well as a meditation on mortality, loneliness, spirituality, and human connection. Eureka Entertainment are proud to present Lucky on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as the acclaimed 2012 documentary, Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction.
Continue reading ‘‘Lucky’ [Eureka Entertainment] on Blu-ray & DVD November 12!’
October 6th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
When an alien experiment goes awry, it crashes to Earth in 1959 and infects a young college student. 27 years later, his cryogenically-frozen body is thawed out by fraternity pledges, and the campus is quickly overrun by alien creatures – whose victims come back as zombies! Fred Dekker’s supremely enjoyable throwback chiller deftly combines classic horror and sci-fi elements with delicious humor and loving in-jokes. Presented for the first time on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK, this deluxe edition of Night of the Creeps features the original director’s cut and a host of special features. Continue reading ‘Night of the Creeps [Eureka Classics] (Blu-ray Review)’
October 4th, 2018 by Gerard Iribe
The crew of a medical helicopter crashes in Afghanistan whilst attempting to assist an ambushed patrol of Spanish and American troops. The Spanish army has only one night to organize the rescue of the crew and injured, but what seems routine turns into hell once they receive the order to rescue the helicopter as well. Things only get worse when during the night a huge concentration of insurgents begin surrounding them. The debut feature from director Adolfo Martínez, a multi-award winning writer who has worked behind the scenes on numerous Hollywood blockbusters including Oblivion and Walt Disney s 2016 smash hit, The Jungle Book. Rescue Under Fire is an incredibly tense and exciting action thriller that should not be missed. Continue reading ‘Rescue Under Fire [Eureka! Masters of Cinema] (DVD Review)’
