Archive for the 'Trailers' Category
February 10th, 2026 by Gerard Iribe
The writer Karl May is a household name in his native Germany, where he is associated with thrilling Western tales and sweeping adventure stories. Following earlier attempts to bring his novels to the screen, films adapted from May’s work found their greatest success in the 1960s. Seven of them were produced by Artur Brauner at CCC Film, all starring Lex Barker and directed by veteran filmmakers Robert Siodmak, Hugo Fregonese, Franz Josef Gottlieb and Harald Reinl. Wildly entertaining, shot in beautifully cinematic European locations and helmed by some of the most talented filmmakers working in Germany during the 1960s, these popular Karl May adaptations paved the way for the many Italian Westerns that would soon follow. The Masters of Cinema Series is honoured to present all seven of Artur Brauner’s Karl May adaptations for the first time ever on home video in the UK from brand new 4K restorations by CCC Film. Continue reading ‘‘Adventure Calls!’ on Blu-ray April 27!’
February 4th, 2026 by Gerard Iribe
In 1962, Italian comic book writers Angela and Luciana Giussani invented fumetti neri (“black comics”) with Diabolik, a wildly popular crime series starring an elusive master thief. Within just a few years, the comic was adapted into a psychedelic feature film – released internationally as Danger: Diabolik – directed by a true maestro of Italian genre cinema in Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace) and starring John Phillip Law (Death Rides a Horse) in the title role. Designed to capitalise on the success of CCC Film’s Dr Mabuse sequels, André Hunebelle’s Fantomas trilogy and Harry Alan Towers’ Fu Manchu series, Danger: Diabolik is Italy’s contribution to the popular cycle of supervillain movies that swept Europe in the 1960s and a key entry in Mario Bava’s filmography. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this landmark of Italian genre cinema on 4K UHD and Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. Continue reading ‘‘Danger: Diabolik’ on 4K UHD April 20!’
January 15th, 2026 by Gerard Iribe
Directed by Lo Wei shortly before he achieved global success with the Bruce Lee vehicles The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, The Invincible Eightwas one of the first films produced by Golden Harvest following the company’s founding in 1970 – a wuxia tale starring Nora Miao (The Way of the Dragon), Angela Mao (Hapkido), Paul Chang Chung (Police Story) and James Tien (Yes, Madam!). Eight men and women band together for a single purpose: to take their revenge on the military General responsible for killing members of their respective families. They intend to stop at nothing until their adversary is dead, but theirs will not be an easy task. For the General not only has the protection of the Imperial army, but also an elite group of bodyguards armed with whips and sworn to protect their leader at any cost. Boasting fight choreography by Sammo Hung (who also plays one of the villain’s whip-wielding henchmen), The Invincible Eight is a significant film in the history of Hong Kong cinema, notable for helping to establish Golden Harvest as an industry force to be reckoned with. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Asia. Continue reading ‘The Invincible Eight on Blu-ray March 16!’
January 14th, 2026 by Gerard Iribe
Best known for dramas such as Until We Meet Again and An Inlet of Muddy Water, the Japanese filmmaker Tadashi Imai was also the director of Revenge, a highly accomplished and brutal jidaigeki picture. These two sensibilities come together in the film that might just stand as Imai’s masterpiece: Cruel Tale of Bushido. Kinnosuke Nakamura (Miyamoto Musashi) stars in multiple roles, playing seven generations of men belonging to the same family. In the modern day, salaryman Iikura is devastated by his wife’s attempted suicide. To distract himself, he begins working through his recently discovered family records. As he traces his personal history across 350 years, he discovers tale after tale of men who have suffered, debased themselves and made untold sacrifices in the name of bushido, or the moral code of the samurai. The Masters of Cinema Series is honoured to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time in both the UK and North America. Continue reading ‘Cruel Tale of Bushido on Blu-ray March 23!’
November 26th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
A swordsman, writer and artist who lived between 1584 and 1645, Miyamoto Musashi is a near-mythic figure in Japanese history and an icon of Japanese popular culture. The first film based on his life was produced in the silent period, followed by dozens more made over the next decades. In the early 1960s, Toei launched into an entire series focused on the legendary samurai – a five-part saga adapted from the works of Eiji Yoshikawa and completed under the direction of Tomu Uchida between 1961 and 1965. A greatly accomplished samurai saga featuring two titans of Japanese cinema in Kinnosuke Nakamura and Ken Takakura, Toei’s Miyamoto Musashi films deserve to stand with the Zatoichi series as one of the great samurai sagas of the 1960s. The Masters of Cinema Series is honoured to present all five films on Blu-ray from new 4K restorations by Toei.
Continue reading ‘Zen & Sword: The Miyamoto Musashi Saga at Toei on Blu-ray Feb. 23, 2026!’
October 30th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Charisma follows Goro Yabuike (Koji Yakusho, Cure), an overworked police officer who leaves his job behind after he fails to resolve a hostage situation, resulting in the deaths of both a high-profile politician and his captor. Reeling from this incident, he seeks solitude in a mountain forest, where he finds himself at the centre of a conflict over an enigmatic tree that the locals have named “Charisma.” In Cloud, factory worker Ryosuke Yoshii (Masaki Suda, Wilderness) quits his job to pursue a new career as an unscrupulous online reseller, becoming increasingly ruthless as he turns a profit from desperate customers. Eventually, though, those customers have had enough of being ripped off by Yoshii – and go looking for him to exact their revenge. Made 25 years apart, Charisma and Cloud illustrate the singular vision of one of Japan’s most talented working filmmakers. Following previous releases of Tokyo Sonata, Journey to the Shore, Cure and Creepy, the Masters of Cinema series is proud to present two more of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s films on Blu-ray, both making their debuts on UK home video. Continue reading ‘Cloud / Charisma: Two films by Kiyoshi Kurosawa on Blu-ray January 26!’
October 9th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Just as the kung fu film seemed to be losing steam as the 1970s came to a close, a new generation of martial arts stars rose to the top of Hong Kong cinema. Amongst them were Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and the irrepressible Sammo Hung, who found fame as the director and star of The Iron Fisted Monk, The Magnificent Butcher and Encounter of the Spooky Kind. Presented here are three films spanning Hung’s career, from a supporting role in The Manchu Boxer to stardom in Paper Marriage and Shanghai, Shanghai. From traditional kung fu to romantic comedy to a tale of cops and crooks with shades of the “heroic bloodshed” films so popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Manchu Boxer, Paper Marriage and Shanghai, Shanghai exhibit Sammo Hung’s enormous range and chart his rise from supporting player to top-billed star. Eureka Classics is proud to present all three films for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK. Continue reading ‘‘Triple Threat: Three Films with Sammo Hung’ on Blu-ray December 8!’
October 7th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Perhaps best known for his iconic film noir effort Kiss Me Deadly, his unsettling psychological horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and his action-packed war movie The Dirty Dozen, the celebrated American auteur Robert Aldrich was also an accomplished director of Westerns. Amongst his best are Vera Cruz, The Last Sunset and his very first foray into the genre: the Burt Lancaster vehicle Apache. One of the earliest Westerns to feature a sympathetic Native American protagonist fighting back against the white settlers who swept across the United States throughout the nineteenth century, Aldrich’s first Western is a landmark film in the history of the genre. The Masters of Cinema series is proud to present Apache for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK. Continue reading ‘‘Apache’ on Blu-ray December 8!’
September 16th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
One of the masterworks of 1960s cinema, La Notte (The Night) marked yet another development in the continuous stylistic evolution of its director, Michelangelo Antonioni — even as it solidified his reputation as one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. La Notte is Antonioni’s Twilight of the Gods, but composed in cinematic terms. Observed from a crane-shot, it’s a sprawling study of Italy’s upper middle-class; seen in close-up, it’s an x-ray of a relationship on the brink of collapse. Photographed in rapturous black-and-white by the great Gianni di Venanzo (8 1/2, Giulietta degli spiriti), La Notte is a film about the yawning caverns that can open up between people who were once in love, and the difficulty of trying to fix something that may be irrevocably broken. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Michelangelo Antonioni’s haunted odyssey for the first time anywhere in the world on 4K UHD. Continue reading ‘La Notte on 4K UHD Blu-ray November 24!’
September 12th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Rio Lobo is the last film by Howard Hawks, a titan of American cinema and the director of a litany of undisputed classics, including Scarface, Only Angels Have Wings, The Big Sleep and Monkey Business. Like his previous films Red River, The Big Sky and Rio Bravo, it is an ode to the Old West – a staunchly traditionalist tale of the frontier led by the genre’s biggest star, John Wayne. By 1970, the Western genre was rapidly changing. In America, Revisionist Westerns – typified by the likes of The Wild Bunch, Little Big Man and Soldier Blue – were questioning the established mythology of the West, while Italy’s morally grey Spaghetti Westerns were at the height of their international popularity. Meanwhile, Rio Lobo stood firm in tradition as Hawks’ final Western – and now joins the Masters of Cinema series. Continue reading ‘Rio Lobo on Blu-ray November 17!’
September 12th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Shogun’s Samurai – also known as The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy – is one of Kinji Fukasaku’s most revered forays into the chanbara or samurai genre: a twisting tale of political intrigue and bloody betrayal starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya (The Fall of Ako Castle), Hiroki Matsukata (Battles Without Honor and Humanity) and the incomparable Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba (The Street Fighter) in its lead roles. Featuring Chiba’s first portrayal of the legendary samurai Jubei Mitsuyoshi Yagyu (a character he would later return to in Fukasaku’s Samurai Reincarnation), Shogun’s Samurai stands with The Fall of Ako Castle as one of its director’s finest and most accomplished samurai epics. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this landmark chanbara film on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. Continue reading ‘Shogun’s Samurai on Blu-ray November 17!’
September 12th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Created by crime writers Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, the criminal mastermind Fantômas is best known outside of France as the antagonist of the silent serial that bears his name, directed by early cinematic pioneer Louis Feuillade. Within France, though, he is most famously associated with André Hunebelle’s beloved Fantômas trilogy. Released between 1964 and 1967, Hunebelle’s films revived the character with a comedic twist in the era of four-colour comic books, Bondmania and a boom in French popular cinema. Continue reading ‘Fantomas Returns!: The Fantomas Trilogy, 1964-67 on Blu-ray November 24!’
September 4th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Shout Studios’ Hong Kong Cinema Classics™ line expands this fall with two major 4K UHD + Blu-ray releases. On November 4, 2025, John Woo’s action masterpiece Hard Boiled arrives in a Deluxe Edition 3-disc set, featuring a brand-new 4K scan, extensive bonus content, and a 52-page booklet with essays and artwork. Just two weeks later, on November 18, 2025, the A Better Tomorrow Trilogy makes its 4K debut. The set includes Woo’s A Better Tomorrow and A Better Tomorrow II alongside Tsui Hark’s A Better Tomorrow III, plus a newly unearthed workprint cut of A Better Tomorrow II with 30 minutes of never-before-seen footage. Both releases preserve and celebrate the legacy of Hong Kong cinema for longtime fans and new audiences alike.
August 27th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks along with Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, will release the acclaimed horror film, CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, on 4K UHD Steelbook on September 9, 2025. It will be available for an SRP of $39.99. CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD stars Katie Douglas (“Ginny & Georgia”), Carson MacCormac (Shazam!), Aaron Abrams (“Blindspot”), Will Sasso (The Three Stooges), and Kevin Durand (Kingdom of the Planet Apes). Directed by Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs Evil), he co-wrote the film with Carter Blanchard. The film is based on the Bram Stoker award-winning novel of the same name by Adam Cesare. Continue reading ‘Clown in a Cornfield on 4K UHD September 9!’
July 30th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
A maverick of independent cinema, Larry Cohen made a habit of transforming the seemingly benevolent into the malevolent: infants in It’s Alive, ice cream in The Stuff, police officers in Maniac Cop and the personification of the United States in Uncle Sam. In The Ambulance, it is the very thing that should save our lives that might transport us to our deaths. When comic book artist Josh (Eric Roberts) meets Cheryl (Janine Turner) in New York City, he believes he might have run into the woman of his dreams. But just as they are getting to know each other, Cheryl begins to feel ill. She is picked up by an ambulance – and then disappears into thin air. Unable to track her to any of the city’s hospitals, Josh learns that Cheryl is not the only missing person connected to the mysterious ambulance and takes it upon himself to investigate an apparent conspiracy to kidnap people from the streets of New York. But Josh’s interference isn’t welcomed – either by Lieutenant Frank Spencer of the NYPD (James Earl Jones) or the sinister forces behind the ambulance itself… One of Larry Cohen’s most underrated and underseen films (featuring an unlikely cameo by Marvel legend Stan Lee), The Ambulance deserves to reach the same cult status as his earlier horror movies It’s Alive, God Told Me To, Q – The Winged Serpent and The Stuff. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. Continue reading ‘The Ambulance (1990) on Blu-ray October 13!’
July 29th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
A Spanish-French co-production directed by the inimitable Jesús “Jess” Franco (Count Dracula) from a screenplay by Jean-Claude Carrière (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie), The Diabolical Dr Z – also known by its original Spanish title Miss Meurte – was released at the height of the gothic horror boom that swept Europe during the 1960s and followed Franco’s earlier gothic chillers The Awful Dr Orloff, The Sadistic Baron von Klaus and Dr Orloff’s Monster. An early film by a titan of cult cinema who would continue making films until his death in 2013, The Diabolical Dr Z is both an atmospheric and accomplished contribution to the European gothic horror cycle of the 1960s and a forerunner to the more outrageous exploitation films that would later catapult Franco to infamy. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK. Continue reading ‘The Diabolical Dr. Z on Blu-ray October 20!’
July 23rd, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The rare film with a reputation that speaks for itself, Martyrs is perhaps the defining film of the New French Extremity movement and director Pascal Laugier’s masterpiece. Horrifying and thought-provoking in equal measure, it is a deeply philosophical and challenging work of extreme cinema – and undoubtedly one of the finest horror films produced in the twenty-first century. Featuring heartbreaking performances by its two female leads and truly shocking imagery that lingers long in the mind courtesy of special effects designer Benoît Lestang, Martyrs has risen above debates surrounding “torture porn” to emerge as one of the truly great works of extreme cinema. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Martyrs on 4K UHD Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world from a stunning brand new 4K restoration, accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras. Continue reading ‘Martyrs on 4K UHD Blu-ray October 27!’
July 18th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
GKIDS, the Academy Award®-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation, has revealed the full product lineup and release dates for the home entertainment release of ARCANE: League of Legends Season 2, from Riot Games and Fortiche Production. The globally beloved and Emmy-nominated Netflix animated series will be issued in a definitive, limited-run Collector’s Edition, SteelBook® Editions of both the 4K UHDTM and Blu-rayTM formats, a Blu-rayTM Standard Edition, and on Digital Download-to-Own. All editions are currently available on preorder. Continue reading ‘Arcane League of Legends: Season 2 on 4K UHD Blu-ray October 21!’
