Creeping Horror | Eureka Classics presents four chillers from the Universal vaults on Blu-ray

From Eureka Entertainment comes Creeping Horror, four Universal Pictures chillers on UK Blu-ray as part of Eureka Classics range from 17 April 2023.

Murders in the Zoo (dir. A. Edward Sutherland, 1933)
Kathleen Burke, who played the panther woman in 1932’s Island of Lost Souls, encounters more horrors as Evelyn, the tormented wife of sadistic big-game hunter/zoologist Eric Gorman (Lionel Atwill) who uses his animal expertise to eliminate his rivals, and regards Evelyn as one of his caged animals, to be owned and mistreated. Just like Island of Lost Souls, Murders in the Zoo caused a bit of stir on its inital release owing to its genuinely frighening scenes: the film opens with Atwill sewing up some poor man’s mouth, while poor Burke ends up being torn to pieces after she’s thrown to alligators. Atwill delivering one of his most depraved, brutal performances, Randolph Scott is the dull as dish water hero, and loveable Charlie Ruggles provides the comic relief. I’ll be watching this one again.

Night Monster (dir. Ford Beebe, 1942)
All manner of spooky old dark house cliché’s abound in this enjoyable ‘quickie’ in which a series of murders occur after a wealthy, reclusive paraplegic (played by Ralph Morgan) invites the three doctors treating him to his gloomy home by a swamp. While top-billed, those masters of menace Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill get relegated to playing a grim humoured butler and one of the doctors (who gets bumped off in the first 20minutes), while the mix of victims and suspects is an indian mystic who conquers up a kneeling skeleton in one of the film’s most bizarre scenes, a creepy hunchback and the titluar Night Monster who is exactly who you think. Stock footage from Ghost of Frankenstein was used in the film’s Rebbeca-esque climax.

Horror Island (dir. George Waggner, 1941)
In between making The Wolf Man and Man Made Monster director George Waggner helmed this B-grade horror mystery in which The Mummy’s Hand‘s Dick Foran and Peggy Moran take a treasure cruise to an island off the coast of Florida with The Cisco Kid‘s Leo Carillo to seek out a pirate’s fortune, but a villian called ‘ The Phantom AKA Panama Pete’ is also after the booty. This noisy, messy comedy mystery wants to be another The Ghost Breakers, but fails on every level. Give it a miss!

House of Horrors (dir. Jean Yarbrough, 1946)
The one-and-only Rondo Hatton is ‘the Creeper’, a disfigured giant killer who is rescued from drowning by struggling sculptor Marcel de Lange ( Confessions of a Nazi Spy‘s Martin Kosleck) and ends up becoming his bone-crushing instrument of revenge on the critics who denigrated his work. Virginia Grey is the female reporter who cannily deduces that Lange is behind the killings, while Alan Napier plays one of the critics who gets his just desserts after dissing Lange’s work as ‘tripe’. Hatton had appeared uncredited in a host of films before landing this, the first of two starring roles (the other was The Brute), but both were released posthumously after his death from a heart attack on February 2, 1946. He has since gone on to become a cult icon and its worth getting this box-set just for this film (which I am certain had an influence on the Vincent Price-horror classics House of Wax in 1953 and even Theatre of Blood 20 years later. A highlight for me were the expressionist cubist sculptures that grace Lange’s studio.

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SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited Edition slipcase
• 1080p presentation of all four films across two Blu-ray discs
• Optional English SDH
• Audio commentary tracks on Night Monster and House of Horrors with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
• Audio commentary tracks on Murders in the Zoo and Horror Island with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
• Stills Galleries
• Trailers for Horror Island and Night Monster
• Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Craig Ian Mann and Jon Towlson

Bob Clark: Horror Collection | A trio of terror on limited edition Blu-ray from 101 Films

From 101 Films comes the limited edition UK Blu-ray release of the Bob Clark: Horror Collection, which brings together three of the American film-maker’s 1970s ground-breaking genre films: Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1972), Deathdream (AKA Dead of Night) (1974) and his slasher masterpiece Black Christmas (1974). Amongst the wealth of special features is the must-see documentary, Dreaming of Death, newly commissioned artwork, and a collector’s booklet. Available from 3 April 2023.

Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1972)
Clark’s third directorial effort is an oddball comedic zombie horror in which a smarmy theatrical director (Alan Ormsby, who also wrote the screenplay and did most of the make-up effects) takes his troupe to an island to ‘act out’ a satanic ritual using the corpse of Orville Dunworth (Seth Sklarey). But they soon find themselves fighting for survival when the dead rise from their graves…

Despite its low budget and questionable acting, Clark’s Night of the Living Dead homage is an effective and atmospheric chiller, which benefits from a script littered with eminently quotable dialogue, colourful costumes, and cartoon-like scares (especially when the dead start to walk). The cast’s commentary about their experiences making the film (many while still in college) is a hoot – and I wish someone would do a remake from their perspective. Indeed, Clark had plans to do one before his tragic death in 2007 (in which he and his son were killed in a head-on car crash with a drunk driver).

Special Features:
• Commentary with Alan Ormsby, Jane Daly and Anya Cronin
• Alan Ormsby Interview
• Memories of Bob Clark
• Confessions of a Grave Digger: Interview with Ken Goch
• Grindhouse Q&A
• Cemetery Mary – Music Video
• Dead Girls Don’t Say No – Music Video
• Trailer
• Photo Gallery

Deathdream/Dead of Night (1974)
When young American soldier Andy (Richard Backus) is shot and killed in Vietnam, his grief-stricken parents and sister refuse to accept the news. But when Andy suddenly returns, something is terribly wrong. The family suspect PTSD as Andy’s behaviour becomes erratic and then violent, but when he starts to visibly decay, it soon becomes apparent he’s one of the walking dead with an insatiable blood lust.

Posited as a critique of the Vietnam War, this is one of the most inventive and thought-provoking variations of WW Jacobs’ classic horror short story, The Monkey’s Paw, and marks Clark’s maturity as a filmmaker. Disturbing and tragic, it’s much more than just a horror film. It’s a haunting character study about the nature of man and war, thanks to Alan Ormsby’s insightful screenplay and Backus’ controlled yet menacing performance as the young man turned into it a monster because of his exposure to war. As Andy’s parents, who deal with their son’s transformation in very different ways, kudos go to John Marley and Lynn Carlin (who previously co-starred together in John Cassavetes’ Faces in 1968). The film also benefits from some gruesomely realistic make-up effects from Alan Ormsby (and, under his tutelage, Tom Savini).

Special Features:
• Dreaming of Death: This new feature-length documentary on the work of director Bob Clark is a must-see. In fact, it’s worth getting the box-set set just for this. Giving us the lowdown on the director’s three horror films are filmmaker/Delirium editor Chris Alexander, Black Christmas actress Lynne Griffin (who reveals all about the infamous plastic bag rocking chair scene), actor Art Hindle, composer Paul Zaza and author Simon Fitzjohn (Bob Clark: I’m Going to Kill You).
• Brand New Audio Commentary with Travis Crawford and Bill Ackerman
• Trailer

Black Christmas (1974)
As Christmas break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive obscene phone calls that put them on edge. Initially, Barb encourages the caller but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb’s friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing, and a local girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. The police (led by John Saxon) finally act when a teenage girl is found dead in the park – setting up a wiretap to the sorority house, but no one realises just how near the killer really is!

Originally titled Silent Night, Evil Night in the US (because Black Christmas sounded like a blaxploitation title) and retitled Stranger in the House on US TV screenings (where it caused a bit of controversy), this 1974 stalk and slasher marked Clark’s first Canadian feature and the last of his genre films (although some do consider his 1979 Sherlock Holmes film, Murder by Decree as a horror) before finding fame and fortune with Porkys.

While it received mixed reviews on its release, it is now quite rightly regarded as a masterpiece of the horror genre and a key inspiration for John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween and, indeed, the whole slasher genre that followed in its wake. It has the perfect blend of chills, superb acting, strong, effective characterisations, and an evocative soundtrack – as well as one of the most chilling final shots in a horror movie moments ever – that makes it annual viewing in my household. And as for Nick Mancuso’s scary, demented phone voice? It chills me every time.

Special Features:
• Commentary with director Bob Clark (who provides the final word on his horror masterpiece)
• Commentary with actors John Saxon and Keir Dullea
• Commentary with actor Nick Mancuso
• Film and Furs: Remembering Black Christmas with Art Hindle
• Victims and Virgins: Remembering Black Christmas with Lynne Griffin
• Black Christmas Legacy
• 40th-anniversary reunion panel: Fan Expo Canada 2014
• TV and Radio Spots
• 12 Days of Black Christmas featurette
• Black Christmas Revisited featurette
• Midnight Screening Q&A with Bob Clark, John Saxon, and Carl Zittrer

Four Film Noir Classics | A second helping of hard-boiled genre gems on Blu-ray from Arrow

Take a walk through the shadowy streets of American film noir in four atmospheric classics courtesy of Arrow.

In The Suspect (1944), a genial shopkeeper, Philip Marshall (Charles Laughton), is constantly nagged by his shrewish wife, Cora (Rosalind Ivan), while secretly yearning for a pretty young stenographer Mary Gray (Ella Raines). When Cora falls to her death, the police are suspicious, and Marshall’s neighbour  (Henry Daniell) sees a chance for blackmail. This superb Edwardian-set thriller is a fascinating character study, especially Laughton’s performance in which he reigns in his usual scenery-chewing to give a subtle, compelling turn as the film’s unlikely ‘villain’. You can also see that director Robert Siodmak was beginning to hone his noir credentials here, which he’d perfect with 1946’s The Killers.

The Sleeping City (1950) sees an undercover policeman (Richard Conte) investigating a murder and narcotics racketeering at New York’s Bellevue Hospital with the help of a nurse (Coleen Gray) whom he finds falling in love with. Directed by George Sherman, this tense, semi-documentary thriller remains one of the few films of the era to be shot entirely on location, including many scenes in and around Bellevue.

In Thunder on the Hill (1951), convicted murderer Valerie Carns (Ann Blyth) is being transported for execution when a flood strands her and her guards at a convent hospital, where Sister Mary Bonaventure (Claudette Colbert) becomes convinced of Valerie’s innocence and sets out to find the real killer. Three years shy of becoming the King of Hollywood melodramas, Douglas Sirk made a number of noir thrillers, and this is one of the best. Although it’s a bit studio-bound and the killer’s identity pretty obvious from the outset, it does boast nice turns from Colbert as the sleuthing nun, the wonderful Gladys Cooper as the Mother Superior, and making his Hollywood debut, Australian actor Michael Pate, who’s servant character is key in solving the whodunnit.

In Six Bridges to Cross (1955), streetwise delinquent Jerry Florea (played by Sal Mineo) is shot and wounded by rookie policeman Eddie Gallagher (George Nader) while fleeing the scene of a robbery. Despite this, the two develop a friendship as Eddie and his wife (Julie Adams) take Jerry under their wing, trying to keep him on the straight and narrow. As an adult, Jerry (now played by Tony Curtis) marries and seems to settle down until an armoured security company across the street from him is robbed of $2.5m dollars. Directed by Joseph Pevney with cinematography by Oscar-winner William H Daniels, this crime noir, inspired by the 1950 Great Brink’s Robbery in Boston, Massachusetts, marks Sal Mineo’s screen debut and gives Tony Curtis a meaty character to play (although his accent reminded me of the cartoon character Top Cat at times).

This showcase of lesser-known noir classics features sterling performances from a host of screen greats, as well as taut direction, stunning cinematography, and superb screenwriting from the likes of Oscar Saul (A Streetcar Named Desire), Jo Eisinger (Gilda, Night and the City), Andrew Holt (In a Lonely Place) and Sydney Boehm (The Big Heat).

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all four films
• Original lossless mono audio on all films
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on all films
• Audio commentaries by scholars and critics Farran Smith-Nehme (The Suspect), Imogen Sara Smith (The Sleeping City), Josh Nelson (Thunder on the Hill) and Samm Deighan (Six Bridges to Cross)
• It Had to be Done, author and scholar Alan K. Rode on the career of director Robert Siodmak
• The Real Deal, author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas looks at realism and reality in The Sleeping City
• José Arroyo on Thunder on the Hill, a new appreciation by the esteemed film scholar and critic
• Style and Place, film critic Jon Towlson examines the work of cinematographer William H. Daniels
• Vintage radio play versions of The Suspect and Thunder on the Hill starring Charles Laughton, Ella Raines, Claudette Colbert and Barbara Rush
• Theatrical Trailers
• Poster and stills galleries
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow
• Double-sided fold-out posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow
• Hardback collector’s book featuring new writing on the films by film critics Kat Ellinger, Philip Kemp and Jon Towlson

Dance Craze (1981) | The iconic 2Tone concert film gets a remastered release

Shot throughout 1980 and released in cinemas in 1981, Dance Craze definitively captured the 2Tone movement, which originated in Coventry and fused traditional Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae music with punk rock and new wave music. Directed by Joe Massot and filmed by BAFTA award-winning cinematographer Joe Dunton, it features live performances of The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, The Beat, Bad Manners and The Bodysnatchers filmed at various venues during a UK tour.

Newly remastered in 4K from original film materials, the toe-tapping concert film is presented here by the BFI and Chrysalis Records on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time, and I, for one, will be adding this to my collection as Madness’ rendition of Swan Lake is one of my all-time favourite musical moments. It’s also an especially poignant release as it comes just three months since the passing of The Specials’ Terry Hall. Oh! and you’ll dig the hip cat teenagers in the archival newsreel footage that features halfway through the film.

The special features include an episode from BBC’s Arena exploring the rise of 2Tone and a selection of rare clips from the film, many previously unseen. Alongside the Blu-ray/DVD release, Chrysalis Records are releasing the soundtrack in a remastered audio 3LP and 3CD set on 24 March, while 30 Picturehouse cinemas across the UK will hold a special one-off screening on 23 March. There’s also BFI IMAX screening on the same day, but it’s already sold out.

Time to get your dancing shoes on, folks…

Special features
• Newly remastered from original 70mm materials and approved by cinematographer Joe Dunton

• Rudies Come Back (1980, 34 mins): in this episode of the long-running BBC series Arena, music journalist Adrian Thrills explores the rise of 2Tone. Featuring interviews with The Specials and The Selecter

• Outtakes (1980, 17 mins): a selection of rare clips, many previously unseen, featuring the bands from the film

• Restoration demo (2022, 2 mins): a before-and-after look at the restoration of Dance Craze

• Original stereo and surround sound mixes by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley remastered for this release, plus a new Dolby Atmos surround sound mix approved by Jerry Dammers

• Illustrated booklet with a new essay by Johnny Mains, the original 1981 press release and original 1981 band biographies, credits and notes on the special features

The House That Screamed | At last! Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s supremely stylish gothic chiller gets the restoration it so richly deserves

I am so excited that one of my all-time favourite Euro-horrors is finally getting a proper restoration release in the UK courtesy of Arrow (released Monday, 6 March 2023).

Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s 1969 gothic chiller The House That Screamed (AKA La residencia, The Finishing School) is a supremely stylish tale of frustrated passions and gruesome murder set in a 19th-century French boarding school starring Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbó, Mary Maud and John Moulder-Brown. If you have never seen it or heard of it… then now is the time to seek it out!

Thérèse (Galbó) is the latest arrival at a remote school for wayward girls run under the authoritarian eye of Mme Fourneau (Palmer). As the newcomer battles with strict routines and the whip-hand hierarchies among the girls, she learns that several students have recently vanished…

Meanwhile, tensions grow within this isolated hothouse environment as Mme Fourneau’s teenage son Luis (Moulder-Brown) ignores his mother’s strict orders not to get close to the ‘tainted’ ladies under her ward…

I first saw The House that Screamed on Australian TV in the mid-1980s while living with my university mates. Luckily we recorded it on VHS as we loved it so much (the Oedipal/Sadean themes causing much discussion) that it became our go-to Euro-horror to watch after a night out. I can still recite most of the dialogue, especially the film’s chilling final scene. A big hit in Spain (which was still in the grip of Franco’s regime), it became the country’s first international film success, with American International Pictures (AIP) heading up the film’s distribution in 1971.

For years, I’ve only had that VHS copy to return to, but a few years ago, I met Mary Maude (who plays Mme Fourneau’s ice-cold protege Irene) at a Film Fair in London and grabbed a DVD copy on sale for her to sign. Unfortunately, the quality was the same as what was then available on YouTube at the time. Then I stumbled on the German Blu-ray (Das Versteck), which was a slight improvement – but the 1:85:1 ratio was rather strange. Both were the original Spanish print – La residencia (with blue titles).

Now, finally restored to its director’s original full-length vision, The House That Screamed is ripe for rediscovery with Arrow releasing two versions – and once you have seen it (and heard Waldo de los Ríos’ gorgeously haunting score which really should have been included in this release), you may just want to put it in your Top 10 Euro horror list.

Think Ed Gein heading out for a Picnic at Hanging Rock!

ARROW LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS
• Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of the 105-minute uncut version titled The Finishing School (La residencia), and the 94-minute US theatrical version titled The House That Screamed, via seamless branching
• Original lossless English mono audio on both versions and lossless Spanish audio on the uncut version
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on both versions, and optional English subtitles for the Spanish audio
• Brand new audio commentary by critic Anna Bogutskaya
• This Boy’s Innocence, interview with actor John Moulder-Brown (this is by far my favourite extra on this release as Moulder-Brown has some very insightful recollections of working on the film when was just 15 years old)
• Archive interview with Mary Maude from 2012’s Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester
• All About My “Mama”, interview with Juan Tébar, author of the original story
• The Legacy of Terror, interview with the director’s son, Alejandro Ibáñez
• Screaming the House Down, interview with Spanish horror expert Dr Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, discussing the history of the film
• Alternative footage from the original Spanish theatrical version
• Original trailers, TV and radio spots
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
• Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Shelagh Rowan-Legg and a double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch

The Final Programme | Robert Fuest’s psychedelic 1970s sci-fi get a newly-restored UK Blu-ray premiere release

Jon Finch heads a starry cast as the flamboyant anti-hero of this dystopian, darkly humorous sci-fi thriller from maverick British writer/director Robert Fuest – best-known for the Dr Phibes black comedy horror films starring Vincent Price and TV’s The Avengers.

Based on Michael Moorcock’s 1968 novel, and produced by David Puttnam, The Final Programme is presented here in a new restoration making its UK Blu-ray premiere, which brilliantly showcases Fuest’s flamboyant and stylish visuals and production design.

In a far-off future, mankind is in a state of decay. But a group of scientists believe they have found the means to move humanity on to its next level in the creation of an ideal, self-replicating – and thus immortal – human being.

Jerry Cornelius, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and playboy adventurer, is vital to the project’s success: his recently deceased father devised the formula of this ‘final programme’.

However, the formula is captured on microfilm hidden in the vaults of the family’s mansion, and jealously guarded by Jerry’s drug-addicted, psychopathic brother, Frank…

Joining Finch in the psychedelic adventure are Sterling Hayden, Jenny Runacre, Graham Crowden, Patrick Magee, Ronald Lacey and Harry Andrews – as well as genre faves Julie Ege and Sarah Douglas.

Weird, wild, and the most Fuestian of the director’s oeuvre, The Final Programme is available to buy on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital from 20 February 2023.

The special extras on the new Studiocanal release include an interview with Jenny Runacre, Kim Newman (who cites the film as Fuest’s masterpiece) taking a brief look at Fuest’s career, the Italian title sequence and trailers. The Blu-ray edition included four collector’s art cards.

You can read my full review of THE FINAL PROGRAMME by clicking on the title link.

Available to pre-order HERE.

Audrey Rose (1977) | The underrated supernatural thriller gets an Arrow 2k restoration release

Master filmmaker Robert Wise began his career with horror classics The Curse of the Cat People and The Body Snatcher for producer Val Lewton. His career would go on to include westerns, thrillers, science fiction and musicals, earning him two Academy Awards for Best Director. In 1963 he returned to his Lewtonian roots with the classic ghost story The Haunting; in 1977, he returned once more with the supernatural thriller Audrey Rose.

All parents Bill (John Beck) and Janice (Marsha Mason) wish for is a quiet, peaceful life with their 11-year-old daughter Ivy (Susan Swift). But their dreams turn to nightmares as Ivy is besieged first by terrifying ‘memories’ of events that never occurred… and then is stalked by a mysterious stranger (Anthony Hopkins) who claims that Ivy was, in fact, his daughter in another life.

Released in the wake of The Exorcist and The Omen, Audrey Rose is an intelligent, heartfelt drama that approaches its subject with an open mind and seriousness of intent that caught many off guard but typifies Wise’s previous genre forays. Sensitively played by a sterling cast at the top of their game, this underseen gem deserves a place on the shelf of any fan of classic horror. And boy, can little Susan Swift scream the house down…

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restoration by Arrow Films from a new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-Ray presentation
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by film critic Jon Towlson
• Faith and Fraud, a brand new interview with magician Adam Cardone about reincarnation and belief in Audrey Rose
• Then and Now, a brand new featurette looking at the New York locations used in the film
• I’ve Been Here Before, archive visual essay by Lee Gambin looking at reincarnation in cinema
• Investigator: The Paranormal World of Frank De Felitta, an archive interview with the author and scriptwriter of Audrey Rose
• The Role of a Mother, an archive Interview with Marsha Mason
• Hypnotist: Inside the score for Audrey Rose, an archive interview with film music historian Daniel Schweiger
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Christopher Shy
• Collectors booklet featuring new writing by critics Kimberly Lindbergs and Johnny Mains

Memoria (2021) | A ponderous arthouse Cannes-winning folly

“A powerful meditation on connection, spiritual isolation and renewal” Screen Daily

“Spellbinding” The Hollywood Reporter

“Hypnotic… a unique cinematic voice”  Empire

If you want to check out Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s metaphysical 2021 drama, Məmorᴉa, it’s available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital from Sovereign in the UK. But be warned! It’s artsy-fartsy and very, very, very slow. Here’s my lowdown.

Tilda Swinton takes centre-stage in this ‘meditative exploration of memory and the human condition’ which scored the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize in 2021. The Guardian described the film as “slow cinema that decelerates your heartbeat”, saying the actress and director make a “dream team”. It certainly is – slow! While Indiewire described it as “a transfixing deep-dive into the profound challenges of relating to people and places”. Hmm!

Here’s the official synopsis: While visiting her sister in Bogota, Jessica (Swinton) is awoken by a loud bang, audible only to her. Restless and disoriented, she roams the city in search of an explanation, becoming immersed in the aural richness around her – whispers in a hospital room, sound effects playing in an editing studio, indiscreet noises from a city square. Befriending an archaeologist studying human remains found in a tunnel under construction, Jessica travels to visit her at the excavation site, whereupon she confronts the unsettling sights and sounds that call her identity into question. 

And after what seems like an eternity, Jessica’s journey ultimately leads to an ‘out of this world’ revelation. Swinton described this as one in which, “all the wisdom in the world is being revealed to this person at this moment”.

My verdict: Every scene goes on way longer than you’d expect and often with a static camera fixed in a wide shot or medium close-up. I thought the sound engineer scene was long but then came the fish scaling by the river scene (the meditative sound of the running water is guaranteed to send you into a lovely slumber) and a 17-minute scene of Jessica in silent contemplation as she taps into the vibrations reverberating inside her head.

And the big reveal? Well, after the bang whoosh! moment, I thought my DVD had frozen, but it’s just more static imagery, the sound of gentle rain, a barely audible radio broadcast, chirping insects and the end credits.

I feel really bad that I just didn’t get this film – and I don’t mind slow scenes (hey, I’m a big fan of Antonioni – but at least his camera moves). Maybe I should have watched the extras first, which do fill in the gaps. Nice soundscapes though.

LIMITED EDITION DUAL FORMAT EXTRAS:

Collector’s Edition Booklet – A collection of interviews and articles, including notes from British writer & screenwriter Tony Rayns, plus cast & crew biographies, plus additional behind-the-scenes photos and film stills from the production.

Q&A with Simon Field – Tilda Swinton (who executive produced the film) talks to Simon Field (also one of the film’s producers) at the ICA as they discuss Memoria, from the film’s inception, filming in Colombia, and how audiences have received the film worldwide (30m).

Q&A with Peter Bradshaw – British writer and chief film critic at The Guardian conducts an online zoom discussion with Tilda Swinton and director Apichatpong Weerasethakul about the making of Memoria (27m).

Roundtable Discussion – Simon Field discusses the making of the film with Tilda Swinton, director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, producer Diana Bustamante, editor Lee Chatametikool, and sound designer Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr.

Behind the Scenes – Three selected sequences from the on-location shoot in Colombia.

Photo Gallery 

Son of the White Mare (1981) | Marcell Jankovics’ kaleidoscopic animated masterpiece Special Edition Blu-ray

From Eureka Entertainment comes Hungarian animator Marcell Jankovics’ underground 1981 fantasy epic, Son of the White Mare [Fehérlófia], on Blu-ray as a part of The Masters of Cinema Series, presented from a director-approved 4K restoration.

Regarded as a definitive masterpiece of world cinema, this psychedelic adaptation of the narrative poetry from László Arany and ancient Hunnic, Avaric and Hungarian legends follows heroes Treeshaker (the titular son), Stonecrumbler and Irontemperer as they descend into the perilous Underworld on an epic quest to battle the forces of ancient evil and save the cosmos.

Utilising a kaleidoscopic medley of animation styles that’s reminiscent of the fluid techniques employed by Richard Williams in his unfinished fantasy epic, The Thief and the Cobbler, Son of the White Mare is a dizzy, stunning, transformative piece of cinema that’s guaranteed to have you spellbound throughout its 90-minutes of ever-changing colours and shapes. And it doesn’t shy on the sexual elements either – so not really suitable for impressionable young children.

Presented from a 2019 4K restoration supervised and approved by Jankovics, this release also includes a wealth of special extras, including the animator’s debut feature – and the first-ever Hungarian animated feature film, Johnny Corncob [János Vitéz] (1973), as well as a selection of his short films. 

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited Edition O-Card slipcase
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a director-approved 4K digital restoration
• Johnny Corncob (János Vitéz) – Jankovics’ first animated feature, and the first ever Hungarian animated feature film, is also presented here in 1080p from a director-approved 4K digital restoration
• Sisyphus – short film
• Dreams on Wings – short film created as a commercial for Air India
• The Struggle (Küzdők) – short film
• Optional English Subtitles
• Brighter Colors – extensive interview with Marcell Jankovics from the Hungarian National Film Archive, filmed in 2020
• Making of János Vitéz – archival featurette from 1973
• The Director Talks – featurette with Jankovics produced by the Hungarian National Film Archive
• A collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by film writer Rich Johnson

Available to order from:

Eureka Store https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/son-of-the-white-mare-feherlofia/

The Juniper Tree (1990) | Rediscover Nietzchka Keene’s mystical folkloric tale starring Björk on Blu-ray

If the name Nietzchka Keene doesn’t ring any bells, then that’s because the American filmmaker made only three features and a handful of shorts before her death from cancer, aged 52, in 2004. Primarily working as a university professor in Wisconsin, she did however have a unique eye as witnessed in her 1990 debut feature, The Juniper Tree, which has now been released in a 4k-restored print on Blu-ray from the BFI.

Loosely based on one of the Brothers Grimm’s most disturbing tales (whose themes include child abuse, murder and cannibalism), Keene’s arthouse take on the disturbing story casts a 21-year-old Björk as Margit who is taken out of her rural Icelandic village by her older sister Katia after their mother is put to death for being a witch.

Using magical incantations, Katia seduces widower Jóhann, who has a young son, Jónas, into a relationship and the two sisters settle into their new home. However, all is not good as Jonas refuses to accept Katia as his stepmother, forcing her to take drastic steps to ensure Johann doesn’t leave her.

Shot in black and white (in English) on a tiny budget on location in Iceland in 1986, Keene and her cinematographer Randy Sellars make atmospheric use of the dramatic landscape (especially the iconic Reynisfjara basalt columns, which have their genesis legend involving trolls) and the long shadows created by the low-lying sun (and the 23-hour daylight).

Visually inspired by the films of Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman and Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro lighting technique, they have crafted a mystical mediation on magic and feminine power. The Juniper Tree never got a proper release, except in film festivals, so it’s ripe for rediscovery, as is seeing Björk making her screen debut (who was a young mum on the cusp of joining The Sugarcubes).

Restored by Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research and The Film Foundation, with funding provided from the George Lucas Family Foundation, on 4K using the original 35mm negatives.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Presented in High Definition
• 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative
• Commentary by Icelandic cultural scholar Dr Guðrún D Whitehead
• Still (1978, 4 min), Hinterland (1981, 25 min), Aves (1998, 7 min): three remastered short films by Nietzchka Keene (Steeped in religious symbolism, the animated Aves is a particular favourite of mine)
• Randy Sellars on The Juniper Tree (2019, 29 min): video interview with the film’s cinematographer
• Archive interview with Nietzchka Keene on her inspirations for making the film (2002, 15 min)
• Outtakes from The Juniper Tree (5 min)
• The Witch’s Fiddle (1924, 7 min): a British silent show produced by the rarity from the BFI National Archive
• Iceland – The Land of Ice and Fire (1929, 22 mins): Glimpses of Iceland from the silent cinema era (the score is so good, I’ve played this three or four times now)
• US theatrical trailer
• Collector’s booklet; credits and notes on the special features

The Juniper Tree can be ordered from home entertainment online retailers or from the BFI Shop at https://shop.bfi.org.uk/