Blu Ray News: Master of Cinema and Arrow Video announcements

I don't do very much news on the site, but for a while I have been thinking that it would be wise to cover some releases and other news that I think would interest you. Note: This does NOT mean I'll be reporting every scrap of mundane movie news like some sites out there, as I consider that one of the great contributors to why movies struggle so much to surprise us anymore. However, some things are worth writing about...

Masters of Cinema announce April, May and June releases.
On April 23rd, Eureka Video's brilliant Masters of Cinema series will release the following titles on Dual Format Blu Ray and DVD.

LIFEBOAT(Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)
Alfred Hitchcock's only film for Fox, made at the height of WW2, stars a first-rate ensemble cast, led by grande dame of the stage Tallulah Bankhead, as the survivors of a Nazi attack set adrift on a lifeboat in the Atlantic Ocean, pitted against interpersonal animosities, creeping paranoia, and the captain of the Nazi sub that placed them in their current predicament...

UGETSU MONOGATARI (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT
Mizoguchi's intensely poetic tragedy consistently features on polls of the best films ever made. This new HD restoration is the film's first appearance on Blu-ray anywhere in the world, and is accompanied by an HD presentation of Mizouguchi's 1951 classic OYÛ-SAMA.

SANSHO DAYU (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT
One of the most critically revered films in Japanese cinema history, Mizoguchi's deeply affecting classic has been newly restored in HD and appears here on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, and is accompanied by an HD presentation of Mizoguchi's 1953 classic GION BAYASHI.


On May 28th, MOC release a Charles Laughton double bill.

ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)
For the first time in the UK, one of the most imaginative and nightmarish fantasies from Hollywood's golden age of horror - starring the legendary Charles Laughton. Originally rejected by the BBFC, this first and best screen adaptation of H. G. Wells' THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU, is one of Hollywood's wildest pre-Code pictures.

RUGGLES OF RED GAP (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT
The UK home viewing premiere of one of the finest films of Leo McCarey (MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER) finds Charles Laughton in one of his greatest roles as a personal valet shipped off to America in the service of the brash and wealthy Egbert Floud (played, coincidentally enough, by Charlie Ruggles); a sophisticated comedy of rude manners ensues.


and on June 23rd, two Billy Wilder classics arrive in the Masters of Cinema collection.

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)
Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler team up to create one of the greatest, and quintessential, films noirs of the studio era, a classic of the hard-boiled genre nominated for seven Oscars, and whose performances by Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson have been leaving audiences breathless for almost 70 years. Now, exclusively restored by The Masters of Cinema Series for its first ever release on Blu-ray anywhere in the world.

THE LOST WEEKEND (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)
An Academy-Award-winning (including Best Picture) triumph from the great Billy Wilder, with Ray Milland as a writer's-block-ridden and booze-sodden author spiralling into a days'-long rock-bottom binge crafted by Wilder with expressionist fervour. This gorgeous Blu-ray edition is the first available anywhere in the world.


Arrow Video announce Unlimited Editions

I LOVE Arrow Video's line of horror and exploitation Blu Rays, but they are hugely expensive, so here's some good news... Beginning with Caligula on February 20th Arrow will start releasing all their Blu Rays in 'Unlimited' editions. These will replace the initial print runs, boast 2, rather than 4, artwork choices and come in a standard BR case rather than the windowboxed slipcase of their current releases (editions like that will still be released for future titles, but will be limited). It appears that, aside from the poster, all the extras will be retained, and for the reduced RRP of £19.99, maaking these editions much more affordable.