Picnic at Hanging Rock

release date: 1st May 2023 

 

On Saturday 14th February 1900, a party of schoolgirls from Appleyard College picnicked at Hanging Rock near Mt. Macedon in the state of Victoria. During the afternoon, several members of the party disappeared without trace…

 

• A new Second Sight Films 4K scan and restoration from the original camera negative supervised and approved by Director Peter Weir and Director of Photography Russell Boyd

• Dual format 4 disc set featuring 2 UHDs and 2 Blu-rays

• UHDs presented in HDR

• Includes restorations of the Director’s Cut and original Theatrical Cut

• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Thinh Dinh

• Softc over book with new essays by ​​Daniel Bird, Kat Ellinger and Justine Smith, archive essay by Rebecca Harkins-Cross, Costume Gallery, feature on the original marketing of the film and the new restoration.

• The original novel with exclusive cover by Thinh Dinh

• 6 collectors’ art cards

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Fear and loathing in las vegas

release date: 22nd May 2023 

 

Considered unfilmable for decades, Hunter S. Thompson’s literary landmark of psychedelic excess finally met its cinematic match in anarchic visionary director Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys) and two no-holds-barred star performances by Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.

Raoul Duke (Depp) and his volatile Samoan attorney Dr. Gonzo (del Toro) are en route to Las Vegas, ostensibly on a banal journalistic assignment, but the suitcase full of psychoactive narcotics in their possession tells another story. Beset by bats, horny lizards and runaway hotel carpet upon their arrival, the pair plunge deeper into the pharmaceutically enhanced neon underbelly of the City of Sin on a chemically charged savage journey to the heart of the American Dream.

Flashback to Gilliam and Thompson’s trip of a lifetime with this 4K restoration, accompanied by an outstanding selection of bonus material delving into the history of the film and the original book.

 

• 4K restoration from the original negative approved by Terry Gilliam

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

• Original 5.1 & 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio 

• Optional subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Feature commentary by Terry Gilliam, moderated by Phil Stubbs 

• Savage: Finding The American Nightmare, an appreciation by film historian Ian Christie 

• The Gonzo Papers, an interview with producer Laila Nabulsi 

• Grim Memories & Bad Flashbacks, an interview with star Benicio del Toro 

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repulsion

release date: 22nd May 2023 

 

Roman Polanski followed up his international breakthrough Knife in the Water with this controversial, chilling tale of psychosis. Catherine Deneuve is Carol, a fragile, frigid young beauty cracking up in her London flat when left alone by her vacationing sister. She is soon haunted by spectres real and imagined, and her insanity grows to a violent, hysterical pitch. Thanks to its disturbing detail and Polanski’s adeptness at turning claustrophobic space into an emotional minefield, Repulsion is a surreal, mind-bending odyssey into personal horror, and it remains one of cinema’s most shocking psychological thrillers.

 

• Restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Roman Polanski, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

• Audio commentary featuring Polanski and actress Catherine Deneuve

• A British Horror Film (2003), a documentary on the making of Repulsion, featuring interviews with Polanski, producer Gene Gutowski, and cinematographer Gil Taylor, among others

• A 1964 television documentary filmed on the set of Repulsion, with rare footage of Polanski and Deneuve at work

• Original theatrical trailers

• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar and curator Bill Horrigan

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La Regle Du Jeu

release date: 22nd May 2023 

 

Denigrated by the public, vilified by the critics, re-cut at the insistence of its producers, and finally banned by the French government as demoralising and unpatriotic, La Règle du jeu was a commercial disaster at the time of its original release. 

On the surface, a series of interlinked romantic intrigues taking place at a weekend shooting party in a country chateau, the film is in fact a study of corruption and decay within French society on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. Its reputation firmly restored, Renoir’s brilliant comedy is now widely recognized as one of the greatest films ever made.

 

• Restored in 4K in 2021 by La Cinémathèquefrançaise and Les Grands Films Classiques and presented on Blu-ray

• A 42-minute documentary on the making of La Règle du Jeu, directed by Pierre Oscar Levy (1987) for the series Image par Image

• Other extras TBC

 

 

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Morgiana

release date: 1st May 2023 

 

With delirious visuals conjured by cinematographer Jaroslav Kucera (Daisies, Diamonds of the Night) and often described as ‘the last film of the Czechoslovak New Wave’, Juraj Herz’s delirious tale of terror is a surreal phantasmagoria of dark desires and splintered minds – a twisted Czech take on What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and Poe’s ‘The Black Cat’. Based on a short story by Aleksandr Grin, (the ‘Russian Poe’), Morgiana is the story of twin sisters, Klara and Viktoria who live a life of decadent opulence, somewhere in the late 19th century. Klara is charming, trusting and beautiful, whilst Viktoria is wicked, sadistic, bursting with hate and jealousy – and who hatches a terrible revenge by slowly poisoning her more popular sister. As the toxin takes hold, Klara begins to lose grip on her sanity… Part fairy tale, part Gothic horror, Morgiana is a full-blown hallucinatory experience from the director of the chilling The Cremator, Oil Lamps and Beauty and the Beast.

 

• Newly filmed interview with director Juraj Herz

• New digital transfer with restored picture and sound

• New and improved English subtitle translation

• Booklet featuring essays by Dr Ian Conrich and Daniel Bird

• Optimal quality dual-layer disc

• Available for the first time on DVD in the English speaking world

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The beta test

release date: 8th May 2023 

 

Eyes Wide Shut meets Office Space, The Player and Black Mirror in The Beta Test, the acclaimed thriller from Jim Cummings, creator of Thunder Road and The Wolf of Snow Hollow.

A ruthless, manipulative, and soon-to-be married Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter inviting him to an anonymous sexual encounter. After some uncertainty he accepts, but euphoria turns to paranoia as he becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lies, infidelity and murder.

Strikingly shot and with pitch-perfect performances that will make you squirm in your seat, The Beta Test is a stylish, scathing satire of preening toxic masculinity, the dangers of technology, and the hollowness of Hollywood success.

 

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation

• Original lossless 5.1 audio 

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Exclusive bonus disc of short films 

• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Anton Bitel

• Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork options

• Audio commentary by directors Jim Cummings & PJ McCabe

• Sex, Lies & Purple Envelopes, a visual essay by author and film scholar Alexandra Heller Nicholas

• Trapped. Hiding. Boom, a visual essay by author and critic Guy Adams

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blackhat

release date: 29th May 2023 

 

Michael Mann (Thief, Collateral), the acclaimed auteur celebrated for his action panache and commitment to cinematic realism, turns his hand to depicting the high-stakes world of global cybercrime in Blackhat, a contemporary, ripped-from-the-headlines twist on the espionage thriller.

Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers, Extraction) stars as Nick Hathaway, a gifted hacker currently serving a lengthy prison sentence. When a Hong Kong nuclear plant goes into meltdown after its security is penetrated, Chinese army cybersecurity captain Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang, Lust, Caution) offers his old college roommate a deal: help identify and apprehend the culprit in exchange for his own freedom. What follows is a frenetic, globe-trotting race against time to avert disaster, fraught with hidden agendas and ever-shifting loyalties.

Praised for its unusually accurate portrayal of cybersecurity, Blackhat boasts an impressive international cast, including Tang Wei (Decision to Leave), Viola Davis (The Woman King) and Yorick van Wageningen (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and showcases one of cinema’s finest filmmakers bringing the skills he honed during a long and storied career to bear on a distinctly 21st-century phenomenon.

 

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of both the US and international versions of the film 

• Original lossless 5.1 audio 

• Zero Day Threat – brand new video interview with production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas

• The Cyber Threat, On Location Around the World and Creating Reality – three archival behind-the-scenes featurettes on the making of the film 

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Doug John Miller

• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Andrew Graves

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twilight

release date: 15th May 2023 

 

Second Run are delighted to present György Fehér’s masterpiece – legendary, long unseen and most desired, now making its world premiere on Blu-ray in a stunning new 4K restoration.

A seasoned detective investigates a series of child murders, succumbing to an all-consuming and tragic obsession with the case, finding empty solace in his quest for vengeance.  What emerges is not a crime story, but a harrowing venture through the darkness of the human soul. Twilight unfolds with breathtaking cinematography and haunting sound design, allowing the mystery to emerge in tantalisingly atmospheric and meditative fashion.

 

• Twilight (Szürkület, 1990) presented from the new 4K restoration by the National Film Institute Hungary – Film Archive, supervised and approved by cinematographer Miklós Gurbán

• A series of new filmed appreciations by contemporary filmmakers on the influence and importance of Twilight

• Trailer

• Booklet featuring an expansive new essay by filmmaker and curator Stanley Schtinter

• New and improved English subtitle translation

• World premiere on Blu-ray

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burial ground

release date: 29th May 2023 

 

When they arrive to spend the weekend in a large country villa, the guests are expecting a chance to unwind and make merry. Unfortunately, their host has neglected to mention that there are zombies in the basement. They’re feeling peckish too…

Boasting icky effects from Gino De Rossi (who arranged atrocities for Zombie Flesh Eaters), Burial Ground is a head-bashing, gut-muching, maggot infested classic from the gory glory days. 88 Films are proud to present this emetic extravaganza in a brand new – and completely uncut – 4K transfer.

 

• 4K Restoration From the Best Surviving Element (35mm Blow-up Interpositive)

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray™ presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

• HD (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation

• Return to the Burial Ground – An Interview with Peter Bark at Villa Parisi

• The Borders of the Extreme – An Interview with Eugenio Ercolani

• Zombie and Melodies – An Interview with Pierpaolo De Sanctis

• ‘What the Fuck?: The Films of Andrea Bianchi’ An Interview with critic Mikel Koven

• 35mm Blowup Print “Grindhouse Version”

• Deleted Scenes / Trims

• Italian Credits Sequence

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the bloody judge

release date: 29th May 2023 

 

If you thought the Witchfinder General was a wrong ‘un, wait until you meet The Bloody Judge! Charged by the king to sniff out witchcraft and treason, Judge Jeffries – the legendary Christopher Lee – is a man who enjoys his work, especially the opportunities it affords for torture and sexual violence. But his brand of legal sadism creates enemies: His Honour cannot escape justice forever…

Filled with the sort of depravity you might reasonably expect from director Jesus Franco, the law-abiding lads at 88 Films are proud to present English language blu-ray premier of this classic of seventies Euro horror, beautifully restored and completely uncut.

 

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio

• Lossless 2.0 English Mono

• Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

• Audio Commentary with Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw

• Deleted and Alternative Scenes

• Theatrical Trailer

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