Powerhouse Films

[Susan Foreman]

'State Of The Nation' (1948) - Blu-ray pre-order available from Powerhouse direct - £15.99

Release date: March 20

"The immortal screen couple Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) take the lead in this fabulously witty political comedy drama from director Frank Capra (It’s a Wonderful Life), filmed against the background of the 1948 Presidential election.

Wealthy aeroplane manufacturer Grant Matthews is encouraged to become a presidential candidate by his girlfriend, press baron Kay Thorndyke. Forced to publicly reunite with his estranged wife Mary in order to present the illusion of a happy marriage, he comes close to nomination. But, as Grant and Mary realise that political success will mean compromising their principles, Grant has a change of heart.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Harold Lindsay and Russel Crouse (The Sound of Music), and with supporting turns from Angela Lansbury (Gaslight) and Adolphe Menjou (The Sniper), State of the Union is a brilliant blend of political satire and romantic comedy."

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with critics and writers Claire Kenny, Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme (2023)
• The John Player Lecture with Angela Lansbury (1973): archival audio recording of the celebrated star of film, stage and television in conversation with Rex Reed at London’s National Film Theatre
• Lucy Bolton on Angela Lansbury (2023): the academic discusses the life and eventful career of the much-loved performer
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Raquel Stecher, archival interviews with director Frank Capra, archival set reports, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies

[Susan Foreman]

'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife' (1938) - Blu-ray pre-order available from Powerhouse direct - £15.99

Release date: March 20

"Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night) and Gary Cooper (Morocco) play the leads in Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife, a classic comedy from director Ernst Lubitsch (Broken Lullaby).

Seven-times married, the wealthy playboy Michael Brandon meets the beautiful, tempestuous Nicole, and makes her his eighth wife. Determined she won’t be just another of his conquests, Nicole contrives to frustrate Michael’s advances in order to keep him keen. Michael, however, believes she is trying to force him to divorce her in order to take advantage of a generous pre-nuptial agreement, and a battle of wills ensues.

One of Lubitsch’s greatest films, and a huge influence on the modern romantic comedy, Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife boasts a sizzling screenplay by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder (The Lost Weekend, Sunset Blvd.), and a memorable supporting turn from David Niven (A Matter of Life and Death)."

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with academic and curator Eloise Ross (2023)
• The Guardian Interview with Claudette Colbert (1984): archival audio recording of the celebrated performer in conversation at London’s National Film Theatre
• United States (1944): military training film, narrated by David Niven during his time away from Hollywood to serve in the RAF, and produced to instruct British troops in the history of their American allies
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Pamela Hutchinson, archival interviews with director Ernst Lubitsch, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies

[Susan Foreman]

'The Kiss Before The Mirror' (1933) - Blu-ray pre-order available from Powerhouse direct - £15.99

Release date: March 20

"Director James Whale (Frankenstein) directs Nancy Carroll (Broken Lullaby) and Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz) in this mysterious and atmospheric drama.

Whilst defending a man who stands accused of murdering his wife, attorney Paul Lukas comes to suspect that his own wife is being unfaithful. Following her through the streets of Vienna, he becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea of her infidelity.

Made in between Whale’s Universal horror classics The Old Dark House and The Invisible Man, The Kiss Before the Mirror is a ravishingly staged pre-Code classic."

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian Nora Fiore (2023)
• Mirror Images (2023): video essay comparing The Kiss Before the Mirror to James Whale’s 1938 remake, Wives Under Suspicion, which was produced in the era of the Motion Picture Production Code
• Classification of Enlisted Men (1943): War Department documentary short, directed by James Whale and focusing on four inductees into the US Army
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay on the film, archival interviews and articles, and full film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies

[Susan Foreman]

'Broken Lullaby' (1932) - Blu-ray pre-order available from Powerhouse direct - £15.99

Release date: March 20

"Often overlooked amongst director Ernst Lubitsch’s comedies and musicals, Broken Lullaby is a riveting and brilliant romantic drama from the pre-Code era, starring Lionel Barrymore (It’s a Wonderful Life), Nancy Carroll (The Kiss Before the Mirror), and Phillips Holmes (The Criminal Code).

Musician Paul Renard is haunted by the memory of Walter, a German soldier he killed during the First World War. He travels to Walter’s home town, and, passing himself off as a friend of the deceased, is taken in by his grieving family. But when he finds himself falling in love with Elsa, Walter’s fiancée, he becomes worried that the truth will emerge...

With a screenplay by regular Lubitsch collaborator Samson Raphaelson (The Shop Around the Corner, Heaven Can Wait), Broken Lullaby was rapturously received by critics at the time, with one describing it as ‘the most unusual and dramatic situation the screen has presented’."

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2K restoration
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with author and film historian Joseph McBride (2021)
• The Films of Ernst Lubitsch (2001): archival audio recording of a presentation by Scott Eyman, author of Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise, presented as part the British Film Institute’s 2001 Lubitsch retrospective at the National Film Theatre, London
• The Men I Killed (2023): video essay on Broken Lullaby and François Ozon’s 2016 film Frantz, comparing their different cinematic approaches to adapting Maurice Rostand’s 1930 play, L’Homme que j’ai tué, and its 1931 English-language translation, The Man I Killed, by Reginald Berkeley
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Christina Newland, archival profiles of director Ernst Lubtisch and star Lionel Barrymore, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies

[Rob4]

They teased Curse of the Crying Woman in their newsletter.

[Michael Brooke]

Mondo Digital is first out of the blocks with an admirably thorough review of the Michael J. Murphy box.

Even in a world where we have massive Blu-ray box sets devoted to filmmakers like Andy Milligan, Ray Dennis Steckler, Norman J. Warren, and William Grefé, it's still a shock to see an encyclopedic collection for Michael J. Murphy. Largely focused on thrillers along with the occasional horror, fantasy, or sci- film over the course of his 30-film feature career that started in his late teens, Murphy is still quite obscure even in cult film circles with most of his work very difficult to find outside of scouring British VHS bins. In 2023, Indicator delivered the most unlikely labor of love in Blu-ray history with a sprawling ten-disc set comprising the 26 surviving Murphy films (mostly under the banner of the company he co-founded Murlyn), and a very comprehensive slate of bonus features shining a light on a fascinating and distinctive voice in homemade genre cinema.

[TJ Doc]

I am interested in the Murphy set but I'd like to see more of the packaging before I pull the trigger.

[Rob4]

I'm not going to lie I'm sitting on the fence for the Murphy set because I know so little about the films. When it comes to low budget DIY I have to be honest and say that the level of the sleaze factor comes into play Shall we call it the Andy Milligan Factor, or AMF for short

Looking at the review the only AMF of note seems to be some references to incest in the early films and various beefcake removing their shirts - being straight, it takes a bit more than that in the homoerotic department to make me sit up and take notice.

So is there any other AMF in the films that will make you think 'wow, this guy's deranged'? If not what else is there in them for the dedicated cultist - is there any level of delirium that will drop the jaw in terms of action, gore or outright madness?

I know this post makes me seem like a mental sleazehound, but for DIY filmmaking there has to be something that's unique and entertaining otherwise you might as well put your own home movies on...

[g053584398]

Originally Posted by Rob4

I know this post makes me seem like a mental sleazehound, but for DIY filmmaking there has to be something that's unique and entertaining otherwise you might as well put your own home movies on...

Trust me Rob, you're not the only sleaze-hound in the room!

[Michael Brooke]

DVD Beaver has a ton of Michael J. Murphy screencaps, including a special NSFW section that the last two commenters might appreciate.