Powerhouse Films

[Michael Brooke]

Originally Posted by The Reaper Man@Cult Labs

CREATURES THAT THE WORLD FORGOT arrived on Friday,and what a package it is!
I was somewhat shocked to see it was an 18 though!

For sexual violence. It might get a milder classification if resubmitted, but since it already had a video certificate there was no legal requirement to do so, and it didn't seem worth paying a full BBFC fee to find out, especially if they decided that the 18 still stood.

(Indicator limited editions aren't really aimed at the teenage market.)

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Yeah quite right.
No point paying Big Brother for nowt.

[Michael Brooke]

When we tracked down a halfway decent copy of the longer UK cut of The Legacy at almost the last minute (the HD master being of the US cut), we had to bump up the classification from 15 to 18, to reflect what the UK cut received when it was submitted for video classification.

Since all the graphic stuff is in the 15-certificate shorter cut as well, we can be reasonably certain that the UK cut, and therefore the entire package, would also have got a 15 if resubmitted...

...but, again, how many 15-17-year-olds would really be that interested in this? Or completely unable to get hold of it even if they were?

[Rob4]

CtWF arrived. Such a thing of beauty for one of Hammer's lesser movies. I wish studiocanal would let PH do something like this for One Million Years BC...

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Rob4

CtWF arrived. Such a thing of beauty for one of Hammer's lesser movies. I wish studiocanal would let PW do something like this for One Million Years BC...

I'm expecting my copy tomorrow from Amazon.

Look forward to watching it this weekend.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I'm expecting my copy tomorrow from Amazon.

Look forward to watching it this weekend.

It arrived earlier. I'm going to leave it until Friday night to inspect it properly.

[Susan Foreman]

'The Big Gundown' (1966) - Limited Edition Blu-ray pre-order available at PowerHouse Films direct - £22:99

Release date: December 5

"Released the same year as Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Sergio Corbucci’s Django, The Big Gundown (La resa di conti) is a classic spaghetti western. Directed by the great Sergio Sollima (Face to Face, Violent City) this brutal film elevated western regular Lee Van Cleef (Ride Lonesome) to his first ever starring role.

When bounty hunter Jonathan Corbett (Van Cleef) is hired to track down a Mexican peasant (Tomas Milian, in a career-defining role) who has been accused of an appalling crime, he is initially outwitted by the wily bandit. However, the relationship between the two men soon takes an unexpected turn and they team up to take on railroad baron Brockton (Walter Barnes).

With its rousing score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone, and its politically charged screenplay by Sergio Donati (Once Upon a Time in the West) and Franco Solinas (The Battle of Algiers), The Big Gundown has earned its reputation as one of the greatest and most influential Italian westerns.

This individually numbered Limited Edition includes three versions of the film – the US theatrical cut, the extended US cut, and the original 110-minute Italian version – along with a fascinating selection of new and archival extra features, a poster, and an 80-page book."

2 x BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2K restorations
• Three feature presentations: La resa dei conti (110 mins): the original Italian theatrical version, presented with both Italian and English soundtracks; the original US theatrical version (90 mins); and the extended US cut (95 mins) with scenes added for television broadcast
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with writers and film experts Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman on the Italian theatrical version (2022)
• Audio commentary with film historians C Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke on the extended US cut (2013)
• Spaghetti Western Memories (2012): documentary in which director Sergio Sollima and actor Tomas Milian revisit this much-heralded western
• Tomas Milian: Acting on Instinct (2013): the genre-film star revisits The Big Gundown and reveals some of his acting secrets
• Stephen Thrower on ‘The Big Gundown’ (2022): the author and musician on the unique qualities of Sollima’s classic
• Austin Fisher on ‘The Big Gundown’ (2022): the author of Radical Frontiers in the Spaghetti Western: Politics, Violence and Popular Italian Cinema situates the film in the wider context of the genre
• Isolated music & effects tracks
• Original US theatrical trailers
• Original Italian theatrical trailer
• TV spots
• Image galleries: production stills and promotional material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Italian cinema expert Roberto Curti, archival interviews with Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, and Sergio Sollima, extracts from the film’s promotional materials, an examination of the work of co-screenwriter Franco Solinas, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• Limited edition exclusive poster
• UK premiere on any home video format
• Limited edition of 5,000 copies

All extras subject to change

[Susan Foreman]

'Enter Santo: The First Adventures Of The Silver-Masked Man' (1966) - Limited Edition Blu-ray pre-order available at PowerHouse Films direct - £24:99

Release date: December 5

"Immediately recognisable by his distinctive silver mask, the heroic wrestler known as El Santo (‘The Saint’) was Mexico’s most popular luchador, becoming a folk hero and the star of a hugely popular series of action films. Enter Santo: The First Adventures of the Silver-Masked Man presents the two earliest cinematic excursions of this icon of Mexican popular culture.

In Santo vs. Evil Brain (Santo contra cerebro del mal) (1961), the dastardly Doctor Campos is kidnapping and brainwashing scientists. When undercover detective Santo falls prey to Campos’ scheme, Lieutenant Zambrano (Enrique Zambrano) and El Incognito (Fernando Osés) must come to his assistance to foil Campos’ plans. Meanwhile, in the same year’s Santo vs. Infernal Men (Santo contra hombres infernales) (1961), the trio of Santo, El Incognito, and Zambrano team up once again to fight a band of drug smugglers.

Shot in Cuba in the final days before Fidel Castro entered Havana, these two films represent the celluloid birth of a true screen legend, and spawned a further fifty Santo films. Beautifully restored in 4K from the original negatives, these thrilling films finally receive their world Blu-ray premieres in this individually numbered Limited Edition two-disc set, complete with new and archival extra features, including a feature-length documentary, a poster, and an 80-page book."

2 x BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• Brand new 4K restorations from the original camera negatives of Santo vs. Evil Brain and Santo vs. Infernal Men
• Original mono audio
• Perdida (2011), feature-length documentary by Viviana GarcÃ*a-Besné, granddaughter of Jorge GarcÃ*a-Besné, exploring her family’s massive contribution to Mexican cinema, including initiating the Santo series
• Archival interview with actor JoaquÃ*n Cordero (2010)
• Santo vs. Evil Brain restoration comparison
• Santo vs. Infernal Men restoration comparison
• Perdida image gallery: stills collection from the Calderón family
• New and improved optional English translation subtitles
• Limited Edition exclusive 80-page book
• Limited Edition exclusive poster
• World premieres on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 6,000 copies for the UK and US

All extras subject to change

[Susan Foreman]

'Remember The Night' (1940) - Limited Edition Blu-ray pre-order available at PowerHouse Films direct - £18:99

Release date: December 5

"With its sparkling screenplay by Preston Sturges (The Great McGinty, The Palm Beach Story), this much-loved romantic comedy paired screen legends Barbara Stanwyck (The Lady Eve, Forty Guns) and Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity, The Absent-Minded Professor) for the very first time.

Stanwyck plays Lee Leander, a shoplifter who faces a lonely Christmas in prison, while MacMurray is the strait-laced New York District Attorney who takes pity on her and organises her release on bail. After he offers to drive her to visit her family, a trouble-filled road-trip ensues and an unlikely romance blossoms.

Directed by Mitchell Leisen (Easy Living, Hold Back the Dawn), and featuring acting support from Beulah Bondi (It’s a Wonderful Life) and Elizabeth Patterson (The Cat and the Canary), Remember the Night is an all-time classic comedy from Hollywood's golden age. This individually numbered Limited Edition includes a fascinating selection of new and archival extra features, a poster, and an 80-page book."

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian Adrian Martin (2022)
• Geoff Andrew on ‘Remember the Night’ (2022): the author and programmer revisits the film, exploring the contributions of star Fred MacMurray, writer Preston Sturges and director Mitchell Leisen
• Pamela Hutchinson on Barbara Stanwyck (2022): the critic assesses the life and career of the iconic silver-screen star, and her role in Remember the Night
• Lux Radio Theatre: ‘Remember the Night’ (1940): radio adaptation which sees MacMurray and Stanwyck reprise their roles from the film
• Lux Radio Theatre: ‘Remember the Night’ (1942): second radio adaptation, this time pairing MacMurray with Jean Arthur
• Hollywood Victory Canteen (1945): short promotional film starring Barbara Stanwyck and many other Hollywood names, including Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, and Alan Ladd
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Rick Burin, archival interviews with cast and crew, articles on the careers of director Mitchell Leisen and screenwriter Preston Sturges, an overview of contemporary critical responses, writing on Hollywood Victory Canteen, and full film credits
• Limited edition exclusive poster
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK and US

All extras subject to change

[Susan Foreman]

Amended release date:

ROBIN HOOD AT HAMMER: TWO TALES FROM SHERWOOD FOREST, THE SWIMMER and MADIGAN, originally scheduled for release on August 22 will now be released on September 12

UNIVERSAL NOIR #1, originally scheduled for release on September 19 will be released on October 24

MAGIC, MYTH & MUTILATION: THE MICRO-BUDGET CINEMA OF MICHAEL J MURPHY, 1967–2015 originally scheduled for release on October 25will be released on November 21 (UK) and November 22 (US/Canada)