The Eureka & Masters of Cinema Thread

[Susan Foreman]

'Buster Keaton: Our Hospitality / Go West / College' (1923 - 1927) - Blu-ray pre-order available at Eureka direct - £19:99

Release date: July 19

"The Masters of Cinema Series presents three more films directed by and starring Buster Keaton from new restorations.

Our Hospitality (1923) – Often cited as one of his most significant films — as well as one of his funniest — 1923’s Our Hospitality, which Keaton co-directed with John G. Blystone, is his take on the notorious feud between the Hatfield and McCoy clans (here renamed the Canfields and the McKays). Keaton is luckless William McKay, who must journey down South to view his lacklustre inheritance, only to be seduced along the way by one of the Canfields, Virginia, who lures him to her family’s house so that the men of the clan can shoot him down. But William knows that the Canfield men won’t kill him as long as he’s in their house, so he endeavours to stay put there, against all obstacles. With its attention to 19th-century period detail and emphasis on integrating the gags into the storyline, Our Hospitality was not just a breakthrough in Keaton’s career, but it was also noted even during its release as an advancement in the medium, with Variety proclaiming, “It marks a step forward in the production of picture comedies.” From a 2K restoration

Go West (1925) – Keaton is at his most stone-faced as the memorably named “Friendless” in Go West, an irresistible blend of deadpan darkness and spectacular comic set-pieces. Friendless abandons city life to ride the rails to an Arizona ranch, where his ineptitude at almost everything only makes his nickname even more accurate. But when his one beloved companion, a cow named Brown Eyes, seems to be headed to a slaughterhouse fate, Friendless intervenes, and the resulting cattle stampede through the streets of Los Angeles is one of Keaton’s most understandably famous and acclaimed sequences. From a 4K restoration

College (1927) Keaton follows up The General with a higher education comedy that seems to take a cue from Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman (1925). Keaton is bookworm Ronald, whose high school girl Mary ditches him for someone with the athletic prowess that Ronald lacks. Determined to win her back, Ronald enters college with an eye on sports, but two left feet. From a 2K restoration"

Special features:

• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from new restorations undertaken by The Cohen Film Collection
• Our Hospitality – Presented in 1080p from a 2K restoration
• Go West – Presented in 1080p from a 4K restoration
• College – Presented in 1080p from a 2K restoration
• Our Hospitality – new audio commentary by silent film historian Rob Farr
• Hospitality [55 mins] – early shorter version of Our Hospitality, presented with optional commentary by film historian Polly Rose
• Making Comedy Beautiful [26 mins] – video essay by Patricia Eliot Tobias
• Go West – new audio commentary by film historians Joel Goss and Bruce Lawton
• Go West – new video essay by John Bengtson (Silent Echoes / Silent Traces / Silent Visions) on Go West’s filming locations
• A Window on Keaton [28 mins] – video essay by David Cairns
• Go West [1923, 12 mins] – short film
• College – video essay by John Bengtson on the film’s filming locations
• The Railrodder [1965, 24 mins] – produced by the National Film Board of Canada and starring Buster Keaton in one of his final film roles
• The Railrodder – optional audio commentary with director Gerald Potterton and cameraman David De Volpi
• Buster Keaton Rides Again [1965, 55 mins] – documentary feature produced concurrently with, the filming of The Railrodder
• Q&A with Gerald Potterton [55 mins] – audio recording of a post-screening Q&A with The Railrodder director Gerald Potterton, and David De Volpi
• Stills Galleries
• A collector's booklet featuring an essay by Philip Kemp, and writing on all three films by Imogen Sara Smith

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

'The Millionaires’ Express' (1986) - Limited Edition 2-disc blu-ray pre-order available at Eureka direct - £21:99

Release date: July 26

"The Far East meets the Old West in this iconic action-packed adventure from the inimitable Sammo Hung. Hung plays a loveable rogue who teams up with an incorruptible Sheriff (Yuen Biao; Project A, Wheels on Meals) to save their home town from certain destruction.

Featuring an explosion of brawls, bandits, and bordellos; The Millionaires’ Express is Sammo Hung’s loving tribute to classic Western tropes, but also one of his finest pieces of action cinema. An electrifying fast-paced fusion of dynamic martial artistry, death-defying stunts, and physical comedy. Also starring Rosamund Kwan, Richard Ng, and Cynthia Rothrock (plus an abundance of cameos from other Hong Kong cinema legends) – The Millionaires’ Express makes its UK debut on Blu-ray in this definitive edition as part of Eureka Classics"

Special features:

• Four versions of the film across two Blu-ray discs, all presented from brand new 2K restorations
• Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling
• Limited Edition reversible poster featuring new and original artwork
• Limited Edition Bonus Disc featuring the English language version of the film originally prepared for the international theatrical release; and a new cut of the film prepared exclusively for this release that combines footage from the original theatrical and extended cuts of the film to present a hypothetical “complete” version
• Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing and rare archival imagery
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray of the Original Hong Kong Theatrical Cut from a brand new 2K restoration
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray of the Extended Version (sometimes erroneously labelled the International Cut) of the film from a brand new 2K restoration
• Cantonese audio (original mono presentation)
• Alternate English dub track
• Rare alternate Cantonese soundtrack
• Optional English dubbed audio
• Optional English Subtitles (newly translated for this release)
• Brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) [Hong Kong Theatrical Version]
• Brand new select scene commentary by actress and martial arts movie icon, Cynthia Rothrock [Hong Kong Theatrical Version]
• Brand new audio commentary by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema [Extended Version]
• Brand new interview with Cynthia Rothrock
• Archival interview with Sammo Hung
• Archival interview with Cynthia Rothrock
• Archival interview with Yuen Biao
• Archival interview with Yukari Oshima
• Alternate English opening & closing credits
• Trailers
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray of the English Language Version from a brand new 2K restoration (LIMITED - DISC 2 ONLY)
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray of the Hybrid Cut, newly created exclusively for this release from a brand new 2K restoration (LIMITED - DISC 2 ONLY)
• Original English dubbed audio track [English Language Version] (LIMITED - DISC 2 ONLY)
• Original Cantonese mono audio [Hybrid Cut] (LIMITED - DISC 2 ONLY)
• Optional English subtitles
• ***All extras subject to change***

Haven't seen this since my high school days

[John Matrix]

Going to get Wild Search, one of the few classic era Ringo Lam / Chow Yun Fat films I haven't seen. Hope School on Fire gets a release soon.

I'll get Millionaires Express to replace my HKL DVD, least Eureka have made the effort with a new interview.

Eureka and 88 Films must be absolutely raking it in with all the old films that were on HKL getting a blu ray release. Wish they would put a bit more effort in with the extras though.

[Susan Foreman]

'Prophecy' (1979) - Blu-ray pre-order available at Eureka direct - £17:99

Release date: August 16

"Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire star as a doctor and his wife who travel to Maine to research the impact of the lumber industry on the local environment. They begin to investigate a succession of mysterious and terrifying events: ecological freaks of nature and a series of bizarre and grisly human deaths. Something unimaginably horrible waits in the woods. Something unwittingly created by man, that will become an uncontrollable, merciless machine of destruction.

A graphically violent piece of environmental horror from director John Frankenheimer, Prophecy comes to Blu-ray for the first time ever in the UK."

Special features:

• Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 copies]
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a High Definition transfer
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• New feature length audio commentary by Richard Harland Smith
• New feature length audio commentary by film writers Lee Gambin & Emma Westwood
• New interview with screenwriter David Seltzer
• New interview with mime artist Tom McLoughlin
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• A LIMITED EDITION collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Craig Ian Mann; and an archival interview [2000 copies]

[Susan Foreman]

'Early Universal, Vol 1' (1926-1929) - Blu-ray pre-order available at Eureka direct - £20:99

Release date: August 16

"The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present three early silent features from Universal Pictures, all fully restored as part of the studio’s ongoing restoration program.

Skinner’s Dress Suit (dir. William A. Seiter, 1926) – Reginald Denny stars as a shy clerk who asks his boss for a raise at the urging of his wife. His request is rejected, but he lies to his wife, who immediately goes out and buys an expensive suit, an act that upends his once-ordered life

The Shield of Honor (dir. Emory Johnson, 1927) – The LAPD has a new method of fighting crime, the Air Police! Their newest recruit, young hotshot pilot Jack MacDowell (Neil Hamilton), is tasked with catching a gang of jewellery thieves.

The Shakedown (dir. William Wyler, 1929) – Dave Roberts (James Murray) is a fighter better known for taking falls in fixed fights than for taking home the prize money. But then he falls head-over-heels for a fiery waitress (Barbara Kent) and a rough-and-tumble orphan (Jack Hanlon), and he begins to dramatically alter his life inside and outside of the ring."

Special features:

• Limited Edition O-Card slipcase [2000 copies]
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from restorations undertaken by Universal Pictures (Skinner’s Dress Suit and The Shakedown restored in 4K, The Shield of Honor restored in 2K)
• Skinner’s Dress Suit – score by Leo Birenberg
• The Shield of Honor – score by Alex Kovacs
• The Shakedown – score by Michael Gatt
• Audio Commentary tracks on all three features
• A collection of additional materials from the early era of Universal Pictures, with complimentary analysis by silent film experts and historians
• A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films included in this set

[Susan Foreman]

'Running Against The Wind' (2019) - Blu-ray pre-order available at Eureka direct - £12:99

Release date: August 9

"In Ethiopia, two young men are racing to make their dreams come true.

Two twelve-year-old boys grow up together in a remote village – until a single photo changes their lives forever: Solomon heads for Addis Ababa to become a photographer. Abdi remains at home and trains to fulfil his dream of matching the sport successes of Haile Gebrselassie. Ten years later, Abdi is nominated for the Ethiopian National Running Team and moves to Addis Ababa/ He feels Solomon must be dead by now, but an inner voice tells him to look for his old friend. And in fact Solomon is still alive, but in a completely different world to Abdi’s. "

Special features:

• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray
• DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio
• Optional English subtitles
• A Limited Edition Collector’s Booklet featuring an interview with the director by film writer Jason Wood [1000 copies]

[Rob4]

No sign that Prophecy has been resubmitted to the BBFC so likely to be the same cut version... fake raccoon's breathe a sigh of relief

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

'Prophecy' (1979) - Blu-ray pre-order available at Eureka direct - £17:99

Release date: August 16

Give me anything by the late great Frankenheimer.

Bye bye to the Scream Fact disc.....

[Nordicdusk]

Anyone have any issues with The Man They Couldn't Hang in the Karloff at Universal set. I just tried to watch it and its stuttering a lot the other films on the disc work no problem.

[Rob4]

Originally Posted by Nordicdusk

Anyone have any issues with The Man They Couldn't Hang in the Karloff at Universal set. I just tried to watch it and its stuttering a lot the other films on the disc work no problem.

Lot's of people are reporting this. I've not checked mine yet, but if you fast reverse it (don't use skip) back to the start it cures the problem.