Independent British distributors Eureka Entertainment have announced five titles for release in March/April 2013: Claude Chabrol's
Le beau Serge (March 25th) and
Les Cousins (March 25th), Henri-Georges Clouzot's
The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (March 18th), Michelangelo Antonioni's
La Notte (April 22), and Yūzō Kawashima's
A Sun-Tribe Myth From The Tokugawa Era (April 22).
Le Beau Serge
Gérard Blain and Jean - Claude Brialy star in the first of their collaborations with the great Claude Chabrol. The director's masterful feature debut - ironic, funny, unsparing - is a revelation: another of that rare breed of film where the dusty formula might be used in full sincerity: Le Beau Serge marks the beginning of " the Chabrol touch. "
In this first feature film of the French New Wave, one year before Truffaut's
The 400 Blows, the dandyish François (Brialy, of Godard's
A Woman Is a Woman, Rohmer's
Claire's Knee) takes a holiday from the city to his home village of Sardent, where he reconnects with his old chum Serge (Blain), now a besotted and hopeless alcoholic, and sly duplicitous carnal Marie (Bernadette Lafont). A grave triangle forms, and a tragic slide ensues.
Special Features:
- Gorgeous new Gaumont restoration of the film in its original aspect ratio, presented in 1080p HD on the Blu - ray
- New and improved English subtitles
- Original theatrical trailer
- A 56 - minute documentary about the making of the film
- L' Avarice (Avarice), Chabrol's 1962 short film
- A lengthy booklet with a new and exclusive essay by critic Emmanuel Burdeau; excerpts of interviews and writing by Chabrol; and more.
Les Cousins
Made barely a year after Claude Chabrol's debut
Le Beau Serge, Les Cousins featured the earlier film's same starring pair of Jean - Claude Brialy and Gérard Blain, here reversing the good - guy/bad - guy roles of the previous picture. The result is a simmering, venomous study in human temperament that not only won the Golden Bear at the 1959 Berlin Film Festival, but also drew audiences in droves, and effectively launched Chabrol's incredible fifty - year - long career.
In
Les Cousins, Blain's character journeys from the country to Paris to crash at the luxurious flat of his worldly and decadent cousin, portrayed by Brialy, during the study period for an upcoming law exam which both have set out to undertake. It becomes clear soon enough that only one of the cousins is terribly committed to his work; as sexual promises and alcohol intervene, the set - up becomes untenable for the provincial, - and a tragic slide ensues.
Special Features:
- Gorgeous new Gaumont restoration of the film in its original aspect ratio, presented in 1080p HD on the Blu - ray
- New and improved English subtitles
- Original theatrical trailer
- A 47 - minute documentary about the making of the film
- L ' Homme qui vendit la Tour Eiffel (The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower), Chabrol's 1964 short film
- A lengthy booklet with a new and exclusive essay by critic Emmanuel Burdeau; a new and exclusive translation of a rare text about actress Françoise Vatel provided for this release by its author, the filmmaker and critic Luc Moullet; excerpts of interviews and writing by Chabrol; and more.
The Murderer Lives at 21
An overlooked gem from the golden age of French cinema, master director Henri-Georges Clouzot's debut feature is a deliciously droll thriller that combines comedy and noir in equal measure, and will delight fans of his later work. Released in Blu-ray from a gorgeous new restoration by Gaumont; long-awaited UK home viewing première.
Special Features:
- Gorgeous new Gaumont restoration of the film in its original aspect ratio, presented in 1080p HD on the Blu - ray
- New and improved English subtitles
- A fully - illustrated booklet, including the words of Henri - Georges Clouzot and rare imagery
La Notte
One of the masterworks of 1960s art cinema and one of the very finest by Italian maestro Michelangelo Antonioni, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau – upgraded in a brand new 1080p presentation in the film's original 1.66:1 aspect ratio and with previously censored sequences restored for the first time.
Special Features:
- New 1080p presentation of the film in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio with previously censored sequences restored for the first time
- New and improved English subtitles
- Original Italian theatrical trailer
- 56 - page booklet with an essay by film-critic and scholar Brad Stevens, and the transcript of a lengthy Q&A conducted in 1961 with Antonioni upon the film s release.
A Sun-Tribe Myth From The Tokugawa Era
Voted one of the top five Japanese films of all time by the leading cinema journal Kinema junpō, but rarely ever screened in the west, this sparkling new restoration of Yūzō Kawashima's most famous film is an outstanding rediscovery. Released on Blu-ray from a gorgeous new restoration by Nikkatsu.
Special Features:
- Gorgeous new Nikkatsu restoration of the film in its original aspect ratio, presented in 1080p HD on the Blu- ray
- New and improved English subtitles
- A booklet including Shôhei Imamura's tribute to Y ûzô Kawashima, and more.