The British Film Institute has detailed the following four upcoming Blu-ray release:
Psychomania (1973),
Cry of the City (1948),
On the Black Hill (1987), and
Carmen Jones (1954).
Psychomania
LOOK OUT! The Living Dead motorcycle gang is on the rampage, wreaking havoc in their small English town. For gang leader Tom (Nicky Henson), however, mere earthly violence is not enough: he's obsessed with the occult and is convinced that he can kill himself and then return from the dead - with the help of a frog-worshipping cult and his seance-conducting mother (Beryl Reid). Remarkably, Tom succeeds and soon joins the ranks of the walking - and riding - dead! Now if he can only persuade his girlfriend and the rest of his gang to join him - but Mother and her diabolical butler Shadwell (George Sanders) may have other plans for the Living Dead, who are dangerously trespassing on uncharted spiritual grounds.
Psychomania is a pre-punk British horror cult classic featuring trashy violence, suburban witchcraft and some amazing motorcycle stunt sequences. Come and ride with the Living Dead - if you dare! Starring Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Ann Michelle, Roy Holder, and Denis Gilmore.
Special Features:
- Return of the Living Dead (2010, 25 mins): interviews with stars Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, and others
- Sound of Psychomania (2010, 9 mins): interview with soundtrack composer John Cameron
- Riding Free (2010, 6 mins): interview with Riding Free singer Harvey Andrews
- An interview with Nicky Henson (2016): a new interview with actor Nicky Henson, star of Psychomania
- Leather and Hell: Dressing the Living Dead (2016): new featurette on the company who supplied the film's costumes
- Discovering Britain with John Betjeman: Avebury, Wiltshire (1955, 4 mins): the famous British poet narrates this travelogue about the Avebury stone circle and nearby burial grounds
- Roger Wonders Why (1965, 18 mins): a church-made amateur film which sees two Christian biker youths visit the legendary 59 club where they meet the founder, Rev. Bill Shergold
- Remastering Psychomania (2016)
- Original theatrical trailer
- Fully illustrated booklet with new writing by Andrew Roberts, Vic Pratt and Will Fowler
STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 19.
Carmen Jones
Otto Preminger's (Laura, Anatomy of a Murder) celebrated 1954 film proved to be a milestone in musical cinema.
Dorothy Dandridge, whose vibrant performance resulted in the first Oscar nomination for an African-American actress in a leading role, stars as the beautiful temptress Carmen Jones. In one of the sexiest performances ever seen on the big screen she seduces the handsome GI Joe (Harry Belafonte) away from his sweetheart (Olga James), but after she tires of him and takes up with a heavyweight prize-fighter (Joe Adams), she only succeeds in triggering Joe's tragic revenge.
With an all-black cast this Oscar nominated version of Bizet's opera Carmen features an iconic soundtrack from Oscar Hammerstein, including songs such as 'Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum' and was voluptuously shot in Cinemscope Technicolor.
Special Features:
-
Karen Alexander on Carmen Jones (2016): a newly filmed appreciation by curator and critic Karen Alexander
- Audio commentary by Adrian Martin
- The Guardian Lecture: Harry Belafonte interviewed at the National Film Theatre (1996, 45 mins)
- Stills and Collections Gallery
- Original theatrical trailer
- Illustrated booklet with full film credits and new writing by Chris Fujiwara
STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 19.
Cry of the City
A masterpiece of law and disorder, Robert Siodmak's film noir classic depicts a timeless battle of good versus evil on the streets of New York.
Childhood friends Martin Rome (Richard Conte), a charismatic and ruthless criminal, and Lieutenant Candella (Victor Mature), a dogged and tireless cop, go head-to-head as Rome attempts to forge an alibi through intimidation and menace. Seductively callous and threatening, Rome's travails reveal an underworld of corruption and criminality at the heart of the Big Apple. Candella's persistence and resourcefulness keeps his nemesis looking over his shoulder; as tense game of cat and mouse played out to an inevitably dramatic climax.
Offering a vivid depiction of life in Little Italy, Siodmak's fast-paced crime thriller is beautifully shot and is a key work in the genre.
Special Features:
- Original theatrical trailer
- Audio commentary with Adrian Martin
- Adrian Wootton on Cry of the City (2016): a newly filmed appreciation by the critic and chief executive of Film London
- Fully illustrated booklet with credits and newly commissioned essays
STREET DATE: AUGUST 22.
On the Black Hill
Chronicling the travails of the Jones family - Amos (Bob Peck, Jurassic Park), Mary (Gemma Jones, Bridget Jones Diary), and their three children - the heart of the story is the intense relationship between their sons, identical twins Benjamin and Lewis (played by real-life brothers Mike and Robert Gwilym). Sharing a unique bond, the brothers journey through eight decades of life, death and hardship together, all the while tied to the land on which they were raised. The epic sweep of the film takes in two world wars, exploring themes of nationalism, class, community, faith and pacifism. Though unrelenting in its portrayal of the raw experiences of rural life, On the Black Hill celebrates the people of the Black Mountains and its landscape, made transcendent by the magnificent cinematography of Thaddeus O'Sullivan.
Set in the stunningly dramatic Welsh Borders, Andrew Grieve's (Hornblower, Letter from the East) evocative adaption of Bruce Chatwin's novel is presented on Blu-ray for the first time.
Special Features:
- Newly remastered in high-definition
- Introduction by Andrew Grieve
- Special Collections Gallery
- Shadows on the Mountains
- O'Er Hill and Dale
- Complete screenplay (Downloadable PDF - DVD only)
- Illustrated booklet with writing by Andrew Grieve, Brian Hoyle, Kevin Jackson, Jonathan Chatwin, Philip Kemp and Kathleen Luckey, and full film credits
STREET DATE: AUGUST 22.