The British Film Institute will release on Blu-ray the recent 4K restoration of Jean Cocteau's beloved film
Beaty and the Beast (1946), starring Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parély, Nane Germon, and Michel Auclair. Currently, the release is set to arrive on the market on March 26.
Synopsis: More beautiful than ever in a new 4K digital restoration, Cocteau's spellbinding, sensuous masterpiece was recently described by Guillermo del Toro as 'the most perfect cinematic fable ever told'.
A hapless merchant, lost in a dark forest, seeks refuge in the castle of a hideous monster who threatens to kill him unless one of his three daughters will agree to take his place. But when Beauty appears, the Beast falls madly in love with her. Hauntingly portrayed by Jean Marais, the Beast is all repressed lust and melancholy refinement, while Beauty (Josette Day) is no mere damsel in distress, overcoming her fears to explore a glittering, shadowy realm which abounds in supernatural terrors and delights. Might she secretly relish this adventure which will help unlock her deepest desires? Cocteau aspired towards a 'realism of the unreal', working with cinematographer Henri Alekan and designer Christian Bérard to conjure up a world of living statues, talking mirrors and candelabras clutched in disembodied hands. With the addition of an eerie orchestral score from Georges Auric, so magical is the entire effect that we are tempted to wonder – along with Beauty – 'Do such marvels really exist?' The answer must be an enthralled 'yes'. (Margaret Deriaz).
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- 4K RESTORATION of the film
- Audio commentary with cultural historian Sir Christopher Frayling
- Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film, and full film credits
- Optional English subtitles for the main feature
- AND MORE...
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ADDITIONAL UPCOMING BLU-RAY RELEASES
When the Wind Blows
Synopsis: Jim and Hilda Bloggs (Sir John Mills and Dame Peggy Ashcroft) are a middle-aged couple, who believe that the British government is in control as they prepare for Nuclear War. When the countdown begins they roll up their shirtsleeves and follow government guidelines that were actually distributed to households around Britain in the 1970s. They paint their windows white, build a fortress of doors and pillows, take the washing in and put away two packets of ginger nuts, one tin of pineapple chunks and a good supply of tea.
This cautionary tale is both humorous and macabre in its consideration of one of the most horrific possibilities of modern life. When the Wind Blows is a story about love, tenderness, humanity and hope. Adapted by Raymond Briggs (The Snowman) from his best-selling book,
When the Wind Blows features an original soundtrack by Roger Waters, and title song by David Bowie.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Audio commentary with First Assistant Joe Fordham and Film Historian Nick Redman
- Jimmy Murakami: Non-Alien (2010, 75 mins): feature-length documentary about the film's director
- Interview with Raymond Briggs (2005, 14 mins)
- The Wind and the Bomb (2005): the making-of When the Wind Blows
- Protect and Survive (1975, 51 mins): public information film about how to survive in the event of a nuclear explosion
- Isolated music and effects track
- Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Raymond Briggs, Jez Stewart and Bella Todd, and full film credits
STREET DATE: JANUARY 22.
Hotel Salvation
Synopsis: A warm tale of life and relationships, embedded in Indian culture and Hindu rituals. Daya, a 77 year-old father, and Rajiv, his over-worked accountant son, journey to the eponymous Hotel Salvation in the awe-inspiring holy city of Varanasi. Rajiv struggles with anxieties about his responsibilities back home, while Daya (whose prophetic dream about his own death led them there) starts to bloom in the hotel as he befriends a delightful widow.
The simple pleasures of this timeless city are explored as father and son belatedly come to know each other in the enforced intimacy of their cramped hotel room and the teaming streets. With superb performances from renowned actors Adil Hussain (Life of Pi, Lalit Behl (Titli) and Geetanjali Kulkarni (Court), this gentle and tender multi award-winning film will make you laugh and cry.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Q+A with director Shubhashish and producer Sanjay Bhutiani (2007, 17 mins)
- Kush (2013, 20 mins): director Shubhashish Bhutiani's award-winning short film
- Varanasi (1901, 2 mins): archive film shot on the banks of the holy city of Varanasi
- The Making of Hotel Salvation (2016, 11 mins)
- Original trailer
- Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film, and full film credits
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 26.
The Magic Flute
Synopsis: Ingmar Bergman puts his indelible stamp on Mozart's exquisite opera in this sublime rendering of one of the composer's best-loved works: a celebration of love, forgiveness, and the brotherhood of man. The Magic Flute (Trollflöjten) stars Josef Köstlinger as Tamino, the young man determined to rescue a beautiful princess from the clutches of parental evil.
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 26.
Derek Jarman - Volume One: 1976-1986
Synopsis: Derek Jarman sadly passed away from HIV-related complications in February 1994, but his legacy lives on. In the twenty years since his death, his work has lost none of its relevance.
Jarman's multi-faceted work is inspirational in its fearlessness, yet remains touchingly personal. The dynamism of these features evokes comparison with the bold romanticism of directors Ken Russell (an early champion) and Michael Powell, as well as artists Paul Nash and John Piper. But Jarman was also a subversive force in film. Through the provocativeness of Jubilee, The Tempest and The Angelic Conversation, he invoked Elizabethan occultist Dr John Dee and explored alchemical imagery, a subject in which he was well versed, while in Sebastiane and Caravaggio he revived key gay and homo-erotic figures from the past with edgy and unmistakeable style.
Derek Jarman's enduring legacy is celebrated in this lavish box set containing his first five features, newly scanned at 2K from original film elements, alongside an exciting array of new and archival extras.
STREET DATE: MARCH 26.
Shiraz: A Romance of India
Synopsis: Shiraz is based on the true story of the 17th century Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, his queen and the building of the world's most beautiful monument to love, The Taj Mahal. Shot entirely in India, it features lavish costumes and gorgeous settings, including the extraordinary fort at Agra.
Himansu Rai (also the film's producer) stars as the humble potter Shiraz, who follows his childhood sweetheart Selima (Enakshi Rama Rau) when she is sold by slave traders to the future emperor. Newly restored by the BFI National Archive, and looking better than it ever has, the film also features a new score from world-renowned sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Around India with a Movie Camera (2017)
- Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film, and full film credits
- AND MORE...
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 26.
An Actor's Revenge
Synopsis: This wildy melodramatic tale of a Kabuki female impersonator who exacts a long-delayed revenge on the men who drove his parents to suicide is played out against a backdrop of comic rivalries between thieves in the Tokyo underworld. Kazuo Hasegawa (Gate of Hell) plays the dual role of the actor and the thief in a film which celebrates his 300th screen appearance.
A heady mixture of swooning romanticism and stylised action, with a soundtrack that ranges from traditional Japanese music to lush Hollywood strings and cocktail jazz, An Actor's Revenge is a cinematic tour de force.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- NEW 4K RESTORATION of the film
- Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film, and full film credits
- AND MORE...
STREET DATE: MARCH 26.