Eureka Entertainment has announced that it will add three new Blu-ray releases to its Blu-ray catalog: Johnnie To's PTU (2003), Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac (1924), and Sammo Hung's Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980).
Description: A defining film in Hong Kong genre cinema, ENCOUNTER OF THE SPOOKY KIND blended kung fu, special effects, and Chinese folklore to invent a whole new sub-genre of Asian cinema, the Jiangshi film, which only a few years later would spawn the iconic and hugely successful MR. VAMPIRE.
Sammo Hung plays Courageous Cheung, a man well known in his local village for his lack of fear. His reputation is soon put to the test after he is tricked into spending the night in a temple full of spirits, zombies, and vampires!
Not content with delivering a bucket load of supernatural chills and thrills, Sammo also delivers some of the finest action choreography of his career. Eureka Classics is proud to present ENCOUNTER OF THE SPOOKY KIND on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, from a brand new 2K restoration!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
NEW feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
Cantonese audio (original mono presentation)
Rare alternate Cantonese soundtrack
Optional English dubbed audio
Optional English Subtitles (newly translated for this release)
Archival interview with Sammo Hung
Alternate English opening & closing credits
LI>Stills Gallery
Original trailer
Limited Edition collector's booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [2000 copies]
Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 copies]
Limited Edition reversible poster featuring the film's original HK artwork [2000 copies]
Description: Set against a Hong Kong that never sleeps, a stolen police gun triggers a suspenseful chain of events. Tracking down his missing gun before dawn, Sergeant Lo first has his car vandalised and is then beaten up. Suddenly he finds himself edged between two gangs on the brink of a bloodbath, whilst at the same time staving off investigations by both Vice Squad and Homicide Units embroiled in their own turf war. His only lifeline is a maverick Police Tatical Unit squad who have one night to help him find his gun.
An atmospheric noir thriller from director Johnnie To, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present PTU in its UK debut on Blu-ray.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080p presentation on Blu-ray
Cantonese audio (DTS-HD MA 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options)
Optional English dubbed audio
Optional English Subtitles and English SDH
NEW feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
Archival interview with director Johnnie To
Archival interview with actor Simon Yam
Archival interview with actress Maggie Siu
Trailers
A collector's booklet featuring new writing by David West (NEO Magazine)
Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) [2000 units]
Description: Reuniting the star and director of Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, The Hands of Orlac [Orlac's Hände] is a deliciously twisted thriller that blends grand guignol thrills with the visual and performance styles of German Expressionism.
Based on a novel by medical-horror novelist Maurice Renard, it charts the mental disintegration of a concert pianist (Conrad Veidt) whose hands are amputated after a train crash, and replaced with the hands of an executed murderer. When Orlac's father is murdered by the dead man's hands, Orlac begins a steady descent towards madness.
The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present The Hands of Orlac for the first time on home video in the UK in a special Blu-ray edition.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a restoration of the original film elements by Film Archiv Austria
LPCM 2.0 audio
Original German language intertitles with optional English subtitles
NEW feature length audio commentary with author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman
NEW video essay by filmmakers David Cairns and Fiona Watson
Alternate presentation of The Hands of Orlac [SD, 110 minutes] – Courtesy of the F. W. Murnau Foundation, a presentation of the film struck from a different print source, featuring alternate takes of certain scenes. Includes a musical score by Paul Mercer.
Scene comparisons highlighting some of the differences between the two versions of the film
A collector's booklet featuring new writing by Philip Kemp, and Tim Lucas