Eureka Entertainment has announced its October batch of Blu-ray releases. They are: Pandora's Box (1929), Beach of the War Gods (1973), and From Beijing with Love (1994).
Description: In a role intended at one point for Marlene Dietrich (The Blue Angel), 22 year-old Louise Brooks (Diary of a Lost Girl), with her fragile beauty and iconic dark bob hairstyle, gives a performance decades ahead of its time and immortalised her as an icon. Largely condemned and censored upon its initial release for its daring treatment of sexuality and female desire, Brooks' understated yet erotically charged performance, endures as among the most modern of the silent era.
Adapted from a pair of plays by Frank Wedekind, Pandora's Box tells the story of prostitute Lulu, a free spirit whose open sexuality breeds chaos in its wake. When Lulu's latest lover, the newspaper editor Dr. Ludwig Schon (Fritz Kortner, The Hands of Orlac), announces plans to leave her to marry a more respectable woman, Lulu is devastated. Cast in a musical revue written by Schon's son, Alwa (Francis Lederer, The Return of Dracula), Lulu seduces Schon once more — only to have their tryst exposed, and Schon's plans for a more socially acceptable marriage shattered. Left with no choice but to marry Lulu, Schon meets with tragedy on their wedding night. Lulu stands trial for the incident, facing years of imprisonment. With the aid of her former pimp (Carl Goetz, Tom Sawyer) an infatuated lesbian countess (Alice Roberts, The Merry Widower), and Alwa, she flees toward a fate of increasing squalor and peril, finally crossing paths one Christmas Eve with Jack the Ripper.
Reviled and bowdlerised at its debut, Pandora's Box has since been recognised as one of the masterpieces of early German cinema. A sordid melodrama made with great style, it affirms G.W. Pabst as a daring and important director and Louise Brooks as one of cinema's most exquisite and distinctive performers. The Masters of Cinema series is proud to present Pabst's masterpiece in a new restoration on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
Optional English subtitles
Orchestral Score by Peer Raben
New audio commentary by critic Pamela Hutchinson
New visual appreciation by author and critic Kat Ellinger
New video essay by David Cairns
New video essay by Fiona Watson
Limited Edition Box Set - 3000 Copies
Limited Edition Hardcase featuring artwork by Tony Stella
Limited Edition 60-Page Book featuring new writing on the film by critics Alexandra Heller Nicholas, Imogen Sara Smith, and Richard Combs; alongside archival stills and imagery
Description: Kung Fu film innovator Jimmy Wang Yu (The Chinese Boxer) blends wuxia mayhem with Seven Samurai in Beach of the War Gods.
In the waning days of the Ming dynasty, Japanese marauders raid villages on the Chinese coast. A wandering swordsman (Wang Yu) single-handedly dispatches a group of the foreign thugs, and agrees to help defend the town. He assembles a core team of highly skilled warriors, including mercenary knife thrower Leng Ping (Yeh Tien, Blood of the Dragon) and hot-headed swordsman Iron Bull Chao (Han Hsieh, One Armed Boxer). Together, they train the townsfolk to stand up to the foreign pirates, using strategy and skill. When the army launches an all-out assault on the town, a ferocious battle rages, leading to final conflict on the Beach of the War Gods.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Beach of the War Gods ranks among Jimmy Wang Yu's best films, a briskly-paced historical adventure bursting with wild action.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut
Original Mandarin mono audio
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)
Brand new interview with action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema on the life and career of Jimmy Wang Yu
Archival interview with Jimmy Wang Yu
Trailers
Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Tony Stella [2000 copies]
A Limited Edition collector's booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver and a review of the film by Dr Craig D. Reid from his book The Ultimate Guide to Martial Arts Movies of the 1970s [2000 copies]
Description: Hong Kong's King of Comedy Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) directs and stars in this hilarious spoof of the James Bond franchise.
Martini swilling butcher (and disgraced former spy) Ling Ling Chat is dispatched to recover a stolen dinosaur skull from a golden-gun wielding supervillain. Equipped with the latest gadgets, our hero dons his tuxedo and swaggers into a world of danger, beautiful women, and metal mouthed assassins. Sound familiar?
One of Stephen Chow's funniest films, Eureka Classics is proud to present From Beijing With Love on Blu-ray in its UK debut.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW RESTORATION from the original film elements
Original Cantonese mono audio
Optional English dubbed audio
Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
Wong Kam Kong on "From Beijing With Love" – new interview with actor Wong Kam Kong about his role in the film
Wong Kam Kong in conversation – actor Wong Kam Kong discusses his career
Archival interview with Stephen Chow
Archival interview with Lee Lik-chi
Trailer
A Limited edition collector's booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [2000 copies]
Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) [2000 copies]