Radiance Films Announces April Releases
HomeRadiance Films Announces April Releases
Posted January 10, 2024 07:20 AM by Webmaster
Radiance Films has announced its April batch of Blu-ray releases. They are: The Shape of Night (1964), L'amour fou a.k.a. Crazy Love (1969), and Misunderstood (1966). The label will also distribute a Raro Video Blu-ray release of a recent 4K restoration of The Boss (1973).
The Shape of Night
Description: A young woman from the countryside (Miyuki Kuwano of Oshima's Cruel Story of Youth) falls in love with a handsome hoodlum (Mikijiro Hira, Sword of the Beast), who pushes her into a life of prostitution. When his sleazy superiors catch sight of her, she finds herself trapped inside the gaudy maze of city nightlife. Directed by Noburo Nakamura, a veteran of the Shochiku studio's signature Golden Age family dramas, The Shape of Night was made as a reaction to the radical film styles of the Japanese New Wave. With its lush cinematography full of saturated colors, a lyrical tone and its story of love leading to inescapable tragedy, it has been compared to the films of Douglas Sirk, while also acting as a precursor to the work of Wong Kar-wai.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
UK STREET DATE: APRIL 29.
L'amour fou a.k.a. Crazy Love
Description: Sebastian (Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Weekend) is staging an adaptation of Racine's tragedy, Andromaque while a film crew captures their rehearsals on handheld 16mm. The production's star and Sebastian's girlfriend, Claire (Bulle Ogier, Out 1), cannot take the pressure and removes herself. Life imitates art, creating a tragedy for the couple when Sebastian recasts the role with his ex. L'amour fou is a hypnotic study of tempestuous love, told with director Jacques Rivette's signature reflexivity and containing striking examinations of performance, art, theater and life. A classic of the French New Wave and one of Rivette's most radical works, L'amour fou was unavailable for years, with the original elements tragically burned in a fire. Now meticulously restored, Radiance Films is proud to present this masterpiece from a new 4K restoration.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Misunderstood
Description: John Duncombe, the British consul in Florence, returns home from his wife's funeral to his two children, who are unaware of their mother's passing. He makes the decision to tell his eldest son, Andrea, but hides the truth from his sickly younger son, Milo. Director Luigi Comenicini (The Sunday Woman) captures the innocence and carefree moments of youth alongside the agonising feelings of grief, creating one of the finest films about childhood, one which can stand alongside The 400 Blows, The Spirit of the Beehive and L'enfance nue. A Palme d'Or nominee at the Cannes Film Festival and recipient of multiple awards from Italian institutions, Misunderstood features remarkable performances from the children and from Anthony Quayle (Lawrence of Arabia) as Duncombe.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
UK STREET DATE: APRIL 29.
***
FROM RARO VIDEO:
The Boss
Description: In the 1970s the crime film flourished in Italy as the country went through years of political and social unrest, the so-called 'Years of Lead'. Italian movie producers would capitalise on these times by producing cheap, violent movies about the country's organised crime and corruption, establishing the genre of the poliziotteschi. One of the most celebrated poliziottesco directors was Fernando Di Leo, a director as concerned with telling entertaining stories as he was with creating socially relevant backdrops. In Di Leo's The Boss, Henry Silva plays mob enforcer Nick Lanzetta, who assassinates key members of a rival gang in order to put his boss in a position to seize power. However, one surviving member of the gang, Cocchi (Pier Paolo Capponi, The Cat o' Nine Tails) plots his revenge involving corrupt cop Torri (Gianni Garko, If You Meet Sartana Pray For Your Death), leading to a bloody series of double-crosses and power plays to find who will ultimately become the boss.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
UK STREET DATE: APRIL 29.
The Shape of Night
Description: A young woman from the countryside (Miyuki Kuwano of Oshima's Cruel Story of Youth) falls in love with a handsome hoodlum (Mikijiro Hira, Sword of the Beast), who pushes her into a life of prostitution. When his sleazy superiors catch sight of her, she finds herself trapped inside the gaudy maze of city nightlife. Directed by Noburo Nakamura, a veteran of the Shochiku studio's signature Golden Age family dramas, The Shape of Night was made as a reaction to the radical film styles of the Japanese New Wave. With its lush cinematography full of saturated colors, a lyrical tone and its story of love leading to inescapable tragedy, it has been compared to the films of Douglas Sirk, while also acting as a precursor to the work of Wong Kar-wai.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- High-Definition digital transfer
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Visual essay on the artistic upheavals at Shochiku studios during the 1960s by Tom Mes
- Trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Chuck Stephens
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
- More to be confirmed!
- REGION-A/B "LOCKED"
UK STREET DATE: APRIL 29.
L'amour fou a.k.a. Crazy Love
Description: Sebastian (Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Weekend) is staging an adaptation of Racine's tragedy, Andromaque while a film crew captures their rehearsals on handheld 16mm. The production's star and Sebastian's girlfriend, Claire (Bulle Ogier, Out 1), cannot take the pressure and removes herself. Life imitates art, creating a tragedy for the couple when Sebastian recasts the role with his ex. L'amour fou is a hypnotic study of tempestuous love, told with director Jacques Rivette's signature reflexivity and containing striking examinations of performance, art, theater and life. A classic of the French New Wave and one of Rivette's most radical works, L'amour fou was unavailable for years, with the original elements tragically burned in a fire. Now meticulously restored, Radiance Films is proud to present this masterpiece from a new 4K restoration.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- NEW 4K RESTORATION from materials kept at Les Archives du Film and in Éclair-Preservation, under the supervision of Caroline Champetier
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- A newly filmed feature-length documentary featuring new interviews with star Jean-Pierre Kalfon; writer/director and Rivette collaborator Pascal Bonitzer; Rivette biographer Antoine de Baecque; critic/historian Sylvie Pierre; and archival footage of Jacques Rivette (Robert Fischer, 2024, 95 mins)
- New interview with Caroline Champetier, renowned cinematographer and restoration supervisor (2024)
- The Third Eye - A video essay by film critics Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin (2024)
- Newly translated English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Jessica Felrice and archival writings by Véronique Manniez-Rivette, an archival interview with Jacques Rivette and images of the director's notes
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
- REGION-B "LOCKED"
Misunderstood
Description: John Duncombe, the British consul in Florence, returns home from his wife's funeral to his two children, who are unaware of their mother's passing. He makes the decision to tell his eldest son, Andrea, but hides the truth from his sickly younger son, Milo. Director Luigi Comenicini (The Sunday Woman) captures the innocence and carefree moments of youth alongside the agonising feelings of grief, creating one of the finest films about childhood, one which can stand alongside The 400 Blows, The Spirit of the Beehive and L'enfance nue. A Palme d'Or nominee at the Cannes Film Festival and recipient of multiple awards from Italian institutions, Misunderstood features remarkable performances from the children and from Anthony Quayle (Lawrence of Arabia) as Duncombe.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE (2024)
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Interview with co-screenwriter Piero De Bernardi and Cristina Comenicini, the director's daughter and herself a noted filmmaker (2008, 36 mins)
- Interview with legendary critic Michel Ciment (2021, 24 mins)
- A Child's Heart - a visual essay by David Cairns on Comencini and the filmmaker's affinity for childhood stories (2023, 25 mins)
- Trailer
- Newly translated English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original promotional materials
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Manuela Lazic and a newly translated archival interview with Comencini
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
- REGION-A/B "LOCKED"
UK STREET DATE: APRIL 29.
***
FROM RARO VIDEO:
The Boss
Description: In the 1970s the crime film flourished in Italy as the country went through years of political and social unrest, the so-called 'Years of Lead'. Italian movie producers would capitalise on these times by producing cheap, violent movies about the country's organised crime and corruption, establishing the genre of the poliziotteschi. One of the most celebrated poliziottesco directors was Fernando Di Leo, a director as concerned with telling entertaining stories as he was with creating socially relevant backdrops. In Di Leo's The Boss, Henry Silva plays mob enforcer Nick Lanzetta, who assassinates key members of a rival gang in order to put his boss in a position to seize power. However, one surviving member of the gang, Cocchi (Pier Paolo Capponi, The Cat o' Nine Tails) plots his revenge involving corrupt cop Torri (Gianni Garko, If You Meet Sartana Pray For Your Death), leading to a bloody series of double-crosses and power plays to find who will ultimately become the boss.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE (2020), presented in the original Italian version and the shorter English export cut, on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Audio commentary by critic Rachael Nisbet
- New interview with Fernando Di Leo biographer Davide Pulici
- Archival documentary Mafia Stories featuring stars Gianni Garko, Pier Paolo Capponi, producer Armando Novelli and director Fernando Di Leo among others (24 mins)
- Original trailer
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Limited edition booklet with new writing by Italian crime expert and scholar Giulio Olesen and an archival interview with Di Leo
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with limited edition booklet and reversible sleeve
- REGION-FREE
UK STREET DATE: APRIL 29.
