Radiance Films Announces November Releases
HomeRadiance Films Announces November Releases
Posted August 8, 2025 06:57 PM by Webmaster
Radiance Films has announced that it will release the following titles on Blu-ray in November: Wicked Games: Three Films by Robert Hossein (1955-1961), The Ogre of Athens (1956), and Radical Japan: Cinema and State (1961-1995).
Wicked Games: Three Films by Robert Hossein
Description: A prison break, femme fatales and a genre-defining western: Robert Hossein (Rififi) was, both behind and in front of the camera, one of French cinema's great unsung stylists. Three of his finest genre exploits are collected here.
In a hard penitentiary, two prisoners fight off the rumour that one of them denounced a recently executed inmate. With their fellow convicts at their throats, they join forces and escape. Along the way, they hole up in a remote beach cabin where they take the angel-faced occupant (Marina Vlady, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her) as their hostage while they figure out their next move. The feature debut of Robert Hossein, The Wicked Go to Hell was adapted from the novel by celebrated crime writer Frédéric Dard (Paris Pick-up), a prison escape film that spins into a fatalistic noir, oozing with atmosphere from its striking compositions and explosions of violence.
On an evening stroll, Pierre (Robert Hossein, also director) is invited into a white car by a female voice. Upon getting in he finds a nude blonde with her face obscured by shadow. After sharing an intimate moment, Pierre tries to get to know her but she produces a revolver and orders him to leave. Astonished by the events, Pierre determines to find the woman and traces the car to an address where two blonde sisters live (Marina Vlady, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her and Odile Versois, Passport to Shame), one who claims to never go out and another who is paralysed. Following his explosive debut, director Robert Hossein re-teams with celebrated crime writer Frédéric Dard for this sultry mystery evoking Hitchcock and classic noir.
In a Latin American country ruled by a dictator, revolutionary leader Perez (Robert Hossein, also director) holds up a train to kidnap the dictator's daughter (Giovanna Ralli, The Mercenary) to trade her for captured revolutionaries. Perez takes her across dangerous terrain with his two lieutenants Chamaco (Mario Adorf, The Italian Connection) and Chico. But the bounty on her head is high, and compatriots may be easily tempted to switch sides. Anticipating later Zapata Westerns that focused on revolution like A Bullet for the General and The Wild Bunch, The Taste of Violence is also one of the most visually striking Euro Westerns, bearing a resemblance to work by Akira Kurosawa.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
UK STREET DATE: NOVEMBER 17.
The Ogre of Athens
Description: Despite his best efforts, shy and modest bank clerk Thomas (Dinos Iliopoulos) struggles to fit in with the pace of modern life. On New Year's Eve, a comedy of errors ensues and Thomas is mistaken for 'The Ogre', a notorious criminal mastermind who rules the streets of Athens. Suddenly, men respect him and a woman is interested in him - it's all he's ever wanted. However, everything comes with a price and Thomas is soon out of his depth when his unwitting white lie unravels. Rich with physical comedy and sharp social commentary, this satirical crime drama from director Nikos Koundouros (Young Aphrodites) was a commercial disaster on release and is now considered to be a true classic of modern Greek cinema.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
UK STREET DATE: NOVEMBER 17.
Radical Japan: Cinema and State
The start of an ongoing series, this first volume of Radical Japan explores the films of new wave icon Nagisa Oshima (Cruel Story of Youth, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence). One of the most vital, challenging and admired bodies of work in cinema history, this boxset presents Blu-ray premieres of Oshima's finest features across seven discs.
In The Catch (1961), a village in World War II is shaken by the capture of a pilot; in Death by Hanging (1968), a failed execution throws the justice system into disarray; Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (1969) strikingly captures Tokyo's 1960s counter-culture; Boy (1969) is a vivid portrait of a family surviving through scams; The Man Who Left His Will on Film (1970), Oshima's reaction to the protest movement; The Ceremony (1971), a meditation on how traditions oppress the young; and Dear Summer Sister (1972), which questions Japan's colonial relation to Okinawa.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Wicked Games: Three Films by Robert Hossein
Description: A prison break, femme fatales and a genre-defining western: Robert Hossein (Rififi) was, both behind and in front of the camera, one of French cinema's great unsung stylists. Three of his finest genre exploits are collected here.
In a hard penitentiary, two prisoners fight off the rumour that one of them denounced a recently executed inmate. With their fellow convicts at their throats, they join forces and escape. Along the way, they hole up in a remote beach cabin where they take the angel-faced occupant (Marina Vlady, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her) as their hostage while they figure out their next move. The feature debut of Robert Hossein, The Wicked Go to Hell was adapted from the novel by celebrated crime writer Frédéric Dard (Paris Pick-up), a prison escape film that spins into a fatalistic noir, oozing with atmosphere from its striking compositions and explosions of violence.
On an evening stroll, Pierre (Robert Hossein, also director) is invited into a white car by a female voice. Upon getting in he finds a nude blonde with her face obscured by shadow. After sharing an intimate moment, Pierre tries to get to know her but she produces a revolver and orders him to leave. Astonished by the events, Pierre determines to find the woman and traces the car to an address where two blonde sisters live (Marina Vlady, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her and Odile Versois, Passport to Shame), one who claims to never go out and another who is paralysed. Following his explosive debut, director Robert Hossein re-teams with celebrated crime writer Frédéric Dard for this sultry mystery evoking Hitchcock and classic noir.
In a Latin American country ruled by a dictator, revolutionary leader Perez (Robert Hossein, also director) holds up a train to kidnap the dictator's daughter (Giovanna Ralli, The Mercenary) to trade her for captured revolutionaries. Perez takes her across dangerous terrain with his two lieutenants Chamaco (Mario Adorf, The Italian Connection) and Chico. But the bounty on her head is high, and compatriots may be easily tempted to switch sides. Anticipating later Zapata Westerns that focused on revolution like A Bullet for the General and The Wild Bunch, The Taste of Violence is also one of the most visually striking Euro Westerns, bearing a resemblance to work by Akira Kurosawa.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- 2K RESTORATIONS OF ALL THREE FILMS BY GAUMONT
- Original uncompressed mono audio for each film
- Audio commentary on each film by critic and author Tim Lucas (2025)
- Picking Strawberries - A newly created 'making of' featurette with historian Lucas Balbo, featuring archive interviews with Hossein and Jean Rollin (2025)
- Behind Marked Eyes: The Cinematic Stare of Robert Hossein - A newly created featurette by Howard S. Berger about Hossein and his work (2025)
- Interview with actor Marina Vlady (2014)
- The Evolution of the Femme Fatale in Classic French Cinema - A visual essay by critic Samm Deighan (2025)
- The Taste of Violence appreciation by filmmaker and Western authority Alex Cox (2025)
- Interview with author C. Courtney Joyner on The Taste of Violence and the Zapata Western subgenre (2025)
- Trailer
- Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Walter Chaw and newly translated archival archival writing by Lucas Balbo
- Limited Edition of 3000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
- REIGON-A/B "LOCKED"
UK STREET DATE: NOVEMBER 17.
The Ogre of Athens
Description: Despite his best efforts, shy and modest bank clerk Thomas (Dinos Iliopoulos) struggles to fit in with the pace of modern life. On New Year's Eve, a comedy of errors ensues and Thomas is mistaken for 'The Ogre', a notorious criminal mastermind who rules the streets of Athens. Suddenly, men respect him and a woman is interested in him - it's all he's ever wanted. However, everything comes with a price and Thomas is soon out of his depth when his unwitting white lie unravels. Rich with physical comedy and sharp social commentary, this satirical crime drama from director Nikos Koundouros (Young Aphrodites) was a commercial disaster on release and is now considered to be a true classic of modern Greek cinema.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- High-Definition digital transfer
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- New introduction from Jonathan Franzen (2025)
- New interview with critic Christina Newland (2025)
- New interview with Greek film expert Dimitris Papanikolaou (2025)
- Newly improved English subtitle translation
- Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Andréas Giannopoulos and extract from Jonathan Franzen's Freedom
- Limited edition of 2500 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
- REGION-FREE
UK STREET DATE: NOVEMBER 17.
Radical Japan: Cinema and State
The start of an ongoing series, this first volume of Radical Japan explores the films of new wave icon Nagisa Oshima (Cruel Story of Youth, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence). One of the most vital, challenging and admired bodies of work in cinema history, this boxset presents Blu-ray premieres of Oshima's finest features across seven discs.
In The Catch (1961), a village in World War II is shaken by the capture of a pilot; in Death by Hanging (1968), a failed execution throws the justice system into disarray; Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (1969) strikingly captures Tokyo's 1960s counter-culture; Boy (1969) is a vivid portrait of a family surviving through scams; The Man Who Left His Will on Film (1970), Oshima's reaction to the protest movement; The Ceremony (1971), a meditation on how traditions oppress the young; and Dear Summer Sister (1972), which questions Japan's colonial relation to Okinawa.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- 4K RESTORATIONS of Death by Hanging, Diary of a Shinjuku Thief, Boy, The Man Who Left His Will on Film and The Ceremony
- High-Definition digital transfers of The Catch and Dear Summer Sister (exclusive to this edition)
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio for each film
- Audio commentaries by Samm Deighan on Death by Hanging, Tony Rayns on Diary of a Shinjuku Thief, and Jasper Sharp on The Ceremony
- Introductions and appreciations of the films by film historians and scholars Luk Van Haute, Jennifer Coates, Rie Tsukinaga, and filmmaker Yang Yong-hi
- Archival interviews with Oshima (1986 & 1995)
- Interviews with actors Tadanori Yokoo and Kazuo Goto (2025)
- Interview with critic and author Junichi Konuma on composer Toru Takemitsu (2025)
- Extensive interview with critic Tony Rayns on Oshima's life and career (2025)
- Yunbogi's Diary - Oshima's short film about street children in Seoul (1965, 25 mins)
- 100 Years of Japanese Cinema - Oshima's documentary celebrating the centenary of cinema (1995)
- Japanese Cinema: New Territories - a documentary by Hubert Niogret on the Japanese cinema of rebellion and renewal, charting the emergence of independent filmmakers of the 1960s to the 1990s featuring interviews with Oshima, Kiju Yoshida, Shohei Imamura and others (2011)
- Newly improved English subtitle translation for each film
- Reversible sleeves featuring original and new artwork based on designs by distributor ATG's magazines
- Limited edition 160-page book featuring new writing by Rea Amit, Espen Bale, archival articles by Donald Richie and Alexander Jacoby, plus writing by and interviews with Oshima
- Limited Edition of 5000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
- REGION-FREE
