NEW DVDS COMING OUR WAY

It seems like the only thing left to do with classic horror films that have made it through numerous VHS, DVD and Blu-ray editions is to upgrade to 2K or 4K versions and re-package them. Walmart will be doing just that with their exclusive releases of Universal's DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN steelbooks.

I don't know about you, but how clearly do we need to see an old black and white horror film? How many times have we gotten excited about the special features only to see that they've been recycled over and over again? For me, I'm quite satisfied with my Universal Blu-ray collection and other classics on just plain 'ol DVD. Personally, I don't mind a little grain to the film stock, but I'm just a traditionalist in that respect, I guess.

 

With the 4th of July behind us, for horror fans, that means it's time to get ready for the spooky fall season. This includes shopping for new Halloween decor, costumes, and movies. When it comes to this blood-sucking genre, you can’t get any more classic than the Universal Monster movies from the 30s and 40s. The original cinematic universe that started with 1931’s Dracula and Frankenstein is closing in on the century mark. Now, to honor modern horror’s gothic origins, the first two Universal Monsters are getting new 4K steelbooks.

These Walmart exclusive 4K/Blu-ray/Digital Code combo pack steelbooks are for Tod Browning’s Dracula and James Whale’s Frankenstein. Both releases feature stunning artwork depicting an iconic scene for each respected film. Dracula sees Bela Lugosi’s title Count rushing up his castle’s stairs with Helen Chandler’s Mina, while Frankenstein has Boris Karloff’s Monster with Dr. Frankenstein’s bride-to-be, Mae Clarke’s Elizabeth. The man-made creation is pinned between the angry villagers and the burning windmill. These steelbooks will have the same special features as their original box set and 4K slipcover editions.

[SOURCE: Collider.com.]

Now, on to some more interesting releases coming up this Halloween season. I've particularly got my eye on the new Haxan edition. It is a fascinating silent film (you can read my article on the full background of this film in CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN). I, VAMPIRI and PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES sound interesting as well.

Radiance Films Announces October Releases

Radiance Films has announced its October batch of Blu-ray releases. They are: Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories (1959-1968), Dogra Magra (1988), Häxan (1922), and Lust of the Vampire (1957).

Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories

Description: A collection of three of Japan's most famous ghost stories that have haunted people for centuries. Kenji Misumi (Lone Wolf and Cub) directs The Ghost of Yotsuya, in which a woman returns from the grave as a horribly disfigured phantom to torment her husband and his new bride. In The Snow Woman, directed by Tokuzo Tanaka (Zatoichi), a woodcutter must keep his oath to a vengeful female spirit or pay the ultimate price. The Bride from Hades by Satsuo Yamamoto (Shinobi) sees a handsome samurai so enchanted by a courtesan's beauty that he fails to realise she is a ghost. These three film versions from the Daiei studio form a pinnacle of atmospheric Japanese horror. Their elegant visuals and ominous shadows rival the best of Terence Fisher or Mario Bava, while their iconic female ghosts would greatly influence Asian genre cinema, from Hong Kong fantasy spectacles such as A Chinese Ghost Story to J-horror.

LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K restorations of The Bride from Hades and The Snow Woman
• High-Definition digital transfer of The Ghost of Yotsuya
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio for each film
• Optional English subtitles for all films
• Newly designed box and booklet artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Six postcards featuring original archive imagery from the films
• Limited edition 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing by authors Tom Mes and Zack Davisson, newly translated archival reviews and ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn

THE GHOST OF YOTSUYA

• New interview with filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa
• A visual essay on the history and adaptations of the classic Ghost of Yotsuya story by author Kyoko Hirano
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

THE BRIDE FROM HADES

• Audio commentary by author Jasper Sharp
• New interview with filmmaker Hiroshi Takahashi
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

THE SNOW WOMAN

• New interview with filmmaker Masayuki Ochiai
• A visual essay on writer Lafcadio Hearn
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: OCTOBER 29.

UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Dogra Magra

Description: A man wakes in an asylum with no memory. Dr Wakabayashi helps him to recall his past in which he killed his bride on their wedding day. Part of his memory becomes linked to another doctor, Dr Masaki, and a manuscript, Dogra Magra. As the two doctors treat him, reality and fantasy become blurred and the patient becomes unsure of his identity or his doctors' experiments. The final feature film by Toshio Matsumoto (Funeral Parade of Roses) is an adaptation of the celebrated novel by Kyusaku Yumeno, a period set gothic tale with a sense of dreamy dread that recalls Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure and the locked room mystery of Shutter Island. A stunningly shot phantasmagoria by Tatsuo Suzuki (Pastoral: To Die in the Country), Dogra Magra is presented on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• High-Definition digital transfer supervised by director of photography Tatsuo Suzuki and producer Shuji Shibata
• Audio commentary by director Toshio Matsumoto (2003)
• Interview with Toshio Matsumoto (2003, 21 mins)
• A visual essay by programmer and curator Julian Ross (2024)
• Instructions on Ahodara Sutra (a popular Japanese chant delivered by Dr. Masaki in the film) by legendary street performer Hiroshi Sakano (16 mins)
• Trailer
• New and improved English subtitles
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Hirofumi Sakamoto, president of the Postwar Japan Moving Image Archive and author Jasper Sharp on screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya plus an interview with producer Shuji Shibata and Matsumoto's director's statement
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: OCTOBER 29.

UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Häxan

Description: A series of eerie vignettes depict images of sorcery and evil on screen, from representations of occultism and religious hypocrisy to a chilling witch hunt in the Middle Ages. Directed by and starring Benjamin Christensen as the Devil, Häxan mixes documentary and fiction forms to create an unsettling brew that prefigures everything from Gothic horror to the found footage film. This legendary horror film was released in numerous edits and this edition collects four such versions of the film for the first time in the UK, including a 2K restoration by the original production company Svensk Filmindustri.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 2K restoration by Svensk Filmindustri, presented with three optional scores, by Matti Bye (2006), Bronnt Industries Kapital (2007), and Geoff Smith (2007)
• Witchcraft through the Ages - an alternate cut of the film featuring narration by William S. Boroughs and soundtrack by Jean-Luc Ponty (1968, 77 mins)
• Häxan - The Esoteric Cut - an alternate cut of the film featuring English intertitles and soundtrack by Lawrence Leherissey (Date unknown, 84 mins)
• Witchcraft through the Ages - a French version of the film featuring narration by Jean-Pierre Kalfon (1990, 82 mins)
• Introduction by director Benjamin Christensen (1941, 8 mins)
• Outtakes (1922, 12 mins)
• Recently discovered costume screen test (1922, 2 mins)
• Visual essay by Vito A. Rowlands, author of the forthcoming BFI Film Classics edition of Häxan (2024)
• Audio commentary by Guy Adams and A.K. Benedict (2024)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Six postcards of original promotional stills
• Limited edition 80-page book featuring new writing by Pamela Hutchinson, Daniel Bird, Kat Ellinger, Brad Stevens plus archival writing and extracts from the press book
• Limited edition of 6000 copies, presented in rigid box and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Planet of the Vampires Standard Edition

Description: In the outer reaches of deep space, the spaceship Galliott answers a distress signal from Aura, an unexplored planet. As the ship attempts to land, members of the crew inexplicably begin to attack one another. This is the start of a terrifying expedition into the unknown, one plagued by paranoia, possession and violent mayhem wrought upon the unsuspecting explorers by the planet's mysterious inhabitants. A sci-fi horror hybrid from genre master Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace), Planet of the Vampires is widely regarded as one of the most influential genre films ever made, with a clear influence on films such as Alien and Pitch Black. With a uniquely chilly atmosphere and fantastic production design that belies its low budget origins, Planet of the Vampires is a true genre classic.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 4K scan of the film from the original negative under the supervision of Lamberto Bava and carried out at Fotocinema in Rome in collaboration with CSC Cineteca Nazionale
• High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Italian (89 mins) and English (88 mins) versions of the film
• Alternate Kendall Schmidt score
• Uncompressed mono audio
• Archival audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark (2014)
• Transmissions from a Haunted World - A new documentary which explores Planet of the Vampires, Mario Bava and the connection between gothic and science fiction. Co-directed by Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger; featuring interviews with Guy Adams, Xavier Aldana Reyes, Alexandra Benedict, Johnny Mains and John Llewellyn Probert (2024, 41mins)
• Archival interview with Lamberto Bava (2022, 13 mins)
• Super 8 Version - a reconstruction of the cut-down version distributed as Planet der Vampire (17 mins)
• Joe Dante and Josh Olsen trailer commentaries - the filmmakers provide a short overview of the film (2013/14, 4 mins and 2 mins)
• Trailer
• Press and image gallery from the Tim Lucas / Alan Y. Upchurch collection
• Optional English subtitles for Italian audio and English SDH for English audio
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Limited edition 20-page booklet featuring a new translation of Renato Pestriniero's original short story
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Lust of the Vampire (I, VAMPIRI)

Description: A mad scientist captures young women in Paris and drains them of their blood in service of an evil Duchess. Also known as Lust of the Vampire, Riccardo Freda's I vampiri mixes the Bathory and Frankenstein stories to create its gothic tale, Italy's first horror film. Made as a challenge by Freda at breakneck speed, cinematographer Mario Bava would complete direction and post-production of the film, adding his signature in the process. With its baroque imagery and stunning visuals, I vampiri forged the path for Italian horror and remains a landmark of Italian cinema history.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 2K restoration of the film presented with Italian and English audio
• Audio commentary by Tim Lucas (2023)
• Thirst of Blood - a featurette on the making of the film with Fabio Melelli, Mario Bava and Dario Michaelis
• Interview with Lamberto Bava
• Interview with Leon Hunt, author of Mario Bava: The Artisan as Italian Horror Auteur (2024)
• Trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters
• Booklet featuring new writing by Roberto Curti, author of Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Visit the Radiance Films UK website HERE.