RADIANCE'S DECEMBER RELEASES GATHER 3 FILMS BY BUÑUEL AND DEBUT A UK BLU-RAY PREMIERE AND A WORLD-EXCLUSIVE BLU-RAY RELEASE

Wednesday 11th September 2024 - posted by Robert

Coming to the UK and US on December 16th/17th: A world exclusive Blu-ray release, Yokohama BJ Blues from acclaimed samurai movie director Eiichi Kudo (The Fort of Death), this urban neo-noir captures the mood of urban Japan, in a time of peak 1980s decadence.

When his police detective best friend is killed, down-at-heel private eye and part-time blues singer BJ (Yusaku Matsuda, The Game Trilogy) gets the blame. He must start his own investigation to clear his name, but what he uncovers is a tangled web involving crooked cops, drug-dealing gangsters, the city's underground gay and biker scenes, and even his own past. A loose remake of Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye that also draws from Visconti's Death in Venice, this was Matsuda's break with his action hero image.

The Limited Edition Blu-ray features a High-Definition digital transfer, uncompressed mono PCM audio, an interview with star Mari Hemmi, an interview with screenwriter Shoichi Maruyama, an interview with writer and Yokohama expert Toru Sano, a trailer and a newly improved English subtitle translation, along with a reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters and a booklet featuring new writing by Dimitri Ianni on Toei Central Film - a subsidiary of Toei studios famed for releasing Pink Films and independent productions such as Yokohama BJ Blues - and an archival review of the film, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

PREORDER LINKS:
- Amazon UK
- Amazon US
- Radiance (direct)


Coming to the UK on December 16th: Nothing Is Sacred, a box set containing three of Buñuel's most provocative works from his late-period collaborations with producer Gustavo Alatriste and actress Silvia Pinal: Viridiana (1961), The Exterminating Angel (1962), and Simon of the Desert (1965).

From 1946 to 1965, Luis Buñuel directed 21 films in Mexico, the country that became his naturalised home. Towards the end of this period, the great master of surrealism would meet two of his most important collaborators - the husband-and-wife duo of producer Gustavo Alatriste and actress Silvia Pinal - and together they would create three of his most provocative and enduring works: Viridiana (1961), The Exterminating Angel (1962), and Simon of the Desert (1965). Presented here in new restorations, all three films are frequently hailed as some of the greatest of all time. All of what makes Buñuel one of the greatest of directors can be found within them: the startling imagery, the uncompromising surrealism, the wicked humour, the unapologetic eroticism, and the overwhelming disdain for contemporary boundaries of good taste.

The Limited Edition Blu-ray box set features new 4K restorations of Viridiana and Simon of the Desert from the original negatives, a new restoration of The Exterminating Angel from a 4K scan by Radiance Films, uncompressed mono PCM audio for each film, newly filmed appreciations for each film and Buñuel by filmmakers Richard Ayoade, Alex Cox, Guillermo del Toro, and Lulu Wang, "The Life and Times of Don Luis Buñuel" BBC Arena documentary on Buñuel featuring contributions from Bunuel and collaborators including Catherine Deneuve, presented on Blu-ray for the first time (1983, 98 mins), "A Mexican Buñuel" documentary directed by Emilio Maille on Buñuel's Mexican period (1995, 50 minutes), "Buñuel: A Surrealist Filmmaker" feature-length documentary directed by Javier Estpada on Buñuel's life and career, presented on Blu-ray for the first time (2021, 83 mins), an interview with Buñuel from 1964 recorded for French TV's Cinéastes de notre temps (1964, 43 mins), "The Other Trinity: Alatriste, Buñuel and Pinal" visual essay on Buñuel in Mexico by Abraham Castillo Flores, "Dinner and Other Rituals" visual essay on The Exterminating Angel and the dinner party on film by critic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an audio commentary on Viridiana by critic Michael Brooke, an audio commentary on Simon of the Desert by critic and filmmaker Kat Ellinger, a gallery of stills and a trailer, along with optional English subtitles, reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde, and an 80-page book featuring new writing by Glenn Kenny, Justine Smith, Lindsay Hallam and David Hering, as well as archive material, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

PREORDER LINKS:
- Amazon UK
- Radiance (direct)


Coming to the UK on December 16th: The UK Blu-ray premiere of 1984's The Man from Majorca.

Following a slick post office robbery, two police officers see their investigation turn into one of high-level corruption and institutional intrigue. Bo Widerberg follows his earlier investigative thriller The Man on the Roof with a focus on realism and procedural detail. Adapted from a novel by Leif Persson and starring Sven Wollter (The 13th Warrior), Widerberg's film channels the style of his earlier crime masterpiece but presents a new world. Gritty and often intense, The Man from Majorca is another classic of Nordic noir.

The Limited Edition Blu-ray features a High-Definition digital transfer by Svensk Filmindustri, uncompressed mono PCM audio, on-set reportage including behind-the-scenes images and comments from Widerberg (1984, 2 mins), a TV featurette featuring Widerberg (1984, 3 mins), an interview with assistant director Harald Hamrell (2022, 24 mins), an interview with Barry Forshaw, author of Nordic Noir (2024), a teaser trailer, a gallery and a newly improved English subtitle translation, along with a reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters and a booklet featuring new writing, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.


PREORDER LINKS:
- Amazon UK
- Radiance (direct)

RADIANCE'S NOVEMBER RELEASES DEBUT FOUR BLU-RAY PREMIERES

Monday 19th August 2024 - posted by Robert

Coming to the UK and US on November 18th/19th: Kinji Fukasaku makes his third entry in the Radiance collection with his proto Battles Without Honour classic Japan Organised Crime Boss.

Two major yakuza factions from Tokyo and Osaka battle over control of Yokohama, using local gangs as their proxies. Amid this violent struggle, Tsukamoto (Koji Tsuruta, Big Time Gambling Boss), the head of one of the local gangs, is released from an eight-year prison sentence. The feud forces him into action, but he learns that those pulling the strings have political connections and that he is up against overwhelming forces. A predecessor to and blueprint for Fukasaku's Sympathy for the Underdog, Japan Organised Crime Boss also signals the director's first collaboration with Bunta Sugawara, the later star of Battles Without Honour and Humanity as well as with Tomisaburo Wakayama (The Bounty Hunter Trilogy) and gangster-turned-movie star Noboru Ando (Eighteen Years in Prison).

The Limited Edition Blu-ray features a new 4K restoration by Toei Company, uncompressed mono PCM audio, an archival interview with Kinji Fukasaku, an interview with yakuza film historian Akihiko Ito (2024), a visual essay on Koji Tsuruta's collaborations with Fukasaku by yakuza cinema expert Nathan Stuart (2024), a trailer and a newly improved English subtitle translation, along with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow and a booklet featuring new writing by Stuart Galbraith IV and an archival review of the film, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

PREORDER LINKS:
- Amazon UK
- Amazon US
- Radiance (direct)


Coming to the UK and US on November 18th/19th: Fresh from its Cannes premiere, Marco Bellocchio's powerful Years of Lead political thriller Slap the Monster on Page One makes its world Blu-ray debut from a new 4K restoration.

Days before a general election a young girl is raped and murdered. Bizanti (Gian Maria Volonté, The Working Class Goes to Heaven), the editor of a right-wing newspaper uses the story to help the conservative candidate his paper supports. The tumultuous time of Italy's 'Years of Lead' are captured in Marco Bellocchio's powerful political drama which directly addressed topics of its day and even prefigured the creation of the right-wing paper Il giornale, which came into being two years after this film. In an age of media manipulation Slap the Monster on Page One has never been more relevant and stands proudly alongside such Italian activist classics as We Still Kill the Old Way and The Mattei Affair.

The Limited Edition Blu-ray features a 4K restoration of the film from the original negative by Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Surf Film and Kavac Film, under the supervision of director Marco Bellocchio, uncompressed mono PCM audio, an archival interview with Marco Bellocchio (21 mins), a newly filmed interview with critic and author Mario Sesti (2024, 25 mins), an appreciation by filmmaker Alex Cox (2024, 10 mins) and a newly improved English subtitle translation, along with a reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters and a booklet featuring new writing by Wesley Sharer, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

PREORDER LINKS:
- Amazon UK
- Amazon US
- Radiance (direct)


Coming to the UK on November 18th: Ray Milland directs and stars in Panic in Year Zero, an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller featuring teen idol Frankie Avalon.

When Harry Baldwin (Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend) takes his family on a fishing trip, their holiday is brutally interrupted as a catastrophic atomic war breaks out, destroying their suburban Los Angeles home. What remains of the United Nations announces on the radio that society has broken down, and the Baldwins realise that they must quickly learn how to navigate this new 'year zero', and do whatever it takes in order to survive. Milland stars alongside teen idol Frankie Avalon as well as directing this bleak and visceral apocalypse thriller, described as 'the most expressive on-the-ground nightmare of the cold-war era' (Village Voice).

Mastered in HD from the 35mm fine grain positive by MGM, the Limited Edition Blu-ray features uncompressed mono PCM audio, an audio commentary by critic Richard Harland Smith (2016), a new interview with Kim Newman (2024), an archival interview with Ray Milland (1972), "Atomic Shock!" - an interview with filmmaker Joe Dante (2016, 9 mins), a trailer and optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, along with a reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters and a booklet featuring new writing by film critic Christina Newland, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

PREORDER LINKS:
- Amazon UK
- Radiance (direct)


Coming to the UK on November 18th: Francois Truffaut makes his third entry in the Radiance collection with dark costume drama The Story of Adele H., featuring a stunning performance from Isabelle Adjani and co-starring Bruce Robinson.

The year is 1863. Adele Hugo (Isabelle Adjani, Possession) is the daughter of the legendary poet and novelist Victor Hugo. After falling in love with the British soldier Lt. Pinson (Bruce Robinson), Adele sails by herself to Nova Scotia, intending to persuade Pinson to marry her. Pinson callously rejects her advances; unperturbed, she continues to pursue him, and her obsession becomes wilder and more desperate, leading her to become increasingly outcast from society. The Story of Adele H. is a handsomely mounted costume drama that is nevertheless one of Francois Truffaut's darkest and most psychologically complex works, with a legendary, Oscar-nominated central performance from the then 20-year-old Adjani.

The Limited Edition Blu-ray features a High-Definition digital transfer, uncompressed mono PCM audio, an interview with Francois Truffaut (1975), an interview with Isabelle Adjani (1980), footage of the premiere in Lyon with Truffaut and Isabelle Adjani (1975), an interview with cinematographer Nestor Almendros (1986), an interview with critic Phuong Le (2024), a trailer and optional English subtitles, along with a reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters and a booklet featuring archival writing, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

PREORDER LINKS:
- Amazon UK
- Radiance (direct)

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