Friday 17 June 2011

HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY coming to Blu-ray



September 27th 2011 sees Lucio Fulci's splatter masterpiece HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY arriving on the Blu-ray format from cult US label Blue Underground. The features-packed disc (also on standard definition DVD) sports a host of new extra material, some of it being exclusive to the BD.

The print utilised is a brand new HD transfer from the original uncut and uncensored camera negative, It's presented in full 1080p HD Resolution with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. The sound is presented in English DTS HD stereo and Italian mono. There are subtitle choices in English, Spanish and French.

Here's a run-down of the bonus material:

* Meet the Boyles – Interviews with Stars Catriona MacColl and Paolo Malco
* Children of the Night – Interviews with Stars Giovanni Frezza and Silvia Collatina
* Tales of Laura Gittleson – Interview with Star Dagmar Lassander
* My Time With Terror – Interview with Star Carlo De Mejo
* A Haunted House Story – Interviews with Co-Writers Dardano Sacchetti and Elisa Briganti
* To Build a Better Death Trap – Interviews with Cinematographer Sergio Salvati, Special Make-Up Effects Artists Giannetto De Rossi & Maurizio Trani, Special Effects Artist Gino De Rossi, and Actor Giovanni De Nava
* Deleted Scene
* Theatrical Trailers
* TV Spot
* Poster & Still Gallery

Friday 10 June 2011

Coping with a Zombie outbreak

Can your local council deal with a zombie attack? For more on this story go here.

Saturday 4 June 2011

APOCALYPSE NOW - Blu-ray Competition



On 13th June 2011 Francis Ford Coppola's stunning APOCALYPSE NOW is released onto UK Blu-ray as a lavish 3-disc Special Edition.

Heralded by many as the film that crystallizes most perfectly the experience of the Vietnam War, Francis Ford Coppola’s hallucinatory masterpiece APOCALYPSE NOW has been painstakingly restored by his own Zoetrope studios under his close supervision, and has recently enjoyed a re-release in cinemas.

Martin Sheen (TV’s The West Wing) stars as Army Captain Willard, a troubled man sent on a dangerous top-secret mission into Cambodia to assassinate a rogue Green Beret, Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando, The Godfather, On the Waterfront, Last Tango in Paris), who has barricaded himself in a remote outpost. As Willard ventures deeper and deeper into the wilderness of the jungle, he embarks on a strange journey that leads him to Kurtz – but also forces him to come face to face with the terrifying vision of the heart of darkness in us all.



With an all-star critically acclaimed cast that also includes Robert Duvall (The Road, Crazy Heart, The Godfather Pt I & II), Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Blue Velvet), Harrison Ford (The Indiana Jones series) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix Trilogy), APOCALYPSE NOW so impressed the Cannes jury when shown as only a work in progress that it won the Palme D’Or that year (tied with Tin Drum). Vittorio Storaro’s stunning cinematography and masterful sound editing from the genius Walter Murch won the film deserved Oscars and were just two of many awards the film has won over the years.



This highly anticipated Blu-ray Disc premieres in 1080P High Definition Widescreen in a 3-Disc Full Disclosure Edition. Also for the first time, these movies will be presented for home entertainment audiences in their original theatrical aspect ratios (2.35:1). The 3-Disc Full Disclosure Edition will include Apocalypse Now and Apocalypse Now Redux with more than nine hours of bonus material including new interviews with on-screen and behind-the-scenes talent, as well as the acclaimed making-of feature documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. In addition, this version features a 24-page collectible printed booklet and includes an introductory letter written by Coppola with personal accounts about the making of the film.

The Collector’s edition also features extracts of the original screenplay with handwritten notes by the legendary director, original drawings of the film’s storyboard, never-seen-before photos and memos sent to the cast and crew during shooting, and also the 1979 original Theatrical Program.

Moreover, this edition contains 5 Exclusive postcards including behind-the-scenes photos taken by famed American photographer, Mary Ellen Mark.



Disc 1: Apocalypse Now feature / Apocalypse Now Redux feature / Audio commentary by Francis Ford Coppola

Disc 2: Interview with John Milius (49 mins) / Interview with Fred Roos (casting Apocalypse) (12 mins) / A Conversation with Martin Sheen and Francis Ford Coppola (60 mins) / The Mercury Theatre on Air: Hearts of Darkness Nov 6 1938 (37 mins) / The Hollow Men (17 mins) / Monkey Sampan “Lost Scene” (3 mins) / Additional Scenes (27 mins) / Kurtz Compound Destruction with credits (6 mins) / The Birth of 5.1 sound (6 mins) / Ghost Helicopter Flyover (4 mins) / Apocalypse Now: The Synthesizer Soundtrack by Bob Moog (still images) / A Million Feet of Film: The Editing of Apocalypse Now (18 mins) / The Music of Apocalypse Now (15 mins) / The Sound Design of Apocalypse Now (15 mins) / The Final Mix (3 mins) / Apocalypse Then & Now (4 mins) / 2001 Cannes Film Festival: Francis Ford Coppola (39 mins) / PBR Streetgang (4 mins) / The Colour Palette of Apocalypse Now (4 mins) / Disc credits

Disc 3: Hearts of Darkness feature / Audio commentary by Francis and Eleanor Coppola / John Milius script excerpt with Francis Ford Coppola notes / Storyboard Collection / Photo Archive: unit photography, Mary Ellen Mark photography / Marketing Archive: original trailer, radio spots, theatrical program, lobby card and press kit, photos



Now here's your chance to win one of these very special Blu-ray sets. Thanks to Optimum Home Entertainment we have 3 copies to offer as prizes. To be in with a chance of winning you need to answer the following question correctly:

Name the composer and the piece of music that accompanies the famous helicopter attack footage?

Update 30th June 2011. The competition is now closed. The winners are: E. Wright (Derbyshire), Sam Love (Shropshire) and Alex Palmer (Belfast). Expect your Blu-ray in the mail very soon.

Here's the trailer:



Friday 3 June 2011

ICE COLD IN ALEX - Blu-ray Competition



On 13th June 2011 another digitally restored British Classic War movie, ICE COLD IN ALEX, is released onto UK Blu-ray disc. This award-winning film was directed by J. Lee Thompson and famously stars John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Harry Andrews & Anthony Quayle. The movie is based on the novel by Christopher Landon.



WWII, North Africa. When the Germans begin an attack on the Allied held town of Tobruck in Libya, an evacuation is ordered. A fatigued transport pool Officer Captain Anson (John Mills) and his loyal MSM Tom Pugh (Harry Andrews) commandeer a battered old ambulance, and taking aboard two nurses left behind, they decide to cross the desert back to British lines. They soon encounter a South African officer, Captain Van der Poel (Anthony Quayle) whose two large bottles of gin persuade Anson to let him travel with them. All manner of obstacles threaten to curtail their progress through the desert - a minefield, a broken suspension spring, some quick-sand – and Van der Poel quickly arouses suspicion with his obsessive attachment to his large and mysterious backpack, and lack of knowledge of South African tea-brewing techniques. All the while, all that sustains them is Captain Anson’s promise of the tall, frothy, ice-cold glasses of beer that await them upon their arrival in Alexandria (the “Alex” of the title. Adapted by Christopher Landon from his own classic novel and based on his own experiences serving in North Africa, ICE COLD IN ALEX is a rip-roaring tale of determination, courage and ingenuity in the most unforgiving of environments, and the friendships that are born out of such endurance.

Blu-ray Extras: Interview with Sylvia Syms / John Mills’ home movie footage / Trailer / Photo Gallery.


Now here's your chance to win a new Blu-ray of this classic British film. Thanks to Optimum Home Entertainment we have 3 copies to offer. To be in with a chance of winning you need to answer the following question correctly:

Name the UK comedian who appeared in a spoof of this film for a well-known beer commercial?

Update 30th June 2011. The competition is now closed. The winners are: Robert Strong (Cambridgeshire), Lisa Meadows (Dundee) and T. Hunter (Hampshire). Expect your Blu-ray in the mail very soon.

If you would like to catch this movie on the big screen then head over to The Odeon, Panton Street, London where it will be showing from June 17th.

Here's the trailer:



Thursday 2 June 2011

THE CRUEL SEA - Blu-ray Competition



On 13th June 2011 the British Classic War epic THE CRUEL SEA is launched onto digitally restored UK Blu-ray disc. Directed by Charles Frend. Based on the best-selling book by Nicholas Monsarrat with a screenplay by Eric Ambler. The film stars Jack Hawkins, Sir Donald Sinden, John Stratton, Stanley Baker, Virginia McKenna & Denholm Elliot.


The novel THE CRUEL SEA by Nicholas Monsarrat was an unflinching portrayal of life at sea during WWII on a boat tasked with protecting convoys and seeking and destroying U-boats. A runaway success, the novel had already sold over 4 million copies in just 2 years when Ealing decided to make the film version. Filmed aboard an actual Royal Navy corvette, THE CRUEL SEA tells the story of the sailors aboard the HMS Compass Rose: the bonds that form between them, the daily pressures they face and their epic struggle to overcome the enemy. Nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Film, THE CRUEL SEA is a gripping insight into the lives of unsung heroes at sea during the war, and the agonizing decisions and incredible peril they faced on a daily basis.

Blu-ray Extras: Interview with Donald Sinden / Stills gallery


Now here's your chance to win a new Blu-ray of this classic British film. Thanks to Optimum Home Entertainment we have 3 copies to offer. To be in with a chance of winning you need to answer the following question correctly:

Name the year that the film of THE CRUEL SEA was released?

Update 30th June 2011. The competition is now closed. The winners are: Keith Armstrong (Bedfordshire), James Nelmes (Stirling) and Harry Brightman (Lancashire). Expect your Blu-ray in the mail very soon.

You can view the trailer by clicking here

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Filmbar70 - ASSAULT screening

Our pals over at Filmbar70 are screening the sleazy Brit thriller ASSAULT on the evening of June 21st 2011 - if you are in the area of London Bridge on that date and fancy a film and a jar then you'll be in good company... tell the lads that we sent ya!