Eureka's Masters of Cinema chases Buster Keaton on THE GENERAL in 4K (review)

Buster Keaton went over-schedule and over-budget on the epic comedy THE GENERAL in which he played a Southern train engineer who single-handedly attempts to foil a Northern plot and rescue his two great loves: his girl and his engine.

REVIEW LINK: Eureka (U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD (DVDCompare)

THE GENERAL 4K UltraHD specs:

• 2160p24 HEVC Dolby Vision 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Music Score by Carl Davis in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Original English Intertitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian David Kalat
• "Bound for Glory: The General as Keaton's Cinematic Manifesto" video essay by Imogen Sara Smith, author of "Buster Keaton: The Persistence of Comedy"
• "A Brave Engineer: Buster Keaton's Last Ride" video essay on locomotives in the films of Buster Keaton by film critic and editor Luke Ryan
• "Peter Kramer on The General" interview 
• "The Silent Years" 1971 TV Introduction by Orson Welles
• "Silents Please" 1960 TV Introduction by Gloria Swanson
• "Filming Locations" featurette
• "Video Tour of The General" featurette
• Home Movie Footage
• The first pressing of 2,000 copies comes with a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring package design by Nick Wrigley and a booklet featuring archival material and essays by critic Philip Kemp and animator Richard Haynes.

Radiance Films revitalizes the sea with WARM WATER UNDER A RED BRIDGE (review)

A laid-off salary man supporting a wife and child who live away from him has no choice but to head to a seaside village to find a possibly imaginary treasure left behind by a recently-deceased older friend.  He gets distracted from his goal when he meets a young woman with strange sexual powers in the final feature film by Shohei Imamura.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

WARM WATER UNDER A RED BRIDGE Blu-ray specs: 

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• Japanese LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Introduction by filmmaker Takashi Miike
• Interview with screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
• Making-of Video Documentary
• 2001 discussion between director Shohei Imamura and former assistant Takashi Miike
• Theatrical Trailer (2:05)
  Teaser Trailer with introduction by filmmaker Takashi Miike
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, including a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow, and a booklet featuring new writing by Bastian Meiresonne. 

Acorn and Shudder peek into THE CREEP TAPES: SEASON TWO (review)

Serial killer Josef and his adorable alter ego Peach Fuzz the wolf lure more unsuspecting filmmakers to their doom in season two of the Shudder series spin-off of CREEP and CREEP 2 starring Mark Duplass with a special appearance by LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL's David Dastmalchian.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media (U.K.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE CREEP TAPES - SEASON TWO Blu-ray specs: 

• Six episodes on one Blu-ray disc
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary on all episodes by actor/co-writer Mark Duplass, co-writer/creator/director Patrick Brice, and editor Chris Donlan
• Start-up Promos  

Arrow Video goes to the Outback to WAKE IN FRIGHT in 4K (review)

A city slicker teacher exiled to the Australian Outback plans to spend the holidays in Sydney but a series of bad choices plunges him into a beer-swilling, roo-shooting backwoods nightmare in this Australian thriller from Ted Kotcheff (FIRST BLOOD) starring Gary Bond and Donald Pleasence.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (U.S./U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD (DVDCompare)

WAKE IN FRIGHT 4K UltraHD specs:

• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Dolby Vision Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Ted Kotcheff and editor Anthony Buckley
• Audio Commentary by Peter Galvin, author of "The Making of Wake in Fright"
• "Return to the 'Yabba" documentary on the film's Broken Hill locations
• "Take in Fright" interview with director of photography Brian West
• "Sounds of the Outback" interview with sound editors Keith Palmer and Eddy Joseph
• "The Cinema's Great Squeaky Bald Git: Kim Newman Discusses the Career of Actor Donald Pleasence"
• "The Filmmaker and the Filmbuff: Philippe Mora and Paul Harris Discuss Wake in Fright"
• Archive Interviews:
• "Yer Mad, Ya Bastard!" interview with director Ted Kotcheff
• "Not Quite Hollywood" interview with actor Jack Thompson
• 2009 Q&A with Ted Kotcheff at the Toronto International Film Festival
• 2009 audio interview with director Ted Kotcheff, conducted by Paul Harris
• 2025 audio interview with composer John Scott, conducted by music historian Daniel Schweiger
• Alternate Scenes from "Outback"
• TV Reports:
• 2009 "7:30 Report" on the Rediscovery and Restoration of "Wake in Fright"
• "Who Needs Art?" 1971 TV Segment on "Wake in Fright"
• Chips Rafferty Obituary by Ken G. Hall
• Trailer Gallery:
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• U.S. TV Spot
• Restoration Trailer
• Foreign Visions of Local Stories: A Trailer Reel of Australian Films Helmed by Overseas Filmmakers
• Image Gallery
• Comes with a slipcover, a collectors' booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jay Slater, Paul Lê and David Michael Brown plus archive materials, and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeff Marshall.

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Also available on Blu-ray. 

Cult Epics gets VD (review)

The producers and director of BLUE MOVIE follow up that pioneering effort of "The Dutch Sex Wave" with a caustic family melodrama of incest, greed, red meat, and contraceptives.

REVIEW LINK: Cult Epics (U.S.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

VD Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Peter Verstratten
• "Festival of Love" 1969 short film by Wim Verstappen
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Scorpio Film Trailers
• Comes with a slipcase with new artwork design by Juan Estaban R. and a reversible cover with original Dutch poster art.

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The first 100 orders directly from Cult Epics includes a poster. 

Radiance Films gets spooked in THE HAUNTED CASTLE (review)

When a petulant lord murders a respected elder retainer over a board game, the man's daughter commits suicide and returns as a ghost cat to torment the lord and possess his loved ones in this Daiei Gothic ghost story.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.S.) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE HAUNTED CASTLE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Japanese LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Mari Asato on The Haunted Castle" 
• "The Strange Case of Ikuko Mori" visual essay by Japanese film expert Tom Mes 
• Theatrical Trailer

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Radiance Films shows Franco Nero HOW TO KILL A JUDGE (review)

A filmmaker (Franco Nero) in Sicily making a film about a corrupt judge is threatened with a lawsuit by the man who inspired the character.  When the judge is murdered just as he was in the film, the director attempts to prove that the movie was a smokescreen for another motive in this crime thriller from Damiano Damiani also starring Francoise Fabian.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.S.) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

HOW TO KILL A JUDGE Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH and English Subtitles"Franco Nero on How to Kill a Judge"
• "Lessons in Violence" video essay by filmmaker David Cairns
• "Alberto Pezzotta on Damiano Damiani and How to Kill a Judge" interview with the author of "Directed by Damiano Damiani"
• International Trailer
• Italian Theatrical Trailer

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