Beats,
Rhymes
& Life
|The Darkest Night, new music + visual from Mickaël Pouvin.
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Identity
Film Skool
Before reinventing both the racing film with Ford v Ferrari and the superhero blockbuster with Logan, filmmaker James Mangold directed Identity, a high-concept thriller that fuses Agatha Christie-style mystery with nerve-shredding psychological horror.
When a torrential downpour strands ten strangers at a remote Nevada motel, tensions soon fray to breaking point. Among the reluctant guests are a limo driver (John Cusack), a washed-up actress (Rebecca DeMornay), a troubled cop (Ray Liotta) transporting a violent criminal, and a grieving couple (John C. McGinley and Amanda Peet). But as the guests are picked off one by one, it becomes clear this is no random gathering. With paranoia mounting and identities unraveling, the survivors must uncover the connection that links them together – before the killer strikes again.
Released amid a boom in thrillers with twist endings, Identity channels classic whodunit conventions into something far more chilling, anchored by a razor-sharp screenplay that delivers shocks, psychological intrigue and a finale that lingers long after the lights come up.
54
Film Skool
Written and directed by Mark Christopher, 54 was originally heavily re-shot ahead of its theatrical release in 1998 before being re-assembled in a long awaited director’s cut in 2015, with over forty minutes of different footage used. Anchored by an impressive, star-making, performance from Ryan Phillippe along with a bombastic, period appropriate soundtrack, 54 is an essential ode to old New York that’s ripe for re-discovery. Cinématographe is proud to present the definitive release of 54, including a new 4K restoration of the 1998 theatrical version as well as the 2015 director’s cut, offering an exemplary case study in how drastically different a film can be between two different edits.
Additional info:
- 3-Disc Set: 4K Ultra HD + Region A Blu-ray x 2
- New audio commentaries with writer/director Mark Christopher, moderated by Cinématographe's Justin LaLiberty, on both cuts of the film
- New audio commentary with filmmaker and writer Drew Burnett Gregory on the theatrical cut
- Archival audio commentary with Mark Christopher and director of photography Alexander Gruszynski on the director's cut
- I'm Dead - a new video interview with Mark Christopher
- Nothing Is for Certain - a new video interview with editor Lee Percy
- 54-ness - a new video interview with producer Dolly Hall
- Awesome Party - a new video interview with associate producer Jonathan King
- Let's Do the Work - a new video interview with director's cut editor David Kittredge
- In the Trenches Together - a new video interview with Alexander Gruszynski
- Finding Yourself - a new video essay by film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- If You Could Read My Mind...The Making of 54: The Director's Cut - an archival featurette from 2016
- Deleted Scenes - including footage not found in the director's cut
- Never before seen B-roll from the production
- BTS photo gallery
- Photo galleries from festival premieres and the director's cut re-release in France
- BTS footage from the director's cut mixing sessions
- New text essays by writer Sean Abley, author of Queer Horror: A Film Guide; film programmer Alex Gootter and Dan Mecca, editor of The Film Stage
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The Hand of Night
Film Skool
| Reeling from the recent death of his wife and two children in a car crash in England for which he was partly responsible, American architect Paul Carver is traveling to Morocco utterly dejected. Plagued with nightmares in which he relives the accident, amid what appear to be ominous premonitions, Carver is befriended on his flight by German archaeologist Otto Gunther, who invites him to a party that evening. While perusing Gunther’s home, Carver encounters a striking but strangely ethereal Moroccan woman named Marisa, who leads him to a remote, opulent palace. When, driving to their archaeological site the next morning, Gunther and his young assistant Chantal find Carver unconscious in the desert, they reject the tale he recounts as being a figment of his alcohol-addled imagination, claiming not to know of any such woman. But Gunther, well-versed in the region's ancient folklore, begins to fear that the forces of darkness may have their sights set on his new friend and that his very soul is at stake.
A true outlier in the annals of 1960s British horror, The Hand of Night (also released as Beast of Morocco) is a bewitching and highly singular take on the vampire mythos, trumping its Hammer peers by taking the - for the period - unusual step of filming largely on location in Morocco, lending the film a much greater sense of atmosphere and scope than many of its contemporaries. Featuring a host of notable American and British actors, including William Sylvester (Gorgo, Devil Doll), Diane Clare (The Haunting), and Edward Underdown (Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors), the celluloid archaeologists at Vinegar Syndrome Labs are delighted to dust off The Hand of Night for its first-ever disc release, newly restored for Blu-ray and accompanied by a host of new bonus features.
Additional info:
- Newly restored by Vinegar Syndrome from a studio-supplied 4K master
- Commentary track with film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons
- "A New Breed of Vampire" (17 min) - an appreciation by author and film critic Kim Newman
- "Associated with British Pathé" (25 min) - a featurette on Associated British Pathé, the production company behind The Hand of Night, with sound editor Roger Voss and ABP production accountant Franz von Habsburg
- "An Associated British Pathé Budget" (8 min) - production accountant Franz von Habsburg discusses how an ABP production was budgeted
- Reversible sleeve artwork
Their muscles met the demands of the city, and the city met the demands of their muscles
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The Abominable Snowman
Film Skool
Today, The Abominable Snowman arrives in a stunning new 4K restoration, drawn from elements never used in any previous restoration.
This is the definitive version of a film that has deserved one for decades. Peter Cushing at his most quietly compelling, a Yeti you almost never see, and a script by the legendary writer of Quatermass, Nigel Kneale, that asks harder questions than most horror films dare to.
Two versions of the film. Three commentaries. Six new documentaries. A 120-page book.
Paradise People
Beats,
Rhymes
& Life
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Night School
Film Skool
A superlative slasher hailing from the golden age of the slice-and-dice boom, 1981’s Night School was the final film from celebrated English director Ken Hughes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and the feature debut of Golden Globe-nominated actress Rachel Ward (The Final Terror, Fortress). Boasting cinematography from David Cronenberg regular Mark Irwin (Videodrome, The Fly) and a score by Brad Fiedel (The Terminator), Night School was branded a “video nasty” in the UK and censored due to its scenes of shocking violence. Now newly restored in 4K from its original camera negative and loaded with brand new bonus features, Vinegar Syndrome is thrilled to unveil this slasher classic on UHD for the first time ever in an edition that goes straight to the top of the class!
Body Snatchers
Film Skool
The third feature film adaptation of Jack Finney’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, following films by Don Siegel in 1956 and Philip Kaufman in 1978, 1993’s succinctly-titled Body Snatchers served as the major studio debut for noted indie stalwart and provocateur Abel Ferrara. Featuring a crew assembled of Ferrara regulars — screenwriter Nicholas St. John (King of New York, Ms. 45), editor Anthony Redman (Dangerous Game), cinematographer Bojan Bazelli (China Girl), and composer Joe Delia (The Driller Killer, Bad Lieutenant) — alongside a game ensemble cast that also includes R. Lee Ermy (Full Metal Jacket) and Forest Whitaker (Platoon), Body Snatchers is a bold adaptation of an iconic story devised for a Gen-X audience.
Vinegar Syndrome is proud to present Abel Ferrara’s oft-overlooked sci-fi thriller in a new 4K restoration accompanied by new interviews with the crew, including Ferrara himself.
Lady in White
Film Skool
A nostalgia-driven ghost story wrapped within an intricate murder mystery and coming-of-age drama, writer-director-composer Frank LaLoggia's passion project Lady in White remains one of the most beautiful and original American horror films of the 1980s. Featuring acclaimed actors Alex Rocco (The Godfather), Len Cariou (Executive Decision), and Sydney Lassick (Carrie), it boasts the first starring role by Lukas Haas (Inception) as well as breathtaking photography by Academy Award® winner Russell Carpenter (True Lies). Vinegar Syndrome brings this genre masterpiece to 4K UHD, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative and presented in three versions: its pre-release director's cut, its extended home-video version, and its original theatrical version, along with an abundance of both new and archival extras.
Soylent Green
Film Skool
| IT'S THE YEAR 2022... PEOPLE ARE STILL THE SAME. THEY'LL DO ANYTHING TO GET WHAT THEY NEED. AND THEY NEED SOYLENT GREEN.
Across a forty year career, Richard Fleischer directed classic movies in almost every decade he was working: from the epic swashbuckling of The Vikings, to the psychological chills of 10 Rillington Place... and, of course, Soylent Green: a dystopian science-fiction thriller with a venomous sting in its tail.
In a frighteningly prescient world of overpopulation and ecological collapse, resources are scarce. While the elite live in spacious, walled-off communities eating natural food and drinking clean water, the masses live in squalor, collecting water from communal taps and eating highly processed food wafers made by the Soylent Corporation. Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow are a staple, but now there's a tastier and more nutritious option: Soylent Green. When a member of the Soylent Corporation's board is murdered, Detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) is called in to investigate. His search for answers will lead to a shocking discovery.
The final entry in a trilogy of dystopian sci-fi classics starring Charlton Heston - following Planet of the Apes and The Omega Man - Soylent Green is a devastating vision of humanity on the brink, once seen, never forgotten.
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
- Archive audio commentary with director Richard Fleischer and star Leigh Taylor-Young
- Brand new audio commentary with film historian Michael Brooke and author Johnny Mains
- Charlton Heston at the BFI, an archive on-stage interview with the star of Soylent Green
- Richard Fleisher at the BFl, an archive onstage interview with the director of Soylent Green
- A Look at the World of Soylent Green, a vintage featurette
- MGM's Tribute to Edward G. Robinson's 101st Film, a vintage featurette
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
- Collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Frank Collins and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Ice Cream Man
Film Skool
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Their muscles met the demands of the city, and the city met the demands of their muscles
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Above the Line
Film Skool
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The Weight
Film Skool
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Intensive Care
Film Skool
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The feature-film debut of multi-talented Dutch director Dorna X. van Rouveroy (An Amsterdam Tale), Intensive Care is the first and only Dutch horror film directed by a woman to date. Inspired heavily by the style and structure of 80s horror, and specifically created for the export market, it would remain virtually unreleased in the English world despite becoming a hit in the Netherlands and Belgium, in part due to its casting of two Dutch teen idols, actor/TV presenter Nada van Nie and pop star Koen Wauters. Packed with dramatic, gory kills and classic slasher ambience, it features prolific veteran actor George Kennedy (Dallas) as Bruckner, as well as supporting roles played by Dolf de Vries (The 4th Man), Jules Croiset (Amsterdamned), and Dick van den Toorn (Pastorale 1943).
Vinegar Syndrome Labs is eager to revive this rollicking Euro-chiller in a new, director-supervised restoration of its English-language Director's Cut.
Additional info:
- Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original negative and a 35mm print
- Commentary track with Dutch film historians Yfke van Berckelaer and Bram Roza
- "35 Years Later" (23 min) - an in-depth conversation with director Dorna X. van Rouveroy
- Behind-the-scenes footage (9 min)
- International trailer
- Reversible sleeve artwork
Charity Shop Sue
TV Times
| I've celebrated Pride month by revisiting (in nearly one sitting) Charity Shop Sue, the web series.
"In 2014, three local filmmakers in Nottingham were invited to document the life of charity shop manager Sue Tuke. In an attempt to raise the shop's profile, Sue planned to get the business 'on the net' to prevent the store from closure and become an online super star in the making. Not all went to plan as Sue’s ambitious ideas were met with obstacles from both inside and outside the shop resulting in a series of catastrophes. Sue therefore decided to not participate further in filming and the footage has not been seen… until now."
'Scuse me, laydeh! If you haven't already discovered the pleasures of Sue Tuke (Manager), now's your chance, alright, darlin'?
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