IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

In the past week, I’ve posted announcements from Kino Lorber about April releases of the first three Emmanuelle films, as well as about upcoming titles through collaborations with Lobster Films and the BFI.  However, I haven’t been able to keep up with the numerous announcements from their Studio Classics label.

Several intriguing discs have been either announced or detailed on the Kino Lorber Studio Classics Facebook page, including Anthony Mann’s superior Western, Bend of the River (1952).  Here are the April announcements in order of release date:

Cold Sweat (1970) aka De la part des copains

Coming April 9th on DVD and Blu-ray!

Color 94 Minutes 1.85:1 Rated PG

• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
• COLD SWEAT – Car Chase Theatrical Promo
• COLD SWEAT – U.S. Trailer
• KLSC Bronson Trailers

Screen legend Charles Bronson (Rider on the Rain, Mr. Majestyk, Breakheart Pass) is Joe Martin, a quiet American living the quiet life in the South of France renting boats to tourists. He’s happily married to Fabienne (Liv Ullmann, Persona) and has a twelve-year-old daughter named Michèle (Yannick de Lulle). But this quiet man has a past… Ten years before, Joe (then Moran) escaped prison with four other convicts, Captain Ross (James Mason, The Man Between), Whitey (Michel Constantin, Violent City), Fausto (Luigi Pistilli, For a Few Dollars More) and Katanga (Jean Topart, Trap for the Assassin). After witnessing the sadistic ex-mercenary Katanga brutally kill a cop, Joe abandoned his accomplices and left with their getaway car. One night, his peaceful life comes to an end, when the four men re-appear and kidnap his wife and daughter asking the seasoned ex-military Joe to get involved in a shady smuggling operation to save his family’s life. Beautifully shot by Jean Rabier (Les Biches, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) and wonderfully directed by James Bond veteran Terence Young (Thunderball, The Rover). Based on the novel Ride the Nightmare by Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) and co-starring Jill Ireland (Assassination).

Rider on the Rain (1970)

Coming April 9th!

Color 114 | 118 Minutes 1.78:1 | 1.85:1 Rated PG-13

• Optional English subtitles
• Includes both the 114-minute U.S. cut and the 118-minute French cut.
• Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson – English language cut
• Reversible Art
• RIDER ON THE RAIN – Trailer (with subtitles)
• RIDER ON THE RAIN – U.S. Trailer
• RIDER ON THE RAIN – Radio Spot
• BRONSON Trailers

From René Clément, the legendary director of Forbidden Games, Purple Noon, The Deadly Trap and And Hope to Die comes this stylish thriller starring screen legend Charles Bronson (Cold Sweat, Mr. Majestyk). When a beautiful young woman (Marlène Jobert, We Won’t Grow Old Together) in the South of France is stalked and then assaulted by a mysterious masked assailant, she kills the man in self-defense, and in a moment of misjudgment, she dumps his corpse over a cliff into the sea instead of calling the police. Trying to return to her life before the attack, her world is turned upside down when an American investigator (Bronson) shows up and, to her horror, seems to know everything about what she has done. Rider on the Rain showcases fine performances both from Bronson, whose mix of sympathy and aggression perfectly defines his character, and Jobert, who gains audience empathy with her touch of sexuality mixed with an innate, almost childlike innocence. Featuring a haunting and beautiful score by Francis Lai (Love Story) with wonderful supporting performances by Gabriele Tinti (Cannon for Cordoba) and Jill Ireland (Breakheart Pass). This special edition includes both the 114-minute U.S. cut and the 118-minute French cut.

Becky Sharp (1935)

Coming April 16th on DVD and Blu-ray!

Color 84 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated

The First Film Released in 3-Strip Technicolor!

Oscar Nominee: Best Actress (Hopkins)!

• Brand New 4K Restoration – from the 35mm Nitrate Negatives & Positive Separations
  Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Jack Theakston
• Trailers

About the Restoration:
Many, many hands went into restoring this title. It is the most complex project Paramount Archives has ever worked on.

Picture & overall restoration/preservation (which happened over a 35 year span):
Paramount Archives
Technicolor Creative Services
UCLA Film Archives
Robert Gitt
Richard Dayton
Eric Aijala

Audio restoration:
Deluxe Audio
Audio Mechanics
DJ Audio

With Special Thanks to:
The Film Foundation

In the years just preceding Waterloo, best friends Becky Sharp (Miriam Hopkins, Trouble in Paradise) and Amelia Sedley (Frances Dee, I Walked with a Zombie) graduate from Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for Girls. The wealthy Amelia invites the penniless Becky into the bosom of her family home while the manipulative Becky plots her climb up the social ladder. Entirely lacking in scruples and unhampered by conscience or morality, Becky ascends to the very pinnacle of society, crushing anyone who stands in her path. Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, Rouben Mamoulian’s (Love Me Tonight, The Mark of Zorro) adaptation of Thackeray’s (The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq.) epic novel Vanity Fair was the first film to be produced in three-strip Technicolor. Screenplay by Francis Edward Faragoh (Little Caesar, Frankenstein) and co-starring Cedric Hardwicke (The Lodger), Billie Burke (The Young in Heart), Nigel Bruce (Suspicion) and Alan Mowbray (I Wake Up Screaming).

Bend of the River (1952)

Coming April 16th on Blu-ray!

Color 91 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated

• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Toby Roan
• Theatrical Trailer
• Man of the West – Trailer
• Broken Arrow – Trailer

Man-with-a-past James Stewart (Broken Arrow) guides a band of pioneers from Missouri over the Oregon Trail to a new life in the Columbia River Basin in this western adventure directed by the great Anthony Mann (Man of the West). When the settlers are cheated out of their supplies and cattle, Stewart crosses rivers, climbs mountains and out-guns greedy hijackers to ensure their survival through the first winter. Along the way, he is double-crossed by ally Arthur Kennedy (Elmer Gantry) and assisted by handsome San Francisco gambler Rock Hudson (The Tarnished Angels) and beautiful farmer’s daughter Julia Adams (Wings of the Hawk). Screenplay by Borden Chase (Red River) and featuring a wonderful cast that includes Jay C. Flippen (The Lemon Drop Kid), Chubby Johnson (Cyborg 2087), Stepin’ Fetchit (The Sun Shines Bright), Harry Morgan (The Ox-Bow Incident) and Royal Dano (Moby Dick).

Brief Encounter (1974)

Coming April 16th From Scorpion Releasing!  Distributed by Kino Lorber.

Color 74 Minutes 1.33:1 Not Rated

• Optional English subtitles

Screen legends Richard Burton (Where Eagles Dare, The Night of the Iguana, Becket) and Sophia Loren (Two Women, Blood Feud, Marriage Italian Style) headline this 1974 remake of the 1945 David Lean classic, based on a play by Noël Coward and starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson. A social worker (Loren) and a doctor (Burton) meet by chance in a railway station, but are almost instantly captivated by each other, although they are each already married. The pair soon develop a connection that evolves into an unexpected love. Alan Bridges (The Hireling, Out of Season) directed this Carol Ponti (Doctor Zhivago, Blow-Up) production and bittersweet drama about muted romance. The wonderful supporting cast include the great character actor John Le Mesurier (The Italian Job, Salt and Pepper).

Highway Patrolman (1991)

Coming April 16th!

Brand New 4K Restoration – Color Graded by Alex Cox!

C 104 Min 1.85:1 NR In Spanish

• English subtitles
  2018 intro by Alex Cox
• Audio Commentary by director Alex Cox and writer/producer Lorenzo O’Brien
• Patrullros & Patrulleras – Featurette (35:48)
• Edge City – Short film by Alex Cox -aka- “Sleep Is For Sissies” (35:47)
• From Edge City to Mapimi – Featurette (5:31)
• Even Stones Bleed Out Here: Highway Patrolman Rides Again – Limited Edition Booklet Essay by Simon Abrams
• 2018 Re-release Trailer
• Newly Commissioned Art by Jacob Phillips

From the director of Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, Straight to Hell and Walker comes “Maverick Director Alex Cox’s Finest Film to Date” (Los Angeles Times). Against his father’s wishes, Pedro (Roberto Sosa, Man on Fire), a naïve kid from Mexico City, joins the Federal Highway Patrol. His simple desire to do good rapidly comes into conflict with the reality of police work in a lonely rural environment populated by poor farmers, rich drug dealers, beautiful women—and his father’s ghost. The wonderful cast includes Bruno Bichir (Sicario: Day of the Soldado), Vanessa Bauche (Amores Perros), Ernesto Gómez Cruz (The Crime of Padre Amaro), Mike Moroff (From Dusk Till Dawn) and Pedro Armendáriz Jr. (Once Upon a Time in Mexico).

The House of the Seven Gables (1940)

Coming April 23rd on Blu-ray!

B&W 89 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated

• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Troy Howarth
• Trailers

Jealousy, loyalty, and a family feud between two brothers are all at play in The House of the Seven Gables, based on the classic novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Twice-Told Tales). The sudden death of Jaffrey (George Sanders, The Lodger) and Clifford (Vincent Price, Tales of Terror) Pyncheon’s father provides the vengeful and vindictive Jaffrey with the perfect opportunity to get his brother out of the way and seize the family fortune. Framed for murder and forced to leave his fiancée (Margaret Lindsay, Scarlet Street) behind, Clifford is sent off to prison, where he befriends Matthew Holgrave (Dick Foran, Fort Apache), the descendent of the Maule family, with whom the Pyncheons have a long history of turbulence. Can the two join together to foil Jaffrey, or are the families destined to repeat the mistakes of the past and live out the curse of their ancestors? Joe May (Asphalt) directed this classic thriller featuring Cecil Kellaway (Harvey) and Alan Napier (The Uninvited).

The Strange Door (1951)

Coming April 23rd on Blu-ray!

B&W 81 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated

• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Film Historians Tom Weaver, David Schecter and Dr. Robert J. Kiss
• Trailers

Screen legends Charles Laughton (Witness for the Prosecution) and Boris Karloff (Black Sabbath) haunt the dungeons of a medieval château in this horrific adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) story. Laughton, the Sire de Maletroit, is an evil French nobleman, so obsessed with hatred of his own brother (Paul Cavanagh, A Bill of Divorcement) that he imprisons him in the castle dungeon. The Sire also tries to destroy the life of his brother’s daughter (Sally Forrest, Not Wanted) by forcing her to marry a rogue (Richard Stapley, The Girl from Rio), but his plans are upset when they fall in love. Aided by Voltan (Karloff), an abused servant, the lovers attempt to escape, but the Sire imprisons them in a cell with closing walls that may spell violent deaths for the young lovers. Directed by Joseph Pevney (Female on the Beach).

The Land Unknown (1957)

Coming April 23rd on Blu-ray!

1957 B&W 78 Minutes 2.35:1 Not Rated

• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Film Historians Tom Weaver and David Schecter
• Animated Image Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer

A Navy expedition led by Commander Hal Roberts (Jock Mahoney, Tarzan Goes to India) is sent to explore a mysterious warm-water region shrouded in the ice of Antarctica. When a fierce storm drives them into a cloud bank, their helicopter is disabled. Descending through the heavy fog into a deep chasm, they encounter a hot, tropical landscape of prehistoric terror! Untouched by the Ice Age and the imprint of time and evolution, a 20th-century Mesozoic era awaits them, complete with ferocious dinosaurs and carnivorous plants. While trying to repair their chopper and forage for food, they discover they are not alone. The only female among them, journalist Margaret Hathaway (Shawn Smith, World Without End), is captured by the sole survivor of a previous expedition. Driven to madness by isolation and the terrors of life in the primordial jungle, this desperate man may be their only hope for escape from The Land Unknown. Directed by cult filmmaker Virgil W. Vogel (The Mole People).

Scream and Scream Again (1970)

Coming April 23rd on DVD and Blu-ray!

Color 94 | 95 Minutes 1.85:1 Rated R

• Optional English subtitles
• Includes both the original UK and American cuts
• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas
• TRAILERS FROM HELL with Mick Garris
• Reversible Blu-ray Art
• Theatrical Trailer
• Vincent Price Trailers

A serial killer who drains his victims’ blood is on the loose in London! They hunger for power, thirst for blood—and make each helpless, pleading victim Scream and Scream Again! Horror legends Vincent Price (Tales of Terror), Christopher Lee (House of the Long Shadows) and Peter Cushing (Madhouse) star in this masterwork of style and suspense about a group of sadistic madmen plotting to take over the world—one severed body part at a time. Directed by cult filmmaker Gordon Hessler (The Oblong Box) with a screenplay by Christopher Wicking (Cry of the Banshee) and based on a novel by Peter Saxon (Murder at Site 3). Co-starring Judy Huxtable (The Psychopath). This special edition includes both the original UK and American cuts.