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ELF FLIES OFF SHELVES
MAVERICK HEADS TO STREAMING
AS SMILE NRTINGS POST-VHRISTMAS CHEER
TANGERINE PEELS AWAY
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA…
…AND DJANGO IS UNCHAINED
EUREKA WARRIORS ON…
…AND DOES ITS DUTY
RADIANCE SHINING
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
AT THE MOVIES TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
It’s Christmas and Top Gun Maverick closes off the year not quite in the top spot – Elf has seen a major revival as it approaches its 20th anniversary and enjoys a second week in the top slot, a position it first attained in 2020. What’s more, it shows the irresistible appeal of the film – people are still buying the title on physical and digital formats despite the fact that Sky is showing it on its flagship film channels (or perhaps it’s because of, as Sky is putting the film at front and centre of its Christmas TV advertising, as is Asda).
Elf has, of course, ended a record-breaking run for arguably the biggest blockbuster success story of 2022, Top Gun Maverick. The film has shattered records and expectations at every step of its release, including home entertainment, where it became the longest-running number one hit in the history of the Official Film Chart. The film has now made its debut on Paramount’s streaming service, with a huge advertising spend pushing its exclusivity – our social media timelines are fully of ads for it.… After spending nine weeks at number one, will be interesting to see what happens in the post-Christmas physical market.
Meanwhile, sticking with Paramount and on to a big Boxing Day release. And It’s been a good year for horror films; vit’s closing out with the physical release of the biggest box office scare of the year as Paramount’s shocker Smile arrives. The Boxing Day bow of the film is across Dvd, Blu-ray and 4K UHD and caps off a perfect year for Paramount, its strongest at the box office for some time. As the company told The Raygun: “Once you see it, it’s too late! The release is supported with TV, radio, PR and digital media along with fantastic support from our retailer partners.”
Already on the shelves and performing well in its first week of release is the latest sumptuously packaged and looking title from Second Sight. It once again sees the independent bolstering the range and offering of its deluxe Blu-ray releases, looking beyond genre fare to entice film fans and cineastes. The company’s Chris Holden said: “It has been great to see the feedback this week for our collector’s edition of Tangerine. It’s a little different to our usual release but is a personal favourite and we’re always happy to broaden our library with classics such as this. Sean Baker was fantastic to work with and gave a lot of his time and resources to help us put together something special. Hopefully it will give fans a Merry Christmas Eve (bitch!). We have a lot in store for 2023 including Martin, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Picnic at Hanging Rock 4K editions, as well as the release so many fans are waiting for, our new restoration of The Hitcher.”
Also out and on the shelves is the first release for some time from CultFilms and it’s another sumptuously packaged title that culls together four classic films from Dario Argento. As the company’s Garwin Spencer-Davison noted: “This quality bundle is seen as a compelling introduction to the outstanding cinema of Dario Argento in a budget-friendly yet premium-content collector's pack. Now available from CultFilms Dario Argento: The Symphony Of Fear is as curated thematic collection of three of the Italian maestro's seminal & creatively themed works; Suspiria, Opera and Four Flies On Grey Velvet. It's the perfect Christmas gift for film fans!”
Looking ahead to the coming months from CultFilms and its sister Shameless label, Spencer Davison continued: We’ve a Cult Spaghetti western Blu-ray box coming next featuring DJANGO and others. DJANGO itself will also be released on 4KUHD.
We’ve spent the last year assembling and restoring film assets and filming or acquiring dozens of interviews for some unique (indeed some world exclusive) extras coming soon on Blu-ray on the Shameless label. So after a quiet year, 2023 is going to see a stream of releases from both labels on disc and online.”
There’s a double helping of forthcoming, product news from our friends at Eureka as the company outlined its plans for first February and March. Your guide is, as ever, the company’s national accounts manager Marcus Garwood, who said: “Our February line-up here at Eureka Entertainment is looking both Magnificent and Violent as we keep the action levels high. First up our Eureka Classics imprint welcomes back the multi award-winning actress and martial arts legend Michelle Yeoh (Yes, Madam!) for the 1987 David Chung-directed Magnificent Warriors. Inspired by the success of the Indiana Jones franchise, Magnificent Warriors centres on a daring secret agent (played by Yeoh) during the Second Sino-Japanese War, who intervenes in characteristically explosive fashion to defend a remote mountain town from occupying Japanese forces. Fully restored in 2K, and with the film’s original theatrical ending, it appears on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. Disc extras include (among others) brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and Michael Worth, brand new feature length audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, as well as new interviews with both Richard Ng and Lowell lo. The release is completed with a limited edition collectors booklet, plus a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling. Masters Of Cinema next as we present one of the finest directors of Japanese chambara (sword fighting) films, Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast, Three Outlaw Samurai) with his 1974 yakuza genre gem Violent Streets. The film is a baroque crime thriller about a retired yakuza who gets pulled into a violent gang war by his former associates as they to regain a foothold in the criminal underworld. Also starring veteran actor TetsurÅ Tanba (Harakiri) Hideo Gosha’s Violent Streets makes its worldwide debut on Blu-ray from a new restoration completed by Toei Company, Ltd. The release features a limited edition slipcase featuring new artwork by Tony Stella, plus a collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes.”
On to March and Garwood continued: “We are taking our duties very seriously here at Eureka in March as we present the third and fourth films from the acclaimed In The Line Of Duty martial arts action franchise. In The Line Of Duty III see's Cynthia Khan starring in her first leading role as a young police officer who goes up against a dangerous duo of Japanese terrorists. Often overshadowed by other films in the series, In the Line of Duty III is the hidden gem of the franchise, featuring shockingly brutal and ferocious action sequences. The film hasn’t been available on home video in the UK since the VHS era, so this brand new 2K restoration will be a delight for martial art action fans. The release will feature a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling, Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver and extracts from A Different Brilliance – The D & B Story, plus many disc extras including brand new cast interviews and feature length audio commentaries. In the Line Of Duty IV pairs Cynthia Khan with multi award winning action superstar Donnie Yen (IP Man, Dragon Inn). Yen and Khan play a pair of no-nonsense cops on the case of a major drug trafficking operation. When an immigrant dock worker is targeted by the criminals, the officers must protect this innocent man from an international crime syndicate. With its death-defying stunts, insane action set-pieces, and some of the best martial-arts choreography ever captured on film – In the Line of Duty IV is an unhinged Hong Kong action masterpiece. The film makes its UK debut here on Blu-ray and will be packaged in a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling, along with a Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver and extracts from A Different Brilliance – The D & B Story. Disc extras include (amongst others) two brand new feature length audio commentaries, plus new interviews with cast and crew.”
While we’re on boutique labels, congratulations to new imprint Radiance, recently Founded by former Arrow executive Fran Simeoni. The reviews are in for label’s debut titles and they have been welcomed by the experts, with fans queuing up to order. Simeoni told The Raygun: “I am delighted with the overall reaction to the first Radiance releases. Reviews are coming in strong with high marks for technical specs on the discs and reviewers are enjoying the films too, with buried Palme d’Or winner The Working Class Goes to Heaven finally getting the appreciation it deserves after being a difficult to find European DVD import only and Big Time Gambling Boss, never released on any video format being hailed as a masterpiece and an essential part of yakuza movie history. Fan reaction is strong too with lots of engagement on social channels and people excited about pre-ordering. The unique packaging with the obi strip has really caught the imagination with fans who feel really catered to across the whole package. My thanks goes to all my colleagues in helping realise this especially the team at Elevation who have been an incredible support.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"2022 has seen the category return to optimism and may well have been our boldest year ever. BASE, DEG International and the Trust support our Members and the wider category in a host of different ways, and this year the team were incredibly active across all of them. We’ve delivered a pipeline of fresh insight and market analysis supplementing weekly and monthly reporting with detailed in person analysis and debate through our International Digital Growth Summit and Insight Forums, both in partnership with DEGI and championed growth opportunities with our retail colleagues through the ERA AGM. We initiated, curated, and shared ground-breaking insights in two landmark reports: The Evolution of Home Entertainment 2020-2025, and Disc: The Untapped Value (in association with Kantar). We drove growth and education through campaigns such as the first-of-its-kind One Night Only weekly digital activation and helped consumers understand the perils of piracy with Moments Worth Paying For, while the Crimestoppers disrupted search activity. And (of course) we celebrated at the Annual BASE Awards, which was perhaps the most inclusive and important BASE Awards yet, where we also took the opportunity to continue to support our chosen charity Action For Children. A massive thank you to all of our Members and Partners for their ongoing support, and to the BASE team for all their hard work across an unprecedented year of activity. Wishing everyone a restful, peaceful, and joyful festive break. Here’s to an equally as exciting 2023!"
BASE chief Liz Bales on the organisation’s efforts in 2022…
AT THE MOVIES
And as the year ends, thoughts turn once more not just the new year and celebration but also, obviously, awards season. And the latest set of nominations to be revealed just ahead of December 25 comes from the London Critics’ Circle. As ever, it provides an insight into what’s on the radar of awards-savvy types and the two leading the way are The Banshees Of Inisherin and Aftersun. The former has nine nods, the latter eight, leading a field that includes, with six each, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Tár and The Wonder and, with a quartet each, Decision to Leave, Living and The Quiet Girl. “As always, our nominees stand out from others because our members actually see all of the films that are released each year,” says Rich Cline, chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Section. “So these nominations represent a cross-section of the very best of the movies we watched in 2022. And each year it's great that we can highlight films, filmmakers and performances that deserve attention.” Donald Glover’ name has long been linked with Spider-man, he was rumoured to be appearing as the web-crawler more than a decade ago, and it looks like he is being lined up for a Spidey-related project. For he is said rto be involved in another Sony offshoot in the shape of Hypno-Hustler. A little known character from the 70s, he came in the wake of the disco boom and was promptly forgotten about. But now Glover is set to star and produce, with another Hollywood offspring, Myles Murphy (son of Eddie) writing.
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Animated fare from Studiocanal…
Trailer of the year…
Tom Cruise revealing he does his own stunts…
Due from Mubi…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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