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HAPPY BIRTHDAY FLICKS
DVD: AN ART-FORM
STUDIOCANAL ON TRIAL
PIRATE VIDEO
NITRAM SI DOOG
VORTEX OPENS WIDE
CINE ASIA’S BATTLE
PARALLEL RELEASE STRATEGY…
…AS WARNER AND PATHE DEAL KICKS IN
JOHNNY, JOEY, DEE DEE GOOD TIMES
REVEALER REVEAL
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Video rental is dead. Long live video rental. And a happy birthday to 20th Century Flicks, arguably the UK’s – if not the world’s _ longest running video rental outlet, with the Bristol store marking its 40th anniversary this weekend with a film festival held in a home-town cinema. As Ant Nield, who works at Indicator and helped out over the weekend-long event said on Twitter as it drew to a close: “For those seeking blissful exhaustion, I recommend organising and staging a three-day genre festival with your best pals, showing the best films on a gigantic former IMAX screen in an aquarium, and having the attendees be the loveliest film fans in the world.” Meanwhile, the anniversary was a cause for further press coverage for the store, and, as co-owner Dave Taylor told The Guardian in this excellent piece: “We’ll just keep going, renting out films, putting on festivals, making the odd diorama. It’s a satisfying life.” More on this next week when they’ve recovered, but it’s been a sheer joy watching the reaction to the event and seeing reports on Twitter this weekend…
Every now and then, amid the kind of Guardian articles that proclaim the death of physical media and get sniffy about people still purchasing actual films on disc, you get a feature or comment piece somewhere that just gets it right. So continue with a rather wonderful piece on Prospect about the joys of physical media and DVDs, which includes the marvellous pay-off line: “High-quality DVDs are an art form. They require imagination, labour—and a fair bit of idealism. They make demands too: to be handled well, to be protected. A DVD is not so much a film as a relationship.” You can see the full article here.
Cannes is looming an there’s been an interesting reveal from Studiocanal this week, which has announced that it will be unveiling a new 4K restoration of Orson Welles’ classic The Trial at the film festival. The Franz Kafka adaptation stars Anthony Perkins as the man accused of a crime of some sort or other and ends up trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare and is marking its 60th anniversary this year. The film will get a home entertainment release later this year in the UK and other territories after its Cannes premiere. As the announcement further noted; “A new artwork and trailer are being developed to promote the release. There will also be new bonus features included on the STUDIOCANAL home entertainment editions.”
It’s a busy time for Picturehouse Entertainment, which had a big theatrical bow on Friday in the cape of Vortex, has been airing another forthcoming title due at cinemas and also, on Monday May 16, brings recent theatrical hit Pirates to home entertainment. The film comes from broadcaster and actor Reggie Yates and follows a trio of lads on Millennium Eve, 1999, as they scoot around the capital trying to make their way into a garage rave. Commenting on the title, Picturehouse Entertainment’s Martin Hearn said: “We're very excited to be releasing Pirates on Monday. Reggie Yates' hugely charming and funny debut features a trio of fantastic performances from rising stars Elliot Edusah, Jordan Peters and Reda Elzaouar. As the sleeve itself says - get ready for the party of the year!"
And while we’re on Picturehouse Entertainment, we strongly recommend you keep an eye out for Nitram, due at cinemas on July 1 with the home entertainment release following later in the year. It’s the latest from Aussie director Justin Kurzel, whose previous outings such as Snowtown and The True Story Of The Kelly Gang have been big critical and commercial titles. The latest, Nitram, which tells another true story of Australia’s worst mass shooting on record, is no less intense than its predecessors and Is a hugely powerful piece of filmmaking that is certain to come with bags of critical acclaim and should be a hit both at cinemas and on home entertainment. Picturehouse’s Martin Hearn said: "We're thrilled to continue our relationship with Justin Kurzel following our release of True History of the Kelly Gang. Nitram is a film that everyone in the Picturehouse Entertainment team is incredibly passionate about. A stand-out film at last year's Cannes Film Festival, it features a stunning cast and it was no surprise at all to see Caleb Landry Jones walking away with the Best Actor prize for his intense and truly outstanding performance"
Currently at cinemas from Picturehouse is the Friday, May 13 release of the latest from French auteur Gaspar Noe, whose Vortex stars Dario Argento and is a timely tale of dementia and ageing. The film arrives with a wealth of critical acclaim behind it, It’s received a sheaf of fine reviews, including plenty of five-star notices, including from the Guardian, which noted: "This is a work of wintry maturity, and real compassion.”
Also out and in stores on Monday is the latest from Trinity Cine Asia, the epic Chinese tale The Battle At Lake Chanjin. We wrote about it last year on its theatrical bow, but the film is the biggest global box office title of 2021, amassing more even than No Time To Die on its way to a worldwide haul of nearly $900 million. Co-directed by a trio of big names – Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine), Tsui Hark (Once Upon A Time In China and Dante Lam (Operation Red Sea) – it is the second highest grossing Chinese film and recount ts the story of the eponymous 1950 battle. Trinity’s Cedric Behrel said: “Trinity Cine Asia co-founder and director Cedric Behrel says: “We are thrilled to be bringing The Battle at Lake Changjin to Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms after releasing the film in UK and Irish cinemas, as it became one of the biggest box office success stories of last year. This is a rare spectacle where three of the world's best directors, Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam, have come together to create a truly stunning blockbuster. We look forward to audiences experiencing this at home.” As Jeffrey Chan from Chinese company Distribution Workshop said at the time of its theatrical bow: “Unbeknown to many of us these days, the battle at Lake Changjin marked a historical moment still relevant to contemporary Asia and possibly the world today. We're excited by the Trinity team's enthusiasm and effort in bringing this important film to the cinemas in UK within such a short turnaround time frame,”
And Monday also sees the latest of the fruits of the deal inked in 2021 between Warner and Pathe which sees the studio looking after distribution of the latter’s titles in the UK and Ireland, arriving in stores. The title is Parallel Mothers and, as part of the deal, Pathe devises the marketing and publicity elements, with Warner handling theatrical distribution and “the exploitation of the titles across all media outlets and platforms”. The deal covers titles such as The Duke and Monday’s Parallel Mothers, the latest from Pedro Almodovar and starring his longtime muse Penelope Cruz. The film is another five-star pairing from the duo, and as The Guardian noted: “Pedro Almodóvar’s new movie has the warmth and the grandiloquent flair of a picture from Hollywood’s golden age (something starring Bette Davis and Joan Fontaine maybe, with music by Max Steiner) and the whiplash twists and addictive sugar rush bumps of daytime soap.”
Meanwhile, talking at the time the deal was inked, Pathe UK md Cameron McCracken stated: “We are delighted to renew our alliance with Warner Bros, 10 years since we last partnered with them on our UK releases. As with our past distribution partnerships, we will continue to manage the whole filmmaking and distribution process for our titles, providing a bespoke service to our filmmakers whilst also allowing them to benefit from Studio backing.” And Warner country manager for the UK and Ireland Polly Cochrane added “Warner Bros. first formed a partnership with Pathé in 2009. We are delighted to be renewing our strategic alliance to bring Pathé’s outstanding theatrical slate of high quality, critically acclaimed British films to our UK and Irish audiences both in cinemas and across other platforms and channels
101 Films is on something of a roll at the minute and the latest announcement fits neatly into its current purple patch, with the company’s Black Label unveiling a new addition to its burgeoning range. The latest, due on June 27, is Rock N Roll High School, the late 1970s trash classic featuring The Ramones inspiring school kids to revolt against the man. The film saw Uber-producer Roger Corman, never one to miss a trend, turning his attention to the punk rock phenomenon and stars the Ramones in truly stupendous form. Commenting on the release, 101’s Tim Scaping said: “Hot on the heels of the pair of Roger Corman-produced classics that we announced last week comes perhaps the most beloved of Corman's New World Pictures output, ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, directed by Allan Arkush and featuring legendary band the Ramones at their punk-rocking peak. Acquired for the UK as part of our partnership with Shout! Factory, this 101 Films Black Label release features the extensive raft of extras from the US Blu-ray, including four commentaries, two retrospective documentaries, interviews with cast and filmmakers and more, plus—as ever with our premium imprint—a booklet with new writing on the film, all housed in a limited edition slipcase. We have a busy year ahead when it comes to physical catalogue, with the next title in our Black Label range to follow soon, along with the next batch of AGFA releases, so keep an eye on our social accounts for the latest news.”
Another week, another acquisition from specialist horror and genre streamer Shudder, which has signed UK, US and rights for other territories it covers, for Revealer. The horror film, which has won praise and aired at festivals, is set in 1987 in a peepshow alongside an adult book show and sees a dancer and a religious zealot joining forces as what is potentially the rapture looms. Craig Engler, general manager of Shudder, said: “Luke Boyce has crafted a darkly funny and surprisingly moving apocalyptic horror that we can't wait to share with Shudder members.” “We made Revealer as the entire shift of the world changed beneath our feet and we responded to that creatively. It is a movie that's wild and scary, but also heartfelt and emotional. It's a neon-drenched, horror-filled call for connectedness and we are so incredibly excited to have teamed up with Shudder, a platform and community I love dearly, as the perfect home to share it with the world," added director Luke Boyce.
AT THE MOVIES
"The plan is to do a sequel that comes out on the 40th anniversary of the original film and I can tell you hardly a day goes by without someone saying, why don’t you do another one? For so many years, we said, ‘nah.’. It wasn’t until we came up with the right idea how to do this. You don’t want to just do it, to do it. You want to honour the first one and push it a little further with the story.” And with those words, Spinal Tap helmer Rob Reiner unveiled plans for a sequel to the original mockumentary (or, if you will, rockumentary) This Is Spinal Tap. The second will reunite the original cast and see them getting back together after their manager dies. It’s being planned to tie in with the 40th anniversary of the original film and is set to become a tour bus staple just like its predecessor…
Another sequel due is one to the excellent A Simple Favour, the Paul Feig film which pairdick and ed Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively who become somewhat unlikely friends after meeting at the school gates until, that is, one of them disappears… The sequel will follow on from events of the first, although little else is known about the likely (or Lively) plot…
The Dune sequel is moving ever nearer and this week has seen news emerging of the casting Emperor Shaddam IV for the film. He was mentioned but unseen in Denis Villeneuve’s first sci-fi epic, but plays a key role in the next Frank Herbert adaptation. And who better than Christopher Walken to play the role of the evil Emperor? The film will begin shooting this summer and is due any cinemas next year in what the Americans would call the Fall.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Feeling Fiennes…
Do you want to meet my hamster?
Due on MUBI…
You're in Luck…
It’s been a long time coming…
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