New
from Arrow Video US
Edgar
Allan Poe's Black Cats: Two Adaptations By Sergio Martino & Lucio Fulci, Tenderness
Of The Wolves, and
Borowczyk's Immoral Tales and The Beast
via
MVD Entertainment Group
Tenderness
of the Wolves
Fritz
Haarmann, aka the Butcher of Hanover and the Vampire of Hanover, was a German
serial killer responsible for the murders of two dozen boys and young men
during the so-called 'years of crisis' between the wars. His case would partly
inspire Fritz Lang's M, and its central character portrayed by Peter Lorre, as
well as this forgotten gem from 1973.
Tenderness
of the Wolves treats the viewer to a few weeks in the company of a killer.
Baby-faced and shaven-headed, in a manner that recalls both M and F.W. Murnau's
Nosferatu, Haarmann is a fascinating, repulsive figure. Using his status as a
police informant to procure his victims, he dismembers their bodies after death
and sells the flesh to restaurants, dumping the remainder out of sight. This
isn't an easy film to watch, but it certainly gets under the skin...
Produced
by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (who also supplies a shifty cameo), Tenderness of
the Wolves provided two of his regular actors with a means of expanding their
careers. Ulli Lommel - later responsible for the infamous video nasty The
Boogeyman - made his directorial debut, while Kurt Raab wrote the screenplay as
well as delivering an astonishing performance as Haarmann.
Special
Features:
-New
high definition digital transfer prepared by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Foundation
-High
Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
-Uncompressed
Mono 1.0 PCM Audio
-New
translated English subtitles
-The
Tender Wolf - a brand-new in-depth interview with director Ulli Lommel
-Brand-new
interview with director of photography Jürgen Jürges
-Newly-filmed
appreciation by film historian and expert on European horror cinema Stephen
Thrower
-Theatrical
trailer
-Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil
-Illustrated
booklet featuring new writing on the film by Tony Rayns
RELEASE
DATE: OCTOBER 20th
Edgar
Allan Poe's Black Cats: Two Adaptations by Sergio Martino & Lucio Fulci
Edgar
Allan Poe's celebrated story The Black Cat has provided the inspiration for
numerous films over the years. But few adaptations are as stylish as those
offered up by the twin Italian titans of terror, Sergio Martino and Lucio
Fulci.
In
Martino's classic giallo Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key,
teacher Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli, A Bay of Blood) finds himself under suspicion
for murder when one of his students - and mistress - is found brutally
murdered. As more bodies start to pile up, the arrival of Oliviero's attractive
niece (Edwige Fenech, Five Dolls for an August Moon, All the Colours of the Dark)
brings with it complications of its own.
In
The Black Cat, from that "other" Godfather of Gore, Lucio Fulci
(Zombie), Scotland Yard Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck, The Beyond) find
himself summoned to a sleepy English village to investigate the recent murder
of a young couple. With no obvious signs of entry at the murder scene, Gorley
is forced to start considering the possibility that his suspect may not be
human...
Finally
together on Blu-ray and in stunning new 2K restorations from the original
camera negatives, fans can enjoy the double-dose of terror that is Edgar Allan
Poe's Black Cats - Italian-style!
LIMITED
EDITION CONTENTS:
-Brand
new 2K restorations of the films from the original camera negatives
-High
Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
-Original
Italian and English soundtracks in mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
-Newly
translated subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
-Optional
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
-Brand
new interview with director Sergio Martino
-Dolls
of Flesh and Blood: The Gialli of Sergio Martino - a visual essay by Michael
Mackenzie exploring -Sergio Martino's unique contributions to the giallo genre
-Stephen
Thrower, author of Beyond Terror - The Films of Lucio Fulci, on The Black Cat
-Reversible
sleeves featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
-Limited
Edition 80-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the films, Poe's
original story and more, illustrated with archive stills and posters
-Much
more to be announced!
RELEASE
DATE: OCTOBER 13th
The
Beast
Walerian
Borowczyk's most notorious and controversial film wildly re-works the classic
Beauty and the Beast story into a very adult fairy tale, a parody of
pornographic tropes and an assault on notions of 'good taste'.
Bestial
dreams interrupt the venal plans of a French aristocrat attempting to save a
crumbling mansion by marrying off his deformed son, Mathurin, to a horny
American heiress, Lucy. Yet Mathurin seems more interested in his horses than
in his bride-to-be, and when Lucy finds out about the story of his 18th-century
ancestor Romilda (Sirpa Lane) copulating with the titular beast it sparks to
life one of the most outrageous dream sequences in cinema history.
A
huge hit in France that was extensively censored and banned elsewhere, The
Beast broke new ground in sexual explicitness and remains a truly startling
experience even today.
Special
Features:
-New
high definition digital transfer of the uncut 98-minute version
-Uncompressed
Mono 2.0 PCM Audio
-Optional
English subtitles
-Introduction
by film critic Peter Bradshaw
-The
Making of The Beast: camera operator Noël Véry provides a commentary on footage
shot during the film's production
-Frenzy
of Ecstasy, a visual essay on the evolution of Borowczyk's beast and the sequel
that never was, Motherhood
-The
Profligate Door, a documentary about Borowczyk's sound sculptures featuring
curator Maurice Corbet
-Boro
Brunch, a reunion meal recorded in February 2014 reuniting members of
Borowczyk's crew
-Commercials
by Borowczyk: Holy Smoke (1963), The Museum (1964) and Tom Thumb (1966)
-Gunpoint,
a documentary short by Peter Graham produced and edited by Borowczyk (11:04)
-Behind
Enemy Lines - The Making of Gunpoint (5:16)
-Theatrical
trailer
-Reversible
sleeve featuring Borowczyk's own original poster design
-Illustrated
booklet featuring new writing on the film by Daniel Bird and an archive piece
by David Thompson, illustrated with original stills
RELEASE
DATE: SEPTEMBER 15th
Immoral
Tales
Walerian
Borowczyk's first explicitly erotic feature, Immoral Tales presents a veritable
cavalcade of depravity: cosmic fellatio, transcendental masturbation,
blood-drenched lesbianism and papal incest.
It
tells four stories, each delving back further in time, as if to suggest that
the same issues recur constantly throughout human civilization, whether
involving notorious historical figures like Lucrezia Borgia and Erzsébet
Báthory, or present-day teenagers.
Capitalising
on the relaxation of censorship laws, Immoral Tales would transform Borowczyk's
image from brilliant but obscure avant-garde artist to one of Europe's most
confrontational filmmakers when it came to trampling on sexual taboos.
Special
Features:
-New
high definition digital transfers of two versions of the feature, the familiar
four-part edition and the original five-part conception including the short
film The Beast of Gévaudan (which later became the feature The Beast)
-Uncompressed
Mono 2.0 PCM Audio
-Optional
English subtitles
-Introduction
by Borowczyk expert Daniel Bird
-Love
Reveals Itself, a new interview programme featuring production manager
Dominique Duvergé-Ségrétin and cinematographer Noël Véry
-Obscure
Pleasures: A Portrait of Walerian Borowczyk, a newly-edited archival interview
in which the filmmaker discusses painting, cinema and sex
-Blow
Ups, a visual essay by Daniel Bird about Borowczyk's works on paper
-Theatrical
trailer
-Reversible
sleeve featuring Borowczyk's own original poster design
-Illustrated
booklet containing new writing on the film by by Daniel Bird and an archive
piece by Philip Strick
RELEASE
DATE: SEPTEMBER 15th
