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10th May 2010
THE KID & THE GREAT DICTATOR - Now available on DVD and Blu-ray
***** "A welcome chance to revisit two of Chaplin’s genuine masterpieces, both lovingly restored." Tim Robey, The Daily Telegraph
Charles Chaplin classics THE KID and THE GREAT DICTATOR have been newly restored and are now available, presented in high definition on Blu-ray.
THE KID is widely regarded as one of Chaplin’s finest works and sees him tread the fine line between hilarious comedy and poignant drama beautifully. Charles Chaplin stars as The Tramp, a hapless conman who adopts a boy given away by his down and out mother. Years later the boy’s mother seeks him out after making her fortune as an opera singer, though without his mother the boy has followed his surrogate’s footsteps into haphazard criminality and the two dodge and dive around the city narrowly avoiding the law. When the boy’s mother puts up a reward for her son’s return, The Tramp finds he is betrayed by all around and the boy is taken from him. A masterpiece of silent cinema, THE KID is one of Chaplin’s most loved classics and has been painstakingly restored in High-Definition and is here presented on Blu-Ray for the first time.
* Extras include Chaplin Today: THE KID documentary, Jackie Coogan dances and Nice and Friendly featurettes, an introduction by David Robinson, scenes deleted for the 1971 reissue and footage of the recording of the 1971 score.
Chaplin’s first foray into the talkies, the much celebrated political satire THE GREAT DICTATOR (produced in 1940 while the US were still at peace with the Nazi regime) is considered one of the most important of Chaplin’s career and is here presented in newly remastered quality and for the very first time in High-Definition on Blu-ray. Nominated for five ACADEMY AWARDS®, THE GREAT DICTATOR is a hilarious look at a very serious subject in which Chaplin plays two opposing characters: Adenoid Hynkel, the dictator of Tomania, and a Jewish Barber. The young barber is caught in a plane crash in the First World War and after 20 years in hospital with amnesia is horrified to discover that his country is under the rule of the fascist Hynkel. Hynkel’s soldiers take pleasure in harassing the Jews, and the dictator is bent on world domination. With Hynkel ready to invade his neighbouring country Osterlich with his fascist ally Benzino Napaloni (Jack Oakie), will the Barber be able to spread his message of world peace before the bombs and tanks are deployed?
* Extras include Chaplin Today: THE GREAT DICTATOR documentary, colour behind the scenes footage and the 1919 short film Charlie The Barber (a deleted scene from the film Sunnyside).
THE KID and THE GREAT DICTATOR are available now on DVD and, for the first time, on Blu-ray from all good retailers and Park Circus AStore
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28th Apr 2010
HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT'S INFERNO and THE RED SHOES win Focal Awards
Park Circus are pleased that HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT'S INFERNO and THE RED SHOES were both winners at last night's ceremony at the Focal International Awards 2010.
The 'Award for Archive Restoration or Preservation Project' was won by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterpiece, the Academy Award-winning classic THE RED SHOES. Fiona Maxwell, Director of Operations at ITV Studios Global Entertainment, and acclaimed director Martin Scorsese (pictured above), both closely involved in the restoration work of the title, were present to accept the award. Park Circus is releasing the film internationally.
The critically praised HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT'S INFERNO received the 'Award for Best Use of Footage in a Cinema Release'. Part original, part documentary and part reconstruction, HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT’S INFERNO tells the emotional story of the ill-fated film project L’ENFER, an enigmatic and original film about a hotel manager who becomes possessed by the demons of jealousy. Following a successful run in UK Cinemas last year, the film is now available to enjoy at home on DVD.
The Federation of Commercial Audiovisual Libraries International Ltd (FOCAL) was formed in 1985 as an international, non-profit making, professional trade association. It represents commercial film/audiovisual, stills and sound libraries as well as interested individuals such as facility houses, professional film researchers and producers working in the industry.
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26th Apr 2010
THE BEST INTENTIONS - Now available on DVD
With a screenplay by filmmaking legend Ingmar Bergman (FANNY AND ALEXANDER, THE SEVENTH SEAL), Bille August (PELLE THE CONQUEROR) masterfully directs this emotionally charged love story following the lives of Bergman’s parents.
"It was a great experience for me to get to know Bergman, the private person.", Bille August says about the collaboration. "...And even if the script for THE BEST INTENTIONS is biographical, it is not documentary. Most facts and dates correspond with reality, but one has to remember that the story is written by the master of fiction..."
The winner of the Palme d'Or and Best Actress awards at Cannes International Film Festival 1992, THE BEST INTENTIONS is the story of a family and a bygone era, played out against a backdrop of a Sweden stifled by a rigid class system, and in the throes of a General Strike. Henrik Bergman (Samuel Fröler), an impoverished Lutheran pastor, falls in love with a wealthy girl, Anna (Pernilla August). Despite the attempts of many to discourage the relationship, Anna’s love grows stronger and the two eventually wed.
A compelling look at the hardships, extreme faith and rigid discipline of his father and his lifelong commitment to his wife, The Best Intentions sheds a powerful light onto the themes that have appeared in Ingmar Bergman’s best films.
THE BEST INTENTIONS is now available for the first time on DVD from all good retailers and Park Circus AStore
