Upcoming Eureka Enertainment Blu-ray Releases

Posted June 6, 2019 11:56 AM by

Eureka Entertainment has announced its August batch of Blu-ray releases. They are: The Incident (1967), Used Cars (1980), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), The Third Wife (2018), and Buster Keaton: Three Films (1924-1928).

The Incident

Synopsis: A riveting urban tension thriller, and a fantastic snapshot of 1967 New York City in all its seedy, black-and-white glory, THE INCIDENT also features an iconic 60s cast that must be seen to be believed. Martin Sheen makes his feature film debut as one of two small-time hoods – the other is Tony Musante (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE) in one of his earliest roles – terrorising a subway car full of trapped passengers, portrayed by an ensemble cast including Thelma Ritter (REAR WINDOW), Beau Bridges (THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS), Ed McMahon, Donna Mills (Play Misty for Me), Jack Gilford (SAVE THE TIGER), Brock Peters (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD), Ruby Dee (A RAISIN IN THE SUN), and a host of other instantly recognisable faces from NYC films and television of the era.

After mugging an old man for a few dollars, thugs Artie (Sheen) and Joe (Musante) hop a subway deep in the Bronx, and proceed to threaten and intimidate the Sunday night commuters all the way to Times Square. The terrified riders are a mixed group – an elderly Jewish couple, a family trying to protect their 5-year-old daughter, an alcoholic, two teens on a date, two military Privates, a bigoted African-American man and his wife, etc. – but they are united by their fear and sense of helplessness as switchblade-wielding Joe and Artie block the subway doors from opening at stops, and prevent the riders from leaving. Will any of them have the courage to confront the two maniacs?

A high-velocity "home invasion"-styled hostage drama on rails, THE INCIDENT is a NYC transit suspense film that precedes the better-known THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE by seven years. When director Larry Peerce (GOODBYE, COLUMBUS) and cinematographer Gerald Hirschfeld (YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN) were denied permission to shoot in the NYC subways, they did it anyway, using concealed cameras for some footage, providing a gritty time capsule of the 60s Big Apple as it begins to rot.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

1080p high-definition digital transfer, available for the first time ever on Blu-ray
Uncompressed monaural soundtrack (on Blu-ray)
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new and exclusive audio commentary by film critic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Post-screening Q&A with director Larry Peerce, filmed at the 2017 Wisconsin Film Festival [30 mins]
Original Theatrical Trailer
PLUS: a collector's booklet featuring new writing by film writer Samm Deighan, and critic and journalist Barry Forshaw; WELCOME TO FEAR CITY: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR VISITORS TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK – a reprint of the notorious pamphlet distributed at the height of New York's crime epidemic

STREET DATE: AUGUST 12.

Used Cars

Synopsis: A hilarious cult favourite from director Robert Zemeckis (The BACK TO THE FUTURE Trilogy, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT), USED CARS is a high-octane comic salute to the supersalesmen whose persuasive pitches transformed rattling wrecks into your dream car.

Kurt Russell (ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA) is Rudy Russo, the top salesmen at the New Deal used car lot run by Luke Fuchs (Jack Warden). Caught up in a crazy feud between Luke and his brother Roy (also played by Warden) who runs the rival car lot across the street, Rudy must put his grifting skills into overdrive as the battle for sales supremacy escalates into all-out war!

Under-appreciated on release, USED CARS is now recognised as one of the funniest comedies of the 1980s. Eureka Classics is delighted to present USED CARS in its UK debut on Blu-ray.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

1080p presentation on Blu-ray
Uncompressed LPCM (original mono presentation) and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio options
Optional English SDH subtitles
Audio Commentary with director Robert Zemeckis, producer/co-writer Bob Gale, and star Kurt Russell
Isolated Score Track (Patrick Williams score)
Isolated Score Track (Unused Ernest Gold score)
"WOULD YOU BUY A USED CAR FROM THESE MEN?" – Getting USED CARS made with producer Bob Gale [27 mins]
Radio Interview with Kurt Russell
Outtakes and Gag Reel | Kurt Russell Chrysler Commercial
Radio Spots
Stills Galleries
Original Theatrical Trailer
Limited Edition Collector's booklet featuring new essays by author Scott Harrison and film writer Phil Hoad [First print run only]

STREET DATE: AUGUST 12.

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

Synopsis: One of the most important films in all of Australian cinema, and perhaps the key critical work of that country's internationally acclaimed film movement of the 1970s, THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH is nothing short of a masterpiece – a bracing and emotionally wrenching study of the effects of institutionalised racism and colonialism on a land's indigenous peoples, and an unflinching look at the repercussions of violence for both aggressors and victims.

Based on the early 20th-century exploits of Jimmy Governor, THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH follows its title character, a half-Aboriginal, half-white young man attempting to make his way as a farmhand, but facing only prejudice and deception from society. When the parentage of his child is called into question and he is further robbed by his white employers, Jimmie's barely suppressed rage explodes, triggering a wave of violence that would shock a nation.

Directed by Fred Schepisi (SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION) from a Booker-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally (SCHINDLER'S ARC – the book on which the film SCHINDLER'S LIST was based), THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH stands alongside THE HARDER THEY COME and SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSS SONG as one of the most powerful 1970s cinema explorations of rebellion and uprising, and the costs that are paid on both sides. Called "the one great Australian film that I have seen" by Pauline Kael, THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH is a powerful experience.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH – Australian Version [122 mins] – presented in 1080p on Blu-ray (with a progressive encode on the DVD), from a restoration completed by Umbrella Entertainment
THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH – International Version [117 mins] – from a brand new restoration completed in 2019 from the original film elements (Blu-ray only)
Uncompressed monaural soundtrack (on Blu-ray)
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new and exclusive audio commentary by film critic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (Australian Version)
Audio commentary by director Fred Schepisi (Australian version)
Interview with Fred Schepisi [39 mins]
Celluloid Gypsies: MAKING "THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH" [36 mins]
A conversation with director Fred Schepisi and cinematographer Ian Baker [64 mins]
THE CHANT OF TOM LEWIS – interview with Tom E. Lewis [26 mins]
Q&A session with Fred Schepisi and Geoffrey Rush, from the 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival [34 mins]
MAKING US BLACKSMITHS – Documentary on the casting of Aboriginal lead actors Tom E. Lewis and Freddy Reynolds
Stills Gallery
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve
PLUS: A collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Travis Crawford; a reprint of Pauline Kael's original review of the film; and rare archival imagery

STREET DATE: AUGUST 19.

The Third Wife

Synopsis: A winner of the Spike Lee Production Fund, and inspired by the history of director Ash Mayfair's family, THE THIRD WIFE is a coming-of-age story; a tale of love and self-discovery in a time when women were rarely given a voice.

In the late 19th century in rural Vietnam, fourteen-year-old May is given away in an arranged marriage and becomes the third wife to her older husband. May learns that she can gain status and security if she gives birth to a male child. This becomes a real possibility when she gets pregnant. However, her path is fraught with danger when May starts to develop an attraction for Xuan, the second wife. As May observes the unfolding tragedy of forbidden love and its devastating consequences, she must make a choice, to either carry on in silence and safety, or forge a way towards personal freedom.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

1080p presentation on Blu-ray
Optional English subtitles
Theatrical Trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by David West, news editor at NEO magazine

STREET DATE: AUGUST 19.

Buster Keaton: Three Films 1924-1928

Between 1920 and 1929, Buster Keaton created a peerless run of feature films that established him as "arguably the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies". Collected here are three key films from that era; SHERLOCK JR., THE GENERAL and STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. Together they represent a true master at his peak, and The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present all three films from stunning 4K restorations.

SHERLOCK JR. (1924) – A film projectionist (and amateur detective) offers to solve the case of a missing watch, but is instead framed for the crime himself. Desperate to clear his name, the projectionist dreams of being the great Sherlock Jr., and in one of cinemas most iconic sequences, literally steps into the screen to bring his fantasies to life.

THE GENERAL (1926) – When union spies steal his locomotive (along with his girlfriend), a plucky railway engineer pursues them doggedly across enemy lines. Containing one of the most memorable chase sequences in the history of filmmaking, THE GENERAL is widely considered to be Keaton's masterpiece.

STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (1928) – A steamboat captain receives a telegram informing him that his son who he has not seen for many years will be coming to visit. Eagerly expecting a strapping young lad who will help him compete with his arch-rival, he is disappointed with the effete progeny that instead shows up. Best remembered for its climactic cyclone sequence in which Keaton performs a number of death-defying stunts whilst an entire town is destroyed around him, Steamboat Bill, Jr. was Buster Keaton's last independent silent comedy and also one of his finest.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

1080p presentations of all three films from stunning 4K restorations
Audio commentary on sherlock jr. by film historian David Kalat
Three video interviews with film scholar Peter Kramer discussing THE GENERAL
BUSTER KEATON: THE GENIUS DESTROYED by Hollywood (52 mins) - A documentary on Keaton and his struggles working within the Hollywood studio system
Buster Keaton on Wagon Train (58 mins) – an audio recording of a then 63 year old Buster Keaton in conversation with television writer Bill Cox
SHERLOCK JR. – Original music by Timothy Brock
SHERLOCK JR. – Tour of Filming Locations featurette
SHERLOCK JR. – Movie Magic & Mysteries featurette
THE GENERAL - Original score composed and conducted by Carl Davis
The General – Tour of Filming Locations featurette
THE GENERAL – Video Tour featurette
THE GENERAL – Home Movie Footage
THE GENERAL – Introduction by Orson Welles
THE GENERAL – Introduction by Gloria Swanson
STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. - Original score composed and conducted by Carl Davis
STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. – A video essay on the making of the film
A Collector's Booklet featuring writing on the films alongside rare archival imagery supplied by friends of the Keaton family

STREET DATE: AUGUST 12.

Source: Blu-ray.com | Permalink |

News comments (9 comments)

Lea74

Jun 06, 2019

May pick up THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH. Have been thinking about importing the Australian edition for months but won't have to now and this edition looks pretty stacked.