Powerhouse Films

[Demoncrat]

ooooh Endless Night.

Well twas quite impressed with the package that they produced for Berserk. Hefty tome to peruse, and a decent amount of features (and a reversible sleeve zzzzzzzz )
So count me in ....

[Susan Foreman]

***NEW TITLE ANNOUNCEMENT***

HAMMER VOLUME FIVE: DEATH & DECEIT - Pre-order available from PowerHouse Films Direct - £42.99

Release date March 23, 2020

Includes an exclusive double-sided poster only available with direct orders from this website (poster features the original UK Quad designs for THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER and THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR, see pictures to the left).

Visa To Canton (Michael Carreras, 1961)
The Pirates Of Blood River (John Gilling, 1962)
The Scarlet Blade (John Gilling, 1963)
The Brigand Of Kandahar (John Gilling, 1965)

Release date: 23 March 2020
Limited Blu-ray Edition (UK and World premieres on Blu-ray)

"Hammer Volume Five: Death & Deceit collects four films from the early sixties which found the studio looking beyond the horror genre for its next box-office success. Visa to Canton (1961, released in the US as Passport to China) is a torn-from-the-headlines spy thriller; The Pirates of Blood River (1962), starring Kerwin Mathews (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) and Christopher Lee (The Face of Fu Manchu), is a swashbuckling adventure; The Scarlet Blade (1963, released in the US as The Crimson Blade) is an English Civil War-set actioner which follows the fortunes of Cromwell’s Roundheads; and The Brigand of Kandahar (1965) takes Hammer to the North-West Frontier for an action-adventure starring Ronald Lewis (Taste of Fear) and Oliver Reed (The System). All four films are presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, while Visa to Canton, The Scarlet Blade and The Brigand of Kandahar make their world Blu-ray premieres. This limited edition box set is strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units."

INDICATOR LIMITED BLU-RAY EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES:

VISA TO CANTON

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Alternative feature presentation with the US Passport to China titles
• Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons (2020)
• Hammer’s Women: Lisa Gastoni (2020): profile of the Hammer star by critic and writer Virginie Sélavy
• Ticket to Ride (2020): film historian Vic Pratt discusses ethnocentrism in sixties British cinema
• David Huckvale on Edwin Astley (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Josephine Botting, an account of the RB-47 affair which inspired Visa to Canton, an overview of promotional materials, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray

THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, art director Don Mingaye and Hammer historian Marcus Hearn (2008)
• Hammer’s Women: Marla Landi (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Kat Ellinger
• Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Pirates of Blood River’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
• Andrew Keir at the Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films (1993): archival video recording of the acclaimed actor in conversation with Stephen Laws
• Did I Write That? (2020): Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic, discusses the career of Jimmy Sangster
• David Huckvale on Gary Hughes (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Yes, We Have No Piranhas (2020): video essay on the censorship history of The Pirates of Blood River
• Original theatrical trailer
• Brian Trenchard-Smith trailer commentary (2013): short critical appreciation
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Lindsay Hallam, Jimmy Sangster on The Pirates of Blood River, a selection of promotional materials, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray

THE SCARLET BLADE

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Alternative feature presentation with the US The Crimson Blade titles
• Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons (2020)
• Hammer’s Women: June Thorburn (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Josephine Botting
• Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Scarlet Blade’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
• Interviews with Hugh Harlow and Pauline Wise (2020): the second assistant director and continuity person discuss the making of The Scarlet Blade
• Almost an Auteur (2020): horror author and critic Kim Newman on the eclectic career of writer-director John Gilling
• David Huckvale on Gary Hughes (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Original US theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Neil Sinyard, an extract from Oliver Reed’s autobiography, a selection of promotional materials, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray

THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian Vic Pratt (2020)
• Hammer’s Women: Yvonne Romain (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Melanie Williams
• Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Brigand of Kandahar’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
• Swashbuckling (2020): writer and historian Neil Sinyard looks at writer-director John Gilling’s films for Hammer
• David Huckvale on Don Banks (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Naman Ramachandran, an extensive selection of promotional materials, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray

#PHILTD183
BBFC cert: 12
REGION B
EAN: 5060697920383

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Wonder why Devil Ship Pirates wasn't part of this set?

Seems a logical companion to Blood River, especially when you see how nicely the films are linked in box set three,

[Michael Brooke]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Wonder why Devil Ship Pirates wasn't part of this set?

Seems a logical companion to Blood River, especially when you see how nicely the films are linked in box set three,

As a general rule, if a label with a reputation for conscientious thoroughness leaves out something that appears to be head-slappingly obvious, you can be close to certain that there's a reason behind it that's completely beyond their control.

Enquiries were of course made about Devil-Ship Pirates, but right now the UK rights simply aren't available. Whether StudioCanal retained them or sub-licensed them to another label like Network (which has their own SC deal) I've no idea, but both scenarios suggest that whoever has them may have their own reasonably imminent plans.

That said, it was good to have an excuse to include Visa to Canton, the rarest film in the box by some distance - the fact that people have even been asking whether or not it's true that it was shot in colour (it is, it was, and that's how it'll be presented) speaks volumes in itself. I daresay it could have fitted into Volume Three, especially given that Terror of the Tongs recycled its sets, but I'm not sure what other title could reasonably have been dropped in order to make way for it - that's one of the more tightly integrated Indicator Hammer boxes.

[Rob4]

PH have teased Castle of Fu Manchu in the newsletter - hope it will be a Fu boxset?

[Rob4]

my Night Tide copy arrived in the post this morning and its a superb/beautiful package...

two really nice touches is the Edgar Allan Poe poem 'Annabel Lee' printed in the booklet and the 'Captain Morgan' calling card loose inside the box, which I've deposited safely inside the amaray case. Is this a 'from the site' exclusive? Its just a little thing but it made me smile.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Likewise along with WINTER KILLS!

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Another cracking job on Winter Kills Blu Ray.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Watched NIGHT TIDE as well.
Stunning transfer.
That's the first I've seen this film,it's ridiculous how young Dennis Hopper looks in it!

[Susan Foreman]

'The Mad Magician' - Blu-Ray available for pre-order at Powerhouse Films direct - £15.99

Release date: March 23

"Made shortly after the box-office success of House of Wax, The Mad Magician returns Vincent Price to the world of three-dimensional horror. He plays Don Gallico, the creator of elaborate illusions for stage magicians, who seeks their fame… and will turn to murder to achieve it!

Directed by John Brahm (The Undying Monster), The Mad Magician is presented in two- and three-dimensions, and is accompanied by a pair of 3D comedy shorts by the Three Stooges."

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 2K restoration
• 3D and 2D presentations
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (2020)
• Three-Dimensional Magic (2020): appreciation of The Mad Magician and the 3D filmmaking boom of the 1950s by cinematographer Frank Passingham (Kubo and the Two Strings) and archivist Tom Vincent, presented in 3D and 2D
• Super 8 version: cut-down home cinema presentation in anaglyphic 3D
• Two short films starring the Three Stooges and produced by Columbia Pictures: Pardon My Backfire (1953) and Spooks! (1953), presented in 3D and 2D
• Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
• Original theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Kat Ellinger, a look at the career of producer Bryan Foy, an archival interview with director John Brahm by David Del Valle, a guide to the promotional campaign of The Mad Magician, an overview of contemporary critical responses, Jeff Billington on the Three Stooges’ 3D shorts, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies