British distributors Network have announced that they will release on Blu-ray directors Joy Batchelor and John Halas' Animal Farm (1954). The preliminary release date set by the distributors is September 22.
The first feature-length British animated film to be given a theatrical release, this landmark 1954 adaptation brilliantly conveys all the horror and humour of George Orwell's scathing satire on the corruption of Communist ideals and the Soviet Union's slide into totalitarianism. Animal Farm remains an outstanding achievement for award-winning animators John Halas and Joy Batchelor; actor and singer Gordon Heath narrates, and the characters are voiced by Maurice Denham. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, It is featured here in a new High Definition transfer made from original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.
Inspired by the dream of Old Major, a prize boar, the overworked animals of Manor Farm rise up against their negligent, drunken human owner and drive him out. Led by two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, they establish their own self-sufficient farm, but as the farm flourishes it begins to slide into dictatorship…
YES! I'm sure like most people they saw this as a kid. Will be picking this up no doubt. Network are on a roll! Black Narcissus, two Roeg films, Capricorn One, now this!
YES! I'm sure like most people they saw this as a kid. Will be picking this up no doubt. Network are on a roll! Black Narcissus, two Roeg films, Capricorn One, now this!
The BFI were ONLY allowed to release the UK cinema cut & on DVD ONLY. Also the Channel 4 documentary that is included as an extra, has all the 2004 DC version footage removed (Warner Bros not allowing the DC version a release is why) & more Ken Russell interview footage replacing it. The commentary has been edited to remove references to the DC version footage as the commentary was recorded for the DC cut.
Do ITV still own the rights (if they did own the rights) to the first Stepfather film starring Terry O'Quinn? Just wondering if there's a possibility of Network releasing it on Blu-ray.
And do Network still own the UK rights to Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II? If they do, would like to suggest that title for a Blu-ray release by Network (new transfer, and in it's original aspect ratio). Network released a DVD set of the four original Prom Night films a few years ago. The DVD Compare page for the film says Network's DVD release didn't have any cuts (although it also says Network's DVD release was not in anamorphic widescreen).
LESLIE Banks (The Man Who Knew Too Much) in brilliantly malevolent form features in this classy adaptation of Edgar Wallace’s thriller, The Door With Seven Locks (PG) available on DVD from Network Distributing on 26 May RRP £9.99. Originally released in 1940 – a short time after the British Board of Censors changed its guidelines on films with supernatural and horror themes – The Door with Seven Locks (PG) is made available here in a brand-new transfer from the only existing 35mm film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.
When wealthy Lord Selford dies, he is entombed with a valuable collection of jewels. Seven keys are required to unlock the tomb and release the treasure, but a series of mysterious events cause them be scattered; the Canadian heiress to the Selford fortune attempts to unravel the circumstances, but she and her fellow investigators find themselves caught in a terrifying web of deceit, torture, and murder…
Special features:
Alternate, 16mm source version of the main feature
Image gallery
Instant play facility
If anyone has a Fopp nearby, they have some good deals on Network titles. Picked up Perfect Friday for £6 and the DVD Horrors of the Black museum for £3. Plenty more British Film DVD's for £3 and £4 and The Lodger for £8.
Looking forward to watching Horrors in the wider scope.
Damn... I'm trying to limit my purchases as there are so many releases right now, hence why I spent less than a tenner and thought I'd removed any further Network temptation as I was only in London for a day.
Must resist the other titles I had in my hands....
Damn... I'm trying to limit my purchases as there are so many releases right now, hence why I spent less than a tenner and thought I'd removed any further Network temptation as I was only in London for a day.
Must resist the other titles I had in my hands....
I bought 17 DVDs in The British Film series off their site. I would've bought more, but I limited myself to the ones I really wanted. There were some other ones I was on the fence about, but like the recent Odeon website sale, I decided that just because they were cheap, if I didn't really want them, then there is no point spending money on them
I may possibly get a couple of other ones. I wanted to get the Edgar Wallace ones, but it's probably better to buy those ones in the boxset
I may possibly get a couple of other ones. I wanted to get the Edgar Wallace ones, but it's probably better to buy those ones in the boxset.
Do you mean the separate releases like The Terror and Circus of Fear etc? If so, those aren't included in the boxsets which is a pain. I was a bit gutted I couldn't pick up the complete boxset when it was £25 earlier this year. I'm yet to go back in but there's a good few I want. At least ten which I'll probably have to whittle down to 3 or 4 for now.
The British Film in June - What a Crazy World, Home at Seven and Memoirs of a Survivor starring Julie Christie
Quote:
Part of ‘The British Film’ collection
‘The British Film’ collection was launched by Network Distributing in April 2013 as part of a five-year plan to release over 450 vintage British films through a deal with Studio Canal, one of Europe’s leading distribution and production companies. Many of the films have never been available to own and will benefit from new transfers, affirming Network Distributing's commitment to classic British cinema.
Titles include significant works from studios including Associated Talking Pictures, Ealing Studio, London Films, British Lion, Associated British Picture Corporation and EMI from the Studio Canal archive.
JOE Brown (Three Hats for Lisa) stars as a likable young dreamer who finds himself with a hit on his hands in this wonderfully endearing musical drama of 1963. Featuring songs from the likes of Freddie and the Dreamers, What a Crazy World (12) will be available on DVD from Network Distributing on 9 June 2014, RRP £9.99.
Set against the background of London’s East End is the story of Alf Hitchins, an unemployed lad whose life revolves around dance halls, amusement arcades and cafés – any place to escape from the family home, where his father, mother and sister are deeply preoccupied with dog racing, bingo, and courting respectively. Alf’s cynical but cheerful acceptance of life expresses itself in the song he casually composes one night – and the results take everyone by surprise.
Special features:
Original theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Instant play facility
REPRISING his role from the West End stage hit, Oscar-nominee Ralph Richardson (Doctor Zhivago, Time Bandits) stars as a staid London bank clerk whose inexplicable amnesia leaves him without an alibi in the aftermath of a murder. Home at Seven (U) will be released on DVD on 23 June 2014, RRP £9.99, courtesy of Network Distributing.
This 1952 suspense feature saw Richardson heading an outstanding cast, alongside Jack Hawkins (Ben Hur, The Bridge on the River Kwai) who stars as his doctor, and Margaret Leighton (The Best Man, Under Capricorn) his equally perplexed wife. The result is a taut, compelling and very human drama that retains a gripping sense of mystery right up to its conclusion.
When David Preston returns home at seven, his distraught wife tells him that he did not come home – at any time, the previous evening. David has no idea where he could have been; he recalls nothing between the time he left the bank on Monday and his arrival home that following evening. Inclined at first to treat it lightly, everything changes when it emerges that during his ‘lost day’, a murder and robbery have taken place.
Special features:
Image gallery
Promotional material PDFs
Instant play facility
JULIE Christie stars in an award-winning adaptation of Doris Lessing’s famous dystopian novel of 1974. The complex, haunting science-fiction feature Memoirs of a Survivor (18) is out on DVD in the UK for the first time on 23 June 2014, RRP £9.99, courtesy of Network Distributing.
Set in a Britain of the near-future, Memoirs of a Survivor tells the story of ‘D’, a housewife trying to carry on after a cataclysmic war that has left society in a state of collapse. Rubbish is piled high in the streets among near-derelict buildings covered with graffiti; the electricity supply is variable, and water is now collected from a van. ‘D’ spends her time examining her relations with authority, with the marauding gangs of brutalised children who roam the streets, and with Emily, the traumatised, orphaned teenager who is delivered into her care.
Special features:
Original theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Promotional material PDFs
Instant play facility
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Linear Mode
