BRIT VCI: Mills, Hawkins, Johns & Lockwood Headline 4 in July

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939) July 17th VCI Retail: $14.99, Our: $12.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Highly Dangerous (1950) July 17th VCI Retail: $14.99, Our: $12.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

The Long Memory (1953) July 17th VCI Retail: $14.99, Our: $12.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

The Seekers (1954) July 17th VCI Retail: $14.99, Our: $12.99

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VCI has set a July 17th release date set for four more Rank films all with top-name British stars such as John Mills, Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Margaret Lockwood and Leslie Banks; with Yank Dane Clark thrown in just for fun.

Bonus features are minimal.

BRIT VCI: The Way Ahead, Never Let Go & Morning Departure in June

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

The Way Ahead (1944) June 19th VCI Retail: 14.99, Our: $12.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Morning Departure (1950) June 19th VCI Retail: 14.99, Our: $12.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Never Let Go (1960) June 19th VCI Retail: 14.99, Our: $12.99

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Three more Rank films have been scheduled by VCI for release on June 19th.

First up is Carol Reed's The Way Ahead (1944) starring David Niven and Stanley Holloway. While this full version is making its DVD debut, it has been previously released in a shortened U.S. version as The Immortal Battalion.

The other two, Morning Departure (1950) & Never Let Go (1960), were previously released by MGM and have been out of print for some time.

Bonus features are minimal.

CRITERION: David Lean Directs Noel Coward Standard & Blu in March

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE: TITLES:

David Lean Directs Noel Coward March 27th Criterion Retail: $79.95, Our: $64.99 In Which We Serve (1942), This Happy Breed (1944), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1945)

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE: TITLES:

David Lean Directs Noel Coward (Blu-Ray) March 27th Criterion Retail: $99.95, Our: $84.99 In Which We Serve (1942), This Happy Breed (1944), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1945)

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Criterion has announced David Lean Directs Noel Coward for release on standard and Blu-Ray this March 27th.

Each 4-disc set will include the four titles above, with This Happy Breed (1944) making its DVD debut, and Blithe Spirit (1945) being resurrected after having been out of print for several years. Synopses and bonus features are below.


In the 1940s, the wit of playwright Noel Coward and the craft of filmmaker David Lean melded harmoniously in one of cinema’s greatest writer-director collaborations.

With the wartime military drama sensation In Which We Serve, Coward and Lean (along with producing partners Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan) embarked on a series of literate, socially engaged, and enormously entertaining pictures that ranged from domestic epic (This Happy Breed) to whimsical comedy (Blithe Spirit) to poignant romance (Brief Encounter). These films created a lasting testament to Coward’s artistic legacy and introduced Lean’s visionary talents to the world.

In Which We Serve (1942)
In the midst of World War II, the renowned playwright Noel Coward engaged a young film editor named David Lean to help him realize his vision for an action drama about a group of Royal Navy sailors (roles that would be filled by Coward himself, Bernard Miles, and John Mills, among others) fighting the Germans in the Mediterranean. Coward and Lean ended up co-directing the large-scale project—an impressive undertaking, especially considering that neither of them had directed for the big screen before (this would be Coward’s only such credit). Cutting between a major naval battle and flashbacks to the men’s lives before they left home.

In Which We Serve (an Oscar nominee for best picture) was a major breakthrough for both filmmakers and a sensitive and stirring piece of propaganda.

This Happy Breed (1944)
David Lean brings to vivid emotional life Noel Coward's epic chronicle of a working-class family in the London suburbs over the course of two decades.

Robert Newton and Celia Johnson are surpassingly affecting as Frank and Ethel Gibbons, a couple with three children whose modest household is touched by joy and tragedy from the tail end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second.

With its mix of politics and melodrama, This Happy Breed is a quintessential British domestic drama, featuring subtly expressive Technicolor cinematography by Ronald Neame and a remarkable supporting cast including John Mills, Stanley Holloway, and Kay Walsh.

Blithe Spirit (1945)
Blithe Spirit, David Lean’s delightful film version of Noel Coward’s theater sensation (onstage, it broke London box-office records before hitting Broadway), stars Rex Harrison as a novelist who cheekily invites a medium (Margaret Rutherford) to his house to conduct a seance, hoping the experience will inspire a book he’s working on.

Things go decidedly not as planned when she summons the spirit of his dead first wife (Kay Hammond), a severe inconvenience for his current one (Constance Cummings). Employing Oscar-winning special effects to spruce up Coward’s theatrical farce, Blithe Spirit is a sprightly supernatural comedy with winning performances.

Brief Encounter (1945)
Adapting Noel Coward's play Still Life, legendary filmmaker David Lean deftly explores the thrill, pain, and tenderness of illicit romance during the dour, gray Britain of 1945. From a chance meeting on a train platform, a middle-aged married doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) enter into a quietly passionate, ultimately doomed love affair set to a swirling Rachmaninoff score.

BONUS FEATURES:

• Audio commentary on Brief Encounter by film historian Bruce Eder
• New interviews with Noël Coward scholar Barry Day on all of the films
• Interview with cinematographer-screenwriter-producer Ronald Neame from 2010
• Short documentaries from 2000 on the making of In Which We Serve and Brief Encounter
• David Lean: A Self Portrait, a 1971 television documentary on Lean’s career
• Episode of the British television series The Southbank Show from 1992 on the life and career of Coward
• Audio recording of a 1969 conversation between Richard Attenborough and Coward at London’s National Film Theatre
• Trailers
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Ian Christie, Terrence Rafferty, Farran Smith Nehme, Geoffrey O’Brien, and Kevin Brownlow

BRITISH VCI: Genevieve, Christopher Columbus in September

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Genevieve (1953) September 6th VCI Retail $19.99, Our: $15.99 $11.98 (Until July 30th )

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Genevieve (Blu-Ray) (1953) September 6th VCI Retail $24.99, Our: $18.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Christopher Columbus (1949) September 6th VCI Retail $19.99, Our: $15.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

The Black Tent (1956) September 20th VCI Retail $19.99, Our: $15.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Flame in the Streets (1961) September 20th VCI Retail $19.99, Our: $15.99

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Four more British classics are on the way from VCI with the 1953 comedy Genevieve leading the pack. Bonus features include a 30 minute documentary as well as a photo and poster gallery.

Available in both standard definition and Blu-Ray, we're offering a 3-day special price on the standard version for only $11.98.

Also scheduled is Fredric March in Christopher Columbus; John Mills in Flame in the Streets; and Donald Sinden and Anthony Steel in The Black Tent. Bonus features are slim for these three releases.

BRITISH VCI: Miranda, Tiara Tahiti in July

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Miranda (1948) July 5th VCI Retail $19.99, Our: $15.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Tiara Tahiti (1962) July 5th VCI Retail $19.99, Our: $15.99

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More British classics are on the way from VCI as they have announced Miranda (1948) with Glynis Johns, Googie Withers, Griffith Jones, John McCallum and Margaret Rutherford and Tiara Tahiti (1962) with James Mason, John Mills, Claude Dauphin and Herbert Lom for release on July 5th.

Each will retail for $19.99, but are available at ClassicFlix.com for only $15.99. Bonus features are not expected.

Miranda
Paul Marton is a Harley Street doctor who announces to his wife that he intends to take a fishing holiday alone. He sets off for Cornwall and indulges in a spot of fishing until one day he catches a beautiful mermaid!

Meanwhile, his wife receives a telegram saying that her husband will be returning accompanied by a patient. Expecting an aging invalid, she is shocked on their arrival to see a beautiful young woman with her legs wrapped in cloth. Will anyone discover Miranda’s fishy secret?

Tiara Tahiti
Sir John Mills and James Mason star as two long-time rivals. Brett (James Mason) is the nephew of a wealthy uncle, and envied by Clifford Southey (John Mills), a clerk for the firm. Brett’s cool and privileged demeanor make Southey constantly jealous, so when Brett is appointed to Southey’s regiment where he has been in charge for a long time, Southey is fearful of the effect this will have both on his authority and his self-esteem.

Sure enough, Brett becomes an instant hit and undermines Southey’s control. When Southey discovers that Brett is indulging in a spot of black-market trading, he informs the authorities. Disgraced and ousted by his family, Brett sets off for Australia. Southey thinks he has won, but the rivalry is far from over.

VCI: The 39 Steps (59), We Dive at Dawn in May

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

The 39 Steps (1959) May 17th VCI Retail $19.99, Our: $15.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

We Dive at Dawn (1943) May 17th VCI Retail $19.99, Our: $15.99

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More British classics are on the way from VCI as they have announced The 39 Steps (1959) and We Dive at Dawn (1943) for release on May 17th.

We Dive at Dawn has previously been released on DVD by public domain companies, but this is the first region 1 release for 1959's The 39 Steps which stars Kenneth More and Taina Elg. Bonus features are not expected.

Each will retail for $19.99, but are available at ClassicFlix.com for only $15.99.

ARTWORK ADDED: 4 VCI British War Films

-- ARTWORK ADDED TO PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT --

ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT

WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Above Us the Waves (1955) May 3rd VCI Retail: 19.99, Our: $15.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

The Malta Story (1953) May 3rd VCI Retail: 19.99, Our: $15.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

Sea of Sand (1958) A.K.A. Desert Patrol May 3rd VCI Retail: 19.99, Our: $15.99

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WHAT: WHEN: STUDIO: PRICE:

The Way to the Stars (1945) A.K.A. Johnny in the Clouds May 3rd VCI Retail: 19.99, Our: $15.99

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VCI has announced four British World War II dramas for release on May 3rd.

• Above Us the Waves (1955) - John Mills, John Gregson, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice
• The Malta Story (1953) - Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Muriel Pavlow
• Sea of Sand (1958) - Richard Attenborough, John Gregson, Michael Craig
• The Way to the Stars (1945) - Michael Redgrave, John Mills, Rosamund John, Douglass Montgomery

Bonus features are not expected, but all four will have English subtitles.

Each will retail for $19.99, but are available at ClassicFlix.com for only $15.99.