On 23rd November, George Hoellering’s 1952 adaptation of T S Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral will be released for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray.

This astonishing 1952 adaptation of T S Eliot's classic verse drama recounts the love-hate relationship between twelfth-century British monarch Henry ll and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. Rarely-seen, it will be presented in a newly remastered version and accompanied by a selection of fascinating extras, including three of Hoellering's richly evocative short films, all made in the years before Murder in the Cathedral.

Featuring a cast of mainly non-professional actors, the voice of Eliot himself, and music by the internationally renowned composer Làszló Lajtha, Hoellering's exquisitely realised film tells the story of Becket's temptations before his murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.

T S Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral will be released in the UK as a dual format edition (Blu-ray and DVD) by the BFI at the RRP of £19.99.

Special features:

• Alternative festival cut (139 mins, black and white, Blu-ray exclusive): longer version of Murder in the Cathedral, containing alternative and additional sequences

• Alternative and deleted sequences (black and white, DVD only, 50 mins): footage from the longer festival cut of Murder in the Cathedral

• Message from Canterbury (George Hoellering, 1944, 24 mins): documentary short in which the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr William Temple delivers his sermon

• Shapes and Forms (George Hoellering, 1950, 21 mins): striking and expressive film in which examples of primitive and modern art are juxtaposed to reveal correspondences

• Glasgow Orpheus Choir (George Hoellering, 1951, 13 mins): charming short made after the announcement of the retirement of the choir's conductor, Sir Hugh Roberton

• Illustrated booklet with essays by Andrew Hoellering and András Szekfü, and full film credits

• All of the above films have been remastered in 2K.