On 28 October, Indicator presents long-overdue Blu-ray premieres of four powerful and uncompromising films.
First, two worldwide Blu-ray premieres: the tense Brit noir Time Without Pity (1957), starring Michael Redgrave, Ann Todd, Peter Cushing and Leo McKern, is Joseph Losey’s potent cry against capital punishment; and the epic Young Winston (1972), starring Simon Ward, Robert Shaw and Anne Bancroft, is Richard Attenborough’s chronicling of the early years of one of Britain’s most beloved and controversial figures.
Next, two UK premiere editions: Badge 373 (1973), directed by Howard Koch and starring the great Robert Duvall, is based on the life of New York detective Eddie Egan (the inspiration for The French Connection); and award-winning director Alan Parker’s Birdy (1984), starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage, is one of the most memorable films of the 1980s.
Mastered from the finest available materials, each of these collectable Limited Editions contains an extensive selection of new and archival extra features and English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Time Without Pity (1957) | Blu-ray | 28 October | £15.99
Following his blacklisting in the McCarthy HUAC hearings, director Joseph Losey (Eva, The Damned, Secret Ceremony) moved to the England in the 1950s. The gritty British suspense thriller, Time Without Pity was the first film he made in the UK under his own name.
In a BAFTA-nominated performance, the great Michael Redgrave (Goodbye Gemini, Connecting Rooms, Dead of Night) stars as an anguished father whose son is convicted of murder and languishing on death row. In a desperate race-against-time, he attempts to prove his son’s innocence whilst bringing the real murderer to justice.
With photography by Freddie Francis (The Elephant Man), and a superb supporting cast including Ann Todd (Taste of Fear, 90° in the Shade), Leo McKern (X the Unknown), and Peter Cushing (Corruption, The Beast Must Die), Time Without Pity is brilliantly accomplished slice of Brit-noir, and a potent cry against capital punishment.
Indicator Limited Blu-ray Edition contents:
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- The Guardian Interview with Joseph Losey (1973): the celebrated filmmaker in conversation with film critic Dilys Powell at London’s National Film Theatre
- Selected scenes commentary with film historian Neil Sinyard
- Introduction by Gavrik Losey (2019): a new interview with the filmmaker and son of director Joseph Losey
- Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
- New English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Robert Murphy, archival interviews with cast and crew members, an overview of contemporary critical responses, archival articles, and film credits and more
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited Edition of 3,000 copies
- All extras subject to change
Young Winston (1972) | Blu-ray | 28 October | £15.99
Richard Attenborough’s renowned, star-studded historical biopic follows the early years of one of Britain’s most beloved and controversial figures – Winston Churchill.
Writer-producer Carl Foreman (High Noon, The Bridge on the River Kwai) was approached by Churchill himself, who suggested his own book, My Early Life: A Roving Commission, would make a good film. The result is a lavish and beautifully detailed drama, with Simon Ward (Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed) in the lead role, detailing Churchill’s service as a cavalry officer in India and the Sudan, as a war correspondent in the Second Boer War, and his election to Parliament at the age of 26.
Forman and Attenborough assembled a sterling cast in support: Robert Shaw (Figures in a Landscape), Anne Bancroft (The Pumpkin Eater), Jack Hawkins (Zulu), Ian Holm (Alien), Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs), Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange), Edward Woodward (Breaker Morant), and John Mills (Hobson's Choice) add weight to Attenborough’s vision of the man and the myth.
Indicator Limited Blu-ray Edition contents:
- High Definition remaster
- Two presentations of the film: the original theatrical cut and the roadshow version containing unique footage
- Original mono audio
- Reflections of a Director (2007): an archival interview with director Richard Attenborough
- A National Hero Brought to Life (2007): an archival interview with actor Simon Ward
- Interview with stunt double Vic Armstrong (2019)
- Interview with special effects artist John Richardson (2019)
- Interview with make-up artist Robin Grantham (2019)
- Interview with assistant director William Cartlidge (2019)
- Interview with second assistant director Brian W Cook (2019)
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Sergio Angelini, an overview of contemporary critical responses, archival articles, and film credits
- Limited Edition of 3,000 copies
- All extras subject to change
Badge 373 (1973) | Blu-ray | 28 October | £15.99
Inspired by the real-life exploits of New York cop Eddie Egan (who was also the basis for Gene Hackman’s ‘Popeye’ Doyle character in The French Connection), Badge 373 is a tough detective thriller, comparable to William Friedkin’s more celebrated feature. Duvall (The Godfather, Breakout) delivers a powerfully authentic performance as a brutal New York detective, ruthlessly hunting for the killer of his partner against a backdrop of social upheaval and violent gang wars.
Indicator Limited Blu-ray Edition contents:
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Welcome to Fear City (2019): Randy Jurgensen, ex-New York cop and associate of Eddie Egan, discusses the real-life inspiration behind Badge 373
- The Seventies Cop Movie (2019): critic and author Glenn Kenny discusses how the genre was redefined in the 1970s
- Original theatrical trailer
- Original TV Spot
- Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Michael Pattison, an overview of contemporary critical responses, archival articles, and film credits
- Limited Edition of 3,000 copies
- All extras subject to change
Birdy (1984) | Blu-ray | 28 October | £15.99
Based on the acclaimed, ‘unfilmable’ novel by William Wharton, about a boy who dreams of flying, Alan Parker’s elliptical, ethereal film is just as vividly poetic as its source.
Birdy is story of two unlikely boyhood friends, the confident and popular Al (Nicolas Cage – Wild at Heart, Leaving Las Vegas) and Birdy (Matthew Modine – Full Metal Jacket, Stranger Things), awkward, withdrawn, and obsessed with birds. The advent of the war in Vietnam shatters their youth, and they both return irrevocably changed – one physically traumatised, the other emotionally fractured.
This unique and affecting film from director Alan Parker (Midnight Express, Angel Heart), features skilful, highly committed central performances from young stars Modine and Cage (who allegedly had teeth removed for his gruelling role), and a wonderful score by Peter Gabriel. Birdy is a great unsung gem of 1980s cinema, and is presented here in a brand-new, director-approved 2K restoration.
Indicator Limited Blu-ray Edition contents:
- New 2K remaster supervised and approved by director Alan Parker
- Original stereo audio
- New and exclusive audio commentary with director Alan Parker and the BFI’s Justin Johnson
- Learning to Fly (2019): new and exclusive interview with screenwriters Jack Behr and Sandy Kroopf
- Keith Gordon on William Wharton(2019): the actor and filmmaker shares his experiences of adapting Wharton for the screen
- No Hard Feelings (1974): Alan Parker’s early film is an unsentimental view of wartime London through the eyes of a troubled young man
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Frank Collins, an overview of contemporary critical responses, archival articles, and film credits
- Limited Edition of 5,000 copies
- All extras subject to change
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