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Columbia Noir #3 and Someone to Watch Over Me from Indicator in May

4 February 2021

Psychoanalysis and cynicism. Racketeers and radioactivity. Casinos and killing sprees. Cops and convicts. The evidence suggests it can only be the third instalment in Indicator's ongoing Columbia Noir series. Columbia Noir #3, released 17 May, brings together six world premieres on Blu-ray – Johnny O'Clock (1947), The Dark Past (1948), Convicted (1950), Between Midnight and Dawn (1950), The Sniper (1952), and City of Fear (1959) – as well as an impressive array of expert commentaries, critical appreciations, short films, the Three Stooges, and a 120-page book.

Also released on 17 May by Indicator, and casting its own shades of noir, is Ridley Scott’s glossy, high-concept thriller Someone to Watch Over Me (1987). Starring Tom Berenger (Platoon, Inception) as the blue-collar detective assigned to protect a wealthy murder witness (Mimi Rogers, The Rapture), the film is presented in a dazzling 2K restoration, beautifully showcasing the stylish cinematography of Steven Poster (Donnie Darko). UK Blu-ray premiere.

Also being released on 17 May is a Standard Edition of John Huston's Fat City, the previous Limited Edition dual format release having sold out in January.

 

Columbia Noir #3 Blu-ray cover artwork

COLUMBIA NOIR #3 | Limited Edition Blu-ray | 17 May 2021 | £49.99

For the third volume in Indicator's ongoing Columbia Noir series, we return once again to the studio’s archives for a sextet of films which brings together some of the great names of film noir – including Dick Powell, Lee J Cobb, Nina Foch, William Holden, Edmond O’Brien, Dorothy Malone, Glenn Ford, Broderick Crawford, Marie Windsor, and Vince Edwards – in stories of psychoanalysis and cynicism, racketeers and radioactivity, casinos and killing sprees, and cops and convicts.

Presenting all six films for the first time on Blu-ray anywhere in the world, this stunning collection includes a commentary on each film, critical appreciations and analyses, a range of documentary shorts from the forties and fifties, six Three Stooges comedy shorts lampooning the tropes and themes of the titles in the set, and a 120-page book. Strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.

INDICATOR LIMITED BLU-RAY EDITION BOX SET FEATURES:

  • 2K restoration of Johnny O’Clock
  • High Definition presentations of The Dark PastConvictedBetween Midnight and DawnThe Sniper and City of Fear
  • Original mono soundtracks
  • Audio commentary with filmmaker and critic Jim Hemphill on Johnny O’Clock(2021)
  • Audio commentary with lecturer and curator Eloise Ross on The Dark Past (2021)
  • Audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson on Convicted (2021)
  • Audio commentary with critic and author Bryan Reesman on Between Midnight and Dawn (2021)
  • Audio commentary with the Film Noir Foundation’s Eddie Muller on The Sniper (2009)
  • Audio commentary with critic and author Adrian Martin on City of Fear (2021)
  • Introduction to The Sniper by Martin Scorsese (2009)
  • Pulp Paranoia (2010): appreciation of City of Fear by filmmaker Christopher Nolan
  • Pamela Hutchinson on Nina Foch (2021): appreciation of celebrated actor and her regular appearances in Columbia noirproductions
  • Kim Newman on Gordon Douglas (2021): examination of the director’s wide-ranging career
  • Ford Noir (2021): video essay on the various Columbia noir performances of Glenn Ford
  • The Screen Guild Theatre: ‘Blind Alley’ (1940): radio adaptation of Broadway play which inspired The Dark Past, starring Edward G Robinson
  • The Autobiography of a “Jeep” (1943): light-hearted documentary by Irving Lerner, the director-producer of City of Fear, about the then-new, multi-purpose automobile
  • Hymn of the Nations (1944): documentary short, directed by Alexander Hammid and produced by Lerner, featuring famed conductor Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra performing the music of Giuseppe Verdi
  • The Cummington Story (1945): docudrama short, written and directed by Helen Grayson and Larry Madison, produced by Lerner, and featuring the music of Aaron Copland, re-enacting the stories of a group of refugees who relocated to a small American town during World War II
  • The Negro Sailor (1945): US Navy docudrama short, by Convicted director Henry Levin, about African American combatants in World War II
  • Three Lives (1953): United Jewish Appeal short from the writers and director of The Sniper, Edna and Edward Anhalt and Edward Dmytryk, and featuring Jane Wyman, Randolph Scott, Charlton Heston, and Arthur Franz
  • Not One Shall Die (1957): United Jewish Appeal short starring Guy Madison and made by the core crew of many Columbia noirs, including cinematographer Burnett Guffey, editor Al Clark, art director Cary Odell, set decorator Frank Tuttle, and composer Morris Stoloff
  • Six short films starring the Three Stooges, lampooning the tropes and themes of the features included in this set: Whoops, I’m an Indian! (1936), So Long Mr. Chumps(1941), Dizzy Detectives (1943), Three Pests in a Mess (1945), Shivering Sherlocks(1948), and Oil’s Well That Ends Well(1958)
  • Original theatrical trailers for Johnny O’ClockBetween Midnight and DawnThe Sniper, and City of Fear
  • Image galleries: promotional and publicity materials
  • New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
  • Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Peter Stanfield, David Cairns, Michał Oleszczyk, Adam Scovell, Fintan McDonagh and Andrew Nette; archival interviews and articles; new writing on the short films; and film credits
  • World premieres on Blu-ray
  • Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units

 

Someone to Watch Over Me Blu-ray cover art

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME | Limited Edition Blu-ray | 17 May 2021 | £15.99

After exploring the science-fiction and fantasy worlds of AlienBlade Runner and Legend, famed British director Ridley Scott turned to modern-day New York for Someone to Watch Over Me, one of a number of adult-orientated erotic thrillers, including Fatal AttractionBlack Widow and Jagged Edge, to appear in the late eighties.

Tom Berenger plays a blue-collar NYPD detective assigned to protect a wealthy murder witness (Mimi Rogers). Soon, the relationship becomes an affair, threatening Berenger’s marriage to Lorraine Bracco (GoodfellasThe Sopranos), and the killer is still on the loose…

Stylishly shot by Steven Poster, Someone to Watch Over Me is glossy, high-concept filmmaking from start to finish.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:

  • 2K restoration
  • Original stereo audio
  • Audio commentary with filmmaker and critic Jim Hemphill (2021)
  • Someone… to Write a Script (2019): interview with screenwriter Howard Franklin
  • Someone… to Shoot a Movie (2019): interview with celebrated cinematographer Steven Poster 
  • 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 Jamie Graham, extracts from an American Cinematographer article on the making of the film, a selection of interviews with key cast members, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
  • UK premiere on Blu-ray
  • Limited edition of 3,000 copies

 

Fat City Blu-ray cover art

FAT CITY | Blu-ray | 17 May 2021 | £12.99

John Huston’s sombre but compassionate boxing drama is a criminally underseen late-career masterpiece from the great director. Peppered with outstanding performances this gritty yet affectionate look at the world of small-time boxing highlights a down-and-out fighter and a young up-and-comer, both moving through a world of seedy gyms and flop houses. 

INDICATOR STANDARD EDITION FEATURES:

  • 4K restoration from the original negative
  • Original mono audio
  • Alternative 5.1 surround sound track
  • Audio commentary by film historians Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman
  • Sucker Punch Blues: Looking Back on John Huston’s 'Fat City' (2017, 55 mins): new documentary featuring interviews with actors Stacy Keach and Candy Clark, casting director Fred Roos and assistant cameraman Gary Vidor.
  • An American Classic (2015, 22 mins): a newly illustrated audio interview with Fat City author Leonard Gardner 
  • John Huston on Fat City (1972, 6 mins): an archival interview filmed for the French TV programme Pour le cinéma.
  • The John Player Lecture with John Huston (1972, 88 mins): audio recording of an interview conducted by Brian Baxter at the National Film Theatre, London 
  • Isolated score 
  • Original theatrical trailer 
  • Image gallery 
  • New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing