I swore I'd never play that Twitter game of hanging around for tweets at a pre-announced time, but when it comes to new Masters of Cinema annuncements, I start drooling like the Pavlovian dog I essentially am. At midday today, the tweets were in and we were all getting excited for the next slew of wonderful looking releases for October, November and December 2012. As eclectic as ever, The Masters of Cinema Series closes 2012 by revisiting some familiar friends (Fritz Lang, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Ernst Lubitsch) while welcoming several new directors into the fold (Yasujiro Ozu, Samuel Fuller, Teinosuke Kinugasa) – with a slate that spans the landmarks of silent cinema, a Hollywood classic, an overlooked American gem, and the very best in Japanese art cinema.

Managing Director of Eureka, Ron Benson stated:

"In October, we add to our roster of Fritz Lang masterworks (M, Metropolis, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse), with a barnstorming new restoration of the 5-hour epic Die Nibelungen, while Samuel Fuller's electric drama, Park Row, about newspaper wars in 1880s New York has never felt so contemporary or topical.

"November sees the release of an exclusive restoration of one of the very greatest and most iconic of all silent films, Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc, alongside Ernst Lubitsch's very first comedy of the sound era, the witty and charming Trouble in Paradise.

"Rounding out our Q4 schedule, we head to Japan for an exclusive new restoration of Yasujiro Ozu's Floating Weeds, alongside the long-unavailable-in-the-west Gate of Hell by Teinosuke Kinugasa.

"New restorations and home viewing and Blu-ray premières abound, as we continue our quest to release the very finest in world cinema, using the very best available materials, all with a meticulous attention to detail."

In addition to the six new releases added to the Masters of Cinema series, Eureka also announced today that they will also be reissuing Soul Power, the vérité documentary of the astonishing back-to-Africa 3-day music festival "Zaire '74" featuring James Brown, available for the first time as a Dual Format (DVD & Blu-ray), following a screening as part of The Lost Picture Show's programming at this year's Bestival, Isle of Wight.

Eureka Entertainment's full Q4 line up is as follows:

22 October 2012

Die Nibelungen [The Nibelungen]
From the same legend that inspired Wagner's Ring cycle of operas, but with Fritz Lang's signature cinematic touch, a 5-hour fantasy epic in a beautiful new restoration by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Germany. Blu-ray and DVD editions from spectacular HD materials.

Park Row
Ripsnorting drama from the maverick legend Samuel Fuller, who drew on his own experiences as a newspaperman to self-finance this long-overlooked hardboiled gem about media wars in the 1880s New York press. DVD edition from a new progressive transfer.

29 October 2012

Soul Power
The vérité documentary – compiled entirely from footage shot in 1974 – of the astonishing back-to-Africa 3-day music festival "Zaire '74". It was held in Kinshasa ahead of the biggest boxing event of all time: the Muhammad Ali–George Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle". Re-issued as a Blu-ray + DVD "Dual Format" edition & standalone DVD edition.

12 November 2012

The Passion of Joan of Arc [La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc / Jeanne D'Arc's Lidelse og Død
One of the most famous and iconic of all silent films, Carl Theodor Dreyer's mesmeric The Passion of Joan of Arc is released in an exclusive new restoration featuring Dreyer's very own Danish intertitles – on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, in a limited-edition premium "Dual Format" (Blu-ray + DVD) SteelBook edition. Also available as standalone DVD & blu-ray sets.

Trouble in Paradise
Described by Pauline Kael as nothing less than "perfection", and by Empire Magazine as "the most sophisticated comedy ever produced in Hollywood", Ernst Lubitsch's very first comedy of the sound era is a cinematic feast of wit, charm, and romance. DVD edition from a new HD transfer.

3 December 2012

Floating Weeds [Ukigusa]
A typically exquisite offering from the great Yasujiro Ozu, reworking his own A Story of Floating Weeds [Ukigusa monogatari] to explore the trials and tribulations of an ageing actor on his return to a seaside port and lives he left behind. Exclusively restored, on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world (in a Blu-ray + DVD "Dual Format" edition), and also available as a standalone DVD set.

Gate of Hell [Jigokumon]
Critically acclaimed but long unavailable in the west, Teinosuke Kinugasa's enthralling Cannes and Oscars-winning tale of feudal intrigue, political machinations, and erotic obsession is available once more. Beautifully restored in a Blu-ray + DVD "Dual Format" edition, also available as a standalone DVD set.