This March, Indicator presents spies, pirates, swashbuckling adventure, and a revenge-driven magician, courtesy of the fifth in its limited-edition, box-set series devoted to British cinema’s most iconic film production company, and the sensational thrills of Vincent Price in 3D!
Released 23 March, Hammer Volume Five: Death & Deceit collects four films from the early sixties – Visa to Canton, The Pirates of Blood River, The Scarlet Blade and The Brigand of Kandahar – which found the studio looking beyond the horror genre for its next box-office success.
All orders placed at the Indicator website for this release will arrive with an exclusive double-sided poster featuring the original UK Quad designs for The Pirates of Blood River and The Brigand of Kandahar not available elsewhere.
Also available on 23 March is the long-awaited INDICATOR release of John Brahm’s The Mad Magician (1954). Starring Vincent Price as Gallico the Great, a master of disguise who is out for revenge, the film is presented in both two- and three-dimensions! Accompanied by a pair of 3D comedy shorts by the Three Stooges, THE MAD MAGICIAN is presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.
Mastered from the finest available materials, each of these essential releases contains expertly encoded presentations, a range of new and archival extra features, English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and booklets with new essays, historical articles, contemporary reviews and film credits.
March's releases are available to pre-order individually or in a time-limited bundle offer with a 10% discount. If you wish to take advantage of the offer, just add both new-release titles to your cart and enter the code BUNDLE at the checkout. Offer runs until next month's announcement (which is currently scheduled for 6 February).
HAMMER VOLUME FIVE: DEATH & DECEIT | Limited Edition Blu-ray box set | 23 March 2020 | £42.99
Hammer Volume Five: Death & Deceit collects four films from the early sixties which found the studio looking beyond the horror genre for its next box-office success. Visa to Canton (1961, released in the US as Passport to China) is a torn-from-the-headlines spy thriller; The Pirates of Blood River (1962), starring Kerwin Mathews (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) and Christopher Lee (The Face of Fu Manchu), is a swashbuckling adventure; The Scarlet Blade (1963, released in the US as The Crimson Blade) is an English Civil War-set actioner which follows the fortunes of Cromwell’s Roundheads; and The Brigand of Kandahar (1965) takes Hammer to the North-West Frontier for an action-adventure starring Ronald Lewis (Taste of Fear) and Oliver Reed (The System). All four films are presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, while Visa to Canton, The Scarlet Blade and The Brigand of Kandahar make their world Blu-ray premieres. This limited edition box set is strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.
Indicator Special Edition Blu-ray box set contents
Visa to Canton
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Alternative feature presentation with the US Passport to China titles
- Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons (2020)
- Hammer’s Women: Lisa Gastoni (2020): profile of the Hammer star by critic and writer Virginie Sélavy
- Ticket to Ride (2020): film historian Vic Pratt discusses ethnocentrism in sixties British cinema
- David Huckvale on Edwin Astley (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
- 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 Josephine Botting, an account of the RB-47 affair which inspired Visa to Canton, an overview of promotional materials, and film credits
- World premiere on Blu-ray
The Pirates of Blood River
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, art director Don Mingaye and Hammer historian Marcus Hearn (2008)
- Hammer’s Women: Marla Landi (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Kat Ellinger
- Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Pirates of Blood River’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
- Andrew Keir at the Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films (1993): archival video recording of the acclaimed actor in conversation with Stephen Laws
- Did I Write That? (2020): Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic, discusses the career of Jimmy Sangster
- David Huckvale on Gary Hughes (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
- Yes, We Have No Piranhas (2020): video essay on the censorship history of The Pirates of Blood River
- Original theatrical trailer
- Brian Trenchard-Smith trailer commentary (2013): short critical appreciation
- 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 Lindsay Hallam, Jimmy Sangster on The Pirates of Blood River, a selection of promotional materials, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
The Scarlet Blade
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Alternative feature presentation with the US The Crimson Blade titles
- Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons (2020)
- Hammer’s Women: June Thorburn (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Josephine Botting
- Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Scarlet Blade’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
- Interviews with Hugh Harlow and Pauline Wise (2020): the second assistant director and continuity person discuss the making of The Scarlet Blade
- Almost an Auteur (2020): horror author and critic Kim Newman on the eclectic career of writer-director John Gilling
- David Huckvale on Gary Hughes (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
- Original US 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 Neil Sinyard, an extract from Oliver Reed’s autobiography, a selection of promotional materials, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
- World premiere on Blu-ray
The Brigand of Kandahar
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with film historian Vic Pratt (2020)
- Hammer’s Women: Yvonne Romain (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Melanie Williams
- Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Brigand of Kandahar’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
- Swashbuckling (2020): writer and historian Neil Sinyard looks at writer-director John Gilling’s films for Hammer
- David Huckvale on Don Banks (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
- 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 Naman Ramachandran, an extensive selection of promotional materials, and film credits
- World premiere on Blu-ray
THE MAD MAGICIAN | Limited Edition Blu-ray | £15.99
Made shortly after the box-office success of House of Wax, The Mad Magician returns Vincent Price to the world of three-dimensional horror. He plays Don Gallico, the creator of elaborate illusions for stage magicians, who seeks their fame… and will turn to murder to achieve it!
Directed by John Brahm (The Undying Monster), The Mad Magician is presented in two- and three-dimensions, and is accompanied by a pair of 3D comedy shorts by the Three Stooges.
Indicator Limited Edition Blu-ray contents:
- 2K restoration
- 3D and 2D presentations
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (2020)
- Three-Dimensional Magic (2020): appreciation of The Mad Magician and the 3D filmmaking boom of the 1950s by cinematographer Frank Passingham (Kubo and the Two Strings) and archivist Tom Vincent, presented in 3D and 2D
- Super 8 version: cut-down home cinema presentation in anaglyphic 3D
- Two short films starring the Three Stooges and produced by Columbia Pictures: Pardon My Backfire (1953) and Spooks! (1953), presented in 3D and 2D
- Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Kat Ellinger, a look at the career of producer Bryan Foy, an archival interview with director John Brahm by David Del Valle, a guide to the promotional campaign of The Mad Magician, an overview of contemporary critical responses, Jeff Billington on the Three Stooges’ 3D shorts, and film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 3,000 copies
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