Two early Mexican horror pictures and a pair of offbeat westerns make up Indicator’s March slate, all to be released in both the UK and the US/Canada.
While Universal Studios was making its classic versions of Dracula and Frankenstein, Ramón Peón and Fernando de Fuentes were each busy directing the first two horror films to be made with sound in Mexico, La Llorona and The Phantom of the Monastery [El fantasma del convento]. These atmospheric chillers, which await the wider audience they richly deserve, are released on 21 March in the UK and 22 March in the US/Canada. Also released on 21/22 March is Budd Boetticher’s final foray into the western genre, the 1969 A Time for Dying. And taking the western to Australia, Philippe Mora’s Mad Dog Morgan (1976) tells the true story of infamous bushranger and outlaw Dan Morgan
LA LLORONA (1933)
Limited Edition Blu-ray (World Blu-ray premiere) | 21 March 2022 | £15.99
An early horror classic drawn from Mexico’s rich tradition of folklore, La Llorona recounts the chilling tale of the ‘wailing woman’ who kills herself and her child before returning to haunt the living.
Expressionistic, lyrical and atmospheric, Ramón Peón’s film draws on the influence of Universal Pictures’ contemporaneous horror cycle and incorporates elements of period melodrama and romance. This landmark production in the evolution of Mexican cinema has been newly restored from the only surviving film elements, and is presented here with a selection of essential extras.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- New restoration from the only surviving film element
- Original mono audio
- La llorona: Behind the Scenes (2021): documentary by Viviana García Besné, the producer's great granddaughter, relaying a personal history of the film
- Video appreciation by Abraham Castillo Flores, head programmer of Mexico’s Morbido Fest (2022)
- Optional English subtitles
- Limited edition exclusive booklet featuring a new essay by Emily Masincup, Peter Conheim on the restoration process, new and archival writing on the film, and an overview of contemporary critical responses
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)
THE PHANTOM OF THE MONASTERY [EL FANTASMA DEL CONVENTO] (1933)
Limited Edition Blu-ray (World Blu-ray premiere) | 21 March 2022 | £15.99
Made in the wake of La llorona’s success and directed with flair by Fernando de Fuentes (regarded as one of the masters of early Mexican cinema), The Phantom of the Monastery tells the macabre tale of a troupe of hikers who become lost in a forest and take refuge in a haunted monastery. There, they encounter shape-shifting shadows, ominous sealed doorways, and a cellar crowded with coffins...
An expressionistic Gothic triumph which has tragically languished in obscurity outside of Mexico, The Phantom of the Monastery has now been lovingly restored and is presented on Blu-ray at long last in a world debut edition, along with a selection of illuminating extras.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- New 4K restoration from the original negative by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in collaboration with the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project
- Original mono audio
- Video appreciation by Abraham Castillo Flores, head programmer of Mexico’s Morbido Fest (2022)
- Optional English subtitles
- Limited edition exclusive booklet featuring a new essay by Maricruz Castro Ricalde, an archival piece by screenwriter Juan Bustillo Oro, archival articles on the film’s production and promotion, an overview of the restoration process, and an overview of contemporary critical responses
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)
A TIME FOR DYING (1969)
Limited Edition Blu-ray (World Blu-ray premiere) | 21 March 2022 | £15.99
The final western from one of the genre’s greatest directors, Budd Boetticher (Ride Lonesome), and the last screen appearance of war hero-turned-movie star Audie Murphy (To Hell and Back), A Time for Dying is an offbeat, elegiac look at the Old West, prefiguring Don Siegel’s classic western, and John Wayne’s final picture, The Shootist.
Richard Lapp stars as a young man with fine shooting skills who crosses paths with real-life figures, such as Jesse James (played by Murphy) and Judge Roy Bean (Victor Jory), only to discover the true violence of the West.
Beset by post-production and distribution problems, A Time for Dying is overdue the recognition it deserves. This world Blu-ray debut, featuring an all-new restoration and a host of insightful extras, will finally enable the film to find its rightful audience.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- New restoration from a 2K scan of the original negative by Powerhouse Films
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with western experts C Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke (2022)
- Appreciation by filmmaker and author Christopher Petit (2022)
- Just Like Jesse James (2022): Kim Newman, author of Wild West Movies, discusses the many film portrayals of the famed outlaw
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Paul Duane, archival interviews with Budd Boetticher and Audie Murphy, and film credits
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)
MAD DOG MORGAN (1976)
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK Blu-ray premiere) | 21 March 2022 | £18.99
Based on the true story of Dan Morgan – the infamous Australian outlaw once described as ‘the most bloodthirsty ruffian that ever took to the bush’ – Mad Dog Morgan provides the perfect showcase for the unique star quality of Dennis Hopper (Night Tide, The Last Movie).
After witnessing a bloody massacre of Chinese workers on Australia’s goldfields, Morgan turns to a life of crime, becoming a bushranger and the scourge of the vicious authorities – and, ultimately, a local legend – leaving a bloody legacy in his wake.
Nominated for two Australian Film Institute Awards, including one for director Philippe Mora (The Beast Within), Mad Dog Morgan is a brutal and uncompromising slice of Ozploitation.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- ew restoration from a 4K scan of the interpositive by Powerhouse Films
- Two presentations of the film: Mad Dog Morgan, the 103-minute director’s cut; and Mad Dog, the 95-minute UK theatrical version
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with writer-director Philippe Mora and film critic Jake Wilson (2019)
- Audio commentary with writer-director Philippe Mora (2009)
- To Shoot a Mad Dog (1976): behind-the-scenes documentary, produced and directed by David Elfick, and featuring extensive interview footage with actor Dennis Hopper
- Hopping Mad (2019): Mora reflects on the making of Mad Dog Morgan
- That’s Our Mad Dog: A Conversation with Dennis Hopper (2009): retrospective interview with the legendary actor, conducted by Mora
- ‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interview Excerpts (2008): over an hour of outtakes from Mark Hartley’s acclaimed documentary on Australia cinema, featuring Mora, producer Jeremy Thomas, camera operator John Seale, and actors Jack Thompson, Roger Ward and Graeme Blundell
- Mad Country: Shooting Locations Revisited (2019) with optional audio commentary by Mora
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Tara Judah, Philippe Mora’s pre-production notes on Mad Dog Morgan, archival interview with Mora and producer Jeremy Thomas, Mora on the making of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
- Limited edition exclusive poster
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)
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