Eureka! has announced its February 2024 line-up. Featured amongst this line-up are a duo of action-packed yakuza thrillers featuring Sonny Chiba, Yakuza Wolf 1 & 2; Stanley Kubrick’s tale of macabre futility and horror in the trenches, Paths of Glory, on 4K UHD; dynamic and fast-moving fight fest, Slaughter in San Francisco, starring Chuck Norris; plus re-issues of three films from the uncompromising visionary and a true maverick of European cinema, Andrzej Żuławski.

YAKUZA WOLF 1 AND 2 (Japan 1972) | Blu-ray | 19 February 2024 | £26.99

A duo of ultra-violent Yakuza thrillers starring the late great Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba available for the first time ever in the UK.

In the spaghetti Western inspired I Perform Murder [Ôkami yakuza: Koroshi wa ore ga yaru], a mysterious black-clad killer (Chiba) with a personal vendetta against the yakuza manipulates two rival clans in order to draw out his targets, leading to a climactic bloody shootout that must be seen to be believed.

Then in Extend my Condolences [Ôkami yakuza: Tomurai ha ore ga dasu], Chiba plays a criminal who is betrayed and sent to prison. After serving his time, he wages war on the yakuza, eventually raiding the mansion of the crime boss who turned on him in a spectacular action packed climax that would later be directly homaged by John Woo in A Better Tomorrow II (1987).

BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Chris Malbon [2000 copies]
• 1080p presentations of both films across two Blu-ray discs, from new restorations of the original film elements by Toei
• Original Japanese mono audio
• Optional English Subtitles
• Brand new feature length audio commentaries on both films
• Brand new featurette by Howard Hughes looking at the spaghetti Western influences on Yakuza Wolf, and the broader influence Japanese cinema had on the Western genre
• Original theatrical trailers
• A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Tom Mes and Howard Hughes [2000 copies]

PATHS OF GLORY (USA 1957) | 4K UHD | 26 February 2024 | £22.99

A shattering masterpiece by one of the medium’s greatest artists, Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory announced the definitive arrival of a towering figure in cinema.

In the French front lines of World War I, after giving the order for an impossible and disastrous mission to capture a nearby stronghold, the upper ranks move to save face by having three randomly selected soldiers held and tried for cowardice under pain of death. Their leader, Colonel Dax (in a powerhouse performance by Kirk Douglas), a former lawyer in civilian life, handles their defence against overwhelming odds.

A stylistically astonishing, emotionally overwhelming anti-war drama, Paths of Glory is one of the screen’s most brilliant condemnations of the power structures guiding warfare. The Masters of Cinema Series presents a new Ultra-HD Blu-ray edition for the first time in the UK.

4K UHD FEATURES:

• Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Scott Saslow [2000 copies]
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation, presented in Dolby Vision HDR from a 4K scan of the original camera negative
• Audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin
• Video interview with Kubrick scholar Peter Kramer
• Video interview with filmmaker Richard Ayoade
• Interview with critic / author Richard Combs
• Optional English SDH
• Original theatrical trailer
• Isolated music & effects track
• A collector’s booklet featuring writing by Glenn Kenny, the words of Kubrick, and archival imagery

SLAUGHTER IN SAN FRANCISCO [HUANG MIAN LAO HU] (Hong Kong / USA 1974)
Blu-ray | 19 February 2024 | £17.99

San Francisco police officers Don Wong (Wong Tao) and John Summer (Robert Jones) save a young woman (Sylvia Chang) from being assaulted by a gang of criminals. Unfortunately, all the crime in San Francisco is run by Chuck Slaughter (Chuck Norris), who doesn’t take kindly to police interfering in his business. Wong is kicked off the force by his corrupt Captain, and Summer is murdered by Slaughter’s men. Using his powerhouse kung fu skills, Wong vows to clean up the streets and take down Slaughter once and for all!

A gloriously trashy slice of gritty kung fu action, Slaughter in San Francisco was producer Raymond Chow’s attempt to capitalise on Hong Kong cinema’s sudden explosion of popularity in the West. Eureka Classics is presenting Slaughter in San Francisco for the first time ever on Blu-ray from a new 2K restoration.

BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Sam Gilbey [2000 copies]
• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of both the original Hong Kong theatrical and US export versions from brand new 2K restorations
• Original Mandarin mono audio
• “Classic” English dubbed mono audio
• Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
• Brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng & Michael Worth (Hong Kong theatrical)
• Brand new feature length audio commentary by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema (US export version)
• New featurette by martial artist and actor Michael Worth
• New interview with actress Sylvia Chang
• Trailer
• A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [2000 copies]

THE THIRD PART OF THE NIGHT and THE DEVIL (Poland 1971-1972)
Blu-ray | 26 February 2024 | £16.99

An uncompromising visionary and a true maverick of European cinema, the Masters of Cinema Series presents Andrzej Żuławski’s first two films on Blu-ray.

Rich with multilayered symbolism and apocalyptic imagery, The Third Part of the Night [Trzecia czesc nocy] is Żuławski’s highly influential debut feature film. After his whole family is slaughtered during the Nazi-occupation of Poland, Michal (Leszek Teleszyński) decides to join the resistance but descends into madness after encountering a doppelgänger of his murdered wife. The Devil [Diabel] is a violent tale of Satanic seduction during the Prussian invasion of Poland in the 17th century, which proved so controversial upon release that it was banned for 16 years.

BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• Both films presented in 1080p HD from definitive restorations
• Optional English subtitles, from translations by Daniel Bird and approved by director Andrzej Żuławski before his death in 2016
• Michael Brooke on The Third Part of the Night
• Michael Brooke on The Devil
• Lukasz Żuławski on The Devil
• A collector’s booklet featuring writing by Philip Kemp

ON THE SILVER GLOBE [NA SREBRNYM GLOBIE] (Poland 1977-1988)
Blu-ray | 26 February 2024 | £16.99

An uncompromising visionary and a true maverick of European cinema, the Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Andrzej Żuławski’s On the Silver Globe on Blu-ray.

Żuławski’s masterpiece about a team of astronauts who land on a desolate planet and start a new society. When filming was 80% complete, the Polish government ordered the production to be shut down and all the negatives be destroyed. Miraculously, the original film reels were preserved and ten years later the film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival to great acclaim.

BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• Presented in 1080p HD from a definitive restoration
• Optional English subtitles from a translation by Daniel Bird and approved by director Andrzej Żuławski before his death in 2016
• Audio commentary by Daniel Bird
• Escape to the Silver Globe (dir. Kuba Mikurda, 2021) – acclaimed documentary on the production history of On the Silver Globe
• Adam Żuławski on Jerzy Żuławski
• Return to the Silver Globe – 2019 footage of cinematographer Andrzej Jaroszewicz revisiting the Polish salt mine used as a filming location for On the Silver Globe
• The Cinematography of On the Silver Globe – documentary featurette by Daniel Bird
• Lunar Futurism – documentary featurette by Daniel Bird 
• A collector’s booklet featuring writing by Daniel Bird and Andrew Graves, as well as archival writing from the time of the films’ production