Radiance has announced its July Blu-ray releases, a fascinating quintet consisting of tough Japanese crime classic Eighteen Years in Prison, César Award-winning French box-office hit Tchao Pantin, Hal Ashby's brilliant debut feature The Landlord, François Truffaut's second Cornell Woolrich adaptation Mississippi Mermaid, and Revenge of the Blood Beast, a blend of comedy and gruesome horror from director Michael Reeves being released on the Raro Video label.

EIGHTEEN YEARS IN PRISON [CHOUEKI JUHACHI-NEN] (Japan 1967)

Blu-ray | 29 July 2024 | £17.99

Trying to survive in the ruins of post-war Japan, Kawada (Noboru Ando, By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him) and Tsukada (Asao Koike, Sympathy the Underdog) run afoul of the military police after stealing valuable copper wire. Kawada is arrested and sent to prison, but Tsukada uses their gains to start a yakuza gang. Facing violent inmates and a cruel warden (Tomisaburo Wakayama, Big Time Gambling Boss), Kawada vows to escape and stop his former partner.

Tai Kato directs this epic prison story with characteristic visual flair, while gangster-turned-actor Ando delivers a stunning performance charged with real-life gravitas. As an examination of the deep scars of wartime, this genre classic is also a clear precursor to Kinji Fukasaku's epoch-making Battles Without Honour and Humanity series.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• High-Definition digital transfer
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Appreciation by critic and programmer Tony Rayns (2024)
• A visual essay on Japanese prison films by author Tom Mes (2024)
• Original trailer
• Newly translated English subtitles
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Ivo Smits and an archival interview with Noboru Ando by Mark Schilling

TCHAO PANTIN [SO LONG, STOOGE] (France 1983)

Blu-ray | 29 July 2024 | £17.99

Bensoussan (Richard Anconina) is a small-time drug pusher in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris. Being trailed by suspicious patrol cops he takes refuge in a petrol station and strikes up a conversation with night manager Lambert (Coluche). As Bensoussan continues to drop in on Lambert they develop a friendship. But it isn't long before problems arise for Bensoussan and Lambert feels a responsibility to the the young tearaway.

Slick and stunningly shot by Bruno Nuytten (Possession), this rain-soaked neo-noir was a multiple winner at the French César Academy Awards taking home acting prizes for both leads, the film anchored by their tender performances. A tale of friendship and revenge set within the fatalistic noir framework, Claude Berri's Tchao Pantin was a box office smash in France. Radiance Films presents Tchao Pantin on Blu-ray for the first time outside of France from a glorious 4K restoration supervised by Nyutten.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• 4K restoration by Pathé approved by cinematographer Bruno Nuytten
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Once Upon a Time… Tchao Pantin – A documentary on the film featuring interviews with writer-director Claude Berri, novelist Alain Page, stars Richard Anconina, Mahmoud Zemmouri, Agnés Soral, cinematographer Bruno Nyutten and others (2003, 55 mins)
• More to be confirmed
• Trailer
• Newly improved English subtitle translation
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Manuela Lazic

THE LANDLORD (USA 1970)

Blu-ray | 29 July 2024 | £17.99

In 1970s Brooklyn, gentrification is already beginning to take hold in the predominantly black neighbourhood of Park Slope. Spoiled trust fund kid Elgar Enders (Beau Bridges) buys an apartment block in the area with the intention of evicting the tenants and building himself a bachelor pad. But upon moving in and unexpectedly befriending the inhabitants, he decides to let them stay and become their landlord. Rebelling against his rich, racist family, he embarks on affairs with two black women, causing uproar in the country clubs and the ghetto tenements of Park Slope alike.

This outrageous satire marks the debut of Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) as director, with a wicked script from Bill Gunn (Ganja & Hess) and stunning photography from Gordon Willis (The Godfather). The Landlord is a scabrous and unflinching look at race relations far ahead of its time, and a unique and important work in the annals of American screen comedy.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• 2K transfer by Kino Lorber
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• The Racial Gap – An interview with star Beau Bridges (2019, 25 mins)
• Reflections – An interview with star Lee Grant (2019, 26 mins)
• Style and Substance – An interview with producer Norman Jewison (2019, 29 mins)
• A new interview with Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson (2024)
• An interview with broadcaster and author Ellen E. Jones (2024)
• Trailer
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vincent Wild
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Jourdain Searles, plus an archival piece with Hal Ashby

MISSISSIPPI MERMAID [LA SIR`ENE DI MISSISSIPI] (France/Italy1969)

Blu-ray | 29 July 2024 | £17.99

Wealthy plantation tycoon Louis (Jean-Paul Belmondo, Breathless) puts up an ad for a bride and luminous beauty Julie (Catherine Deneuve, Belle de Jour) arrives in answer. More attractive than the photograph he received Louis is nevertheless enraptured despite some strange details in her story. Things get complicated when Julie disappears and Louis determines to find her, leading him on a trail of mystery and erotic obsession.

Adapted by director François Truffaut from a novel by Cornell Woolrich (The Bride Wore Black, The 400 Blows), Mississippi Mermaid is a lush colour noir that features the twists and turns of the genre with the heart of Renoir (to whom the film is dedicated) while Belmondo and Deneuve are on top form.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• High-Definition digital transfer
• Uncompressed French mono PCM audio
• Archival interview with Truffaut from 1969 in which the filmmaker discusses his work as a director, screenwriter and actor (1969, 34 mins)
• Archival interview with Jean Renoir who discusses the work of Truffaut (1969, 6 mins)
• Interview with French cinema expert Ginette Vincendeau (2024)
• Audio commentary by critic Glenn Kenny (2024)
• Original trailer
• Optional English subtitles
• Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
• Limited edition booklet featuring archival writing by Truffaut and contemporary writing on the film

REVENGE OF THE BLOOD BEAST [SHE BEAST] (UK/Italy 1966)

Blu-ray | 29 July 2024 | £17.99

A young British couple, Philip (Ian Ogilvy, Death Becomes Her) and Veronica (Barbara Steele, Black Sunday), are honeymooning in the remote village of Vaubrac, Transylvania. After reluctantly booking into a sleazy guesthouse, the couple encounter Von Helsing (John Karlsen, Slaughter Hotel), a direct descendant of the legendary vampire-hunter, who tells them the town was placed under a curse over 200 years ago, following the brutal execution of Vardella, a grotesque figure accused of witchcraft. Dismissing his story, the couple plan to leave the next morning – but a mysterious car accident is the catalyst for the return of Vardella and a murderous rampage of revenge…

Revenge of the Blood Beast (aka The She Beast) is the directorial debut from one of British horror's most important figures, Michael Reeves (The Sorcerers, Witchfinder General), and was written and directed when he was just 23 years old. Combining comedy and gruesome horror, Revenge of the Blood Beast is an outrageously entertaining slice of B-movie Eurohorror.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• High Definition digital transfer from the original camera negative
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Audio commentary with Paul Maslansky, Ian Ogilvy and Barbara Steele, moderated by filmmaker David Gregory (2007)
• Newly filmed interview with star Ian Ogilvy (2024)
• Newly filmed interview with author and critic Kim Newman (2024)
• Archival audio interview with Barbara Steele
• Original trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition booklet by Kevin Lyons, author of The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television
• Limited edition of 3000 copies