Radiance Films has announced its August Blu-ray releases, another fascinating international spread consisting of the second volume of Shinobi films, Grzegorz Królikiewicz's Through and Through, Luchino Visconti’s Senso, and a double bill of Claude Miller's The Inquisitor and Deadly Circuit.
SHINOBI VOL. 2 (Japan 1964-1965)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 18 August 2025 | £36.99
Three more spectacular tales of ninja action in this continuation of the hugely influential series. This time, Ichikawa Raizo (Shinobi 1-3) stars as Mist Saizo, a ninja with a grudge who won’t rest until he has assassinated the supreme leader, the Tokugawa shogun. directed by three of the Daiei Studio’s top period action specialists, these films feature epic battles, ingenious spycraft and thrilling ninja fights.
In Siege (Shinobi no mono: Kirigakure Saizo, 1964), Raizō Ichikawa is Mist Saizo, the legendary folk hero and Iga ninja. Working in the service of warlord Sanada Yukimura (Wakayama Tomisaburo), he plots to assassinate Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, but finds himself facing the might of the nation’s supreme ruler.
In Return of Mist Saizo (Shinobi no mono: Zoku Kirigakure Saizō, 1964), our black-clad hero continues his mission to avenge his master, even after Ieyasu has abdicated from the throne. Told as one continuous story, these two films weave their ninja action in and out of Japanese martial history, featuring epic battles, ingenious spycraft and thrilling fight scenes.
In The Last Iga Spy (Shinobi no mono: Iga-yashiki, 1965), Mist Saizo’s son Saisuke takes over his father’s name and mission. He is recruited by a rebellious warlord to assist a plot to overthrow the government, but the Shogun hires a rival ninja clan to thwart the uprising. Meanwhile, other forces are also at play. Directed by Mori Kazuo (Shinobi 3: Resurrection, Zatoichi at Large), this film pits ninja against ninja, including a breathtaking rooftop battle scene that is one of the highlights of the entire Shinobi series.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- High-Definition digital transfers of each film, made available on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- New Interview with Japanese period film historian Kasuga Taichi (2025)
- New Interview with ninja film scholar Mance Thompson (2025)
- Select-scene audio commentary on Siege by Tom Mes (2025)
- Trailer
- Newly improved English subtitle translation
- Six postcards featuring promotional images from the films
- Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original promotional materials
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Jonathan Clements
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
THROUGH AND THROUGH (NA WYLOT, Poland 1973)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 18 August 2025 (UK), 19 August 2025 (USA) | £17.99 (UK)
Jan (Franciszek Trzeciak) and Maria (Anna Nieborowska) become a couple in 1930s Kraków. Jan tries to get a job as an architect but fails. They struggle with poverty and extreme humiliation. Their attempt to survive leads to a desperate crime.
Remarkably filmed with precise close-ups and fragmented sound design creating a sense of unnerving dissonance, Through and Through was enthusiastically received on release and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival where it was compared to Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Radiance Films is proud to present Grzegorz Królikiewicz's film on Blu-ray for the first time in the world.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- New 2K restoration supervised by cinematographer Bogdan Dziworski
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- New interview with critic Michał Oleszczyk (2025)
- Three short films by Grzegorz Królikiewicz: Everyone Gets What They Don’t Need (1966), Brothers (1971), Don’t Cry (1972)
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Ela Bittencourt
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
SENSO (Italy 1968)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 18 August 2025 | £17.99
On the eve of the Third Italian War of Independence, Countess Livia Serpieri (Alida Valli, The Third Man) anxiously conspires to make revolution happen. Following a chance encounter at the opera, she begins an affair with Franz Mahler (Farley Granger, Rope), a charismatic Lieutenant in the occupying Austrian army who sent her rebellious cousin Marchese Roberto Ussoni (Massimo Girotti, Ossessione) into exile. As her feelings for Franz intensify, Livia’s moral compass waivers.
Based on Camillo Boito's novella, Alida Valli and Farley Granger shine in this masterful period melodrama about lust and deception. Senso is widely regarded as among director Luchino Visconti’s best work and was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 15th Venice International Film Festival.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- 2K restoration of the film by Cineteca di Bologna and the Film Foundation with supervision by cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno and Martin Scorsese, presented in 1.33:1 and 1.66:1 versions across two discs
- Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
- The Wanton Countess – the alternate English language presentation of the film with newly transferred audio
- Luchino Visconti: Life as in a Novel – a documentary on Visconti’s life and career featuring contributions from Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster, Francesco Rosi and more (dir. Carlo Lizzani, 1999)
- Archival interview with Luchino Visconti and Maria Callas
- New interview with critic and fashion historian Matteo Augello (2025)
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Christina Newland
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
THE INQUISITOR (GARDE À VUE, France 1981) &
DEADLY CIRCUIT (MORTELLE RANDONNÉE, France 1983)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 18 August 2025 | £32.99
A director with a dark sensibility comparable to Chabrol, Claude Miller made these two twisty Polars (French Police-Noir films) with Michel Serrault (Kill the Referee), showcasing the actor in stunning performances alongside stars including Lino Ventura (Army of Shadows) and Isabelle Adjani (Possession, The Story of Adele H).
In The Inquisitor, cops Gallien (Ventura) and Belmont (Guy Marchand) interrogate Martinaud (Serrault), a wealthy lawyer, for the rape and murder of two young girls. The investigation becomes further complicated when his wife (Romy Schneider, Le combat dans l’ile) gives her statement… A gripping thriller with intense performances, The Inquisitor was a critical and commercial success on release, nominated for 8 César Awards, winning Best Screenplay and acting prizes for Serrault and Marchand.
Serrault returns in Deadly Circuit as a P.I. who becomes obsessed with the target of his investigation, a murderer (Adjani) who he follows across Europe as she moves from one victim to another. Switching gears to pitch black humour this wild crime film features both leads on top form alongside a stunning supporting cast including Stephane Audran (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie), Macha Méril (Deep Red), Sami Frey (Bande à part), and Jean-Claude Brialy (The Bride Wore Black) among others.
4K UHD & BLU-RAY DUAL FORMAT LIMITED EDITION FEATURES:
- 4K UHD and Blu-ray presentation of The Inquisitor, Blu-ray presentation of Deadly Circuit (3 Discs)
- Original uncompressed mono audio
- Success Story – a documentary on the making of The Inquisitor (2016)
Interview with Claude Miller and Michel Audiard on (1981)
- An appreciation of the film by filmmaker Patrice Leconte (2016)
- Reverse Short [Champ contrechamp] – a TV episode on crime fiction featuring Claude Miller, Michel Serrault, Alain Corneau, Michel Audiard, and others (1981)
- Audio commentary on Deadly Circuit by critic Rachael Nisbet (2025)
- A documentary on Deadly Circuit featuring co-screenwriter Jacques Adiard, director of photography Pierre Lhomme and producer Charles Gassot (2016)
- A Hypnotic Fascination – an interview with filmmaker Philippe Le Guay (2016)
- Original theatrical trailers
- Newly translated English subtitles for each film
- Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Adam Scovell and an archival interview with Miller
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
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