Kino Lorber October Releases

Hercules in the Haunted World (Kino Classics, 2 Disc Blu-ray and DVD)
Bluray and DVD Street Date: October 8, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $34.95
DVD SRP: $29.95

1961 / Horror / 84 min / NR / Color

Director: Mario Bava
Starring: Reg Park, Christopher Lee, Leonora Ruffo, George Ardisson

Synopsis: Immediately following the success of Black Sunday, Mario Bava was recruited to direct (and photograph) the second of Reg Park’s Hercules films for producer Achille Piazzi. Freely departing from Roman mythology, the film gave Bava the opportunity to reimagine the sword-and-sandal genre. On its surface a jovial comedy adventure, Hercules in the Haunted World features a striking use of color, which would become one of Bava’s directorial hallmarks. But this playful peplum is tinged with a sense of genuine foreboding, voiced by a masked oracle Medea (Gaia Germani) in one of the film’s most stunning sequences. When Hercules descends into the depths of hell and confronts Lico (Christopher Lee), who has the power to call forth corpses from their tombs, the film plunges into the eye-popping, bone-chilling horror for which Bava had recently become famous.

Bonus Features:
* 2K restoration from the original camera negative
* U.S. release version: Hercules in the Haunted World (with optional English SDH captions)
* European release version: Vampire gegen Hercules; aka Ercole al centro della Terra (Italian dialogue with optional English subtitles)
* U.K. release version: Hercules at the Center of the Earth
* Audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark
* Interview with actor George Ardisson
* U.S. theatrical trailer
* U.K. theatrical trailer

DVD Street Date: October 8, 2019
DVD SRP: $29.95

Drama / 89 min / NR / Color

Director: Jan Zabeil
Starring: Alexander Fehling, Bérénice Bejo, Arian Montgomery

Synopsis: Fatherhood, suspicion and resentment are a combustible formula in Jan Zabeil’s elegant, unnerving domestic thriller Three Peaks, in which a family vacation becomes a harrowing fight for survival. German Aaron (Alexander Fehling, Homeland) has found the woman of his life in his French girlfriend Lea (Bérénice Bejo, The Artist) but her young son Tristan still imagines his mother reconciling with his American father. On what should be an idyllic vacation in the soaring Italian Dolomites, Aaron fights to win over Tristan and cement his place in this family, while Lea wrestles with conflicting loyalties to her son and her lover. Yet when Tristan disappears into the mountains, it’s unclear who is in the most danger. Complex, deceptive and gripping to the last second, Three Peaks chips away at our darkest nightmares to reveal the everyday anxieties on which they feed.

Our Hospitality (Kino Classics, Blu-ray and DVD)
Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: October 15, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $29.95
DVD SRP: $19.95

1923 / Comedy / 75 min / NR / Color Tinted

Director: Buster Keaton, John G. Blystone
Starring: Buster Keaton, Natalie Talmadge, Joe Keaton

Synopsis: Our Hospitality (1923) broadened the boundaries of slapstick and proved that Buster Keaton was not just a comedian, he was an artist. Keaton stars as youthful dreamer Willie McKay, who travels westward on a rickety locomotive to claim his birthright, only to find that his inheritance is a rundown shack. On top of that he learns that the object of his affection (Keaton’s real-life wife Natalie Talmadge) is the daughter of a man with whom his family has been engaged in a long, violent feud. McKay’s personal struggles are punctuated by brilliant slapstick setpieces that involve an exploding dam, raging waterfalls, and a primitive steam engine. Keaton supervised the design and construction of the train, which he revived two years later for the short The Iron Mule (1925).

Bonus Features:
Audio commentary by film historians Farran Smith Nehme and Imogen Sara Smith
Un duel à mort (A Duel to the Death, 1947, a short film starring Buster Keaton)
The Iron Mule (1925, a short film starring Al St. John)
A presentation on Our Hospitality by Serge Bromberg
Booklet essay by Jeffrey Vance
Scoring for Buster, a documentary on the recording of Robert Israel’s score

Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: October 15, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $29.95
DVD SRP: $19.95

1959 / Drama 72 min / NR / B&W

Director: Julian Roffman
Starring: Jack Betts, Peter Falk, Barbara Lord, Ron Hartmann, Ron Taylor

Synopsis: Two years before directing the 3-D cult favorite The Mask (1961), Julian Roffman made his feature directorial debut with this early canuxploitation film, The Bloody Brood (1959). When his brother turns up dead after eating a hamburger laced with ground glass, Cliff (Jack Betts) sets out to investigate the murder, venturing into the underground world of beatnik culture and its sinister underbelly of drugs and vice. Peter Falk (TV’s Columbo) makes his feature debut as Nico, sinister mentor and drug-dealer to the tuned-in kids of the beat generation. This 60th anniversary release has been newly mastered from archival 35mm elements, and showcases the moody cinematography of d.p. Eugen Schüfftan, who would two years later win an Academy Award® for his cinematography of The Hustler (1961, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White). – Jason Pichonsky

Bonus Features:
* “Beatniks and Broken Glass: Remembering The Bloody Brood” (2019, 16 min.)
* Audio Commentary by Paul Corupe of Canuxploitation.com and Film Historian Jason Pichonsky
* FDR Hyde Park (1949, 16 min., directed by Julian Roffman) with commentary by the director’s son, Peter Roffman
* Freedom To Read (1954, 14 min., directed by Julian Roffman)
* Theatrical trailer

Covergirl (Scorpion Releasing, Blu-ray and DVD)
Brand New 2K Master!
Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: October 22, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $29.95
DVD SRP: $19.95

1984 / Drama-Romance / 93 min / R / Color

Director: Jean-Claude Lord
Starring: Jeff Conaway, Irena Ferris, Cathie Shirriff, Kenneth Walsh, Deborah Wakeham, Charles Dennis

Synopsis: A Scorpion Release! Splashed with high-fashion glamour, romance and fantasies-come-true, Covergirl tells the story of one girl’s meteoric rise to superstar model – and the man who makes it all happen. Covergirl also depicts, the heartaches and struggles involved in the climb to success… the result is a provocative insight into the world of beauty and fashion. Behind-the-scenes of New York’s racy world of high fashion and glamour, Kit Paget (Irena Ferris, TV’s Cover Up), a New York model who is cynical of ever reaching the top, meets T.C. Sloane (Jeff Conaway, Grease and TV’s Taxi), a video and computer whiz entrepreneur, whose visions bring the magic of Covergirl to life. Directed by Jean-Claude Lord (The Vindicator) and co-starring Kenneth Walsh (The Day After Tomorrow).

Brand New 2K Master!
Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: October 22, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $29.95
DVD SRP: $19.95

1987 / Drama-thriller / 85 min / R / Color

Director: Stephen Verona
Starring: Sybil Danning, Stephen Shellen, Sally Kirkland, Barry Primus, Marie Laurin, Don Calfa

Synopsis: A Scorpion Release! Like any red-blooded American male, Paul Barton (Stephen Shellen, The Stepfather) lives for romance and intimacy. But in his desire to find the key to a lasting relationship, Barton carries voyeurism to the point of obsession and beyond. Armed with state-of-the-art equipment, Barton begins a very unusual college research project. Determined to find the source of true passion, he knocks a hole in the wall of his motel room and begins taping the intimate moments in the adjoining room. But his passionate research does not stop there. Soon, the entire motel is under his watchful eye. His research yields some very interesting and steamy findings. Findings about love, his college professor, himself and Jeanne (Marie Laurin, Creature), the girl of his dreams. Talking Walls is a high-tech, high-octane drama where temperatures rise, sparks fly and where morality is thrown out the window. Directed by Stephen Verona (The Lords of Flatbush) with a top-notch cast that includes Sybil Danning (Chained Heat), Sally Kirkland (Anna), Barry Primus (Night Games), June Wilkinson (Macumba Love) and Don Calfa (The Return of the Living Dead).

Tamango (Kino Classics, Blu-ray and DVD)
Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: October 22, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $29.95
DVD SRP: $19.95

1958 / Drama / 99 min / NR / Color

Director: John Berry
Starring: Dorothy Dandridge, Curd Jürgens, Jean Servais

Synopsis: Tamango (1958) is a racially-charged adventure on the high seas starring Dorothy Dandridge (Carmen Jones) and directed by blacklistsed American director John Berry (He Ran All the Way). This French-Italian international co-production follows Dutch sea captain Reiker (Curt Jürgens, The Spy Who Loved Me), who is leading a slave ship on a voyage to Cuba. He brings along his enslaved mistress Aiche (Dandridge), who is recruited by the captured slave Tamango (Alex Cressan) to join a revolt. The ensuing mutiny leads to a tense standoff in which Aiche is forced to choose between her lover and her people.

Bonus Features: Audio commentary by film critic Peter Tonguette

Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: October 22, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $29.95
DVD SRP: $19.95

1925 / Drama / 73 min / NR / B&W

Director: Clarence Brown
Starring: Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Bánky, Louise Dresser, James A. Marcus

Synopsis: In a departure from his onscreen persona of Latin lover, silent-era sex symbol Rudolph Valentino delivered one of the most nuanced and powerful performances of his career in this epic romance set in 18th-century Russia, directed by Clarence Brown (Flesh and the Devil, Anna Karenina). Valentino stars as Vladimir Dubrovsky, a lieutenant in the Imperial Guard who becomes a fugitive after he rejects the amorous attentions of the Czarina Catherine II (Louise Dresser). Returning to the land of his father, Dubrovsky becomes a masked defender of justice known as the Eagle, and swears vengeance upon a nobleman (James A. Marcus) who has been victimizing the poor and weak. But before he can right the wrongs of the evil Kyrilla Troekouroff, Dubrovsky’s true identity is revealed and he must face the judgement of the spurned Catherine.

Bonus Features:
* 2K Restoration from 35mm material
* New musical score composed and performed by Alloy Orchestra
* Audio commentary by film historian Gaylyn Studlar

The Sentence (Kino Lorber, DVD)
DVD Street Date: October 22, 2019
DVD SRP: $29.95

Documentary / 86 min / NR / Color

Director: Rudy Valdez
Featuring Cindy Shank

Synopsis: Winner of the 2018 Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, The Sentence explores the devastating consequences of mass incarceration and mandatory minimum drug sentencing through the story of Cindy Shank, a mother of three young children serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement in a Michigan drug ring years before. A lyrical, intimate story documented over 10 years by Cindy’s younger brother, filmmaker Rudy Valdez, The Sentence follows Cindy’s struggles to be present in her children’s lives from behind bars and her daughters’ experiences growing up without their mother at home, while her husband, parents and siblings fight for her release before the last months of the Obama administration’s Clemency Project.

Bonus Features: Audio commentary with director Rudy Valdez, Theatrical trailer

DVD Street Date: October 22, 2019
DVD SRP: $29.95

Drama / 102 min / NR / Color

Director: Lila Avilés
Starring: Gabriela Cartol, Agustina Quinci, Teresa Sánchez

Synopsis: In her feature debut The Chambermaid, theater director Lila Avilés turns the monotonous work day of Eve (Gabriela Cartol), a chambermaid at a high-end Mexico City hotel, into a beautifully observed film of rich detail. Set entirely in this alienating environment, with extended scenes taking place in the guest rooms, hallways, and cleaning facilities, this minimalist yet sumptuous movie brings to the fore Eve’s hopes, dreams, and desires. As with Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, set in the same city, The Chambermaid salutes the invisible women caretakers who are the hard-working backbone of society. – New Directors/New Films

La Marseillaise (Kino Classics, Blu-ray and DVD)
Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: October 29, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $29.95
DVD SRP: $19.95

1938 / Drama-History / 131 min / NR / B&W

Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Pierre Renoir, Lise Delamare, Louis Jouvet

Synopsis: In Jean Renoir’s La Marseillaise one of the greatest French directors tells the epic story of the French Revolution with scope and intimacy. Disregarded in its time, it is only now emerging as a remarkably innovative work of historical excavation. Made towards the end of France’s left wing Popular Front government when Europe was on the brink of war, La Marseillaise is a markedly political film about a country in flux. Funded by a public subscription service and filmed in a jaunty newsreel style, it follows a cross-section of people-from the citizens of Marseilles to Louis XVI-who are affected by the shifting political and social forces in the early days of the French revolution.

Bonus Features: Audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton * Booklet essay by film scholar Dudley Andrew

DVD Street Date: October 29, 2019
DVD SRP: $29.95

Documentary / 72 min / NR / Color

Director: Joao Vargas Penna
Featuring: Burle Marx, Amir Haddad

Synopsis: A journey through the art, life and legacy of the Brazilian landscape architect and painter best known for the iconic black-and-white mosaic promenades that line Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.

This documentary shows the full contribution of the landscape artist to the national flora of Brazil. Directed and written by João Vargas Penna, the film is a walk through the art and personality of Roberto Burle Marx, who was also a painter, cook and singer, facets little known to the general public.

Born in São Paulo, the son of a German Jew and Catholic from Pernambuco, Burle Marx was a forerunner of ecology and defense of the environment. The landscaper valued native plant conservation and discovered many new species on collecting and research trips.

The 3-D Nudie-Cuties Collection (Kino Classics, Blu-ray)
Blu-ray Street Date: October 29, 2019
Blu-ray SRP: $34.95

1951-1962 / Comedy / 166 min / NR / B&W and Color

Director: Fritz Umgelter and Francis Ford Coppola, John Wallis

Starring: June Wilkinson, Randy Brent, Gabrielle Bennett, Marianne Bennett, Shelly Forbes, Leigh Sands, Lorraine Sheldon, Barbara Stanley

Synopsis: Nudie-Cuties were popular in grindhouse theaters in the early 1960’s but they were eventually replaced with more explicit fare. 3-D was a natural for this genre with such titillating promises as “A girl in your lap” and “They dance right off the screen into your arms.”

For The 3-D Nudie-Cutie Collection the 3-D Film Archive has restored two rare features from this era of sexploitation. The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962) stars June “The Bosom” Wilkinson and includes new scenes directed by 22-year-old Francis Ford Coppola, including a finale in “The New Depth Perception.” Adam and Six Eves (1962) was filmed with the venerable Natural Vision camera rig in 1962 but was never released in 3-D.

We also present two Golden Age 3-D short subjects: Love for Sale (1953) features the gorgeous Bella Starr and Beauty in 3rd Dimension is a newly curated collection of Figure Studies in Kodachrome Stereo from 1951.

Features:
The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962)
Starring June Wilkinson
Directed by Fritz Umgelter and Francis Ford Coppola
1.85:1 * 94 minutes

Adam and Six Eves (1962)
Directed by John Wallis
Starring Randy Brent, Gabrielle Bennett, Marianne Bennett, Shelly Forbes, Leigh Sands, Lorraine Sheldon, Barbara Stanley
1.66:1 * 60 minutes

Shorts:
Love for Sale (1953)
1.37:1 * 10 minutes

Beauty in 3rd Dimension (1951)
1.37:1 * 2 minutes