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Release: April 23, 2024

$7.99

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EUREKA ENTERTAINMENT PROUDLY PRESENTS “THE CAT AND THE CANARY” MAKING ITS HD DEBUT ON SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY! Paul Leni (The Man Who Laughs) directs one of the most important and influential films in the early history of American genre cinema, which perfected the 'old dark house' formula and set the stage for the Universal horror cycle of the 1930s. Twenty years after the death of millionaire Cyrus West, his surviving relatives are called together in a decaying mansion on the Hudson River. There, they gather to hear West's lawyer Roger Crosby (Tully Marshall) read his last will and testament and discover that West has left everything to his niece Annabelle (Laura La Plante). That is, at least, on the condition that she is judged to be legally sane. As the family settles in for the evening, tensions rise when they are informed that a murderer nicknamed the Cat has escaped from a nearby asylum and is suspected to be somewhere on the grounds. Crosby soon disappears in mysterious circumstances, which proves to be just the first in a series of horrifying events that will punctuate a long, dark night of terror - during which Annabelle's sanity will be called into question again and again. Based upon the 1922 stage production by John Willard, The Cat and the Canary is a perfect blend of horror and black comedy and stands at the apex of a cycle of films adapted from mystery plays throughout the 1920s. It later inspired James Whale's The Old Dark House and has been remade several times - but never bettered. The Masters of Cinema series is proud to present this cornerstone of horror cinema for the first time ever on Blu-ray from a glorious 4K restoration. SPECIAL FEATURES: Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K digital restoration of the original negatives supplied by MoMA DTS-HD MA 5.1 score by Robert Israel; compiled, synchronized and edited by Gillian B. Anderson, based on music cue sheets compiled and issued for the original 1927 release Brand new audio commentary by author Stephen Jones and author / critic Kim Newman Brand new audio commentary by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby Mysteries Mean Dark Corners – brand new video essay by David Cairns & Fiona Watson Pamela Hutchinson on The Cat and the Canary – brand new interview with writer and film critic Pamela Hutchinson Phuong Le on The Cat and the Canary – brand new interview with film critic Phuong Le A Very Eccentric Man & Yeah, a Cat! – extracts from John Willard’s original play Lucky Strike – Paul Leni gives a full-throated endorsement to the product that got him through filming The Cat and the Canary A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Richard Combs, Craig Ian Mann, and Imogen Sara Smith

Release: June 4, 2019

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Universal Pictures and Flicker Alley present Universal Pictures new 4K restoration of the 1929 silent classic, The Last Warning, accompanied by a newly recorded score from Arthur Barrow. Adapted from Thomas F. Fallon s 1922 Broadway play of the same name, The Last Warning is based on the story The House of Fear by Wadsworth Camp and centers on an unsolved murder that occurs during a live Broadway performance. When the victim s body goes missing, the death remains unsolved and the theater is condemned. That is, until years later when a suspicious new producer arrives to restage the play with the original cast and crew. As one of the last silents Universal produced, The Last Warning was later released as a part-talkie with roughly sixty feet of sound scenes added. The Last Warning was Paul Leni's final film before his untimely death, and a prime showcase for Universal's 1920s leading lady, Laura La Plante. A visual artist at the peak of his career, Leni s camera never stops shifting, offering cutaways and trick shots involving nervous could-be culprits, a highly suspicious sleuth, and cast members who suddenly disappear in the darkened theater. The result is a cinematic funhouse that restlessly cross-examines the suspense of the story s stage play against the real murder mystery saga, all unfolding amid the outstanding production design of Charles D. Hall. Part of Universal's ongoing silent restoration initiative, The Last Warning honors the studio's rich film history that has spanned more than a century. Universal's team of restoration experts conducted a worldwide search for The Last Warning's available elements, ultimately working with materials from the Cinémathèque française, and the Packard Humanities Institute Collection in the UCLA Film & Television Archive. NBCUniversal's restoration team was able to stabilize and deflicker the film as well as repair scratches, warps, and dirt. The 4K digital restoration was completed by NBCUniversal StudioPost. BONUS MATERIALS INCLUDE: Paul Leni and The Last Warning: A visual essay by film historian and author, John Soister on Leni s final film. Rare Image Gallery: A slide show presentation of vintage marketing materials and production stills. Of Gods and Monsters : An essay excerpt from the book of the same name by historian John Soister. Notes On the New Score: A short essay by composer Arthur Barrow on his new score for The Last Warning.

Release: June 7, 2019

$7.99

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Flicker Alley, in partnership with Universal Pictures, are proud to present Universal Pictures' new 4K restoration of the 1928 silent classic, The Man Who Laughs, accompanied by a newly recorded orchestral score by the Berklee School of Music. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the story centers on the extraordinary adventures of Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt), whose wide and mirthless grin inspired DC Comics' legendary Batman villain, the Joker. Veidt's character has become well known to most cinephiles. Orphaned as a child, Gwynplaine is punished by the king for his father's transgressions by having his face carved into a hideous grin. Disfigured and alone, Gwynplaine rescues a blind girl named Dea (Mary Philbin), and both end up starring in a sideshow where they fall in love. Because she cannot see, Dea does not know about her lover's tormented grin.Masterfully directed by Paul Leni, The Man Who Laughs marks Leni's penultimate work. Having grown up in Germany during the era of Expressionism, Leni embraces haunting characters, twisted sets, harsh angles, and deep shadows. Heralded as one of the best American silent emulating German Expressionism, The Man Who Laughs presents Leni at his creative directorial peak. Originally released silent, the film was enough of a hit for Universal in 1928 that the studio released it with a synched musical score using the Movietone sound-on-film process, presented here as a secondary audio track.

Release: November 17, 2020

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Waxworks (Das Wachsfigurenkabinett) was the final film Paul Leni directed in Germany before striking out for Hollywood, where he made such classic genre films as The Cat and the Canary, The Man Who Laughs, and The Last Warning. It's sophisticated medley of genres was in fact what inspired Universal's Carl Laemmle to invite Leni to come to Hollywood, as Laemmle was hoping to capitalize on the emerging comedy-horror craze of the 1920s. Stylistically, Waxworks was celebrated as a late example of German Expressionism. It's stylized sets (designed by Leni), fantastical costumes, chiaroscuro lighting, and startlingly bold performances are characteristic of that cinematic movement and contribute to the film's lasting appeal.The three episodes of Waxworks are united by the character of a young poet (William Dieterle), who is hired by the owner of a wax museum to create backstories for a trio of the museum's figures: Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid (Emil Jannings), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt), and Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss). The stories with leading actors of Weimar cinema are depicted successively, the poet casting himself together with the daughter of the wax museum's owner at the center of each tale. Though the poet and the daughter play different characters every time, they are always lovers threatened by an animated wax figure tyrant.As the original German version of Waxworks has not survived, this newly restored English edition-a joint effort by the Deutsche Kinemathek and Cineteca di Bologna, L'Immagine Ritrovata (with funding from the German Commission for Culture and the Media)-is composed of vintage export prints and additional film materials from archives around the world. The elements, including English intertitles, were scanned in 4K resolution and then restored in 2K. Presented by Flicker Alley and Eureka Entertainment in a Blu-ray/DVD dual-format edition, there is an option of two scores to accompany the film: a new piano score by Richard Siedhoff and a new instrumental score by Bernd Schultheis, Olav Lervik and Jan Kohl, commissioned by ZDF/ARTE and performed by Ensemble Musikfabrik.