World Noir Vol 2 (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray]

World Noir Vol 2 (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray]

AS THE 1960S BEGAN, THE CLASSIC PERIOD OF FILM NOIR CAME TO AN END IN HOLLYWOOD. BUT FILMMAKERS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD WOULD CONTINUE TO PRODUCE FIRST-RATE EXAMPLES OF THE GENRE, WITH THREE SUPERB EXAMPLES COLLECTED HERE: IN HELMUT KÄUTNER’S BLACK GRAVEL AN ILLICIT COUPLE FIND THEMSELVES HAVING TO COVER UP A PAIR OF DEAD BODIES IN POST-WAR GERMANY. IN JACQUES DERAY’S SYMPHONY FOR A MASSACRE FIVE GANGSTERS BUY A CACHE OF DRUGS, BUT ONE OF THEM IS PLANNING A DOUBLE CROSS. IN TAKUMI FURUKAWA’S CRUEL GUN STORY A GANGSTER (JOE SHISHIDO) EXECUTES A DARING HEIST ON AN ARMOURED VEHICLE.

EXTRAS:

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES:

4K restoration of Symphony for a Massacre by Pathé, presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK
2K restoration of Black Gravel by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK
High-Definition digital transfer of Cruel Gun Story, presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the world
Original uncompressed mono PCM audio for all films
Optional English subtitles for all films
Newly designed artwork based on original posters
Limited edition 80-page perfect bound book by critics and experts including Carmen Gray on post-war German politics and film, Elena Lazic on Jose Giovanni, David Hering on noir’s evolution in the 1960s, and Jake Cole on the filmography of Joe Shishido
Limited Edition of 3,000 copies presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

BLACK GRAVEL

Includes both uncensored original cut and the re-edited distribution cut
Audio commentary with film historian Olaf Möller (2020)
Newl introduction from writer and programmer Margaret Deriaz (2024)
Newsreel footage of film set featuring behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Käutner (1960)
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork

SYMPHONY FOR A MASSACRE

New audio commentary by critic Travis Woods (2024)
New introduction by critic Christina Newland (2024)
Archival interviews with cast members Charles Vanel, Jean Rochefort and director Jacques Deray (1963)
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork

CRUEL GUN STORY

Audio commentary by author and filmmaker Jasper Sharp (2024)
New introduction by critic and programmer Tony Rayns (2024)
Archival interview with actor Joe Shishido
Visual essay by critic Philip Kemp on Nikkatsu’s noir films of the 1960s (2024)
Original trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork