Indicator’s June Slate Is All About Humphrey Bogart With Columbia Noir
This June over at Indicator it will be a month of Crime and punishment. Returning to the shadowy streets and seedy underbelly of film noir for its COLUMBIA NOIR series. This time, however, there’s a difference.
Set for release on 20th June , in the UK only, our fifth foray into the noir output of Columbia Pictures will also serve as a showcase for the great Humphrey Bogart. Having established his stardom in the gangster pictures of the 1930s, Bogart fit easily into the world of noir, where he was equally at home playing troubled servicemen, slick-talking lawyers, black marketeers, gambling den owners, or hard-up journalists.
COLUMBIA NOIR #5: HUMPHREY BOGART brings together five of the iconic actor’s starring vehicles: John Cromwell’s Dead Reckoning (1947), Nicholas Ray’s Knock on Any Door (1949), Stuart Heisler’s Tokyo Joe (1949), Curtis Bernhardt’s Sirocco (1951), and Mark Robson’s The Harder They Fall (1956), plus Henry Levin’s The Family Secret (1951), a rarity starring Lee J Cobb and John Derek that was produced by Bogart’s Santana Pictures, an outfit that regularly delved into noir.
It’s not all about Bogey , also in June we will see the world Blu-ray premiere of Roy Boulting’s uncompromising PASTOR HALL (1940). This bold, stirring tale is based on the true story of Protestant minister Martin Niemöller and was one of the first anti-Nazi dramas ever made, having had its original production delayed by British censors who were not yet ready to be openly critical of Hitler’s regime. Unavailable for many years, Pastor Hall has been newly restored from a 4K scan of the nitrate duplicate negative by Powerhouse Films.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES
-4K restoration of The Harder They Fall
-HD presentations of Dead Reckoning, Knock on Any Door, Tokyo Joe, Sirocco and The Family Secret
-Original mono audio
-Audio commentary with film scholar and preservationist Alan K Rode on Dead Reckoning (2022)
-Audio commentary with writer and film historian Pamela Hutchinson on Knock on Any Door (2022)
-Audio commentary with writer and film historian Nora Fiore on Tokyo Joe (2022)
-Audio commentary with film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson on Sirocco (2022)
-Audio commentary with professor and film scholar Jason A Ney on The Family Secret(2022)
-Audio commentary with critics and writers Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme on The Harder They Fall (2022)
-The South Bank Show: ‘Bogart: Here’s Looking at You, Kid’ (1997): episode of the British arts television series devoted to the iconic actor
-Tony Rayns on ‘Dead Reckoning’ (2022): appreciation by the writer and film programmer
-Geoff Andrew on ‘Knock on Any Door’ (2022): the critic and programmer discusses Bogart and Nicholas Ray
-Bertrand Tavernier on ‘Tokyo Joe’ (2017): archival appreciation by the celebrated filmmaker and critic
-Tom Vincent on Sessue Hayakawa (2022): the film archivist looks at the career and stardom of the Tokyo Joe actor from the silent film era through to his Oscar-nominated role in The Bridge on the River Kwai
-Christina Newland on ‘The Harder They Fall’ (2022): the critic and writer talks Bogart, boxing and Budd Schulberg
-Bertrand Tavernier on ‘The Harder They Fall’ (2017): archival appreciation by the celebrated filmmaker and critic
-The Negro Soldier (1944): WWII documentary film intended as a recruitment drive for African American enlistees, directed by Stuart Heisler and now preserved by the National Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance
-Jim Pines on ‘The Negro Soldier’ (2010): audio presentation by the author and lecturer, recorded following a screening of the film at London’s BFI Southbank
-The Negro Sailor (1945): documentary short film, inspired by the success of The Negro Soldier, directed by Henry Levin
-Watchtower Over Tomorrow (1945): documentary short film about the formation of the United Nations, directed by John Cromwell
-Tuesday in November (1945): documentary short on the US presidential campaign of 1944, on which Nicholas Ray served as assistant director
-That Justice Be Done (1945): documentary short on the Nuremberg Trials, written by Budd Schulberg
-The Big Moment (1954): short film produced by the United Jewish Appeal starring Knock on Any Door and The Family Secret actor John Derek
-Max Baer on Super 8: home cinema presentations of boxing matches featuring the prize fighter who acted in The -Harder They Fall, including his famous bout with Primo Carnera that he would recreate in the film
-Theatrical trailer for Knock on Any Door
-Image galleries: publicity and promotional materials
-New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay by Imogen Sara Smith, extensive archival articles and -interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits
-World and UK premieres on Blu-ray
-Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units
PASTOR HALL DRAMA
When the quiet German village of Altdorf is taken over by an SS platoon which proceeds to enforce Hitler’s ideals upon its inhabitants, a kindly pastor questions the agenda of ‘The New Order’ while members of his parish turn a blind eye to the insidious indoctrination. Before long, he is punished for his vocal opposition and is sent to Dachau, where, despite the abuse and brutality which he suffers, he refuses to give in to the madness and inhumanity of National Socialism.
Adapted from Ernst Toller’s 1939 play of the same name, and based on the true story of Protestant minister Martin Niemöller, Pastor Hall is the impressive third feature from the Boulting brothers (Brighton Rock). Starring Wilfrid Lawson (Pygmalion) as the iconic pastor, and Nova Pilbeam (Young and Innocent) as his formidable daughter, the film was one of the first anti-Nazi dramas ever made and had its original production delayed by British censors who were not yet ready to be openly critical of Hitler’s regime.
A bold and stirring tribute to the universal power of faith, courage and personal conviction, Pastor Hall has been newly restored from 4K scans of the nitrate duplicate negative by Powerhouse Films and is finally available on Blu-ray for the first time in the world.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
-New restoration from a 4K scan of the nitrate duplicate negative by Powerhouse Films
-Original mono audio
-Matthew D Hockenos on Martin Niemöller (2022): the author of Then They Came for Me: Martin Niemöller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis discusses the life and legacy of the German pastor
-Richard Falcon on ‘Pastor Hall’ (2022): the ex-BBFC examiner discusses the film’s history with the British Board of Film Censors
-Newsreel footage (1946): extract from Welt in Film featuring Niemöller speaking about post-war German guilt
-The Dawn Guard (1941): short film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Pastor Hall actors Percy Walsh and Bernard Miles as members of the Home Guard
-Minefield! (1944): documentary short film produced by Roy Boulting for the Army Film Unit
-New and improved subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Fiona Kelly, archival articles, new writing on the short films, and film credits
-World premiere on Blu-ray
-Limited edition of 4,000 copies for the UK and US
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