The U.K.'s Eureka Entertainment Launches Long-Awaited Domestic Distribution On Apr. 23 With Restored Blu-ray Editions Of The Cat And The Canary And Black Mask

The U.K.’s venerable Eureka Entertainment will be teaming up with MVD Entertainment Group (sales and distribution) for a domestic product launch on Apr. 23.

The leading independent U.K. distributor has long been in demand by collectors and film aficionados, who have had to deal with grey market imports and after market distributors (often at a step premium) … it has been a major hassle.  That ends on Apr. 23 with the company’s first two Blu-ray product offerings (many more to follow).

The first of these is silent film director Paul Leni’s 1927 film adaptation of John Willard’s popular 1922 stage play, The Cat and the Canary.

 This is a new 4K digital restoration of the Museum of Modern Arts’ original negatives so this classic nitrate silent film should really pop.

The greedy relatives of Cyrus West — a man of wealth beyond imagine — can’t wait for his death, hence the film’s title, cats ready to pounce upon a canary.   But he as a little “gift” for them, no reading of the will until he has been dead exactly 20 years!!

The time has finally arrived and they have gathered for the reading of his will, only to discover that he has disinherited the lot of them in favor of Annabelle West (played by Laura La Plante - Show Boat, 1929 version, King of Jazz, Arizona, The Sea Ghost, The Last Warning, etc.), an obscure relative.   She gets it all!!

The balance of the film plays out like a haunted house thriller as someone — perhaps a family member or an escaped mental patient — terrorizes poor Annabelle, who must prove that she is sane to claim the fortune.    

Bonus nuggets from Eureka Entertainment for this Blu-ray presentation of The Cat and the Canary are two newly prepared commentary options.  The first teams author Stephen Jones with his long-time collaborator and fellow author and film critic Kim Newman, while the second commentary option features film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby.

There are three featurettes — “Mysteries Mean Dark Corners,” “Pamela Hutchinson on The Cat and the Canary” and “Phuong Le on The Cat and the Canary” — as well as excerpts from Willard’s play and a vintage film promotion featuring director Paul Leni titled “Lucky Strike.”

Also getting an Apr. 23 Blu-ray launch from Eureka Entertainment is director Daniel Lee’s Black Mask, a blend of action with sci-fi elements, starring Jet Li.

The film was released in Hong Kong in 1996 and finally arrived domestically as an English-dubbed version in May of 1999, pulling in $12.5 million during it’s theatrical run.    

The DVD debuted 200 days later on Nov. 30, 1999 … and the first Blu-ray edition surfaced on Sept. 2, 2008.

Eureka has gone the extra mile here.   This is a double-disc Blu-ray presentation, which features 2K-film restorations of both the fully-restored uncut Hong Kong release version (presented in Cantonese with English subtitles) and the English-dubbed theatrical cut.
The Cantonese-language cut features commentary from Asian film expert Frank Djeng, while the English-dubbed theatrical cut has commentary from film historians Mike Leeer and Arne Venema.

 Additional bonus goodies include video sessions with stuntman Mike Lambert, easternKicks.com film critic Andrew Heskins and author Leon Hunt (“Kung Fu Cult Masters: From Bruce Lee to Crouching Tiger”), plus an archival making-of featurette.