Radiance Films Announces October Releases

Radiance Films has announced its October batch of Blu-ray releases. Are: Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories (1959-1968), Dogra Magra (1988), Xan (1922) and Vampire Lust (1957).

Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories

Description: A collection of three of Japan’s most famous ghost stories that have haunted people for centuries. Kenji Misumi (Lone Wolf and Cub) directs Yotsuya’s Ghost, in which a woman returns from the grave as a horribly disfigured ghost to torment her husband and his new bride. In The Snow Woman, directed by Tokuzo Tanaka (Zatoichi), a lumberjack must keep his oath to a vengeful female spirit or pay the ultimate price. Bride of Hades by Satsuo Yamamoto (Shinobi) sees a handsome samurai so charmed by the beauty of a courtesan that he doesn’t realize she’s a ghost. These three film releases from Daiei’s studio form a pinnacle of atmospheric Japanese horror. Their sleek visuals and ominous shadows rival the best of Terence Fisher or Mario Bava, while their iconic ghosts would greatly influence Asian cinema, from Hong Kong fantasy shows like A Chinese Ghost Story to J-horror.

SPECIAL FEATURES LIMITED EDITION BOX SET

• New 4K restorations for Bride of Hades and Snow Woman
• High Definition Digital Transfer for The Ghost of Yotsuya
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio for each movie
• Optional English subtitles for all movies
• A newly designed box and booklet by Time Tomorrow
• Six postcards featuring original archival footage from the films
• Perfectly bound 80 page limited edition book featuring new writing by authors Tom Mes and Zack Davisson, newly translated archival reviews and ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn

THE GHOST OF YOTSUYA

• A new interview with filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa
• A visual essay on the history and adaptations of the classic story “Ghost of Yotsuya” by author Kyoko Hirano
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• Reversible sleeve with original and recently commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

THE BRIDE FROM HADES

• Audio commentary by author Jasper Sharp
• A new interview with director Hiroshi Takahashi
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• Reversible sleeve with original and recently commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

THE SNOW WOMAN

• A new interview with director Masayuki Ochiai
• A visual essay on the writer Lafcadio Hearn
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• Reversible sleeve with original and recently commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista

STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

US & CANADA STREET DATE: OCTOBER 29.
UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Dogra Magra

Description: A man wakes up in an asylum with no memory. Dr. Wakabayashi helps him remember his past where he killed his bride on their wedding day. Part of his memory becomes linked to another doctor, Dr. Masaki, and a manuscript, Dogra Magra. As the two doctors treat him, reality and fantasy become blurred, and the patient becomes unsure of his identity or his doctors’ experiments. Toshio Matsumoto’s latest feature (Funeral Rose Parade) is an adaptation of Kyusaku Yumeno’s famous novel, a gothic tale with a sense of dreamlike horror, reminiscent of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s The Cure and the mystery of the locked chamber on Shutter Island . A stunning phantasmagoria by Tatsuo Suzuki (Pastoral: To Die in the Country), Dogra Magra is presented on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan. Special features and technical specifications:

• High-definition digital transfer overseen by director of photography Tatsuo Suzuki and producer Shuji Shibata
• Audio commentary by director Toshio Matsumoto (2003)
• Interview with Toshio Matsumoto (2003, 21 minutes)
• A visual essay by programmer and curator Julian Ross (2024)
• Instruction on the Ahodara Sutra (a popular Japanese chant given by Dr. Masaki in the film) by legendary street performer Hiroshi Sakano (16 minutes)
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• New and improved English subtitles
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and recently commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Limited edition booklet with new writing by Hirofumi Sakamoto, president of the Postwar Japan Moving Image Archive and author Jasper Sharp on screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya plus an interview with producer Shuji Shibata and Matsumoto’s director’s statement
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI tape, leaving packaging without certificates and markings

US & CANADA STREET DATE: OCTOBER 29.
UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Xan

Description: A series of whimsical vignettes depict images of witchcraft and evil on screen, from depictions of the occult and religious hypocrisy to a terrifying witch hunt in the Middle Ages. Directed by Benjamin Christensen and starring him as the Devil, Hxan combines documentary and fiction forms to create an unsettling brew that foreshadows everything from gothic horror to found footage. This legendary horror film has been released in numerous editions and this edition collects four such versions of the film for the first time in the UK, including a 2K restoration by the original production company Svensk Filmindustri.

Special features and technical specifications:

• 2K restoration by Svensk Filmindustri, presented with three optional scores, by Matti Bye (2006), Bronnt Industries Kapital (2007) and Geoff Smith (2007)
• Witchcraft through the Ages – an alternate version of the film with narration by William S. Boroughs and soundtrack by Jean-Luc Ponty (1968, 77 minutes)
• Hxan – The Esoteric Cut – an alternate version of the film with English subtitles and soundtrack by Lawrence Leherissey (Date unknown, 84 minutes)
• Witchcraft through the Ages – a French version of the film with narration by Jean-Pierre Kalfon (1990, 82 minutes)
• Introduction by director Benjamin Christensen (1941, 8 minutes)
• Exits (1922, 12 minutes)
• Screen Test of the Recently Discovered Suit (1922, 2 minutes)
• Visual essay by Vito A. Rowlands, author of the forthcoming BFI Film Classics edition of Hxan (2024)
• Audio Commentary by Guy Adams and AK Benedict (2024)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and recently commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Six postcards with original promotional photos
• 80 page limited edition book with new writing by Pamela Hutchinson, Daniel Bird, Kat Ellinger, Brad Stevens plus archival writing and press book extracts
• Limited edition of 6000 copies, presented in hard case and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI tape, leaving the packaging without certificates and markings

UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Planet of the Vampires Standard Edition

Description: In the outer reaches of deep space, the spaceship Galliott responds to a distress signal from Aura, an unexplored planet. As the ship attempts to land, the crew members inexplicably start attacking each other. This is the start of a terrifying expedition into the unknown, one plagued by paranoia, possession, and violent mayhem unleashed by the planet’s mysterious inhabitants on unsuspecting explorers. A sci-fi horror hybrid from genre master Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace), Planet of the Vampires is widely regarded as one of the most influential genre films ever made, with a clear influence on films such as Alien and Pitch Black. With a unique and cool atmosphere and fantastic production design that belies its low-budget origins, Planet of the Vampires is a true genre classic.

Special features and technical specifications:

• 4K scan of the film from the original negative under the supervision of Lamberto Bava and made at Fotocinema in Rome in collaboration with CSC Cineteca Nazionale
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Italian (89 minutes) and English (88 minutes) versions of the film
• Alternate score by Kendall Schmidt
• Uncompressed mono audio
• Archive audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark (2014)
• Transmissions from a Haunted World – A new documentary exploring Planet of the Vampires, Mario Bava and the connection between Gothic and science fiction. Directed by Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger; with interviews with Guy Adams, Xavier Aldana Reyes, Alexandra Benedict, Johnny Mains and John Llewellyn Probert (2024, 41 minutes)
• Archive interview with Lamberto Bava (2022, 13 minutes)
• Super 8 version – a reconstruction of the reduced version distributed as Planet der Vampire (17 minutes)
• Trailer Comments Joe Dante and Josh Olsen – filmmakers give a brief overview of the film (2013/14, 4 mins and 2 mins)
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• Press and Image Gallery from the Tim Lucas / Alan Y. Upchurch Collection
• Optional English subtitles for Italian audio and English SDH for English audio
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and recently commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
• 20-page limited edition booklet with a new translation of Renato Pestriniero’s original short story
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI tape, leaving packaging without certificates and markings

UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.

Vampire Lust

Description: A mad scientist captures young women in Paris and drains their blood in the service of an evil duchess. Also known as Lust of the Vampire, Riccardo Freda’s I vampiri combines the stories of Bathory and Frankenstein to create his gothic tale, Italy’s first horror film. Made as a challenge by Freda at breakneck speed, cinematographer Mario Bava will complete the direction and post-production of the film, adding his signature in the process. With its baroque imagery and haunting visuals, I vampiri paved the way for Italian horror and remains a landmark in Italian cinema history.

Special features and technical specifications:

• 2K restoration of the featured film with Italian and English audio
• Audio Commentary by Tim Lucas (2023)
• Thirst of Blood – a report on the making of the film with Fabio Melelli, Mario Bava and Dario Michaelis
• Interview with Lamberto Bava
• Interview with Leon Hunt, author of Mario Bava: The Artisan as Italian Horror Auteur (2024)
• Trailers
• Reversible sleeve with artwork based on original posters
• Booklet of New Writings by Roberto Curti, Author of Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI tape, leaving packaging without certificates and markings

UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 28.