Just in time for remembrance day, classic British anti-war film King And Country is heading to Blu-ray and digital for the first time. More below…
After a rather successful debut at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, StudioCanal’s new 4k restoration of Joseph Losey’s King And Country is heading onto Blu-ray and digital formats in the UK for the first time. There’s also a new DVD, if you’re interested – all released on 6 November.
Based on the John Wilson play, Hamp, and set during WWI, the plot sees a young soldier (Tom Courtenay) deserting his post and trying to make his way home. When an aristocratic lawyer (Dirk Bogarde) is assigned his case to defend him from a court marshal, his attempts to save the man’s life become more and more passionate in the face of cold military bureaucracy.
The film marked the third of multiple director-actor collaborations between Losey and Bogarde, which also included 1954 thriller The Sleeping Tiger, the ground-breaking 1963 drama The Servant and 1967’s Accident. Courtenay’s performance, meanwhile, earned him Best Actor at the 1964 Venice Film Festival (blimey, Venice is old, isn’t it?).
Credit: Studiocanal
Fancy a pre-order? You can do that here (thank us later).
The new restoration is produced from the original camera negative held at the BFI, and includes a brand new interview with Tom Courtenay, an archive interview with Dirk Bogarde and a gallery of stills from behind-the-scenes.
A proper British classic, this, and well-worth seeking out. We’ve even done the seeking for you, so you’ve no excuse.
King And Country arrives on Blu-ray, Digital and DVD formats with the Vintage Classics label on 6 November 2023.
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