Two Ealing classics – The Lavender Hill Mob and Kind Hearts & Coronets – are heading to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray: more here.
Lovely, lovely news for fans of the wonderful Ealing Studios: a pair of its most-loved films have been given a 4K restoration, and are heading to the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format.
Charles Crichton’s The Lavender Hill Mob – which is also getting a cinema re-release in the UK this March – is arriving in a special Vintage Classics Collectors Edition set. That set includes a 64-page booklet, artcards, postcards, a Blu-ray and a 4K disc. Included too is an introduction from Martin Scorsese, and new extra features including a London Comedy Film Festival Q&A with Paul Merton.
The film is available for preorder now, and you can find more information – and get a copy – right here.
The release date for The Lavender Hill Mob on 4K disc is 22nd April, and that’s the same day that Kind Hearts & Coronets also lands on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format.
Directed by Robert Hamer, this comedy classic also joins the Vintage Classics line-up. It’s appeared too on physical media before, and some previous extra features are included again in the new release. There’s also a brand new audio commentary from writer and critic Kat Ellinger, to go with the 4K work.
You can order a copy – and find more information – here.
We’ll leave you with the two synopses if you’re not familiar with this pair of outstanding films.
The Lavender Hill Mob first…
Glimmering new 4K restoration of THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (1951), the enduring Ealing Studios comedy classic directed by CHARLES CRICHTON with cinematography by the great DOUGLAS SLOCOMBE. Winner of a BAFTA for Best British Film and an Academy Award® for Best Screenplay, THE LAVENDER HILL MOB remains today one of the finest British comedies ever made. Holland (ALEC GUINNESS) is a shy, retiring man who works as a bank transfer agent for the delivery of gold bullion. One day he befriends Pendlebury (STANLEY HOLLOWAY), a maker of souvenirs. Holland remarks that, with Pendlebury’s smelting equipment, one could forge the gold into harmless-looking toy Eiffel Towers and smuggle them into France. Soon after, they gain the services of professional criminals Lackery (SID JAMES) and Shorty (ALFIE BASS) and the four plot what they believe will be the perfect crime – which turns out to be anything but!
And finally, Kind Hearts & Coronets…
Hailing from the Golden-Age of Ealing comedies, KIND HEARTS & CORONETS stars DENNIS PRICE as the debonair yet impoverished Louis Mazzini, the would-be Duke of Chalfont whose mother was disinherited by her noble family, for marrying beneath her. When her dying wish to be buried in the family crypt is refused, Louis vows to avenge his mother and work his way up the family tree by engaging in the gentle art of murder. One by one he attempts to kill off the eight successors that stand in the way of his becoming Duke – all played by ALEC GUINESS in an unforgettable tour-de-force performance. Directed by ROBERT HAMER, KIND HEARTS & CORONETS also stars JOAN GREENWOOD as the husky-voiced siren Sibella and VALERIE HOBSON as the refined and virtuous Edith D’Ascoyne, both of whom threaten to distract Louis from his killing quest. A wonderfully entertaining combination of biting class satire, hilarious farce and pitch-black comedy, this story of a suave and elegant serial murderer is as sharp and funny today as ever.
Both 4K packages are up for preorder now.
