Hammer Volume Five: Death & Deceit collects four films from the early sixties which found the studio looking beyond the horror genre for its next box-office success. Visa to Canton (1961, released in the US as Passport to China) is a torn-from-the-headlines spy thriller; The Pirates of Blood River (1962), starring Kerwin Mathews (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) and Christopher Lee (The Face of Fu Manchu), is a swashbuckling adventure; The Scarlet Blade (1963, released in the US as The Crimson Blade) is an English Civil War-set actioner which follows the fortunes of Cromwell’s Roundheads; and The Brigand of Kandahar (1965) takes Hammer to the North-West Frontier for an action-adventure starring Ronald Lewis (Taste of Fear) and Oliver Reed (The System). All four films are presented for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, while Visa to Canton, The Scarlet Blade and The Brigand of Kandahar make their world Blu-ray premieres.
Extras
INDICATOR LIMITED BLU-RAY EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES:
VISA TO CANTON
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Two presentations of the film: Visa to Canton, and Passport to China, with the alternative US titles
• Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons (2020)
• Hammer's Women: Lisa Gastoni (2020): profile of the Hammer star by critic and writer Virginie Sélavy
• Ticket to Ride (2020): film historian Vic Pratt discusses ethnocentrism in sixties British cinema
• David Huckvale on Edwin Astley (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Josephine Botting, an account of the RB-47 affair which inspired Visa to Canton, an overview of promotional materials, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray
THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, art director Don Mingaye and Hammer historian Marcus Hearn (2008)
• Hammer’s Women: Marla Landi (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Kat Ellinger
• Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Pirates of Blood River’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
• Andrew Keir at the Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films (1993): archival video recording of the acclaimed actor in conversation with Stephen Laws
• Did I Write That? (2020): Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic, discusses the career of Jimmy Sangster
• David Huckvale on Gary Hughes (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Yes, We Have No Piranhas (2020): video essay on the censorship history of The Pirates of Blood River
• Original theatrical trailer
• Brian Trenchard-Smith trailer commentary (2013): short critical appreciation
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Lindsay Hallam, Jimmy Sangster on The Pirates of Blood River, a selection of promotional materials, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
THE SCARLET BLADE
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Two presentations of the film: The Scarlet Blade, and The Crimson Blade, with the alternative US titles
• Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons (2020)
• Hammer’s Women: June Thorburn (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Josephine Botting
• Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Scarlet Blade’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
• Interviews with Hugh Harlow and Pauline Wise (2020): the second assistant director and continuity person discuss the making of The Scarlet Blade
• Almost an Auteur (2020): horror author and critic Kim Newman on the eclectic career of writer-director John Gilling
• David Huckvale on Gary Hughes (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Original US theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Neil Sinyard, an extract from Oliver Reed’s autobiography, a selection of promotional materials, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray
THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR
• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian Vic Pratt (2020)
• Hammer’s Women: Yvonne Romain (2020): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Melanie Williams
• Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Brigand of Kandahar’ (2020): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
• Swashbuckling (2020): writer and historian Neil Sinyard looks at writer-director John Gilling’s films for Hammer
• David Huckvale on Don Banks (2020): appreciation of the film’s score by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Naman Ramachandran, an extensive selection of promotional materials, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray
Additional information:
Original release: 1961-1965
Running time: 75 mins/87 mins/83 mins/81 mins
Colour/ B&W: Colour
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