The classic, quintessential film noir, which set the standard for all future noirs, DOUBLE INDEMNITY is to be released in the UK as part of Eureka’s MASTERS OF CINEMA Series on Blu-ray (Standard and SteelBook editions) on 25 June 2012
• First-ever Blu-ray release anywhere in the world, exclusively restored
• #29 on the American Film Institute's 2007 list of the best American films of all time
• Directed and co-written by legendary, multiple-Academy Award winner Billy Wilder (The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment)
• Co-written by master hardboiled novelist Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely, The Long Goodbye)
• The very first screen coupling of Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck (There's Always Tomorrow)
SYNOPSIS:
"That's a honey of an anklet you're wearing, Mrs. Dietrichson."
Double Indemnity is the dazzling, quintessential film noir whose enormous popular success and seven Oscar nominations catapulted Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment) into the very top tier of Hollywood's writer-directors. Adapted from a novella by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice), co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye), Double Indemnity remains the hardest-boiled of delectations.
Insurance hawker Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets seduced by some other man's wife: a bored, sex-starved Barbara Stanwyck done up in lorry-grille wig and a pair of lips like wine grapes smashed in candle-wax. She wants to off her better half and collect on his policy, but spitfire claims-adjuster Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) smells a rat – or at least the cheap perfume all over that Dietrichson file.
Neff himself ties up the twisting plot in a neat bow: "We were talking about automobile insurance, only you were thinking about murder. And I was thinking about that anklet."
Nominated for seven Oscars at the 1945 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Actress (Barbara Stanwyck), Best Screenplay (Wilder and Raymond Chandler), Best Cinematography (John F. Seitz), Best Score (Miklós Rózsa), Best Sound Recording (Loren Ryder). The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity for the first time anywhere in the world on Blu-ray, in a standard edition and a limited edition steelbook on 25 June 2012.
Available to pre-order from:
Amazon (Blu-ray) http://amzn.to/ICbFuU (SteelBook) http://amzn.to/wnpuRn
HMV (Blu-ray) http://tidd.ly/
Play (Blu-ray) http://tidd.ly/
Hut (Blu-ray) http://tidd.ly/1b6c0442 (SteelBook) http://tidd.ly/9677b5ad
TRAILER:
Original Theatrical Trailer http://bit.ly/KER5z7
SPECIAL BLU-RAY FEATURES:
• Exclusive new high-definition restoration, officially licensed from Universal Pictures
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired
• Shadows of Suspense — a 2006 documentary featuring film historians, directors, and authors discussing the making of Double Indemnity
• 1945 Screen Guild Theater radio adaptation of Double Indemnity, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray
• The original theatrical trailer
• 36-PAGE BOOKLET featuring a 1976 interview by John Allyn with Billy Wilder; an extract from a 1976 interview with James M. Cain comparing his original serial with Wilder’s film adaptation; documentation of novelist and Double Indemnity co-screenwriter Raymond Chandler’s attitude toward working within the Hollywood studio system; an extract from the original screenplay depicting the excised “death chamber” ending; a note on the restoration; and rare archival imagery
REVIEWS:
"Since Double Indemnity, the two most important words in motion pictures are 'Billy' and 'Wilder'." —Alfred Hitchcock
"Double Indemnity is the finest picture of its kind ever made, and I make that flat statement without any fear of getting indigestion later from eating my words." - Louella Parsons
“Film noir at its finest, a template of the genre. Billy Wilder in full swing, Barbara Stanwyck's finest hour, and Fred MacMurray makes a great chump.” – Empire Magazine
“This is the gold standard of '40s noir, straight down the line.” – Time Out
DETAILS:
Label: Eureka Entertainment Ltd
Cat. No: EKA70071
Barcode: 5060000700718
RRP: £20.42
SteelBook Cat. No: EKA70072
SteelBook Barcode: 5060000700725
SteelBook RRP: £30.63
Release Date: 25 June 2012
Certificate: PG
Run Time: 107 min.
Format: 1.37:1 OAR/ B&W
Genre: Movie Classic
Director: Billy WILDER
Year: 1944
Country: USA
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH (Optional)
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