Warner Archive has dated and detailed four upcoming Blu-ray releases: The Sea Hawk (1940), Horror of Dracula (1958), The Blue Knight (1973), and Popeye: The Sailor: The 1940s, Volume One (1943-1945). The releases will arrive on the market this December.
THE SEA HAWK
Synopsis: Cannons thunder, blades clatter and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's incomparable music swirls and flourishes in The Sea Hawk. In one of his best roles, Errol Flynn plays Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe, who commandeers a 40-gun galleon, endures captivity, then boldly escapes to warn England of Spain's armada. Working on his 10th of 12 movies with Flynn, Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) masterfully directs the film's blend of royal intrigue and derring-do heroics – made on a then-lavish $1.7-million scale that included construction of two full-sized ships. The film was stirringly topical in its day. When Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson) exhorts her country to maintain fighting readiness against tyranny "now and forever," audiences knew forever had come: Hitler had launched his World War II air siege of England.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
BRAND NEW REMASTER OF THE ORIGINAL THEATRICAL CUT OF THE FILM
Leonard Maltin hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1940 (SD) with Newsreel
Alice in Movieland theatrical short
Porky's Poor Fish cartoon (HD)
Virginia City Theatrical Trailer (SD)
"The Sea Hawk: Flynn in Action" - Featurette
Sea Hawk Theatrical Trailer
Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
HORROR OF DRACULA
Synopsis: Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Britain's premier masters of the macabre, bring the Horror of Dracula to vivid, full-color death in this retelling of Bram Stoker's spellbinding vampire tale. Dracula (Lee), a centuries-old Transylvanian nobleman damned to an eternal half-life, regularly finds new victims. He also finds Dr. Van Helsing (Cushing), a scientist who becomes the Count's implacable foe in a deadly game of bat-and-mouse. This is the UK version titled "DRACULA", and featuring footage previously restored by the British Film Institute and Hammer Films. Warner Archive's new release restores the original color palette of the film, using dye-transfer Technicolor prints as reference, and has been meticulously cleaned of film-related damage for a superior presentation.
The dread is here – as are the power and pathos of this genre landmark by which Hammer Studios ushered in a new era of screen chills from classic evildoers. Tremble through that era again. Unleash the horror. Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW REMASTER SOURCED FROM THE HAMMER/BFI RESTORATION OF THE FILM
Original UK Theatrical Trailer
Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s Vol. 1 Blu-ray
Synopsis: Lost at sea for decades – this set collects the first two Technicolor seasons of Popeye's animated theatrical shorts (1943-44 and 1944-45), making them available for the first time ever on home video: complete, intact and outrageously funny. What else would you expect from a two-fisted, spinach-munching sailor man?
The 1940s brought new sights and sounds to America's favorite cartoon star. Regulars Olive Oyl and Bluto return, while Popeye resumes his riotous relationship with his shipmate Shorty and his naughty nephews Pipeye, Poopeye, Peepeye and Pupeye. With the addition of full color, cartoonists were now free to let loose with journeys to exotic lands and give Popeye a fresh stock of new friends and foes.
But it's the eternal love triangle, Popeye and Bluto competing for the attention of Olive, that drives the majority of these zany situations – as well as the hilarious action-packed gags. Whether our heroes are posing as circus acrobats or puppeteers or even taking turns at being Superman, these gems from the Golden Age of Hollywood will blow you down with laughter.
Collection includes Her Honor, The Mare; The Marry-Go-Round; We're On Our Way To Rio; The Anvil Chorus Girl; Spinach Packin' Popeye; Puppet Love; Pitchin' Woo At The Zoo; Moving Aweigh; She-Sick Sailors; Pop-Pie A La Mode; Tops In The Big Top; Shape Ahoy; For Better Or Nurse; Mess Production. Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s Volume 1 is intended for the Adult Collector and May Not Be Suitable for Children.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
BRAND NEW 4K REMASTERS FOR EACH EPISODE STRUCK FROM THE ORIGINAL NITRATE TECHNICOLOR NEGATIVE
Optional English SDH subtitles for the entire set
THE BLUE KNIGHT
Synopsis: Oscar-winner William Holden made his first major TV appearance in decades with this landmark adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh's depiction of life on the LAPD beat. Nominated for five Emmys and winning three (including an acting award for Holden), The Blue Knight pioneered "novels for television" and told the story of LA cop Bumper Morgan (Holden) and his final week before retirement. The years have taken their toll on Bumper, both within and without, but this tarnished chevalier of the streets is still dedicated to protecting the public that he mistrusts from the criminal elements in its midst. There are just a few things Bumper needs to get done before collecting his pension and getting married to college instructor Cassie Walters (Lee Remick), chief among them solving a vicious murder. Holden toplines a terrific ensemble cast that includes Joe Santos, Sam Elliott, Anne Archer and Eileen Brennan. Cinematography by Michael D. Margulies (Minnie and Moskowitz, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry).
Special Features and Technical Specs:
BRAND NEW REMASTER
Optional English SDH subtitles
