HB Films (UK)

[Awesome Welles]

London-based film distributor HB FILMS and leading UK independent film production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME) have joined forces to release a slate of F&ME’s co-productions as well as third party acquisitions from their European and US production partners. Initial films to be released in 2008 include a re-release of Milcho Manchevski’s Academy Award Nominated and Venice winner Before the Rain and Danish thriller Murk written by Thomas Jensen.

HB’s team are responsible for innovative releases such as Gillo Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers, Alex de la Iglesias’ La Comunidad, Davide Marengo’s Nightbus and Jaquin Oristrell’s Unconscious through its theatrical division Maiden Voyage Pictures.

I saw some titles yesterday in Fopp, A Woman Called Sada Abe caught my eye, really horrible art work and what looks like cheap production standards. Has anyone heard anything about this company or their discs?

HMV lists twelve films as part of their release schedule: Before the Rain, Viy, James Journey, Immortal Love, A Woman Called Sada Abe, Watcher in the Attic, Gate of Flesh, Street of Joy, Nelios, Sleepwalking Land, Morke and Vampires Night Orgy.

[perkizitore]

Lots of titles at Moviemail
Their Before the Rain disc is horrendous!

[bigP]

I have Street of Joy which has a really rather poor encode, but is just about watchable (suffers from lots of digital blocking and has a nasty mist-like coating over the entire picture).

If that didn't put me off purchasing more from them, the fact that on the cover of Gate of Flesh they credit the director as Noboru Tanaka certainly has, which is a shame as I was hoping to pick up the rest of their Japanese collection and the upcoming Borowczyk in the near future.