Radiance Films General Discussion & Wishlist

[Glowingwabbit]

Praying for Ferrara's The Blackout and Cottafavi's Una donna libera or Il boia di Lilla (although I'd be happy with a number of Cottafavi's works as he's been neglected for far too long)

[Finch]

Do you have to have a subscription to be eligible for the 4K upgrades?

[Peacock]

As for Boro - I do hope it’s not just La Marge or Love Rites. Both are top tier films but both have lovely Blus. There are a few other Boro features to get out there… but I’m not too hopeful on this one.

To be honest, there’s not a lot else that’s actually releasable, either for legal reasons (Immoral Women and Lulu unambiguously infringe the 1978 Protection of Children Act), which leaves The Art of Love and Emmanuelle V, and by all accounts Borowczyk was barely involved with the latter. I daresay there’s also the three-part triptych Private Collections, but he only made a third of it.

And of course neither of the films you cite have UK releases.

Private Collections would be a bizarre title, considering its original marketing, for Radiance to put out… but it would kill two birds with one stone by getting Terayama’s Grass Labyrinth out as well as an underseen Boro.

Yes I can’t see Emmanuelle 5 being the one at all, that feels more up Severin’s alley, I’m surprised no one has put out 4 or 5 yet to be honest.

I’d be delighted for the title to be the incredible Art of Love…. Or even his final 4 short films (tv movies?) from 1990-1991 - Michael have you seen these?

But I suspect more and more it’ll be La Marge if the rights situation has somehow been resolved in the UK. I just hope Radiance includes some unique extras if they put this out or Love Rites.

Whatever the title I’ll gladly add it to my collection!

[Calvin]

A fantastic set of announcements - I'm surprised that Histoire(s) du cinema is not set at a higher price point, but I'll take it. Also had suggested that BOX might be Terayama's Boxer but kind of half heartedly so I'm very happy to see that it was the case.

Also very exciting clues for the back end of the year. A few months ago I'd have bet on A Moment of Innocence but, now that we know that's with Second Run, I wonder if it might be some Samira Makhmalbaf - did the SM clue from last year ever come to fruition? It would be nice to see Jafar Panahi's earlier films but, given his relationship with the Iranian authorities, I doubt that there's been a restoration effort if the original materials were even kept and not ditched.

I'd be personally keen for some Mohammad-Ali Talebi as I really liked Bag of Rice, Willow and Wind and The Boot when I saw them a few years ago.

Ferrara - hoping for either The Funeral (goodness knows what issues have kept that MIA in the HD era) or Mary (which was mentioned quite a bit in the Discord a while back).

[bavabrained]

Do you have to have a subscription to be eligible for the 4K upgrades?

my understanding from the description is that there are two types of membership - ones without 4K upgrades ("Standard") and ones with them ("+ UHD Upgrades"). But "Standard" will still receive NEW 4Ks, just not the upgrades of previous ones. Which makes sense as I imagine long-standing members probably don't want to necessarily double-dip, or at least have the choice.

But I also can't imagine the 4K upgrades would be exclusive to members. I can't remember the exact quote but I'm pretty sure someone relayed how Radiance making a members-exclusive product, aside from a booklet or something, would be incredibly inefficient.

[Finch]

I mean, I'd absolutely buy a 4K of A Moment of Romance which is the one likely upgrade I'd be interested in, but I'm also not subscribing just on the off-chance that it is one of the four upgrades. I'm not buying regularly enough from Radiance to make a subscription worthwhile to me. So I'm hoping those upgrades are not member exclusives.

[Peacock]

Could any of the Discord Dudes please share the latest LE stock update with us plebs?

Edit: ignore this, didn’t realise it’s at the bottom of the Newsletter:

UK
Death Occurred Last Night - 99% sold out
Black God, White Devil - 99% sold out
Hokuriku Proxy War - 99% sold out
A Man on His Knees - 95% sold out
Va savoir - 95% sold out
What Happened Was... - 90% sold out
The Man from Majorca - 90% sold out
A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness - 90% sold out
Une femme douce - 90% sold out
Tchao Pantin - 85% sold out
World Noir vol 4 - 85% sold out
The Cat - 85% sold out
Senso - 80% sold out
Life is Cheap... But Toilet Paper is Expensive - 80% sold out
Daiei Gothic vol 2 - 80% sold out


US
Dogra Magra - 99% sold out
A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness - 99% sold out
Daiei Gothic Vol 2 - 95% sold out
Sympathy for the Underdog - 95% sold out
Japan Organized Crime Boss - 95% sold out
Underworld Beauty - 95% sold out
The Shape of Night - 95% sold out
Malpertuis - 90% sold out
Shinobi Vol 2 - 90% sold out
Slap the Monster on Page One - 85% sold out
The Beast to Die - 80% sold out
Tattooed Life - 80% sold out
Elegant Beast - 80% sold out
Illustrious Corpses - 75% sold out
Blood of Revenge - 75% sold out
Bandits of Orgosolo - 75% sold out

[Finch]

I wonder if the whodunit could be The Inugami Family. It's Kon Ichikawa and the Japanese 4K is in our 4K reference list.

[ryannichols7]

I'm with you on Conflagration big time, though I'd take really any of Ichikawa's films. The Inugami Family is one I really want to see and it got a 4K release in Japan I'm not convinced I wanna spring $150 for..

would be well worth the 4 year wait from when I initially made this post! I've still held out on importing the Japanese disc

(I was wrong on Dead Mountaineer's Hotel in the same post but hey, a Deaf Crocodile 4K with a MichaelB commentary is as good as a Radiance release would be!)

[MichaelB]

There’s certainly a decent chance that Radiance would have asked me (it wouldn’t even have been my first Eastern European sci-if film for them), and it would have been all but identical to the one that I ended up recording!

[rapta]

“Next month is magnificent”

I guess Il magnifico cornuto (1964 - Pietrangeli).

Good point, had a 4K restoration shown as part of last year's Venice Classics strand, and I think they included the colour-shot dream sequences in that restoration. Pietrangeli could even be, combined with today's 'Italian comedy classics', the focus of a second Commedia all'italiana volume - Raro previously released Lo scapolo, Adua e le compagne and La vista in the US, and obviously Criterion did Io la conoscevo bene (but that didn't stop Radiance before from including Il Sorpasso in their Risi set). Could get interesting...

I wonder if the whodunit could be The Inugami Family. It's Kon Ichikawa and the Japanese 4K is in our 4K reference list.

I came to the same conclusion earlier today on BR.com (Ichikawa + whodunit), but someone else did point out 'TW' could be The Wanderers. We'll see...

[DeprongMori]

I’d have to guess the Boro is going to be La Marge, matching the MAR on the 2026 Hints graphic.

[bavabrained]

I mean, I'd absolutely buy a 4K of A Moment of Romance which is the one likely upgrade I'd be interested in, but I'm also not subscribing just on the off-chance that it is one of the four upgrades. I'm not buying regularly enough from Radiance to make a subscription worthwhile to me. So I'm hoping those upgrades are not member exclusives.

FWIW I got confirmation from them that the 4K Upgrades are not member exclusives and will be sold as regular products. In fairness, reading the description again, I think it is clear it is just differentiating between the different automated subscription tiers but their customer-service team seem pretty quick to clarify.

[Finch]

Thank you!

[amberry]

I wonder if Jean-François Stévenin's three (amazing) directorial efforts - already restored - might find a home at Radiance one day. Feels very appropriate, especially with the Rozier set coming out, but maybe a little too unknown.

[Calvin]

There's a new interview with Fran on the Now Playing Network podcast that is quite an interesting listen. One tidbit is that he has done every film that he wanted to at Arrow that they rejected including The Working Class Goes to Heaven and Messiah of Evil except for one - Ophuls' Letter from an Unknown Woman, which he feels doesn't fit Radiance.

Fran also says that they're doing "a bunch of films by a filmmaker who has never been distributed outside of his home country" - around the 1hr36 mark. Implication is that they are arthouse films of the 60s/70s

[rapta]

I've been casually suggesting Letter from an Unknown Woman to nearly any UK boutique with a Paramount deal (Radiance, Eureka, Indicator, Arrow), and surprised Eureka still haven't got to it - and also quite surprised that Arrow turned it down, as they released many titles similar to it, and far more niche films in terms of the 'canon'. Would be a brilliant one for 4K if possible, and as with Fargo, a bit of a shame Fran turned it down but can understand his hesitation for Radiance, though I'd maintain Ophuls is more of a European filmmaker than an American one (even if his style obviously crosses over to Hollywood). I think they could've got away with releasing it and nobody expecting some classic Hollywood all of a sudden.

[Matt]

Pardon my ignorance, but is the only difference between Limited Editions and Standard Editions the lack of a booklet?

[domino harvey]

And the case is different

[MichaelB]

Pardon my ignorance, but is the only difference between Limited Editions and Standard Editions the lack of a booklet?

I think sometimes the second disc (if applicable) gets dropped as well.

[Drucker]

There's a new interview with Fran on the Now Playing Network podcast that is quite an interesting listen. One tidbit is that he has done every film that he wanted to at Arrow that they rejected including The Working Class Goes to Heaven and Messiah of Evil except for one - Ophuls' Letter from an Unknown Woman, which he feels doesn't fit Radiance.

Fran also says that they're doing "a bunch of films by a filmmaker who has never been distributed outside of his home country" - around the 1hr36 mark. Implication is that they are arthouse films of the 60s/70s

Does he explain why Arrow rejected them?

I picked up the Carlotta edition of that film.

[domino harvey]

Fran also says that they're doing "a bunch of films by a filmmaker who has never been distributed outside of his home country" - around the 1hr36 mark. Implication is that they are arthouse films of the 60s/70s

This is less risky than Deville??

[swo17]

He also described him as "well respected, got great reviews, but somehow just never received distribution"

[Calvin]

Fran has since confirmed that the podcast was recorded prior to the Rozier set being announced and that's what he is referring to. So no need to get excited about a Michel Drach set just yet.

[bdsweeney]

This could be heading towards the semi-obscure, but I’m curious as to whether there’s ever been any discussion of Radiance working on any Alain Tanner works.

Full disclosure that I’ve never seen any of his films, but I’ve read enough film guides over my lifetime to know that he was once held in some degree of regard (esp. Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000, In The White City). I know that some of his work is available on back channels, but I’d rather have my first viewing of one of his films be a proper release. Anyway, just something I daydream about from time to time. (Another, especially as an Aussie, is Paul Cox. But I’d suspect it’d take an Australian imprint to make that happen.)