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Nor Dune for that matter. Hopefully this doesn't mean... Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park!

At long last, Voyage of the Rock Aliens, co-starring Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora (are there bigger pop stars, folks? I think not)

JSC wrote: Fri Dec 05, 2025 4:32 pm Their latest newsletter mentions a release for next year of "a huge pop star's Sci-Fi debut, newly restored in collaboration with the B.F.I."
The Man Who Fell to Earth and Privilege are the only ones that spring immediately to mind.

Privilege was a Flipside release for the BFI, if that means anything. tbf Ben made it clear there are past Flipside releases that are no longer obtainable, but in light of Watkins's deteriorating health (and eventual passing) and his desire to make his films accessible, it wouldn't surprise me if he let Deaf Crocodile license it.

And it wouldn't be the first BFI Flipside title to also get a Deaf Crocodile release

swo17 wrote: Fri Dec 05, 2025 5:46 pm And it wouldn't be the first BFI Flipside title to also get a Deaf Crocodile release

It’s still Universal in North America, which would be big for them

JSC wrote: Fri Dec 05, 2025 4:32 pm Their latest newsletter mentions a release for next year of "a huge pop star's Sci-Fi debut, newly restored in collaboration with the B.F.I."
The Man Who Fell to Earth and Privilege are the only ones that spring immediately to mind.

As much as I would like it to be Gonks Go Beat 🥴, I suspect perhaps Toomorrow (Val Guest), with Olivia Newton John. Although if it turns out to be Freejack . . . ?

from their newsletter, the Jan through June 2026 lineup:

WHITE SUN OF THE DESERT
KRAKATIT (4K HDR + Blu-ray combo)
SONG OF THE MIRACULOUS HIND (4K HDR + Blu-ray combo)
HAIR HIGH
DEAD MOUNTAINEER’S HOTEL (4K HDR + Blu-ray combo)
DEFA FAIRYTALES BOX SET (5 films, 4-Disc Set)
BLACK RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT (4K HDR + Blu-ray combo)
LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE
TOOMORROW
HOFFMANIADA

Matching these up with the previous newsletter:

a stunning 4K restoration from original 35mm nitrate negative = Krakatit (1948)
Our first martial arts film - as only you'd expect from Deaf Crocodile = Legend of the Sacred Stone (puppets)
A new 4K restoration of an incredible Eastern European Sci-Fi / Mystery = Dead Mountaineer's Hotel
Another DEFA Studios multi-film set = Fairytales
Three astonishing and surreal Animated Features = Song of the Miraculous Hind (Jankovics), Hair High (Plympton), Hoffmaniada (Stanislav Sokolov)
A huge pop star's Sci-Fi debut, newly restored in collaboration with the B.F.I. = Toomorrow (Olivia Newton-John)

I've just fleshed them out with Wikipedia links and capsule descriptions.

• White Sun of the Desert (Vladimir Motyl, 1970, USSR)

White Sun of the Desert (Russian: Белое солнце пустыни, romanized: Beloye solntse pustyni) is a 1970 Soviet Ostern film. Its blend of action comedy, music and drama made it highly successful at the Soviet box-office and resulted in a number of memorable quotes. It retains high domestic approval. Its main theme song, "Your Noble Highness Lady Fortune" (Ваше благородие, госпожа удача, music: Isaac Schwartz, lyrics: Bulat Okudzhava, performed by Pavel Luspekayev) became a hit. The film is watched by Russian cosmonauts before most space launches as a good luck ritual.

• Krakatit (Otakar Vávra, 1948, Czechoslovakia)

Krakatit is a 1948 Czechoslovak science fiction mystery film directed by Otakar Vávra, starring Karel Höger as a chemist who suffers from delirium and regret after inventing a powerful explosive. The film is based on Karel Čapek's novel with the same title, written in 1922. The name is derived from the volcano Krakatoa, which violently erupted in 1883.

• Song of the Miraculous Hind (Marcell Jankovics, 2002, Hungary)

Song of the Miraculous Hind (Hungarian: Ének a csodaszarvasról) is a 2002 Hungarian animated mythological and historical film directed by Marcell Jankovics. It tells the story of the Hungarian people, from the creation of the first humans to the time of Prince Géza, when the nation was Christianized. The narrative is told in four sections, each focusing on a different era.

• Hair High (Bill Plympton, 2004, US)

Hair High is a 2004 American adult animated horror romantic comedy film by American filmmaker Bill Plympton. The film is a spoof of late-1950s and early-1960s high school films.

• Dead Mountaineer's Hotel (Grigori Kromanov, 1979, Estonia)

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel (Estonian: "Hukkunud Alpinisti" hotell, Russian: Отель "У погибшего альпиниста") is a 1979 Soviet era Estonian film directed by Grigori Kromanov and based on the 1970 novel Dead Mountaineer's Hotel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, who also wrote the screenplay.

• DEFA Fairytales - titles as yet unspecified

• Black Rabbit, White Rabbit (Shahram Mokri, 2025, Tajikistan) - 4K UHD + Blu-ray

Black Rabbit, White Rabbit (Tajik: Харгӯши сиёҳ, харгӯши сафед) is a 2025 mystery drama film co-written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri. Starring Babak Karimi, Hasti Mohammai and Kibriyo Dilyobova, it follows three destinies intertwined through apparently unrelated events.

• Legend of the Sacred Stone (Huang Chiang-hua, 2000, Taiwan)

The Legend of the Sacred Stone (聖石傳說) is a 2000 Taiwanese glove puppetry feature film written and directed by Huang Chiang-hua (黃強華). A spin-off from the Pili television series, it reflects the traditional Taiwanese style of glove puppetry known as budaixi, supplemented with computer-generated imagery.

• Toomorrow (Val Guest, 1970, UK)

Toomorrow is a 1970 British science fiction musical film directed and written by Val Guest and starring Olivia Newton-John.

• Hoffmaniada (Stanislav Sokolov, 2018, Russia)

Hoffmaniada (Russian: Гофманиа́да, romanized: Gofmaniáda) is a 2018 Russian stop motion-animated feature film from Soyuzmultfilm. The film is one of the first full-length puppet animated film in the recent history of the animation studio. The screenplay incorporates story lines and characters from the work of E. T. A. Hoffmann (Little Zaches Called Cinnabar, The Golden Pot and The Sandman), with the main character being Hoffmann himself. In particular, it focuses on the duality between the imaginative universe of his writings and his real-life profession as a government clerk (based on his letters and journals).

Astounding! I really love their curation. Thanks for updating those capsules. That subscription is looking very tempting now.

Agreed they definitely have the coolest selection of any label. Every single title I haven’t seen from them even seems like a great blind buy.

I really hope they’re leading up to Plympton’s complete shorts or even his very fun live action comedy western Guns on the Glockamas

A bit disappointed not to see Chronopolis in that slate after all! Is there still any reason to think they might be bringing that out down the track?

spectre wrote: Sun Dec 14, 2025 3:26 pm A bit disappointed not to see Chronopolis in that slate after all! Is there still any reason to think they might be bringing that out down the track?

The main piece of evidence comes from the fact that Dennis Bartok posted a still of Chronopolis with the caption “If you know it, you know it” before @ing Deaf Crocodile which seems like pretty sizable evidence that it is indeed coming soon (possibly in the latter half of 2026).

I've watched a couple of the Aleksandr Ptushko films on streaming, and it's made me curious what the reputation of his films in Russia and former Soviet countries is like. Were these films perennial entertainments that would get regularly shown on TV in the '70s and '80s like The Wizard of Oz or the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials, pre-cable TV, used to be broadcast once a year in the US? Or did they become relics of their time with their popularity revived later, like George Pal or Ray Harryhausen films? Would the Russian equivalent of a Millenial or Zoomer be familiar with these?

My impression from the children of Russian emigres, so take some salt, is that he and Gaidai still have a lot of popularity and cultural cache very much in the Wizard of Oz vein, or maybe Willie Wonka is a more accurate comparison.

Matt wrote: Tue Dec 23, 2025 1:52 am I've watched a couple of the Aleksandr Ptushko films on streaming, and it's made me curious what the reputation of his films in Russia and former Soviet countries is like. Were these films perennial entertainments that would get regularly shown on TV in the '70s and '80s like The Wizard of Oz or the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials, pre-cable TV, used to be broadcast once a year in the US? Or did they become relics of their time with their popularity revived later, like George Pal or Ray Harryhausen films? Would the Russian equivalent of a Millenial or Zoomer be familiar with these?

I can’t entirely speak on this for everyone but as a Zoomer myself I can attest that I was a sizable portion of Ptushko’s works during my youth and this was no doubt true for a lot of other Russian kids alongside the fact that growing with the expressed knowledge that works like Ilya Muromets and especially A Tale of Lost Time were very beloved stepping stones for most children from former Soviet nations. However I’m pretty sure (someone please factcheck me on this) that Aleksandr Rou is the more popular fantasy filmmaker amongst Soviet audiences, if only because of the legacy of works like Father Frost.

How would these compare to Atamanov's Snow Queen (1957)?

Michael Kerpan wrote: Tue Dec 23, 2025 8:34 pm How would these compare to Atamanov's Snow Queen (1957)?

Popularity-wise, Ptushko and Atamanov’s The Snow Queen are both roughly on equal levels of popularity with a slight edge given to Ptushko’s work. If Atamanov is beloved for anything on an equal status, it would definitely be his series called A Kitten Named Woof with his other works not being as popular and certainly not the touchstone of The Snow Queen.
Movie-wise, it’s been a while since I saw either The Snow Queen or the Ptushkos released by the Croc but I do recall the Ptushkos being a lot more family friendly and patriotic than Atamanov’s film although both are equally stunning to look at and both are clearly the result of decades of experience from the crew.

For Canadians, Unobstructed View has the standard edition of the Norstein set for pre-order for $26 (+$6 shipping)

Has anybody's Norstein set shipped? Heard nothing from Orbit yet, though mine was in an order with another item not yet released.

andyli wrote: Sun Jan 11, 2026 3:19 am Has anybody's Norstein set shipped? Heard nothing from Orbit yet, though mine was in an order with another item not yet released.

Per the Discord:

3xTulio is expected to arrive 1/16 and Norstein a few days later. We'll be shipping them out as quickly as possible.

I've been regularly Googling for reviews (being a feelthy foreigner and therefore unable to subscribe, I'm not on the Discord), but then it occurred to me that reviewers would most likely get their copies at the same time that my contributor copy turned up—and it hasn't yet.

I'm champing at the bit to watch these properly; my commentaries were recorded to ungraded scans, with all that that implies.

With the annoucement of Dead Mountaineer's Hotel being part of Berlinale Classics this year, Deaf Crocodile confirmed their release will be out in March.

Deaf Crocodile and the @estonianfilminstitute will be releasing the new 4K restoration of DEAD MOUNTAINEER'S HOTEL in late March for the first time ever on 4K UHD + Blu-ray. Pre-sales will begin for this special Deluxe Edition on Feb. 20th.

It’s technically not officially announced but Deaf Crocodile via their Instagram have hinted that they will be releasing the underrated Danish Twilight Zone riff ‘The Man Who Thought Life’, a title I’ve been requested on and off for roughly 2-3 years now and one that I have the honor of saying I’ve officially written an introduction for in their booklet (which will be my first professional piece of writing for any boutique label).