Ein weiterer Film zum 80. Jubiläum der Ealing Studios erscheint am 5. September 2011 mit Robert Hamers wunderbarere Komödie “Adel verpflichtet / Kind Hearts and Coronets” [GB 1949], in der Alec Guinness gleich acht Rollen übernimmt. Optimum veröffentlicht den Film in einer digital restaurierten Fassung auf Blu-ray und DVD. In den USA ist der Film bei Criterion erhältlich, bisher allerdings nur auf DVD.
KIND HEARTS & CORONETS (1949)
Directed by Robert Hamer
Written by Robert Hamer & John Dighton – Based on the novel by Roy Horniman
Starring Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, Valerie Hobson & Joan Greenwood
Produced by Michael Balcon, Cinematography by Douglas Slocombe
Perhaps the most perfect of all the Golden-Age Ealing comedies, Kind Hearts and Coronets famously featured Alec Guinness in eight different roles as the unsuspecting members of the aristocratic D’Ascoyne family – bumped off one by one by the scheming, outcast cousin of the family: Louis Mazzini. Mazzini’s mother was a D’Ascoyne by birth, but she ran away with an opera singer and was ostracized by her family as a result. When her dying wish to be buried in the family crypt is refused, Louis vows to get his revenge. As he ascends the social ranks, he is torn between his love for now-married childhood sweetheart, and equally devilish Sibella (Joan Greenwood), and the saintly wife of one of his victims, Edith D’Ascoyne (Valerie Hobson).
Dennis Price’s stunning performance as the ambitious Louis has always been somewhat overshadowed by Guinness, so sit back and admire anew the coolly detached relish with which he dispatches the eight relatives standing between himself, the Dukedom, and revenge. The film featured stunning and inventive cinematography by Douglas Slocombe, and a groundbreaking first-person narrative that, legend has it, inspired Scorsese to make use of the same device in Goodfellas.
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 5th September 2011.
Extras:
- Audio Commentary with Peter Bradshaw, Terence Davies & Matthew Guinness
- John Landis Introduction
- Dennis Price: Those British Faces
- BBC Radio 3 Essay
- Alternative American Ending
- Restoration Comparison
- Behind the Scenes
- Stills Gallery
- Excerpt from BECTU Interview with Douglas Slocombe
- Trailer
DVD tech specs: Cert: U / Region 2 / Total Running Time: 80 mins approx / B&W PAL / Feature Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 / Feature Audio: Mono 2.0 / English Language / Catalogue No: OPTD1792 / RRP: £15.99
Blu-ray tech specs: Cert: U / Region B / Total Running Time: 80 mins approx / B&W PAL / Feature Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 / Video: BD50 / AVC / 24p / Feature Audio: Mono 2.0 / Audio Codec: PCM / English Language / Catalogue No: OPTBD1792 / RRP: £19.99
Kind Hearts and Coronets was scanned in 2K definition on a Northlight 2 Film Scanner from the original 35mm negative elements and restored in High Definition. The picture was restored using Film Master D.V.O restoration tools and PFClean software systems, removing dirt, scratches, warps, torn or replacing torn or missing frames and improving stability issues. The sound was also improved, with instances of pops, clicks, hiss and distortion minimised or removed.
