An extended, uncensored cut of The Masque of the Red Death upgrades to 4K in January with cinema, Digital, DVD and Blu-ray releases
12/01/2020StudioCanal will release the extended cut of Roger Corman’s iconic horror film The Masque of the Red Death, restored in 4K by Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation and The Academy with funding from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. The cult favourite stars Vincent Price, alongside a supporting cast including Jane Asher, Hazel Court, David Weston and Nigel Green and is based on the gothic fiction tale The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy by Edgar Allan Poe. The Masque of the Red Death is considered one of Roger Corman’s most distinctive works and an all-time horror classic.
Unseen by audiences until it premiered at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival in 2019, the meticulous 4K restoration brings back to life the cinematography of Nicolas Roeg, the use of colours were thought to influence his love of similar tones in his subsequent directing work. The new version of the film reinstates a number of censored scenes which were cut from the original 1964 release.
The new DVD/ Blu-Ray includes both the restored extended cut and the theatrical cut, a 20-page booklet with a new essay from The Academy’s film preservationist Tessa Idlewine and 4 art cards from the restoration. There is also a host of special features including a brand new interview with Keith M. Johnston, a lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of East Anglia University which explores the topics of colour and censorship; a brand new commentary with film critic and author Kim Newman and filmmaker Sean Hogan; and a conversation between Roger Corman and film critic Kim Newman which was filmed in 2013 as part of the BFI’s Gothic Season.
The Masque of the Red Death will be available to own on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital on January 25, 2021. Special screenings of the film will also be announced closer to release.
Special Features:
- New: Colour and Censorship in The Masque of the Red Death: Interview with Professor Keith Johnston
- New: Audio Commentary with Kim Newman and Sean Hogan
- Roger Corman: In Conversation with Kim Newman at the BFI
- Behind the scenes stills gallery
- Booklet written film preservationist at The Academy Tessa Idlewine
- Art cards