Indicator's March Slate Has Folk Legends, Ozploitation And Insanity!

We maybe counting the days until Christmas and the new year, Indicator are already to bring a ‘chill’ to next Easter. March 2022 will be a month of Mexican folk legends, Ozploitation And Insanity!

Two early Mexican horror pictures and a pair of offbeat westerns all set for a 21st March 2022 release date, all to be released in both the UK and the US/Canada.

While Universal Studios was making its classic versions of Dracula and Frankenstein, Ramón Peón and Fernando de Fuentes were each busy directing the first two horror films to be made with sound in Mexico. These atmospheric chillers, which await the wider audience they richly deserve,

Based on the Hispanic folk legend that has inspired many subsequent chillers, LA LLORONA (1933) remains the finest screen interpretation of the disturbing tale of the ‘weeping woman’. Newly restored from rare surviving film materials, this genre-film delight makes its worldwide debut on Blu-ray.

Lovingly restored as part of the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, and also making its worldwide Blu-ray debut, THE PHANTOM OF THE MONASTERY (El fantasma del convento, 1933) is the perfect complement to La llorona‘s chills, featuring – as it does – the undead, a book of blood, and insanity!

Budd Boetticher’s A TIME FOR DYING (1969). The great director’s final foray into the western, this elegiac look at the Old West and its violence prefigures Don Siegel’s classic The Shootist. Beset by production and distribution issues, this powerful film reaches Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world in a glowing new restoration.

Taking the western to Australia, Philippe Mora’s MAD DOG MORGAN (1976) tells the true story of infamous bushranger and outlaw Dan Morgan. This Ozploitation classic features a wild-eyed performance from the legendary Dennis Hopper, and is presented in a brand-new restoration , along with extensive bonus content, a poster, and an 80-page book.

LA LLORONA HORROR, MYSTERY

An early horror classic drawn from Mexico’s rich tradition of folklore, La Llorona recounts the chilling tale of the ‘wailing woman’ who kills herself and her child before returning to haunt the living.

Expressionistic, lyrical and atmospheric, Ramón Peón’s film draws on the influence of Universal Pictures’ contemporaneous horror cycle and incorporates elements of period melodrama and romance. This landmark production in the evolution of Mexican cinema has been newly restored from the only surviving film elements, and is presented here with a selection of essential extras.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

New restoration from the only surviving film element
Original mono audio
La llorona: Behind the Scenes (2021): documentary by Viviana García Besné, the producer’s great granddaughter, relaying a personal history of the film
Video appreciation by Abraham Castillo Flores, head programmer of Mexico’s Morbido Fest (2022)
Optional English subtitles
Limited edition exclusive booklet featuring a new essay by Emily Masincup, Peter Conheim on the restoration process, new and archival writing on the film, and an overview of contemporary critical responses
World premiere on Blu-ray
Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)

THE PHANTOM OF THE MONASTERY HORROR, DRAMA

Made in the wake of La llorona’s success and directed with flair by Fernando de Fuentes (regarded as one of the masters of early Mexican cinema), The Phantom of the Monastery (El fantasma del convento) tells the macabre tale of a troupe of hikers who become lost in a forest and take refuge in a haunted monastery. There, they encounter shape-shifting shadows, ominous sealed doorways, and a cellar crowded with coffins…

An expressionistic Gothic triumph which has tragically languished in obscurity outside of Mexico, The Phantom of the Monastery has now been lovingly restored and is presented on Blu-ray at long last in a world debut edition, along with a selection of illuminating extras.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

New 4K restoration from the original negative by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in collaboration with the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project
Original mono audio
Video appreciation by Abraham Castillo Flores, head programmer of Mexico’s Morbido Fest (2022)
Optional English subtitles
Limited edition exclusive booklet featuring a new essay by Maricruz Castro Ricalde, an archival piece by screenwriter Juan Bustillo Oro, archival articles on the film’s production and promotion, an overview of the restoration process, and an overview of contemporary critical responses
World premiere on Blu-ray
Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)

A TIME FOR DYING WESTERN

The final western from one of the genre’s greatest directors, Budd Boetticher (Ride Lonesome), and the last screen appearance of war hero-turned-movie star Audie Murphy (To Hell and Back), A Time for Dying is an offbeat, elegiac look at the Old West, prefiguring Don Siegel’s classic western, and John Wayne’s final picture, The Shootist.

Richard Lapp stars as a young man with fine shooting skills who crosses paths with real-life figures, such as Jesse James (played by Murphy) and Judge Roy Bean (Victor Jory), only to discover the true violence of the West.

Beset by post-production and distribution problems, A Time for Dying is overdue the recognition it deserves. This world Blu-ray debut, featuring an all-new restoration and a host of insightful extras, will finally enable the film to find its rightful audience.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

New restoration from a 2K scan of the original negative by Powerhouse Films
Original mono audio
Audio commentary with western experts C Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke (2022)
Appreciation by filmmaker and author Christopher Petit (2022)
Just Like Jesse James (2022): Kim Newman, author of Wild West Movies, discusses the many film portrayals of the famed outlaw
New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Paul Duane, archival interviews with Budd Boetticher and Audie Murphy, and film credits
World premiere on Blu-ray
Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)

MAD DOG MORGAN CRIME, WESTERN

Based on the true story of Dan Morgan – the infamous Australian outlaw once described as ‘the most bloodthirsty ruffian that ever took to the bush’ – Mad Dog Morgan provides the perfect showcase for the unique star quality of Dennis Hopper (Night Tide, The Last Movie).

After witnessing a bloody massacre of Chinese workers on Australia’s goldfields, Morgan turns to a life of crime, becoming a bushranger and the scourge of the vicious authorities – and, ultimately, a local legend – leaving a bloody legacy in his wake.

Nominated for two Australian Film Institute Awards, including one for director Philippe Mora (The Beast Within), Mad Dog Morgan is a brutal and uncompromising slice of Ozploitation.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

New restoration from a 4K scan of the interpositive by Powerhouse Films
Two presentations of the film: Mad Dog Morgan, the 103-minute director’s cut; and Mad Dog, the 95-minute UK theatrical version
Original mono audio
Audio commentary with writer-director Philippe Mora and film critic Jake Wilson (2019)
Audio commentary with writer-director Philippe Mora (2009)
To Shoot a Mad Dog (1976): behind-the-scenes documentary, produced and directed by David Elfick, and featuring extensive interview footage with actor Dennis Hopper
Hopping Mad (2019): Mora reflects on the making of Mad Dog Morgan
That’s Our Mad Dog: A Conversation with Dennis Hopper (2009): retrospective interview with the legendary actor, conducted by Mora
‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interview Excerpts (2008): over an hour of outtakes from Mark Hartley’s acclaimed documentary on Australia cinema, featuring Mora, producer Jeremy Thomas, camera operator John Seale, and actors Jack Thompson, Roger Ward and Graeme Blundell
Mad Country: Shooting Locations Revisited (2019) with optional audio commentary by Mora
Original theatrical trailer
Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Tara Judah, Philippe Mora’s pre-production notes on Mad Dog Morgan, archival interview with Mora and producer Jeremy Thomas, Mora on the making of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
Limited edition exclusive poster
UK premiere on Blu-ray
Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)