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MOVIE FEATURE

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April brings a fourth collection of film noir classics, a magic carpet ride to exotic adventure, and a 'lost' 1970s horror flick arrives on Blu-ray. Words Scott Hocking

TALES OFADVENTURE: COLLECTION 1 (1942–1957) Take a magic carpet ride through deserts, palaces, romance and fantasy in these five exotic adventures from a bygone era – presented in glorious Technicolor

with a wealth of bonus features. The classic Arabian Nights (1942) sees two brothers competing for the Arabian throne and the love of a dancing girl, then it's off to Persia in The Desert Hawk (1950), where a swashbuckling outlaw (Richard Greene) opposes a tyrannical ruler to wed a princess (Yvonne De Carlo). Get ready for "Pillage, Plunder, and Passion" in Zarak (1956), starring Victor Mature as the titular exile who leads a band of outlaws against the British Empire on the India-Afghanistan border. A Thousand and One Nights (1945) is a parody of the Aladdin tale that sees Cornel Wilde's Aladdin enlisting the help of the genie to win the heart of a sultan's daughter, and also features Phil Silvers singing a Frank Sinatra number! The final adventure in the collection, Omar Khayyam (1957), returns to Persia, where the eponymous poet (Cornel Wilde) must protect the Shah from a sect of assassins.

The Enforcer (1951)

ESSENTIAL FILM NOIR: COLLECTION 4 (1949–1953) This limited 4-disc Hardbox Edition of film noir classics kicks off with Rope of Sand (1949), which reunites Casablanca stars Paul Heinreid, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains, alongside Burt Lancaster as a diamond hunter who clashes with a sadistic police commandant (Heinreid) in South Africa. Appointment with Danger (1950) stars Alan Ladd (in his final film noir) as a US postal inspector investigating the murder of a co-worker, while hardboiled crime thriller The Enforcer (1951) is based on the Murder, Inc. trials and features Humphrey Bogart as a DA determined to bring down a mob boss. Ida Lupino plays a widow who is terrorised by a psychotic handyman (Robert Ryan) in Beware My Lovely (1952), which makes its worldwide Blu-ray debut in this set. Lupino also headlines the last film in the collection, Jennifer (1953), as the new caretaker of a vacant estate who is determined to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of her predecessor. Extras across all four films in this collection include new expert audio commentaries, interviews, featurettes, and trailers.

THE HAUNTING OF JULIA (1977) A title on many horror fans' wishlists, this 'long lost' ghost story finally makes its Blu-ray debut from a new 4K scan. This deluxe limited edition is packaged in a lenticular hard slipcase and includes the

original soundtrack newly remastered on CD, and a collectors' booklet. Based on the novel Julia by Peter Straub, this atmospheric adaptation stars Mia Farrow as a grieving mother who is convinced that the spirit of her late daughter is haunting her new London home. Extras include new audio commentaries, video interviews, and a video essay.

• The new Imprint range is out on April 26 for a limited time only, while stocks last.

22 APRIL 2023

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