Eureka Entertainment brings Paul Leni’s 1927 The Cat and The Canary to Blu-ray for the first time on April 23, allowing the pre-code silent horror film to be experienced by a whole new generation of fans.
The Cat and the Canary (part of Eureka’s Masters of Cinema brand) established the “old dark house” story tropes, and heavily influenced the look and feel of the original Universal Horror films.
The blend of horror and comedy (that would become synonymous with James Whale’s work, who later produced a tribute to Leni’s film in Universal’s The Old Dark House) involves the reading of a will in a dilapidated mansion and a series of strange and horrifying events.
The 4K restoration of the original negative (courtesy of MoMA) also includes a number of special features and bonus materials such as a score by Robert Israel, compiled, synchronized and edited by Gillian B. Anderson, based on music cue sheets compiled and issued for the original 1927 release.
Other features certain to please any classic film buff on The Cat and the Canary Blu-ray consists of two brand new audio commentaries by author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman and Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby, Mysteries Mean Dark Corners (a brand new video essay by David Cairns & Fiona Watson), Pamela Hutchinson on The Cat and the Canary (a brand new interview with writer and film critic Pamela Hutchinson), Phuong Le on The Cat and the Canary (a brand new interview with film critic Phuong Le), A Very Eccentric Man & Yeah, a Cat! (extracts from John Willard’s original play), and an add for Lucky Strike cigarettes featuring the director.
The first print run of 2000 copies will include a limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys and a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Richard Combs, Craig Ian Mann, and Imogen Sara Smith.
Check out some of Humphrey’s artwork below and stay tuned to Conskipper for all of your classic horror needs.
