STUDIOCANAL is thrilled to announce a brand new 4k restoration of British anti-war classic KING AND COUNTRY (1964) from esteemed American director Joseph Losey (THE SERVANT), available in time for Remembrance Day on Blu-Ray & Digital for the first time ever in the UK, plus a new DVD on 6th November, through the Vintage Classics brand. The new restoration of KING AND COUNTRY recently premiered at Venice Film Festival to great acclaim.
Returning for another stellar collaboration with director Joseph Losey is revered British actor Dirk Bogarde (THE SERVANT), seen here as Captain Hargreaves, a tough army lawyer assigned to defend army volunteer-turned-deserter Private Hamp, played by the brilliant Tom Courtenay (BILLY LIAR), whose remarkable performance earned him Best Actor at the 1964 Venice Film Festival Awards alongside a BAFTA nomination. Leo McKern (THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE) and Barry Foster (TWISTED NERVE) also star.
Set during WWI, KING AND COUNTRY is an emotionally powerful film that explores the effects of war on the human psyche. Based on the John Wilson play Hamp which itself originated from the 1955 novel Return To The Wood by James Lansdale Hodson, the film marked the third of multiple director-actor collaborations between Losey and Bogarde, which also included 1954 thriller THE SLEEPING TIGER, the ground-breaking 1963 drama THE SERVANT and ACCIDENT (1967), also now available from the Vintage Classics collection.
Produced from the original camera negative held at the BFI, the stunning new restoration will also include a brand new interview with Tom Courtenay alongside an archive interview with Dirk Bogarde and a gallery of ‘Behind the Scenes’ film stills.
Pre-order your copy of KING AND COUNTRY on Blu-Ray or DVD now.
SYNOPSIS:
During World War I, a young soldier, Hamp (Courtenay) deserts his post, attempting to escape the relentless guns and mud and walk home. Captain Hargreaves (Bogarde), an aristocratic British Army lawyer, must defend Hamp before the army tribunal, for whom the crime of desertion carries the threat of execution. Initially, Hargreaves approaches Hamp’s case with disdain; however, upon learning that Hamp volunteered for duty on a dare, that he is the sole survivor of his unit and that his wife has been unfaithful in his absence, his efforts on Hamp’s behalf become more impassioned and earnest. In the face of cold army bureaucracy, Hargreaves’s arguments fall on deaf ears as Hamp becomes a victim of morale-boosting on the eve of the troop’s deployment into an impending bloody battle.
Special Features
· New Tom Courtenay on King & Country
· Archive Interview with Dirk Bogarde (1964)
· Behind the Scenes stills gallery
© 1964 British Home Entertainment Plc
87 mins approx (Blu-Ray) / 83 mins approx (DVD)
English Language/ Cert: 12 / Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired
ABOUT VINTAGE CLASSICS FROM STUDIOCANAL
The stunning roster of incomparable VINTAGE CLASSICS titles includes outstanding thrillers, heart-rending masterworks, horror favourites, war dramas, Ealing comedies, and plenty of lesser-known gems.
The collection boasts some of the greatest and beloved stars of British cinema including Alec Guinness, John Mills, Dirk Bogarde, Diana Dors, Richard Attenborough, Julie Christie, Hayley Mills and Jenny Agutter, directed by auteurs such as David Lynch, John Schlesinger, Carol Reed, Roger Corman, Nic Roeg and Joseph Losey.
2023’s slate saw the addition of The Wicker Man (1973) and Richard Lester’s swash-bucklers The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) all in 4k, three titles by the incomparable Muriel Box: The Passionate Stranger (1957), The Truth About Women (1957) and Rattle of A Simple Man (1964), Losey and Bogarde together for the heart-breaking anti-war film King & Country (1964), and a brand new 4k restoration of Zoltan Korda’s seminal adaptation of Cry, the Beloved Country (1952).
Coming to the brand in 2024 are Michael Powell’s horror masterpiece Peeping Tom (1960), Powell & Pressburger’s The Small Back Room (1949) and Oh Rosalinda…!! (1955), Jack Clayton’s Room at the Top (1958), and many more!
ABOUT STUDIOCANAL (A CANAL+ Company)
STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+ Group held by Vivendi, is Europe’s leader in production, distribution and international sales of feature films and series, operating in all nine major European markets – France, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Spain, Denmark and Benelux – as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
It finances and produces around 30 films per year, distributes around 80 films per year. It owns the largest library in Europe and one of the most prestigious libraries in the world, boasting more than 8 000 titles from 60 countries, spanning 100 years of film history. 20 million euros has been invested into the restoration of 750 classic films over the past 5 years. In addition, STUDIOCANAL also produces almost 20 series each year and operates at an international level by globally distributing its scripted productions and CANAL+ Originals (2,000 hours of current and library content in distribution).
All productions take place directly through STUDIOCANAL entities or with its award-winning network of European production companies (STUDIOCANAL Series, LAILAPS FILMS, RED PRODUCTION COMPANY, URBAN MYTH FILMS, BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES, STUDIOCANAL ORIGINAL, 2e BUREAU, SUNNYMARCH TV, SAM Productions, DINGIE/DUTCH FILMWORKS, KINO SWIAT, BIRDIE PICTURES).
