We’ve got some great new release news for you today folks, as we’ve been told that Eureka Entertainment is to release the 1954 classic The Barefoot Contessa, an extravagant display of directorial prowess from Written and Directed by Oscar Award Winning Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Guys & Dolls, Cleopatra, All About Eve) and starring Stars Oscar Winning Actor Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen) and Oscar Nominated Actress Ava Gardner (Showboat, The Killers, Mogambo), for the first in the UK on Blu-ray in a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition as part of The Masters of Cinema Series.
The Barefoot Contessa – Humphrey Bogart (Eureka Entertainment)
A high point in the already success-laden career of writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and one of the most glamorous and extravagant films from Hollywood’s Golden Age, The Barefoot Contessa is a tragic drama about the tumultuous rise and fall of fictional Hollywood actress Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner).
The Barefoot Contessa – Ava Gardner (Eureka Entertainment)
Humphrey Bogart plays down on his luck writer and director Harry Dawes, reduced to working for an egotistical and abusive producer, Kirk Edwards (Warren Stevens). Whilst scouting for the female lead in his new movie, Dawes meets the beautiful and charismatic Maria Vargas, a barefooted flamenco dancer, in a Madrid nightclub and convinces her to star in his movie. Maria is an overnight sensation, but cannot find satisfaction in the shallow world of Hollywood, and the men in her life who treat her as nothing more than a commodity.
Also featuring Edmund O’Brien in an Oscar-winning role as a duplicitous publicist, and featuring cinematography from the legendary Jack Cardiff, The Barefoot Contessa was a massive success upon release, and The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film in a special Dual Format edition, that includes the film on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.
The Barefoot Contessa (Masters of Cinema) New & Exclusive Trailer
This special Dual-format release of The Barefoot Contessa features
- 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray, with a progressive, encode on the DVD
- Optional 5.1 and uncompressed LPCM dual mono soundtracks
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Audio commentary by film historians Julie Kirgo and David Del Valle
- Original theatrical trailer
- A collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Farren Smith Nehme; and rare archival material
This is certainly a release that classic movie fans will want in their collection, The New York Times said about the movie, “Caustic and cynical report on the glittering and graceless behaviour of the Hollywood-international set“.
The Barefoot Contessa is released as a Dual-Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition on 12 March 2018.
The Barefoot Contessa – Bogart and Gardner (Eureka Entertainment)
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
