Strongroom (1962) & The Man in the Back Seat (1961)

 

The cover of this new BFI release (out soon on Blu-ray, Apple TV, Amazon Prime and - in a bit - on BFI Player) may only mention STRONGROOM (newly remastered in 2K) but be assured that as a bonus you also get another superb Vernon Sewell-directed thriller THE MAN IN THE BACK SEAT as well. So let’s take a look at both.

STRONGROOM is a seriously decent little 79 minute B picture about a bank job gone wrong, resulting in the bank manager and his secretary being trapped in the vault. The robbers concoct a plan to free them but then the only one able to do it is almost immediately killed in a car accident. Should the others go back and risk being caught? Or leave the prisoners there to die and risk being caught and hanged? 

        The leads (Derren Nesbitt, Colin Gordon and Ann Lynn) are all very good but the best bit is the writing, which quickly starts piling disaster upon disaster in such a breathless way that by the time the baddies are loading their van with oxy-acetylene equipment and the police are hot on their trail all you're wondering is if the two stuck in the vault might actually die. You’ll have to watch the film to find out.

THE MAN IN THE BACK SEAT was made before STRONGROOM and also features Derren Nesbitt and Keith Faulkner, who got on so well with Vernon Sewell that he cast them in STRONGROOM the following year. They are two crooks who plan to steal the takings from a greyhound racetrack. The only problem is the bag is handcuffed to the man they beat senseless to get it. How to remove it? First they have to get him to a place where they can do it, which is how he ends up as the title character. This is great, tense stuff that by the end transcends the crime genre into something approaching pure horror, and the film is one of the best of a series of Leslie Parkyn - Julian Wintle crime pictures made at Beaconsfield Studios in the early 1960s.

Extras on the BFI’s Blu-ray include a new commentary track from Josephine Botting and Vic Pratt on STRONGROOM and another from them on MAN IN THE BACK SEAT, a two part audio interview with editor John Trumper that's spread over two tracks on STRONGROOM, Footpads - a one minute British crime film from 1896 (!), Donovan Winter’s 1957 heist short THE AWAKENING HOUR (21 minutes) and a couple of public information films - AFTER DARK (14 minutes) from 1979 about road safety and A TEST FOR LOVE from 1937 (27 minutes) which is about the perils of STDs and is on here because it was directed by Vernon Sewell. The first pressing of the disc also includes a booklet with new writing on the film from James Bell, Barry Forshaw and Tony Dykes.

STRONGROOM and THE MAN IN THE BACK SEAT are coming out from the BFI on Blu-ray, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime on Monday 23rd February 2026 and on BFI Player on Monday 23rd March 2026

Anaconda (2025)

After its release in UK cinemas at the end of last year. Sony’s novel, metatextual reboot of its 1997 Luis Llosa-directed Jennifer Lopez and Jon Voight-starring ANACONDA is now available on digital platforms from Sony.

Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd) were childhood friends who dreamed of going to Hollywood and making movies, to the extent that they made their own monster opus ‘The Quatch’. While Griff went to LA and ended up as an actor in minor roles (“four episodes of SWAT”) Doug stayed at home where he became a wedding videographer, although he insists what he makes are “short films”.

It’s Doug’s birthday and as well as a VHS cassette of the long thought lost ‘The Quatch’ Griff has a proposal for him: Griff has recently acquired the rights to the film ANACONDA and wanted Doug to direct an ultra low budget remake in the Amazon with friends Claire (Thandiwe Newton) and Kenny (Steve Zahn). Despite getting a bank loan that’s even smaller than the minimal budget required off they go to the jungle where they meet up with a snake handler and his pet anaconda before travelling up the Amazon to make their magnum opus. But a number of surprises await them, not least that fact that Sony themselves are in the middle of making their own reboot. 

The basic idea behind ANACONDA 2025 is sound, the stars are appealing, and there are a number of in-jokes and a couple of laugh out loud moments. Overall, though, it feels a bit forced and just isn’t terribly funny, especially when you consider the talents involved. That said there are cameos to make you smile and a big explosive ending with an enormous CGI snake. If you want something to just pass the time this will do the trick if you’re not too demanding. 

At this point I would normally post a trailer but Sony have done another of their food tie-ins so instead I’ll leave you to decide if you want to watch the film and / or enjoy the Chicken Shop Big Bite meal, serving in restaurants across London:

ANACONDA is now available on Digital platforms from Sony 

Excalibur 4K (1981)

 

“Impressive, Definitive, Essential”

John Boorman’s unique, stunning retelling of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is getting a 4K restoration release as part of a three disc set from Arrow Films.

There’s nothing quite like EXCALIBUR, a film that took a markedly different approach to the King Arthur movies that both preceded and followed it, emphasising the mythic aspects and deliberately setting it ‘out of time’ (to use Boorman’s words) rather than giving it a traditional medieval setting. The film boasts a glorious, otherworldly look (thanks to both Boorman and DP Alex Thomson) and has a cast that does the subject matter justice, playing up the dramatic while never descending into pulp parody. 

It’s by no means a perfect film. At 140 minutes it’s a bit too long and it does have a tendency to be a bit overly pompous at times (two things that spoiled its chances at the box office in 1981), but considering this is essentially the unique vision of one man, John Boorman can be forgiven for not getting it exactly right, and for not catering to the mainstream too much.

So what’s on Arrow’s set? Disc One has the film in 4K and in the correct aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Of course, being clearer means you can see the grain a lot more so some may wish to hang onto their Blu-ray copies for nostalgia’s sake. We get the previously released archival commentary from the director, plus two new ones. The first is from Brian Hoyle, author of The Cinema of John Boorman, and he very sensibly does his best not to repeat what the director says on his own commentary. Second is film-maker David Kittredge who at the time of recording was completing his documentary Boorman and the Devil and who talks more about how the film fits into Boorman’s oeuvre as a whole. 

Disc Two is a veritable treasure trove of excellent extras, starting with Neil Jordan’s 48 minute 1981 Making Of which has only been rarely seen previously. Boorman himself takes us through the film-making process and there are interviews with stars Nicol Williamson, Cherie Lunghi, Nicholas Clay, Paul Geoffrey and Helen Mirren, as well as DP Alex Thomson, choreographer Anthony Van Laast and armorer Terry English.

New extras include interviews with John Boorman and his son Charley (28 minutes), Neil Jordan (25 minutes), and art director Anthony Pratt (26 minutes). Howard S Berger provides us with a massive, career-encompassing interview with second unit director Peter MacDonald (75 minutes) and returns with his Flying Maciste brother Kevin Marr for a 30 minute looks at ‘The Death and Life of Cinematic Illusion’ in Boorman’s cinema. There’s also an excellent visual essay / interview about Boorman’s writing collaborators including Alexander Jacobs and Bill Stair but concentrating mainly on Rospo Pallenberg who gets to talk at length (38 minutes). Finally for disc two you get trailers and a still gallery, which includes the original screenplay by Pallenberg and Boorman. 

Disc Three opens with the ‘TV Version’, which will be something of a curio for UK viewers who got to experience EXCALIBUR in all its uncut glory when it premiered on Channel 4 back in the day. Apparently this is the version shown on US TV (aha!) and is twenty minutes shorter to remove ‘controversial content’. It was also the version shown in US schools (aha again!) whereas UK school-kids, made of sterner stuff, got to debate how Uther Pendragon could possibly have sex with Ygraine while wearing all that armour. Also on Disc Three is the 2016 documentary “Excalibur: Behind the Movie” which includes interviews with Liam Neeson, Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne, Nigel Terry, Paul Geoffrey, Cherie Lunghi, Clive Swift and all the Boormans.  Arrow’s set also comes with a perfect-bound book with new writing on  the film, a double-sided poster, a reversible sleeve and six art cards.

John Boorman’s landmark EXCALIBUR is out from Arrow in a limited edition three disc set (one UHD and two Blu-rays) on Monday 23rd February 2026

 

Westworld 4K (1973)

 

Arrow Films are releasing Michael Crichton's WESTWORLD  in a new 4K restoration (that looks excellent) on both UHD and Blu-ray.

Delos is an all-new all-futuristic theme park consisting of three different worlds: Romanworld, Medievalworld and, of course, Westworld. Each provides the guest with a hyper-realistic experience with one key selling point: every 'actor' in each park is actually an android, programmed for the entertainment and pleasure of the guests. Peter (Richard Benjamin) and John (James Brolin) are enjoying a vacation in Westworld when a malfunction turns the androids of all three worlds into killers and they find themselves having to fight their way out, including a relentless duel with a black-clad android gunslinger (Yul Brynner).

Produced pretty cheaply (producer Paul N Lazarus III goes into actually how much in the extras) WESTWORLD did so well for MGM that it saved them from bankruptcy (although this was far from the only time the studio teetered on the edge of having their lion never roar again). Even now, over 50 years later, it's easy to see why it did so well: the combination of a novel science fiction concept combined with the disaster movies that were so popular at the time (with this being a different, more low-key kind of disaster) meant the public flocked to see WESTWORLD. Performances are all top notch but it was Yul Brynner who became the iconic face of the film in much the same way that he had for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN several years before.

New extras on Arrow's 4K disc kick off with an excellent fact-packed commentary from Daniel Kremer. Star Richard Benjamin is interviewed by fan and renowned Hollywood screenwriter Larry Karaszewski (12 minutes) and there's a new interview with Benjamin's costar James Brolin here too (17 minutes). Producer Paul N Lazarus III provides the longest of the new interviews at 34 minutes. Interviewed over Zoom he provides an essential history of the nuts and bolts of how the film got made at MGM.

Archival extras consist of a nine minute location report, and Beyond Westworld, the pilot episode of the short-lived (five episodes) 1980 spinoff TV series starring Jim McMullan and Judith Chapman. If you're expecting more Michael Crichton theme park excitement you're going to be very disappointed. There's also a trailer and an image gallery. Arrow's limited edition also includes a booklet featuring new writing on the film, a double-sided poster, six art cards and a reversible sleeve.

Michael Crichton's WESTWORLD is out from Arrow Films in 4K in both UHD and Blu-ray editions on Monday 23rd February 2026

The Ugly Stepsister 4K (2025)

After a successful run on the streaming service Shudder and appearing on quite a few Best of 2025 lists, Norwegian writer-director Emilie Blichfeldt's rich, heavily gothic retelling of the Cinderella story from a different point of view to that envisioned by Giambattista Basile and afterwards by the Brothers Grimm is getting a 4K UHD and Blu-ray special edition release from Second Sight.

The stepsister of the title is Elvira (Lea Myren) who, along with her sister Alma (Flo Fagerli) ends up having to live with her recently widowed mother Rebekka (Ahe Dahl Torp) and Rebekka's new husband Otto (Ralph Carlsson) and his daughter Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess). Otto soon dies in a cake-throwing incident and it turns our he wasn't as wealthy as the rest of the family had previously thought.

Elvira dreams of marrying a prince but with her radiant beauty Agnes is highly likely to beat her in the courtship game. So Elvira embarks on a series of increasingly desperate measures that include considerable body modification / self-mutilation in an attempt to make her more appealing than her sister. As with the traditional tale, it all comes to a horror-filled climax at a ball and I won't spoil the surprise of what happens.

As gorgeously filmed as the best Italian gothics of the 1960s, Emilie Blichfeldt's film is a must see for any fan of European horror cinema. The director has cited her influences as David Cronenberg (there is a character named Kronenberg in the film) as well as Argento, Fulci and Julia Ducournau and the film certainly bears this out. Of all the strong performances in the film it's Myren who stands out in the lead (at least until she mutilates her foot) offering a compelling sympathetic performance that you cannot help feeling sorry for.

Second Sight's disc comes with two commentary tracks, the first from Blichfeldt with Patrik Syversen and the second from academic Meagan Navarro. There are interviews with Blichfeldt (35 minutes), Myren (19 minutes), Naess (14 minutes) and SFX artist Thomas Foldberg (18 minutes) followed by a very entertaining piece with him on the effects where he demonstrates some of the prosthetics surrounding him during the interview (11 minutes). Kat Hughes provides an 18 minute visual essay, there's a three minute deleted scene and two Blichfeldt short films: How Do You Like My Hair? (10 minutes) and Sara's Intimate Confessions (22 minutes). 

Finally, the limited edition comes with a 120 page book featuring new writing on the film, six art cards and a rigid slipcase. Also worth noting is that the disc does not contain the English dub of the film that is currently available on Shudder.

Emilie Blichfeldt's THE UGLY STEPSISTER in 4K is being released in a limited edition UHD / Blu-ray combo with all the trimmings as well as standard edition UHD and Blu-ray editions on Monday 23rd February 2026

Stolen Face 4K (1952)

The first posh Hammer 4K release on UHD and Blu-ray for 2026 is Terence Fisher's STOLEN FACE, a film that will be fondly remembered by those who caught it on ITV afternoon screenings in the 1980s, or who bought the first UK Blu-ray release of Hammer's THE MUMMY and found it as a nice extra.

Philip Ritter (Paul Henreid) is a brilliant plastic surgeon who 'gives back' to society by correcting the scarred faces of prison inmates in the hope that good looks will prevent them offending again. It's an idea that was a bit daft in Universal's THE RAVEN nearly 30 years previously but the film treats it with an admirable straight face (sorry).

Ritter decides to take a short holiday and at a pub meets concert pianist Alice (Lizbeth Scott). The two fall in love. However Alice is due to be married to David (Andre Morell, always worth watching, even in a thankless role like this) and so she and the doctor cannot be. What's a plastic surgeon with the ability to change faces to do? Well if this was a Jess Franco film he'd find a willing victim and surgically alter their face to resemble the woman he can't have to satisfy his own perverse and vaguely mad desire. It isn't but that's what the film does anyway. Then Alice decides she can't marry David and returns to find Ritter married to her lookalike, who is already beginning to misbehave. Trouble ensues.

As is noted in one of the extras on here, STOLEN FACE pre-dates Hitchcock's VERTIGO and the Boileau & Narcejac novel the film was based on by several years. The angle it takes is an interesting one, playing up  the romance and lost love angles and being sympathetic to a man whose modus operandi would become the stuff of so many horror films of the next few decades. As a period piece it's well made and never less than interesting, with cast members including BBC comedy regulars Arnold 'Godfrey' Ridley and Richard Wattis, but modern audiences may find themselves baffled by the film's attitude to class and criminal behaviour.

As is frequently becoming the case with these releases, the real value for money here is in the extras. You get two versions of the film - the UK print with commentary from academics Cathy Lomax and Lucy Bolton, and the US print with commentary from former Hammer podcasters Lizbeth Myles and Paul Cornell. Both versions are actually more or less the same length (the US is slightly shorter by a matter of seconds) and the commentaries are aimed at listeners who haven't spent their lives studying every issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors. 

Talking of that splendid publication, its esteemed editor Richard Klemenson pops up to introduce an extremely valuable 39 minute audio interview he conducted with Hammer makeup artist Phil Leakey back in the day. Chris Alexander gives us 31 minutes on the life and career of Lisabeth Scott, and Thomas Doherty provides 37 minutes on the actions of the Un-American Activities Committee and how it affected UK cinema of the period. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas presents a visual essay on the film and its influences, all the way from Ovid through to film noir, and Liz Tregenza gives us 18 minutes on the history of costume designer Edith Head. 

The set comes with a book featuring new writing about the making of the film,  Lizbeth Scott, composer Malcolm Arnold, plastic surgery as related to the film, and a lot more. 

Terence Fisher's STOLEN FACE is out in 4K from Hammer in a limited edition two disc UHD and Blu-ray set on Monday 16th February 2026