The Name of the Rose 4K (1987)

“Beautiful Transfer of a Timeless Classic”

Brother Cadfael goes EuroGothic as Second Sight bring us their whistles and bells 4K restoration of Jean-Jacques Annad’s excellent adaptation of Umberto Eco’s bestselling novel in a limited edition UHD and Blu-ray combo package, as well as standard separate UHD and Blu-ray editions.

The year is 1327. William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) travels with his young novice Adso (Christian Slater) to form part of a contingent of Franciscan monks due to debate a religious issue with representatives of the Catholic church at a remote abbey in Northern Italy. However, when they arrive, they find themselves embroiled in a series of murders. William is called upon by the Abbott (Michel Lonsdale) to use his well-known deductive powers to solve the mystery, but with the arrival of Grand Inquisitor Bernardo Gui (F Murray Abraham) things turn from bad to worse.

An atmospheric, well-acted, beautifully designed (by Dante Ferreti) and shot (by Tonino Delli Colli) French-Italian-German-20th Century Fox coproduction, perhaps the greatest asset of THE NAME OF THE ROSE is its screenplay, the writing of which is detailed in one of the excellent extras on this disc. Umberto Eco’s complex literary work had to be stripped down and what was left reassembled with an eye on it being approachable by the average cinema audience member. By centring on the murder mystery (at least to start with) Andrew Birkin was also able to include some of the symbolism, philosophy and religious discussion that the book is filled with.

But everyone is playing their ‘A’ game here. Composer James Horner offers a score that’s mainly synthesisers but which feels perfectly suited to the medieval period, while the casting director must have had a ball looking for the most interesting faces in Italy and German to populate the monastery. Among the cast are also a swathe of familiar faces including Feodor Chaliapin, Jr (Argento’s INFERNO and Soavi’s THE CHURCH), William Hickey (THE BOSTON STRANGLER and TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE), Ron Perlman (HELLBOY et al), Leopoldo Trieste (Bava’s BAY OF BLOOD), Donald O’Brien (ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST) and Valentina Vargas (HELLRAISER IV).

Second Sight’s 4K transfer is second to none, with the film never having looked this good. Those of you familiar with older BBC TV screenings should note that the Latin uttered here does not get translated with subtitles, which is the same as it was with the UK cinema print. Extras include a new commentary from James Marsh but if you’ve not listened to it before you should start with the excellent archival commentary from director Annaud that will tell you more than a few things to raise your eyebrows.

Other new extras include a set of excellent interviews, including the one with screenwriter Andrew Birkin mentioned above (22 minutes), as well as Ron Perlman (23 minutes), Christian Slater (24 minutes) and director Jean-Jacques Annaud (39 minutes). There’s also an archival German making of (45 minutes). Finally, the limited edition comes with a 120 page book with new writing on the film (not provided for review), six collectors’ art cards and a slipcase to keep it all in. 

Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Palimpsest of Umberto Eco’s THE NAME OF THE ROSE is out from Second Sight in a limited edition combo UHD and Blu-ray set and separate UHD and 

Blu-ray editions on Monday 10th August 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