Studiocanal have announced the release of 4k restorations of John Carpenter’s classic films The Fog, They Live, Escape From New York and Prince of Darkness.
The new restorations were done using the original camera negatives, with the colour grading approved for the new restorations and UHD versions by the films’ Cinematographers: Gary B Kibbe and Dean Cundey. Take a look at the trailer:
The films will be coming to DVD and Blu-ray but before then they’ll be arriving on the big screen. The Fog will receive its premiere at The London Film Festival on 15th October.
From 26th October, They Live and Prince of Darkness will screen as a precursor to the big Halloween one-night special of The Fog. Escape from New York will be screened for one day only on 22nd November 2018.
Tickets for the screenings can be purchased at https://www.johncarpenter4k.co.uk/.
The artwork for the restorations has been created by UK-based artist Matt Ferguson. The DVD and Blu-ray releases will feature brand new and ‘best of’ extras material. There will also be a very special, 4-disc Collector’s Editions of The Fog, Escape From New York and They Live with each including a copy of the soundtrack composed and performed by Carpenter himself.
Find out more about each of the films and their release dates below:
The Fog (1980)
Antonio Bay, California has turned a hundred years old and is getting ready to celebrate its centennial year. But as the residents of the tightknit community begin to prepare for the festivities, a mysterious cloud of fog appears upon the shore and begins to creep its way across the town, leaving a trail of horrifying slaughter that hints at a deep, blood-soaked secret from its past.
Theatrical release: From 26th October – special Halloween screenings 31st October
HE Release: 29th October
Escape From New York (1981)
The year is 1997 and in a police state future the island of Manhattan has been turned into a maximum-security prison. The rules are simple: once you’re in, you don’t come out. But when the United States president (Donald Pleasance) crash lands an escape pod into the centre of the city after fleeing a hijacked plane, a ruthless prison warden (Lee Van Cleef) bribes ex-soldier and criminal Snake Plisskin (Kurt Russell) into entering the hazardous Manhattan and rescuing the stranded President from the twisted underworld and the demented clutches of its criminal overlord The Duke (Isaac Hayes).
Theatrical release: 22nd November
HE Release: 26th November
Prince of Darkness (1987)
Deep in the basement of an abandoned church, once run by a sinister religious sect, lies a strange bottle of green liquid being investigated by a group of local theoretic physics students. But as the night draws on the students soon realise that the strange relic holds a dark and powerful force beyond their control. A force that could well be the essence of pure evil: the remains of Satan himself. Starring Donald Pleasance, Jameson Parker and Jason Wong.
Theatrical release: 26th October
HE Release: 26th November (Steel-book 29th October)
They Live (1988)
WWF wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper plays John Nada, a homeless, unemployed construction worker who discovers a pair of sunglasses that when worn suddenly reveal a world run by yuppie aliens intent on keeping the human race brainwashed and sedate with subliminal messages fed through advertising and the media. Luckily for us all John Nada is a man of action and so begins the fight-back (including perhaps the longest fistfight in cinema’s history) to save humankind.
Theatrical release: From 26th October
HE Release: 29th October
