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Monday, March 17, 2014

The Black Jack: 35th Anniversary Edition Will Make Its Blu-ray Debut on April 8th

Cohen Media Group's Cohen Film Collection brings an early film by multiple award-winning director Ken Loach to U.S. Blu-ray for the first time when it releases Black Jack: 35th Anniversary Edition on April 8, 2014. A rediscovered classic from realist master Ken Loach (The Angels' Share, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Kes, Raining Stones) and one of the inspirations for Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, Black Jack, based on Leon Garfield's novel for children,is a dark and complex adventure film set in brutal 18th century England. After French thief and ruffian Black Jack (Jean Franval, Diary of a Chambermaid, Le Cercle Rouge) escapes the hangman's noose, he kidnaps young Tolly (Stephen Hirst), a boy who can somehow understand and translate the big barbarian's odd speech. Together they go on an adventure that includes traveling fairs, body snatching, murder and the rescue from an insane asylum of a girl (Louise Cooper) who may not be insane at all.



 THE COHEN FILM COLLECTION PRESENTS AN EARLY WORK FROM ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING DIRECTORS  


BLACK JACK
35
th Anniversary Edition
  
Ken Loach's 1979 Film Makes Its U.S. Blu-ray Debut on April 8, 2014
Cohen Media Group's Cohen Film Collection brings an early film by multiple award-winning director Ken Loach to U.S. Blu-ray for the first time when it releases BLACK JACK: 35THANNIVERSARY EDITION on April 8, 2014. The bonus-filled disc will have an SRP of $39.98, while the DVD edition will have an SRP of $29.98.
A rediscovered classic from realist master Ken Loach (The Angels' Share, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Kes, Raining Stones) and one of the inspirations for Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, BLACK JACK, based on Leon Garfield's novel for children,is a dark and complex adventure film set in brutal 18th century England. After French thief and ruffian Black Jack (Jean Franval, Diary of a Chambermaid, Le Cercle Rouge) escapes the hangman's noose, he kidnaps young Tolly (Stephen Hirst), a boy who can somehow understand and translate the big barbarian's odd speech. Together they go on an adventure that includes traveling fairs, body snatching, murder and the rescue from an insane asylum of a girl (Louise Cooper) who may not be insane at all.
BLACK JACK was shot primarily in 16mm and on a modest budget on location in Yorkshire by the future Oscar-winning cinematographer Chris Menges (The Killing Fields, The Mission). Director Loach, famed for his gentle observational style, draws enchanting "unacted" performances from his young cast - nonprofessionals chosen by Loach for their authentic northern accents. 
The Cohen Film Collection brings this rare but important film by a master director to home video in a deluxe 35th anniversary edition that includes feature-length audio commentary by Loach and a new essay by film critic and scholar Peter Tonguette.

BLACK JACK won the prestigious FIPRESCI Critics Prize at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Feature at the 1979 Chicago Film Festival. "An amiable adaptation of the classic kids' novel by Leon Garfield," said Time Out London's critic, who added "Loach shoots the film with characteristic sensitivity (and scrupulous period realism)." The British Film Institute called BLACK JACK "a charming, underrated film."

Order your copy today!


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