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A double feature of rare French/Belgian art-horrors from mysterious 1970s World disc premieres both!
BROKEN MIRROR (1975)
Anne Lawrence lives in Brussels, where she works as a restorer of rare paintings. When Anne becomes pregnant, her widowed mother visits her, which brings back memories from Anne’s past. Her mother asks Anne about the time she went missing and was found, lost in the city, clutching a strange painting with no knowledge of where it came from. Anne is fascinated by the painting but also scared of it. She becomes determined to discover why it now seems so important to her.
Strange incidents start to occur. Anne is pursued through empty streets by a large car with a hidden driver. She sees a man with a gloved right hand watching her from the deserted house across the street. She becomes frightened by her own reflection in mirrors.
As Anne sinks ever deeper into the mystery of her past, fantasy and reality start to merge and she finds herself entering a nightmare of fear and sudden violence from which she seems unable to escape.
Director Claude d’Anna’s third feature film is a dreamlike and hallucinatory journey into altered states of consciousness; a unique film, full of images of beauty and terror.
UNQUIET DEATH (1970)
Three sisters come from France to visit their wealthy uncle who lives on a remote island off the coast of Tunisia. The only other inhabitant of the island is the uncle’s manservant. The uncle dies in mysterious circumstances and the girls are left at the mercy of the servant. Initially he seems cooperative but then, as the radio broadcasts disturbing reports of trouble and unrest on the mainland, he rebels, refusing to obey the girls’ orders. Imprisoning them in the uncle’s house, he sets them various bizarre tasks, challenges their sense of superiority and even tries to teach them a new form of language.
Finally their veneer of civilization cracks, and the girls resort to savagery. The servant disappears, seemingly dead. Sensing freedom, the girls celebrate. But then the servant returns. And this time he is angry...
Made in the shadow of the May 68 Paris “events”, Unquiet Death is a truly revolutionary and radical film, one that throws all caution to the wind. Packed full of startling images that mix beauty and terror, there really is nothing else quite like it.
The film’s rediscovery after more than 50 years is a cause for celebration.
DISC FEATURES
Region free
MIRROR digitally restored from the original negative; UNQUIET digitally restored from 35mm elements
French or English language tracks for MIRROR (with optional Eng Subs); French track with optional English subtitles for UNQUIET
Interview with co-writer/director Claude d’Anna
Interview with UNQUIET DEATH co-writer/director Férid Boughedir
Interview with actress/co-writer Laure Dechasnel
Profile of editor and producer Gust Verren
RAPPELS (Curtain Call), short film by Claude d’Anna
LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
Full color booklet with new essay on the films by Paul Geens; reversible cover sleeve each side highlighting one of the films; 1200 numbered copies in the usual red case
This release will go on sale Thursday, May 4th at 9 AM Pacific/12 noon Eastern ONLY at mondomacabro.bigcartel.com! We tentatively expect to be able to begin shipping sometime in May.
BROKEN MIRROR (1975)
Anne Lawrence lives in Brussels, where she works as a restorer of rare paintings. When Anne becomes pregnant, her widowed mother visits her, which brings back memories from Anne’s past. Her mother asks Anne about the time she went missing and was found, lost in the city, clutching a strange painting with no knowledge of where it came from. Anne is fascinated by the painting but also scared of it. She becomes determined to discover why it now seems so important to her.
Strange incidents start to occur. Anne is pursued through empty streets by a large car with a hidden driver. She sees a man with a gloved right hand watching her from the deserted house across the street. She becomes frightened by her own reflection in mirrors.
As Anne sinks ever deeper into the mystery of her past, fantasy and reality start to merge and she finds herself entering a nightmare of fear and sudden violence from which she seems unable to escape.
Director Claude d’Anna’s third feature film is a dreamlike and hallucinatory journey into altered states of consciousness; a unique film, full of images of beauty and terror.
UNQUIET DEATH (1970)
Three sisters come from France to visit their wealthy uncle who lives on a remote island off the coast of Tunisia. The only other inhabitant of the island is the uncle’s manservant. The uncle dies in mysterious circumstances and the girls are left at the mercy of the servant. Initially he seems cooperative but then, as the radio broadcasts disturbing reports of trouble and unrest on the mainland, he rebels, refusing to obey the girls’ orders. Imprisoning them in the uncle’s house, he sets them various bizarre tasks, challenges their sense of superiority and even tries to teach them a new form of language.
Finally their veneer of civilization cracks, and the girls resort to savagery. The servant disappears, seemingly dead. Sensing freedom, the girls celebrate. But then the servant returns. And this time he is angry...
Made in the shadow of the May 68 Paris “events”, Unquiet Death is a truly revolutionary and radical film, one that throws all caution to the wind. Packed full of startling images that mix beauty and terror, there really is nothing else quite like it.
The film’s rediscovery after more than 50 years is a cause for celebration.
DISC FEATURES
Region free
MIRROR digitally restored from the original negative; UNQUIET digitally restored from 35mm elements
French or English language tracks for MIRROR (with optional Eng Subs); French track with optional English subtitles for UNQUIET
Interview with co-writer/director Claude d’Anna
Interview with UNQUIET DEATH co-writer/director Férid Boughedir
Interview with actress/co-writer Laure Dechasnel
Profile of editor and producer Gust Verren
RAPPELS (Curtain Call), short film by Claude d’Anna
LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
Full color booklet with new essay on the films by Paul Geens; reversible cover sleeve each side highlighting one of the films; 1200 numbered copies in the usual red case
This release will go on sale Thursday, May 4th at 9 AM Pacific/12 noon Eastern ONLY at mondomacabro.bigcartel.com! We tentatively expect to be able to begin shipping sometime in May.