A timeless tale of love, courage and determination from a legendary animator plus four historical epics from the Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema are revealed as Eureka’s December 2024 line-up

Eureka! has announced its December 2024 line-up for the UK and North America.  Featured amongst this line-up is a heartwarming and beautifully crafted cartoon fantasy from the legendary animator Don Bluth, and four historical epics from one of the most celebrated and prolific filmmakers in Hong Kong. Plus, our friends in North America will also be treated to a re-issue of The Cat & the Canary in a standard edition.

In 1979, legendary animator Don Bluth made the decision to leave Walt Disney Productions and establish his own animation studio with several former Disney employees. The newly established Don Bluth Productions first made a short – Banjo the Woodpile Cat – and then its first feature: The Secret of NIMH, adapted from Robert C. O’Brien’s popular children’s book Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. A sweeping fantasy epic realised through astoundingly beautiful cel animation, The Secret of NIMH paved the way for Bluth’s later successes An American Tail, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven. The Masters of Cinema series is honoured to present this touchstone of American animation on Blu-ray. Available on Blu-ray from 9 December 2024 in a Limited-edition of 2000 copies exclusively featuring an O-card slipcase.

Often described as the “Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema,” Chang Cheh made nearly a hundred films during a long and storied career spent at the Shaw Brothers Studio, where he directed such landmark films as The One-Armed Swordsman, Five Deadly Venoms and The Heroic Ones. Many of his films drew upon Chinese history for inspiration – and many of them were based on real people and events. Eureka Classics presents four of his best historical epics in this limited-edition set. Marco Polo, The Pirate, Boxer Rebellion and Four Riders are all fascinating examples of the rewriting of history common in popular genre cinema, directed with aplomb by a veteran of Shaw Brothers in Chang Cheh – one of the most celebrated and prolific filmmakers in Hong Kong. All four films are presented on Blu-ray from HD masters supplied by Celestial Pictures. Available from 9 December 2024 in the UK, and from 10 December 2024 in North America. The Limited edition set (2000 copies per territory) will exclusively featuring an O-card slipcase and collector’s booklet.

Paul Leni (The Man Who Laughs) directs one of the most important and influential films in the early history of American genre cinema, which perfected the ‘old dark house’ formula and set the stage for the Universal horror cycle of the 1930s. Based upon the 1922 stage production by John Willard, The Cat and the Canary is a perfect blend of horror and black comedy and stands at the apex of a cycle of films adapted from mystery plays throughout the 1920s. It later inspired James Whale’s The Old Dark House and has been remade several times – but never bettered. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this cornerstone of horror cinema on Blu-ray from a glorious 4K restoration. Now presented on Blu-ray in a standard edition. Available from 10 December 2024 in North America only.

https://youtu.be/aR_8tKgbYQk

We will have a dedicated site for our North American titles in due course, but in the meantime these titles will be available from all good home entertainment retailers including the following online outlets:

Diabolik | MVD | Oldies | Orbit DVD | Grindhouse |  Unobstructed View | Amazon US | Amazon CA