295 Saraband for Dead Lovers

[MichaelB]

SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS
(Basil Dearden, 1948, 96 mins)
Release date: 22 July 2025
Limited Edition 4K UHD (World premiere)

From the celebrated director-producer team of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph (The Gentle Gunman, The Ship That Died of Shame) comes Saraband for Dead Lovers, the first colour production from Britain’s legendary Ealing Studios.

In this sumptuous historical romance, a teenage princess (Joan Greenwood, Girl Stroke Boy) is trapped in a loveless marriage to Prince George Louis of Hanover (Peter Bull, The Old Dark House), heir to the British throne. To escape the boredom, she begins a dangerous affair with Count Philip Konigsmark (Stewart Granger, Footsteps in the Fog), an affair with potentially terrible consequences for the pair...

Adapted from a novel by Helen Simpson (Under Capricorn) by Alexander Mackendrick (Whisky Galore!) and John Dighton (Kind Hearts and Coronets), scored by acclaimed composer Alan Rawsthorne (The Cruel Sea), and shot in ravishing three-strip Technicolor by the great Douglas Slocombe (The Young Ones, Murphy’s War), Saraband for Dead Lovers is a glorious feast for the eyes and ears.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K HDR restoration (the separate Blu-ray release is 1080p SDR)
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original mono audio
• A Sense of Loyalty (2025): director and screenwriter James Dearden introduces his father’s work
• The BEHP Interview with Michael Relph (1990): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the producer-director-set designer and long-term Dearden collaborator in conversation with Sidney Cole and Alan Lawson
• A Technicolor Dance (2023): film historian Josephine Botting delves into the production of Saraband for Dead Lovers
• A Strange Adventure (2023): broadcaster Matthew Sweet and film critic Phuong Le discuss the film’s themes and reception
• Restoring ‘Saraband for Dead Lovers’ (2023): a look behind-the-scenes of this glorious three-strip Technicolor film restoration by those involved in its process
• Original storyboards
• Image galleries: promotional and publicity material, and production book
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with new essay by Robert Murphy, archival pieces by Basil Dearden, producer Michael Balcon, art director Michael Relph, director of photography Douglas Slocombe, costume designer Anthony Mendleson, and conductor Ernest Irving, archival profiles of the film’s cast, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• World premiere on 4K UHD
• Limited edition of 5,000 individually numbered units (3,000 4K UHDs and 2,000 Blu-rays) for the US
• All features subject to change

#PUSLE295U
REGION FREE
UPC: 843501043974

[MichaelB]

I have now seen the UHD version, and it looks eye-poppingly gorgeous - authentic three-strip Technicolor is a genuine revelation in 4K HDR.

My wife, a lifelong Stewart Granger fan, was particularly startled, as she'd never seen her idol presented in anything like this level of detail. (She's a bit young to have caught his glory days in 35mm.)

[MichaelB]

Full specs confirmed:

[MichaelB]

Mondo Digital on the UHD version:

The number of three-strip Technicolor classics out on UHD so far has been surprisingly small given how perfect the format is for 4K; at least we have a few big ones like The Red Shoes, The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, The War of the Worlds, and The African Queen. This film wouldn't seem like a likely candidate to join them, but thankfully here we are with a magnificent presentation that leaps past the Blu-ray with an extremely vivid and detailed presentation; the HDR10-compatible Dolby Vision grading adds a huge amount here that gives the film an almost three-dimensional quality even in the darkest scenes. A Blu-ray option is also available, but if you're UHD-ready, the choice should be obvious.

[Orlac]

Glenn Erickson review - https://trailersfromhell.com/saraband-for-dead-lovers/