296 The Gentle Gunman

[MichaelB]

[quote]THE GENTLE GUNMAN
(Basil Dearden, 1952, 86 mins)
Release date: 24 June 2025
Limited Edition 4K UHD (World premiere)

Pre-order the US BD here and the US 4K UHD here (NB: This is a US-only release)

John Mills (Town on Trial) and Dirk Bogarde (H.M.S. Defiant) star in The Gentle Gunman, a riveting wartime thriller directed by Ealing Studios regular Basil Dearden (The Rainbow Jacket).

Brothers Terry (Mills) and Matt (Bogarde) are undercover IRA foot soldiers involved in a bombing campaign during the London Blitz. When Terry begins to question his part in the violence, Matt warns him to go into hiding. However, determined to clear his name, Terry vows to play his part in freeing a group of IRA members who have been captured by the British police.

Written by Roger MacDougall (The Man in the White Suit) and produced by Michael Relph (Saraband for Dead Lovers, Out of the Clouds), The Gentle Gunman is a tense and stylish drama from one of British cinema’s most celebrated film studios.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K HDR restoration
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) - the BD presentation is 1080p
• Original mono audio
• Battle for the Soul (2025): director and screenwriter James Dearden introduces his father’s work
• The Guardian Interview with Dirk Bogarde (1983): archival audio recording of the great actor in conversation with Tony Bilbow at the National Film Theatre, London
• A Closer Look at ‘The Gentle Gunman’ (2022): broadcaster Matthew Sweet and film critic Phuong Le discuss the film’s production and themes
• All Hands (1940): short film produced by Ealing Studios for the ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ campaign, starring John Mills
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with new essay by Robert Murphy, archival production reports on the making of the film, extracts from the film’s pressbook, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing by Jeff Billington on All Hands, 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

#PUSLE296U
REGION FREE
UPC: 843501043981

[MichaelB]

Final specs:

[MikeFH]

The last line of specs reads “Limited edition of 5,000 individually numbered units…”. Is this a mistake? The specs of The Ship That Died of Shame shows the same line. On both 4KUltraHD releases no individual number is to be found, or is it me?

Also good to be aware of the fact that the UHD presentations of these two titles are indeed Regio Free, but the blu-ray versions are Regio A, right?

[MichaelB]

That was clearly one of those features subject to change, per the last line of the specs. I wasn't involved with non-disc production of these titles, so I wasn't in that particular loop.

And the UHD is region-free and the BD is Region A, as per the licensing agreement with StudioCanal.

[MikeFH]

Thanks! Love both.