Director Sydney Pollack's 1969 World War II drama Castle Keep is certainly off the beaten track, as one might expect from its source – a very bizarre novel by William Eastlake that hovers between fantasy and reality. Burt Lancaster plays the one-eyed American major who billets his few remaining men at an Ardennes castle filled with priceless art treasures. It is also in the direct line of the German advance.
The ensuing proceedings add up to a distinctive evening’s entertainment and, in case you should be thinking this might be a war film without battles, there are skirmishes throughout and a really colossal holocaust at the end, when the Germans throw everything at the castle and its occupants.
As part of the Indicator series, Powerhouse Films have dragged Castle Keep out the shadows to present a region-free Dual Format Edition so that cult film fans can reappraise this underrated cinematic gem.
SPECIAL FEATURES: • High Definition re-master • Original mono audio • Alternative 4.0 Surround sound track • The John Player Lecture with Burt Lancaster (1972, 100 mins): audio recording of an interview conducted by Joan Bakewell at the National Film Theatre, London • The Lullaby of War (2017, 18 mins): a new interview with actor Tony Bill about his experiences making Castle Keep • Eastlake at USD (1968, 29 mins): an archival, videotaped interview with Castle Keep author William Eastlake • Original theatrical trailer • New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing • Limited edition booklet with a new essay by Brad Stevens, archival interviews with Sydney Pollack and Burt Lancaster, and original pressbook material
