Released: 22nd February 2027. With strong support from Hazel Court and Christopher Lee, The Man Who Could Cheat Death has been painstakingly restored by Hammer in 4K from the original film negatives and includes optional, originally censored scenes thought lost for years.
A doctor and dilettante, Georges Bonnet's sculptures are the talk of Belle Époque Parisian society. But Bonnet hides a grisly secret: he is over a century old and a serial murderer, kept artificially young by harvesting glands from his unfortunate victims.
Now over six-decades since its original release, this Limited Collector’s edition sees the film available for the first time on UHD in the UK, complete with an exceptional range of recent and archival material.
This Limited Collector’s Edition comprises:
A leather-feel slipcase with debossed foil titling, housing a stylish digipak containing four discs: two UHDs and two Blu-rays, with content duplicated on both formats.
Rigid inner box featuring new artwork by illustrator and artist Lucas Peverill.
Double-sided poster of original one-sheets and 8 art cards.
Book featuring reproduction of British master make-up artist Roy Ashton's annotated copy of the original shooting script.
Six iterations of The Man Who Could Cheat Death across three aspect ratios (1.37:1 as-filmed, 1.66:1 UK theatrical and 1.85:1 US theatrical) featuring both censored and uncensored scenes.
Brand-new 5.1 mix for each version of the film alongside the original mono film soundtrack.
English, French, Italian, Spanish and German subtitles on each version of the film.
The discs feature:
A comprehensive series of new and archive commentaries across the six iterations with contributions and critical perspectives from Lizbeth Myles, Paul Cornell, Kim Newman, Stephen Jones, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Lauren Barnett, John Hamilton, Professor Lucy Bolton, Pamela Hutchinson, Constantine Nasr and Dr. Steve Haberman.
A new programme with Hammer expert Wayne Kinsey, discussing the making of this classic Gothic horror.
A Hideous Concoction: an archive featurette featuring actor and horror expert Jonathan Rigby, who discusses the film and source play.
The Man Who Could Direct Death: an archive featurette with film historian and BFI curator Vic Pratt, who discusses the film’s director, Terence Fisher.
The Man Who Can Chat Death: an archive interview with Hugh Harlow, a Hammer mainstay and third AD on the film.
Court in Session: an archive featurette with film historian Melanie Williams, who discusses actor Hazel Court.
Hazel Court 1999 interview: a candid interview with Hazel Court in front of a live audience at Manchester’s Festival of Fantastic Films.
Hammer Convention Panel 1999: in addition to the FoFF interview, Hazel Court also appeared on a panel chaired by Wayne Kinsey and featuring writer Jimmy Sangster and award-winning director Freddie Francis.
A restoration featurette.
Original censor Card, UK trailer, clapperboard and alternative burning shot.
Extensive image gallery of stills and publicity material.