Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Release: The Tiger of Eschnapur & The Indian Tomb

Digital, Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Dec. 10, 2019
Price: DVD $26.49, Blu-ray $33.49
Studio: Film Movement

The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb, Fritz Lang’s lavish two-part serialized action-adventure cliffhanger from 1959, returns in a gorgeously restored edition from Film Movement.

Returning to Germany after two decades of work in Hollywood, Lang had a chance to work with more freedom and resources than he had seen in years. The two films—which serve as a kind of cinematic link between the classic silent serials and such modern-day adventure productions as the Indiana Jones films—found Lang working with breathtaking location shoots, a large international cast, elaborate sets and a top-notch production crew.

In The Tiger of Eschnapur, Western architect Harold Berger (Paul Hubschmid), called to India by Chandra, the Maharaja of Eschnapur, falls in love with the beautiful temple dancer Seetha (Debra Paget), although she is promised to the Maharaja. Their betrayal ignites the wrath of a vengeful Chandra, who is fighting his own battle for power with his scheming half-brother, Ramigani, leading to the lovers’ daring escape into the desert.

In Part Two, The Indian Tomb, the doomed lovers are rescued by sympathetic desert villagers, only to be later given up for ransom. Seetha is captured and sent back to Eschnapur, where she must perform a death-defying (and famouosly erotic) temple dance to prove her innocence. Meanwhile, Ramigani incites a revolt against the Maharaja and uses both Berger and Seetha as pawns in his plot to seize the throne

Initially released in America as Journey to the Lost City, a radically condensed 90-minute version, the two film are here presented in their original three-hour-plus running time.

Film Movement’s new 4K restored edition includes the followingL

• Audio commentaries by film historian David Kalat
• The Indian Epicdocumentary
• “Debra Paget, For Example”, a video essay by filmmaker Mark Rappaport
• 20-page booklet with an essay by film scholar Tom Gunning