Hold Back The Dawn (1941) (Blu-ray) (UK Import)

From one of the most underrated directors of Hollywood’s golden era, Mitchell Leisen (Remember the Night), comes the heart-rending romantic drama Hold Back the Dawn...

Charles Boyer (Gaslight) gives an enthralling performance as Georges Iscovescu, a Romanian-born gigolo who arrives at a Mexican border town seeking entry to the US. Faced with a waiting period of eight years, George is encouraged by his former dancing partner Anita (Pauline Goddard, Modern Times) to marry an American girl and desert her once safely across the border. He successfully targets visiting school teacher Emmy Brown (Olivia de Havilland, Gone with the Wind), but his plan is compromised by a pursuing immigration officer, and blossoming feelings of genuine love for Emmy.

A moving and thoughtful film with a wonderful script (co-written by Billy Wilder), Hold back the Dawn benefits from evocative performances by Boyer and de Havilland, and an over-arching sense of romantic melancholy. An enduring classic of its era, Leisen’s film was nominated for no-less than six Academy Awards and is presented here in High Definition for the first time.

Specials

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation transferred from original film elements

Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

New audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin

Love Knows No Borders, a newly filmed video appreciation by film critic Geoff Andrew

The Guardian Lecture: Olivia de Havilland, A career-spanning onstage audio interview with Olivia de Havilland recorded at the National Film Theatre in 1971

Rare hour-long radio adaptation of Hold Back the Dawn from 1941 starring Charles Boyer, Paulette Goddard and Susan Haywood

Gallery of original stills and promotional images

Original trailer

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio

Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by writer and critic Farran Smith Nehme