Basil Dearden's London Underground (Criterion Collection - Eclipse Series 25)

After mastering the mix of comedy, suspense, and horror that helped define the golden age of British cinema, Basil Dearden (along with his producing partner Michael Relph) left the legendary Ealing Studios and, in the late fifties and early sixties, created a series of gripping, groundbreaking, even controversial films. In dealing with racism, homophobia, and the lingering effects of World War II, these noir-tinged dramas burrowed into corners of London rarely seen on-screen. This set of elegantly crafted films; SAPPHIRE, a dissection of a hate crime; THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN, a deft heist adventure suffused with postwar melancholy; VICTIM, a landmark gay character study, starring Dirk Bogarde; and ALL NIGHT LONG, a provocative transposition of Othello to the swinging London Jazz scene - brings this quintessential figure of British cinema out of the shadows.