Day at the Beach Blu-ray

'A Day at the Beach' Director: Simon Hesera (1970) Indicator Limited Edition Blu-ray | 4K restoration

Mark Burns (Death in Venice) and Beatrice Edney (Highlander) star in this downbeat tale of alcoholism written by Roman ński and shot by celebrated cinematographer Gilbert Taylor.

When a man takes a little girl – who may or may not be his niece or perhaps daughter – for a trip to a decrepit Danish seaside town on a day of heavy rain, he sets about cajoling the locals in a desperate quest for alcohol, leaving his young charge to fend for herself. 

Limited Edition contents:
- 36-page booklet with new essay by Michał Oleszczyk, a compilation of trade journal reports on the film’s production, extracts from interviews with director Simon Hesera at the time of the film’s 1993 re-release, an overview of critical responses, and full film credits

Special features:
- Two presentations of the film: the 82-minute version, newly restored in 1.75:1 from the original negative; the alternative 84-minute version, which includes unique footage, sourced from a 1.33:1 Standard Definition master
- A Country Girl (2025, 6 mins): actor Fiona Lewis recalls her entry into the film industry and her work with Roman ński
- Dancing Before the Enemy: How a Teenage Boy Fooled the Nazis and Lived (2015, 64 mins): documentary portrait of producer Gene Gutowski, directed by his son Adam Bardach, in which he vividly recalls his experiences as a Jewish teenager in Poland during WWII
- The Word of an Alcoholic (2025, 15 mins): video essay by Polish film expert Michael Brooke on the fourteen-year friendship between ński and Marek Hłasko, author of one of the great Polish studies of alcoholism
- Behind the Camera: Gil Taylor (1999, 13 mins): archival documentary by Richard Blanshard on the great cinematographer, featuring interviews with Taylor, ński, and filmmaker Anthony Minghella