2014 - Every New Release

HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN

[Limited Edition Dual Format]

3rd February 2013

With the 20th Century drawing to a close, nuclear war has wiped out civilization as we know it. The embattled human race’s last remaining hope lies with one man and his loaded weapon.

Sam Hell may be an ex-con, but he also happens to be one of the last surviving fertile men on the planet. Now, under the custody of a group of feisty female fighters, Sam finds himself enlisted on a mission to impregnate a harem of beauties. Sounds cushy enough, but the ladies in question are prisoners of Frogtown – home to a gang of mutant (and ill-mannered) amphibians!

Starring wrestler-turned-actor Rowdy Roddy Piper, known to John Carpenter enthusiasts for his body-slamming and bubblegum-chewing antics in They Live, Hell Comes to Frogtown is unashamedly a B-movie through and through with more guns and girls than you can shake a frog’s leg at.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        Limited Edition Blu-ray [1000 copies]

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation

-        Original uncompressed stereo 2.0 PCM audio

-        Grappling with Green Gargantuans: Wrestling icon “Rowdy” Roddy Piper speaks about his leading man turn in Hell Comes to Frogtown

-        Amphibian Armageddon: Actor Brian Frank remembers his role as Commander Toty

-        Creature Feature Creator: Effects wizard Steve Wang reveals the secrets behind Hell Comes to Frogtown’s mutant manifestations

-        Extended Scene

-        Original Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeff Zornow

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author and critic Calum Waddell

HELLGATE

[Limited Edition Dual Format]

3rd February 2013

BEYOND THE DARKNESS TERROR LIVES FOREVER

Legends abound of ‘The Hellgate Hitchhiker’. So the story goes, a beautiful young woman was once brutally defiled and murdered by a biker gang. Now, returned from the dead, she wanders the roadside luring unsuspecting motorists to their doom…

Refusing to heed the warnings of locals, a group of college friends set out on a cross-country road trip looking for fun and frolics. But they get much more than they bargained for when they wind up in the abandoned mining town of Hellgate and hemmed in by hordes of the undead!

Providing gore and gags in equal measure, Hellgate recalls the good old days of early 90s fright flicks and challenges other gleefully twisted flicks such as Re-Animator and Return of the Living Dead for sheer grisly delirium!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        Limited edition Blu-ray [1000 Copies]

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the main feature

-        Road to Perdition, B-Movie Style: An extensive interview with Hellgate director William A. Levey

-        Alien Invasion, Blaxploitation and Ghost-Busting Mayhem: Scholar, Filmmaker and fan Howard S. Berger reflects on the intriguing film career of William A. Levey

-        Video Nasty: Kenneth Hall, writer of the Puppet Master series, speaks about the direct-to-video horror boom that allowed Hellgate to become a classic of the cassette rental era

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

-        Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Lee Gambin, illustrated with original artwork and stills

CHEEKY

[Dual Format]

10th February 2014

When free-spirited beauty Carla (Yuliya Mayarchuk) moves to London, her search for a flat leads to a lesbian seduction by estate agent Moira (Francesca Nunzi), much to the horror of Carla’s boyfriend Matteo (Jarno Berardi) still stuck in their native Venice. And then he discovers a cache of letters from an ex-boyfriend, accompanied by a highly revealing and very public photograph of her…

Ravishingly shot in two of the world’s great cities, bouncily scored by Pino Donaggio, and crammed with wall-to-wall nudity and casual sexual flings, Cheeky is as light-hearted as its title suggests, but it’s subtler and more philosophical than the average sex romp.

In particular, it’s a genuinely moving look at problems arising when a desire to remain scrupulously faithful collides with the lure of baser instincts. Carla genuinely loves Matteo, but how can she reassure him when he spots temptation around every corner?

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film uncut and in widescreen for the first time!

-        Optional English and Italian audio

-        Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian audio

-        Featurette on the film with director Tinto Brass

-        Original Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly designed artwork by The Red Dress

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic and author Maitland McDonagh, illustrated with original
archive stills

FRIVOLOUS LOLA

[Dual Format]

10th February 2014

One of the sunniest of Tinto Brass’s erotic comedies, Frivolous Lola sets its breezy tone from the opening scene in which Lola (Anna Ammirati) cycles around a small Po Valley town in a flapping skirt that leaves nothing to the imagination.

But it’s the 1950s, and her baker fiancée Masetto (Max Parodi) is determined that Lola remains a virgin until their wedding night. However, she is equally set on establishing whether or not he’s a good lover before they tie the knot. His dough-kneading technique seems promising, but how can she be sure without an expert to compare him with? In short, can Masetto live up to the erotic ideals professed by Lola’s mother’s lover, played by Patrick Mower?

Fortunately, the outwardly innocent town turns out to be a hotbed of licentiousness, with opportunities for voyeurism and maybe more around every corner - all in the interests of self-improving research, of course.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film uncut and in widescreen for the first time

-        Optional English and Italian audio

-        Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian audio

-        Original Trailer

-        Alternate Italian language opening and closing credits

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly designed artwork by The Red Dress

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic David Flint, illustrated with original archive stills

THE KILLERS (1964)

[Blu-ray]

24th February 2014

THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO KILL A MAN…

"I gotta find out what makes a man decide not to run. Why all of a sudden he'd rather die."

So muses hitman Charlie (Lee Marvin) after his high-priced victim Johnny North (John Cassavetes) gives in without a fight. Obsessed with the answer, Charlie and his hot-headed associate Lee (Clu Gulager) track down Johnny's associates, and uncover a complex web of crime and deceit involving his femme fatale girlfriend Sheila (Angie Dickinson) and ruthless mob boss Jack Browning (Ronald Reagan in his last screen role).

Loosely inspired by the Ernest Hemingway story, and directed by Don Siegel (whose many other taut, efficient thrillers include Dirty Harry and the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers), The Killers was commissioned as the very first 'TV movie', but was given a cinema release because of its violence - although a cast like that really belonged on the big screen in the first place.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition digital transfer of the film by Universal Pictures, presented in alternative “television” and “cinema” aspect ratios

-        Original uncompressed 2.0 mono PCM audio

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

-        Reagan Kills: interview with New York Times bestselling writer Marc Eliot, author of Ronald Reagan: The Hollywood Years

-        Screen Killer: interview with Dwayne Epstein, author of Lee Marvin: Point Blank

-        Archive interview with Don Siegel (1984) from the French television series Cinéma Cinémas

-        Gallery of rare behind-the-scenes images

-        Reversible sleeve featuring the original poster and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh

-        Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mike Sutton, extracts from Don Siegel’s autobiography and contemporary reviews, illustrated with original lobby cards

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE

[Blu-ray and Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray]

24th February 2014

Brian De Palma’s inspired rock’n’roll fusion of Faust, The Phantom of the Opera and The Picture of Dorian Gray boasts an Oscar-nominated score by Paul Williams, who also stars as an evil record producer who not only steals the work of composer/performer Winslow Leach (William Finley) but gets him locked up in Sing Sing - and that’s not the worst that happens to him along the way.

Few revenge scenarios have ever been so amply justified, but the film is also constantly aware of the satirical possibilities offered by the 1970s music industry, exemplified by Gerrit Graham’s hilariously camp glam-rock star. Jessica Harper (Suspiria) appears in her first major role as the naïve but ambitious singer, on whom Winslow secretly dotes.

Prodigiously inventive both musically and visually, this is one of De Palma’s most entertaining romps, not least because it was so clearly a labour of love.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, available in the UK for the first time!

-        Uncompressed Stereo PCM / 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio options

-        Isolated Music and Effects soundtrack

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

-        Paradise Regained: A 50-minute documentary on the making of the film featuring director Brian De Palma, producer Edward R. Pressman, the late star William Finley, star and composer Paul Williams, co-stars Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham and more!

-        All new 72-minute interview with Paul Williams by Guillermo del Toro

-        The Swan Song Fiasco: A new video piece exploring the changes made to the film in postproduction

-        Archive interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton

-        William Finley on the Phantom doll!

-        Paradise Lost and Found: Alternate takes and bloopers from the cutting room floor

-        Original Trailers

-        Radio Spots

-        Gallery of rare stills including behind-the-scenes images by photographer Randy Black

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Red Dress

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by festival programmer Michael Blyth and an exploration of the film’s troubled marketing history by Ari Kahan, curator of SwanArchives.org, illustrated with original stills and promotional material

THE STUFF

[Dual Format]

10th March 2014

Are you eating it ...or is it eating you?

The Stuff is the new dessert taking supermarket shelves by storm. It’s delicious, low in calories and – better still – doesn’t stain the family carpet… What’s not to like?! Well, for a start it has a life of its own, and we’re not talking friendly live bacteria… 

Young Jason seems to be the only one who doesn’t love The Stuff – in fact he won’t go anywhere near it, after having seen the pudding crawling around the fridge one night. What’s more, everyone who eats The Stuff has started acting really weird... Now, teaming up with wise-cracking industrial saboteur “Mo”, Jason must put a stop to The Stuff and the organisation behind it or face a gooey, gloopy demise. 

Coming courtesy of horror auteur Larry Cohen (director of the It’s Alive series and scribe behind the Maniac Cop trilogy), The Stuff is a titillating treat for the taste-buds which blends elements of films such as Street Trash with the straight-up B-movie flavour of The Blob. So grab a spoon and dig on into The Stuff – the taste that delivers… much more than you bargained for!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New High Definition restoration of the film from a brand new 2K scan of the original camera negative

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film

-        Original stereo 1.0 Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Can’t Get Enough of The Stuff: Making Larry Cohen’s Classic Creature Feature – a documentary featuring Larry Cohen, producer Paul Kurta, actress Andrea Marcovicci, Steve Neill (mechanical makeup effects) and Kim Newman

-        Introduction and trailer commentary by director and The Stuff fan Darren Bousman (Saw II, Saw III)

-        Original Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Joel Harley, illustrated with original stills and promotional materials

BLIND WOMAN’S CURSE

[Dual Format]

31st March 2014

From Teruo Ishii “The King of Cult”, Blind Woman’s Curse (also known as Black Cat’s Revenge) is a thrilling yakuza film featuring eye-popping visuals, sensational fight sequences and the gorgeous Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood, Stray Cat Rock), in her first major role.

Akemi (Kaji) is a dragon tattooed leader of the Tachibana clan. In a duel with a rival gang Akemi slashes the eyes of an opponent and a black cat appears, to lap the blood from the gushing wound. The cat along with the eye-victim go on to pursue Akemi’s gang in revenge, leaving a trail of dead yakuza girls, their dragon tattoos skinned from their bodies.

A bizarre blend of the female yakuza film and traditional Japanese ghost story, with a strong dash of grotesque-erotica (the same movement was a sensibility of Edogawa Rampo whose works were adapted by Ishii in Horrors of Malformed Men), Blind Woman’s Curse is a delirious mash-up of classic genre tropes, of which Ishii was no stranger, having directed everything from Super Giant films to biker movies!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New high definition digital transfer of the film prepared by Nikkatsu Studios

-        Presented in High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD

-        Uncompressed mono PCM audio

-        Newly translated English subtitles

-        Audio commentary by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp

-        Original Trailer

-        Trailers for four of the films in the Meiko Kaji-starring Stray Cat Rock series, made at the same studio as Blind Woman’s Curse

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes, illustrated with original archive stills

WHITE OF THE EYE

[Dual Format and Limited Edition SteelBook Dual Format]

31st March 2014

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HUNTER AND A KILLER …IS HIS PREY

A serial killer is on the loose in and around the small community of Globe, Arizona, and housewife Joan White (Cathy Moriarty) gradually comes to suspect that her opera-loving hi-fi engineer husband Paul (David Keith) might know more than he’s letting on...

So far so familiar, but in the hands of British visionary Donald Cammell (who wrote and co-directed Performance with Nicolas Roeg), the film becomes a dazzling kaleidoscope of images and ideas, spanning everything from Apache folklore, desert landscapes and stylish murder set-pieces that recall Dario Argento to a painfully vivid dissection of the emotional fissures undermining a modern marriage. It’s all set to an equally eclectic score co-written by Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason.

Described by the distinguished critic David Thomson as "one of the great secret works in cinema", White of the Eye is one of the most bizarre and unforgettable thrillers ever made.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        Brand new high definition digital transfer of the film from the original camera negative 

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film, available in the UK for the first time

-        Original uncompressed Stereo PCM audio 

-        Optional English SDH subtitles on the main feature

-        Audio commentary by Donald Cammell biographer Sam Umland 

-        Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance – this feature length documentary by Kevin Macdonald and Chris Rodley looks over the life and career of the rebel filmmaker and features interviews with Cammell and his closest friends, family and colleagues including Nicolas Roeg, Mick Jagger, Kenneth Anger, James Fox and many more

-        The Argument – a 1972 short film by Cammell, gorgeously shot by Vilmos Zsigmond in the Utah Desert. Rediscovered and assembled by Cammell’s regular editor Frank Mazzola in 1999, it is viewable with optional commentary by Sam Umland 

-        Rare deleted scenes, newly transferred from the original camera negative, with commentary by Sam Umland 

-        The flashback scenes as originally shot, prior to the bleach bypass processing that they underwent in the final film 

-        Original theatrical trailer 

-        Alternate credits sequence 

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Brad Stevens and Sam Umland, and a previously unpublished extract from the memoirs of producer Elliott Kastner, illustrated with original archive stills

PIT STOP

[Dual Format]

7th April 2014

RAW GUTS FOR GLORY! FLESH AGAINST STEEL!

The most dangerous game ever devised, to pit man against man, flesh against steel – the figure-8 race! Jack Hill (Coffy, Foxy Brown) follows up Spider Baby, once again teaming up with Sid Haig (House of 1000 Corpses) in one of his greatest roles for this action-spectacular crash-o-rama!

Richard Davalos (East of Eden) stars as Rick Bowman, a street punk who winds up in jail after a street race goes wrong. Bailed out by race promoter Grant Willard, Davalos is put in the deadly track where he comes up against Haig’s maniacal winner Hawk Sidney. Featuring an outstanding supporting cast, including Brian Donlevy (The Quatermass Xperiment) in his last film appearance, Ellen Burstyn, billed as Ellen McRae (The Exorcist) and Beverly Washburn (Spider Baby), Pit Stop is one of Hill’s lesser known films but arguably his greatest.

Filmed on a real figure-8 track, Hill and his crew were able to capture gripping real-life car wreck scenes lending the film a brilliant sense of realism. You’ve never seen a motion picture like this before – can you take it?

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New High Definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Jack Hill

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation

-        Original mono 1.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        New audio commentary with Jack Hill moderated by his biographer Calum Waddell

-        Crash and Burn! – Jack Hill on the making of Pit Stop

-        Drive Hard – actor Sid Haig speaks about his experience of acting in Pit Stop

-        Life in the Fast Lane – producer Roger Corman on the genesis of Pit Stop

-        Restoring Pit Stop – restoration demonstration by Technical Supervisor James White

-        Original trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Glenn Kenny and musicologist and writer Gray Newell on the film’s soundtrack, illustrated with original stills and artwork

SISTERS

[Dual Format]

28th April 2014

WHAT THE DEVIL HATH JOINED TOGETHER LET NO MAN CUT ASUNDER!

Before 1973, Brian De Palma was impossible to pigeonhole: he made comedies, political satires and openly experimental pieces.  But with Sisters (originally released as Blood Sisters in the UK) he turned to the suspense thriller and discovered his natural home - and a style that would lead directly to later masterpieces like Carrie, Dressed to Kill and Blow Out.

When Danielle (Margot Kidder) meets potential boyfriend Philip (Lisle Wilson) after appearing on the TV show Peeping Toms (a nod to the Michael Powell shocker), she invites him home, only to attract the ire of her twin sister Dominique.  From across the courtyard, Rear Window style, reporter Grace (Jennifer Salt) witnesses Philip being murdered by one of the twins - but the police find no body or any physical evidence.  Naturally, Grace takes things into her own hands, and discovers more about the sisters’ relationship than she bargained for…

Strongly influenced by Alfred Hitchcock and Roman Polanski, and with a score by the great Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane, Psycho), Sisters was the first true “Brian De Palma” film.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        Brand new High Definition digital transfer

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation

-        Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        What the Devil Hath Joined Together: Brian De Palma’s Sisters – A visual essay by author Justin Humphreys

-        All new interviews with co-writer Louisa Rose, actress Jennifer Salt, editor Paul Hirsch and unit manager Jeffrey Hayes

-        The De Palma Digest – a film-by-film guide to the director’s career by critic Mike Sutton

-        Archive audio interview with star William Finley (excerpt)

-        Theatrical Trailer

-        Gallery of Sisters promotional material from around the world

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

-        Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Kier-La Janisse (House of Psychotic Women) as well as Brian De Palma’s original 1973 Village Voice essay on working with composer Bernard Herrmann and a contemporary interview with De Palma on making Sisters, and the 1966 Life magazine article that inspired the film

THE DELTA FORCE

[Blu-ray]

5th May 2014

 THE HIJACK....THE ORDEAL....THE RESCUE...

Cannon Films are known for producing some of the most enjoyable and eccentric action flicks of the ’80s – but The Delta Force, which boasts scenes of Chuck Norris flying through the air on a missile-mounted motorbike, surely stands as one of their most entertaining efforts.

American Travel Ways Flight 282 has been hijacked by a group of terrorists claiming to represent the New World Revolutionary Organisation. The Delta Force, under the leadership of Captain Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris), is called in to handle the situation. Still smarting from an ill-fated hostage rescue mission several years prior, this elite squad of special forces are determined to succeed in their mission this time – and assert the might of the American military once and for all. 

Drawing on a number of true-life terrorist incidents for inspiration, most notably the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847, The Delta Force is a non-stop thrill ride which culminates in one of the most explosive action flick finales of all time. With Chuck Norris on hand to provide the muscle and gravelly-voiced Lee Marvin (The Killers) in his last ever screen role, The Delta Force is one mission you can’t afford not to accept.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed 2.0 PCM stereo Audio

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Genre Hijackers: Mark Hartley on Cannon Films – The filmmaker discusses the explosive legacy of Golan and Globus

-        Chuck Norris Scribe: An Interview with writer James Bruner

-        May The Delta Force Be With You! - An interview with Commandant Christian Prouteau, founder of the French GIGN and instructor of the first Delta Force

-        Original Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author John Kenneth Muir and a contemporary article on Cannon Films, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

  

THE BEAST WITHIN

[Dual Format]

12th May 2014

KILL ME, PLEASE KILL ME… BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Late one full moonlit night, a woman stands alone on the roadside waiting for her husband to return to their broken-down car. All of a sudden she’s pounced upon, dragged into the dark woods and savaged by a barely-glimpsed assailant. But this is only the beginning of the terror in The Beast Within…

Seventeen years on, and the devoted parents of teenager Michael are at their wits’ end. Their son lies in a hospital bed, his body wracked by a mysterious illness. With doctors unable to offer any diagnosis, Michael’s desperate parents are forced to seek out the answer themselves – by digging up traumatic past events and confronting the true nature of their son’s conception.

The Beast Within stands apart from other creature features due to its decidedly grim tone – the scenes in which the monster violates his victims proved too strong for some critics – and standout transformation sequence to rival the likes of An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. Add to that strong lead performances from Paul Clemens and Ronny Cox (Deliverance, RoboCop), alongside a stunning score by the late, great Les Baxter, and you have yourself one absolute beast of a monster movie!

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM - available uncut in the UK for the first time!

-        Original stereo 2.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray) 

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing 

-        New audio commentary with director Philippe Mora moderated by author Calum Waddell 

-        I Was a Teenage Cicada: The Making of The Beast Within - An in-depth look back at Philippe Mora’s creature feature classic featuring new interviews with writer Tom Holland, actors Paul Clemens, John Dennis Johnston, Katherine Moffat and effects wizard Garry Elmendorf 

-        Storyboarding The Beast – An all-new animated featurette in which Philippe Mora discusses the film’s journey from storyboard to screen 

-        Image Gallery – Including rare production stills from the private collection of star Paul Clemens plus new photographs of various special effects props 

-        Original Trailer 

-        Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc Schoenbach 

-        Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Lee Gambin, author of Massacred by Mother Nature: Exploring the Natural Horror Film plus a contemporary article on the film’s production, all illustrated with original stills and artwork

KOYAANISQATSI + POWAQQATSI

[Blu-ray]

12th May 2014

ko●yaa●nis●qatsi (from the Hopi language)

n., 1. crazy life  2. life in turmoil  3. life out of balance  4. life disintegrating  5. a state of life that calls for another way of living

po●waq●qa●tsi (from the Hopi language, powaq sorcerer + qatsi life)

n., an entity, a way of life, that consumes the life forces of other beings in order to further its own life

Told without dialogue, narration, cast or characters, Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi are dizzying, hypnotic examples of cinema set to extraordinary scores by Philip Glass. The first instalment concentrates on the United States, contrasting its natural beauty with a population ever more dependent on modern technology. The second switches to the Southern hemisphere and focuses on cultures and traditions that are slowly eroding away as the modern world takes over.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New, restored digital transfers of Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks

-        Introduction by filmmaker and composer Gary Tarn (Black Sun, The Prophet)

-        Interviews with Reggio and composer Philip Glass on the making of Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi

-        Anima Mundi (1992): Reggio’s 28-minute montage of over seventy animal species, scored by Philip Glass

-        Original theatrical trailers for Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi

-        Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Anton Bitel, Michael Brooke, Peter Cowie and Jean-Baptiste Gouyon

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM

[Blu-ray and Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray]

19th May 2014

THE GREATEST TERROR TALE EVER TOLD!

A horse-drawn carriage pulls up on a deserted beach. A sombre figure dismounts and gazes up towards his destination – a foreboding cliff-top castle perched high above the crashing waves. Thus the perfect Gothic scene is set for Pit and the Pendulum, the second of Roger Corman’s celebrated Poe adaptations once again starring the ever-reliable Vincent Price (The Fall of the House of Usher, Theatre of Blood) alongside the bewitching Barbara Steele (Black Sunday).

Having learned of the sudden death of his sister Elizabeth (Steele), Francis Barnard (John Kerr) sets out to the castle of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Medina, to uncover the cause of her untimely demise. A distraught, grief-stricken Nicholas (Price) can offer only the vaguest explanations as to Elizabeth’s death – at first citing “something in her blood”, but later asserting that she quite literally “died of fright”. What sort of unspeakable horrors are buried within the walls of this castle that could cause one’s heart to stop so? With Francis determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, the terrible truth will not stay buried for long.

Right from its brooding kaleidoscopic opening titles, Pit and the Pendulum draws you into its world of cobwebs, secret passageways and dusty suits of armour. All the necessary elements are present and correct and, along with one of Vincent Price’s most tortured performances, make Pit and the Pendulum every inch the Gothic masterpiece. 

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio

-        Optional Isolated Music and Effects Track

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman

-        Audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas

-        Behind the Swinging Blade – A new documentary on the making of Pit and the Pendulum featuring Roger Corman, star Barbara Steele, Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price and more!

-        Added TV Sequence – Shot in 1968 to pad out the film for the longer TV time slot, this scene features star Luana Anders

-        An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe with Vincent Price – Price reads a selection of Poe’s classic stories before a live audience, including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum (with optional English SDH)

-        Original Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Gothic Horror author Jonathan Rigby, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

THEATRE OF BLOOD

[Blu-ray and Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray]

19th May 2014

VINCENT PRICE HAS RESERVED A SEAT FOR YOU IN THE “THEATRE OF BLOOD”

It's never been tougher to be a critic than in THEATRE OF BLOOD, one of the greatest horror comedies of all time. Vincent Price gives a career best performance as Edward Lionhart, a veteran Shakespearean actor who, when passed over for the coveted Critic's Circle award for Best Actor takes deadly revenge on the critics who snubbed him.

With one of the greatest ensemble casts ever assembled for a horror film including Diana Rigg, Harry Andrews, Jack Hawkins and Arthur Lowe, THEATRE OF BLOOD is an dementedly funny and deliciously macarbe cult classic.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed mono PCM audio

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary with The League of Gentlemen, Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith

-        A Priceless Potboiler: Victoria Price discusses Theatre of Blood

-        A Fearful Thespian: an interview with David Del Valle

-        Staged Reaction: an interview with star Madeleine Smith

-        A Harmony for Horror: an interview with composer Michael J. Lewis

-        Original Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Smith

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by film critic Cleaver Patterson and a reproduction of original press book material, illustrated with original archive stills

SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS

[Blu-ray]

26th May 2014

VERONICA LAKE’S ON THE TAKE

Director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is one of Hollywood’s hottest talents, with an uncanny gift for getting audiences rolling in the aisles. But he’s dissatisfied: he wants to abandon comedy for Serious Statements, and buys the rights to celebrated social-realist novel ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’

To make his masterpiece as realistic as possible, Sullivan naturally has to understand how the book’s downtrodden characters must have felt, so he takes to the road as a hobo, is taken under the wing of a failed actress (Veronica Lake), and learns several valuable home truths about the importance of not patronising his audience.

Writer-director Preston Sturges had an inspired run in the 1940s, turning out some of the funniest American comedies ever made (The Lady Eve, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek). Sullivan’s Travels is one of his best: not just hilarious but also truly wise.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New high definition digital transfer of the film by Universal Pictures

-        Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary by filmmaker and Python Terry Jones

-        Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer – Kenneth Bowser’s acclaimed feature-length documentary portrait from the American Masters series

-        Kevin Jackson on Sullivan’s Travels: an appreciation by the writer and broadcaster

-        The Preston Sturges Stock Company: a celebration of Sturges’ regular character actors and bit-part players

-        Safeguarding Military Information: a Sturges-scripted propaganda short released in the same month as Sullivan’s Travels

-        Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw

-        Booklet featuring new writing on the film by screwball comedy expert Peter Swaab, plus archive pieces by Geoff Brown and Preston Sturges, illustrated with original stills and poster designs

THE COMPLETE DR. PHIBES

[Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set and Individual ‘The Abominable Dr. Phibes’ and ‘Dr. Phibes Rises Again’ Releases]

9th June 2014 / 10th November 2014

“NINE KILLED HER, NINE SHALL DIE, NINE ETERNITIES IN DOOM!”

Horror legend Vincent Price (The Fall of the House of Usher, Theatre of Blood) is Dr. Phibes, former musician, current murderer. Seeking revenge from the medical staff that left his wife for dead, he sets about knocking them off one-by-one in a series of elaborate murders based upon a Ten Plagues of Egypt. Death by bats, by boils, by blood and more await the nurse and surgeons who failed to save the life of the beloved Victoria Regina Phibes!

A camp classic, The Abominable Dr. Phibes sets itself apart from the seventies horror crowd with its knowing humour and art deco sets, and also prefigures the Saw movies with its increasingly fiendish set of murder devices.

Pairing the original film with sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again, The Complete Dr. Phibes provides viewers with a double diabolical dose of macabre thrills and black comedy.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        Limited edition boxed-set (3000 copies) containing both films and 100-page collector’s booklet

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Dr. Phibes Rises Again, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed 1.0 Mono PCM Audio for both films

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for both films

-        Audio commentary on The Abominable Dr. Phibes by director Robert Fuest

-        Audio commentary on The Abominable Dr. Phibes by the creator of Dr. Phibes, William Goldstein

-        Audio commentary on Dr. Phibes Rises Again by critic and author Tim Lucas

-        Dr. Phibes and the Gentlemen – The League of Gentlemen fondly recall a pair of British horror classics

-        Daughter of Phibes – Victoria Price discusses Vincent Price’s career

-        The Doctor Will See You Now – an interview with Vincent Price’s biographer, David Del Valle

-        Original Trailers for both films

-        100-page collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Julian Upton, Martin Jones, Justin Humphreys and Jonny Trunk, the on-set recollections of Caroline Munro, plus interviews with Tim Burton and AIP publicist Milton Moritz, all illustrated with rare and original archive stills

PORKY’S

[Blu-ray and Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray]

16th June 2014

YOU’LL BE GLAD YOU CAME!

Long before American Pie and Superbad came the original and best sex comedy. A firm favourite of teen movie fans, Porky’s introduced audiences to Kim Cattrall (Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China) and made an absolute killing at the box-office.

It’s 1954 and the sex-obsessed boys of Angel Beach High School are looking to get laid. Porky’s is their destination, local nightclub and whorehouse. Only its redneck owner has other plans, as does his sheriff brother. Will Meat, Mickey, Tommy and the other guys in the gang get their own back? And will the barely-endowed Pee Wee finally lose his virginity?

Having established his credentials as one of Canada’s top horror filmmakers with the likes of Black Christmas and Dead of Night, Bob Clark took an unexpected turn into the world of the teenage sex comedy and inadvertently made the most successful Canadian motion picture of all time, an honour it still holds today.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the film from a digital transfer prepared by Twentieth Century Fox

-        Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary by writer/director Bob Clark

-        Porky’s Through the Peephole – Bob Clark looks back at his box-office sensation

-        Skin Classic! – Mr Skin celebrates Porky’s and the heyday of the 80s teen sex comedy

-        Porky’s trailer reel

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jim Rugg

-        Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Paul Corupe, creator of the Canuxploitation website, and a previously unpublished interview with director Bob Clark conducted by Calum Waddell, illustrated with archive stills.

REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS…

[Blu-ray]

7th July 2014

First they faked his death and gave him a new identity. Now a top secret organisation is training a former New York cop to combat corrupt forces operating outside of the law. His mentor, Chiun, is an ageing Korean master of the martial arts who can run on water and dodge speeding bullets.

Born on the pages of Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s The Destroyer series of men’s adventure novels, Remo Williams was placed in the capable hands of Bond director Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger, The Man with the Golden Gun) for his big-screen outing. Fred Ward (Tremors) plays the trainee assassin, with Academy Award-winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) occupying the role of Chiun.

With its classic set-piece atop the Statue of Liberty, much-loved score by Craig Safan and a healthy sense of its own silliness, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins… offers up a cracking slice of mid-eighties action.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the film from a digital transfer prepared by MGM Studios

-        Original uncompressed Stereo 2.0 PCM audio

-        Isolated Music and Effects soundtrack

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary with producers Larry Spiegel and Judy Goldstein

-        Remo, Rambo, Reagan and Reds: The Eighties Action Movie Explosion – all-new feature-length documentary from High Rising Productions focusing on a decade of cinematic destruction and Remo Williams’s place among the carnage. Includes new interviews with genre expert Bey Logan, Remo producers Larry Spiegel and Judy Goldstein, celebrated directors Sam Firstenberg (American Ninja) and Mark L. Lester (Commando), producers Don Borchers (Angel) and Garrick Dion (Drive), filmmaker and scholar Howard S. Berger and Professor Susan Jeffords (author of Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era)

-        When East Met West – Joel Grey reflects on his turn as Chiun

-        Changing Faces – make-up expert Carl Fullerton discusses his Oscar-nominated work on Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins…

-        Notes for a Nobleman – composer Craig Safan talks about his classic score

-        Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Red Dress

-        Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the origins of Remo Williams by Barry Forshaw and an on-set report from American Cinematographer magazine

L’ASSASSINO

[Dual Format]

21st July 2014

THE LADYKILLER OF ROME

Released within months of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Antonioni’s La Notte, Elio Petri’s dazzling first feature L’Assassino also stars Marcello Mastroianni, this time as dandyish thirtysomething antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli, arrested on suspicion of murdering his older, far wealthier lover Adalgisa (Micheline Presle).  But as the increasingly Kafkaesque police investigation proceeds, it becomes less and less important whether Martelli actually committed the crime as his entire lifestyle is effectively put on trial.

Best known for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and The Tenth Victim, Petri was one of the finest and yet most underrated Italian directors of the 1960s and 70s.  Highly acclaimed on its original UK release but unjustly neglected since, L’Assassino is a remarkably assured debut from one of the cinema’s sharpest chroniclers of Italian social and political realities.  Petri said that he wanted to reflect the changes wrought by the early sixties, and to examine “a new generation of upstarts who lacked any kind of moral scruple”.

Arrow Academy is proud to present the first ever UK video release of L’Assassino in a gorgeous high-definition restoration created by the Cineteca di Bologna.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New 2K digital restoration from the Cineteca di Bologna

-        Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio

-        Elio Petri and L’Assassino, an introduction by Italian cinema expert Pasquale Iannone

-        Tonino Guerra: A Poet in the Movies: Nicola Tranquillino’s documentary about the great Italian screenwriter

-        Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw

-        Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Elio Petri expert Camilla Zamboni, plus a selection of contemporary reviews

BOUND

[Dual Format]

18th August 2014

VIOLET AND CORKY ARE MAKING LAUNDRY DAY A VERY BIG DEAL.

Before making their name with worldwide smash hit The Matrix and its two sequels (which they similarly wrote and directed), sibling duo the Wachowskis debuted with this sizzling neo-noir thriller financed by legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis.

Gina Gershon (Showgirls, Face/Off) plays Corky, a young woman recently released from a five-year jail term for, as she puts it, the “redistribution of wealth”. After a brief lift encounter with her sexy and sultry neighbour Violet (Jennifer Tilly) the pair strike up a steamy love affair under the nose of Violet’s unhinged Mafia boyfriend Ceasar (Joe Pantoliano). Soon the two women are hatching a plot to steal $2 million from Ceasar and his associates – but if you’re going to mess with the mob, you’d better be sure you do it right…

Hugely well received upon its release, reviews for Bound saw some critics comparing the Wachowskis with the Coen Brothers – and Blood Simple in particular – whilst Roger Ebert heaped praise on the film, declaring it to be “one of those movies that works you up, wrings you out and leaves you gasping”. By turns shocking and funny (and with plenty of lesbian sex scenes thrown in for good measure) Bound is an astoundingly assured debut which oozes style and sensuality.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition digital transfer

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation

-        Optional 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo audio (with DTS-HD Master Audio and Uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio Commentary with Writer/Directors the Wachowskis, Stars Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, and Joe Pantoliano, Editor Zach Staenberg, and Consultant Susie Bright

-        Femme Fatales - Interviews with Stars Gina Gershon & Jennifer Tilly

-        Hail Ceasar! – An Interview with Actor Joe Pantoliano

-        Here’s Johnny! – An Interview with Actor Christopher Meloni

-        Modern Noir: The Sights & Sounds of Bound – Interviews with Director of Photography Bill Pope, Editor Zach Staenberg, and Composer Don Davis

-        Vintage EPK Featurettes (US & International Versions)

-        Theatrical Trailers

-        TV Spots

-        Still Gallery Images

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Smith

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by James Oliver

BRANDED TO KILL + TRAPPED IN LUST 

[Dual Format]

18th August 2014

Seijun Suzuki’s delirious 1967 hit-man film has drawn comparisons with contemporaries Le Samourai and Point Blank and influenced directors such as John Woo, Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino among others.

The story of laconic yakuza Hanada, aka ‘No. 3 Killer’, the third rated hit-man in Japan who takes an impossible job from the mysterious, death obsessed Misako. Hanada bungles the hit and finds himself the target of his employers and a bullet ridden journey leads him to face the No. 1 Killer.

Shot in cool monochrome with beguiling visuals, Branded to Kill is an effortlessly cool crime film with a jazzy score that caused Suzuki to be fired by the studio’s executives but is now rightly recognised as his masterpiece.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New High Definition digital transfer

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation

-        Newly translated English subtitles for both films

-        Interview with director Seijun Suzuki

-        Interview with star Jo Shishido by critic and author Koshi Ueno

-        Trapped in Lust [Aiyoku no wana] (1973) – A delirious roman porno re-imagining of Branded to Kill from Atsushi Yamatoya, one of Branded to Kill’s screenwriters and Suzuki’s regular collaborators

-        Original Trailers for Branded to Kill and Trapped in Lust

-        Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan

-        Booklet by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp, illustrated with original stills and new artwork by Ian MacEwan

CAMERA OBSCURA: THE WALERIAN BOROWCZYK COLLECTION

[Limited Dual Format Edition and Individual ‘Short Films and Animation’, ‘Goto, Isle of Love’, ‘Blanche’ and ‘The Beast’ Releases]

8th September 2014

This groundbreaking collection brings together Walerian Borowczyk’s key films from a twenty-five-year period stretching from 1959 through to 1984.

This unique release includes five of Borowczyk’s provocative feature films: Theatre de M et Mme Kabal, Goto, l’ile d’amour, Blanche, Contes Immoraux and La Bete as well as his groundbreaking short films from this period.

Not only are many of these films available on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time, but also in new digital high definition restorations approved by the director’s widow, Ligia Branice.

In addition to exclusive documentaries featuring cast and crew, an hour long portrait of Borowczyk is to be included, featuring the director’s musings on painting, animation and sex.

Accompanying this seminal release is a book edited by Borowczyk experts Daniel Bird and Michael Brooke featuring newly commissioned essays on Borowczyk’s films and art, as well as an account of the meticulous restoration process involved.

To round off the release is, for the first time, an English translation of Borowczyk’s 1992 collection of short stories, Anatomy of the Devil, translated by the director’s assistant, Michael Levy.

Arrow Academy’s Walerian Borowczyk Collection is a vital addition to anyone interested in either world cinema, animation or experimental film.

WALERIAN BOROWCZYK: SHORT FILMS AND ANIMATION

For the first decade of his career, Walerian Borowczyk exclusively made short films, initially in his native Poland, but then mostly in France, where he settled permanently in the late 1950s. This disc includes the vast majority of the shorts that he made between 1959 and 1984, apart from ones that were originally intended to accompany specific features.

  

Far from being prentice work or optional extras, the shorts include many of his greatest films, such as the cut-out Astronauts, the reverse-motion Renaissance and the extraordinary Angels’ Games, a one-off masterpiece of the macabre that would alone establish Borowczyk as one of the cinema’s most innovative artists. 

In 1967, Borowczyk made his feature debut, a grotesque and surreal fantasy about the physically and temperamentally mismatched couple Mr & Mrs Kabal.  Made with a tiny production team at a time when animated feature films were far scarcer than they are now, it’s almost the polar opposite of a Disney film, with angular, mainly monochrome graphics bringing the Kabals’ universe to startlingly vivid life.  Both this and all the short films are presented in brand new high-definition restorations from original 35mm elements. 

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New high definition digital transfers of the feature and the shorts

-        Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles where necessary

-        The short films Astronauts (1959), The Concert (1962), Grandmother’s Encyclopaedia (1963), Renaissance (1963), Angels’ Games (1964), Joachim’s Dictionary (1965), Rosalie (1966), Gavotte (1967), Diptych (1967), The Phonograph (1969), The Greatest Love of All Time (1978), Scherzo Infernal (1984)

-        Introduction by filmmaker and animator Terry Gilliam

-        Film is Not a Sausage, a documentary about Borowczyk’s animated work featuring Borowczyk, producer Dominique Duvergé-Ségrétin, assistant André Heinrich and composer Bernard Parmegiani

-        Blow Ups, a visual essay by Daniel Bird about Borowczyk’s works on paper

-        Commercials by Walerian Borowczyk: Holy Smoke (1963), The Museum (1964), Tom Thumb (1966)

GOTO, ISLE OF LOVE

Walerian Borowczyk’s second feature was just as original as his first.  Almost entirely live action this time, it is situated on the archipelago of Goto, which has been cut off from the rest of human civilisation by a massive earthquake and has consequently developed its own arcane rules.  Melancholic dictator Goto III (Pierre Brasseur) is married to the beautiful Glossia (Ligia Branice), who in turn is lusted after by the petty thief Gozo (Guy Saint-Jean) as he works his way up the hierarchy.  

Its thinly veiled critique of totalitarianism saw it banned in both Communist Poland and Fascist Spain (to Borowczyk’s delight), but the film is most notable for its uniquely original atmosphere, in which bizarre props and sets (designed by Borowczyk himself) are given as much weight as the human actors.  Its grave beauty is underscored to perfection by one of Handel’s organ concertos.  

This brand new high-definition restoration from the original 35mm interpositive includes the haunting colour sequences that were sometimes omitted from earlier releases. 

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New high definition digital restoration

-        Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles

-        Introduction by artist and Turner Prize nominee Craigie Horsfield

-        The Concentration Universe, a new interview programme featuring actor Jean-Pierre Andréani, cameraman Noël Véry and camera assistant Jean-Pierre Platel

-        The Profligate Door, a new documentary about Borowczyk’s sound sculptures featuring curator Maurice Corbet

BLANCHE

One of the greatest of all medieval films, not least for its utterly distinctive realisation of a recognisable yet alien world, Walerian Borowczyk’s third feature was widely hailed as a masterpiece from the moment it first appeared and is still regarded as one of his greatest films.

Based on Juliusz Słowacki’s 19th-century play Mazepa but relocated to 13th-century France, Blanche tells the story of the beautiful young wife (Ligia Branice) of a nobleman many decades older (French acting legend Michel Simon).  As innocent as her name suggests, Blanche becomes the unwilling centre of attention in a power struggle between her husband, the visiting King and his page, the latter a notorious womaniser.  Its unique visual style resembles a medieval fresco, and its period-instruments soundtrack, adapting the ancient ‘Carmina Burana’ song book, was years ahead of its time.

Blanche is presented in a brand new high-definition restoration from original 35mm elements.

  

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New high definition digital transfers of the feature and the shorts

-        Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles where necessary

-        Introduction by Schalcken the Painter director Leslie Megahey

-        Ballad of Imprisonment, a documentary about the film featuring producer Dominique Duvergé-Ségrétin, assistant director André Heinrich, camera operator Noël Véry and assistant Patrice Leconte

-        Obscure Pleasures: A Portrait of Walerian Borowczyk, a newly edited archival interview in which Borowczyk discusses painting, cinema and sex

-        Gunpoint, a documentary short by Peter Graham produced and edited by Borowczyk

IMMORAL TALES

Although it has much in common with Walerian Borowczyk’s earlier work, Immoral Tales marks the point where his reputation as an arty pornographer began, and was sexually explicit enough to have caused problems with the censors on its original UK release.

It tells four stories revolving around particular taboos (virginity, female masturbation, bloodlust, incest), each delving further back in time, as if to suggest that the same issues recur constantly throughout human history and in all walks of life, whether it’s Lucrezia Borgia (Florence Bellamy) or Erzsébet Báthory (Paloma Picasso in her only screen role) or the anonymous teenagers of the earlier episodes. 

This high-definition restoration by Argos Films is being released on Blu-ray with English subtitles for the first time.  The film is presented in two versions: the familiar four-part edition, and the original five-part conception, including the short film The True Story of the Beast of Gévaudan that was later expanded into Borowczyk’s later feature The Beast.  The disc also includes both cuts of A Private Collection (1973), the short film that scandalised film festival audiences with its witty and often graphic study of vintage erotica.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New high definition digital transfers of the feature and the shorts

-        Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles

-        Introduction by Borowczyk expert Daniel Bird

-        Love Reveals Itself, a new interview programme featuring production manager Dominique Duvergé-Ségrétin and cinematographer Noël Véry

-        A Private Collection (1973), presented in the commercially released version and the more explicit ‘Oberhausen’ cut

-        Boro Brunch, a reunion meal recorded in February 2014 reuniting members of Borowczyk’s crew

-        Theatrical trailer

THE BEAST

Originally turned down flat by the British Board of Film Censors and initially released exclusively in London in a version heavily cut by its nervous distributor, The Beast is Walerian Borowczyk’s most notorious film, although it’s much wittier and more playful than its subject matter might suggest. 

Lucy Broadhurst (Lisbeth Hummel) is due to inherit a substantial fortune, but on condition that she marries the son of her late father’s best friend.  But Mathurin de l’Espérance (Pierre Benedetti) seems more interested in his horses than in his bride-to-be, and when Lucy finds out about the story of his 18th-century ancestor Romilda (Sirpa Lane) and brings her to life in one of the most outrageous dream sequences in cinema history, we begin to realise just how bizarre Mathurin’s bloodline truly is.

Receiving its Blu-ray world premiere, this new high-definition restoration by Argos Films is supported by the original short-film version of The Beast, and Venus on the Half-Shell (1975), Borowczyk’s portrait of the painter Bona Tibertelli de Pisis and her erotic fusions of men, women and molluscs.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New high definition digital transfers of the feature and the shorts

-        Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles

-        Introduction by film critic Peter Bradshaw

-        Venus on the Half-Shell (1975)

-        The Making of The Beast: camera operator Noël Véry provides a commentary on footage shot during the film’s production

-        Frenzy of Ecstasy, a new visual essay on the evolution of Borowczyk’s beast and the sequel that never was, Motherhood

-        Theatrical trailer

BRUTE FORCE

[Dual Format]

15th September 2014

NOBODY REALLY ESCAPES

Before making the French crime classic Rififi, Jules Dassin was arguably the greatest of film noir directors, responsible for a string of gems including The Naked City, Thieves’ Highway and Night and the City. Brute Force kickstarted that run of pictures and never did a film live up to its name more.

Burt Lancaster is Joe Collins, one of a number of convicts squeezed into cell R17 intent on staging a prison break. Not only does he need to return to the side of his cancer-ridden wife (Ann Blyth), he also wants to escape the clutches of sadistic warden Captain Munsey (an unforgettable performance from Hume Cronyn) who enjoys a reign of terror over the inmates.

Beautifully shot by the great William H. Daniels, tautly written by Richard Brooks (Blackboard Jungle, In Cold Blood) and impeccably acted by its ensemble of noir familiars, Brute Force remains a prison movie classic.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New High Definition digital transfer of the film

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation

-        Original mono 1.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

-        Burt Lancaster: The Film Noir Years – an in-depth look at the actor’s early career by Kate Buford, author of Burt Lancaster: An American Life

-        Theatrical trailer

-        Stills gallery

-        Reversible sleeve featuring the original poster and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist

-        Collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Frank Krutnik, author of In a Lonely Street: Film Noir, Genre, Masculinity, and Swell Guy, an obituary of Brute Force’s producer, Mark Hellinger, by its screenwriter, Richard Brooks, illustrated with original stills

THE ‘BURBS

[Blu-ray and Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray]

15th September 2014

HE’S A MAN OF PEACE IN A SAVAGE LAND… SUBURBIA.

The films of director Joe Dante have taken us to some strange places – a mysterious Chinatown antique store in Gremlins; a secluded resort  populated by werewolves in The Howling; even deep inside the human body in Innerspace. But now he takes us to the strangest place of all – surburbia!

Family man Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) is looking forward to a week of putting his feet up at home in the quiet, leafy cul-de-sac of Mayfield Place. But his plans are scuppered by the arrival of new next-door neighbours, The Klopeks, whose behaviour and habits are more than just a little kooky. But things go from kooky to downright sinister when local old boy Walter disappears, leading Ray and his buddies to suspect their new neighbours of killing and eating him! Sure, the Klopeks are a strange bunch what with their digging up the backyard in the middle of the night – but they’re not devil-worshipping cannibal killers… are they?

If you’re looking for a knowing slice of tongue-in-cheek terror then look no further than The ’Burbs. A standout horror comedy from a director who has given us more than his fair share of fun frighteners, The ’Burbs assembles a superb cast including Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher and Corey Feldman in a tall tale of small-town terror. You’ll never look at those eccentric neighbours in the same way again!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Theatrical cut, newly-restored from the original film elements

-        Original uncompressed 2.0 Stereo PCM Audio

-        Isolated Music and Effects Soundtrack

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        New audio commentary with writer Dana Olsen, moderated by author Calum Waddell

-        There Goes the Neighbourhood: The Making of The ’Burbs - A new feature-length documentary including interviews with Dante, actors Corey Feldman, Courtney Gains and Wendy Schaal, director of photography Robert M. Stevens and production designer James H. Spencer

-        The original Workprint cut of the film transferred from Director Joe Dante’s personal copy, on home video for the very first time - includes deleted and alternate scenes!

-        A Tale of Two ‘Burbs – Video featurette comparing the differences between the Workprint and Theatrical cuts of the film, with optional audio commentary from Dante

-        Alternate ending, presented in HD for the very first time

-        Original Theatrical Trailer in HD

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kenneth J. Souza, author of Scared Silly: The Films of Joe Dante, and an article looking at the collaborations of Joe Dante and composer Jerry Goldsmith, illustrated with original archive stills and posters. 

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE 

[Dual Format and Limited Edition SteelBook Dual Format]

15th September 2014

IN SPACE NO ONE CAN EAT ICE CREAM…

Clowns can be terrifying at the best of times – especially when they’re Killer Klowns from Outer Space!  When Mike and his girlfriend Debbie turn up at the local police station warning that a gang of homicidal alien clowns have arrived in the town of Crescent Grove, the cops are naturally sceptical. Talk of popcorn-firing guns and a spaceship shaped like a circus tent out in the woods hardly helps to convince them.

Before long, however, reports start coming in from anxious locals reporting similar run-ins with the colourfully-dressed, large shoe-wearing assailants. There can no longer be any doubt - the Killer Klowns from Outer Space are here and they’re out to turn the population into candy floss!

The sole directorial effort from the Chiodo brothers – the special effects team behind such hits as Critters and Team America: World Police – Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the wacky 1988 horror-comedy classic against which all other knowing B-movie efforts should be measured. So, in the words of the film’s opening theme song, hop aboard the “nightmare merry-go-round” and brace yourself for a cinematic experience unparalleled in this galaxy!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original Stereo 2.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio Commentary with the Chiodo Brothers

-        The Making of Killer Klowns – a 20-minute featurette looking at the film’s production, including an interview with the Chiodo Brothers alongside behind-the-scenes footage

-        Visual Effects with Gene Warren Jr. – an interview with Charles Chiodo and visual effects supervisor Gene Warren Jr.

-        Kreating Klowns – an interview with Charles Chiodo and creature fabricator Dwight Roberts

-        Bringing Life to These Things – A Tour of Chiodo Bros. Productions

-        Chiodo Brothers' Earliest Films – a look back at the Chiodo Brothers’ early homemade productions

-        Tales of Tobacco: A brand new interview with star Grant Cramer

-        Debbie's Big Night: A brand new interview with star Suzanne Snyder

-        Komposing Klowns – interview with composer John Massari

-        Deleted Scenes with Director’s Commentary

-        Bloopers

-        Klown Auditions

-        Image Gallery

-        Original Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Godmachine

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Starburst critic Joel Harley, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

NIGHT OF THE COMET

[Dual Format]

22ndSeptember 2014

IT WAS THE LAST THING ON EARTH THEY EVER EXPECTED.

Life can be tough when you’re a Valley girl. First, there’s making sure you’re on time for pep squad practice. Then there’s having to live under the same roof as your bitchy stepmother who, you suspect, is making it with Chuck from across the road. And then, of course, there’s having to keep on the lookout for the occasional marauding zombie hungering after your flesh!

Eighteen year-old Reggie (Catherine Mary Stewart – Weekend at Bernie’s, The Last Starfighter) misses out on the event-of-a-lifetime when she ditches watching the comet in favour of copping off with the projectionist at the cinema where she works. But this turns out to be a wise move when, the next day, she discovers that the entire population has been reduced to piles of red dust – leaving only Reggie, her sister Sam (Kelli Maroney – Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Chopping Mall) and a handful of other survivors to fend off the roving gangs of glassy-eyed zombies.

Taking its cue from classic “doomsday” movies such as The Day of the Triffids and The Omega Man (and with a healthy dose of Dawn of the Dead thrown in for good measure), Night of the Comet is an irresistible slice of Reagan-era B-movie fare which features Cyndi Lauper dance-alongs as well as some truly gravity-defying bouffant hairstyles… Well, it was acceptable in the 80s!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original Stereo 2.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary with writer/director Thom Eberhardt

-        Audio commentary with stars Kelli Maroney and Catherine Mary Stewart

-        Audio commentary with production designer John Muto

-        Valley Girls at the End of the World – Interviews with Kelli Maroney and Catherine Mary Stewart

-        The Last Man on Earth? – An interview with actor Robert Beltran

-        End of the World Blues – A brand new interview with Star Mary Woronov

-        Curse of the Comet – An Interview with special make-up effects creator David B. Miller

-        Original Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by James Oliver illustrated with original archive stills and posters

MARK OF THE DEVIL

[Dual Format]

29th September 2014

Once proclaimed as “positively the most horrifying film ever made”, Mark of the Devil finally arrives uncut in the UK.

A bloody and brutal critique of religious corruption, Mark of the Devil sees horror icon Udo Kier (Flesh for Frankenstein, Suspiria) play a witchfinder’s apprentice whose faith in his master (Herbert Lom) becomes severely tested when they settle in an Austrian village. Presided over by the sadistic albino (a memorably nasty turn from Reggie Nalder), the film presents its morality not so much in shades of grey as shades of black.

Written and directed by Michael Armstrong, who would later pen Eskimo Nell, The Black Panther and House of the Long Shadows, this classic shocker has lost none of its power over the years – especially now that British audiences can finally see it in one piece.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements – available uncut in the UK for the first time!

-        Optional English and German audio

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Newly translated English subtitles for the German audio

-        Audio commentary by Michael Armstrong, moderated by Calum Waddell

-        Mark of the Times – exclusive feature-length documentary from High Rising Productions on the emergence of the ‘new wave’ of British horror directors that surfaced during the sixties and seventies, featuring contributions from Michael Armstrong, Norman J. Warren (Terror), David McGillivray (Frightmare), Professor Peter Hutchings (author of Hammer and Beyond) and famed film critic Kim Newman

-        Hallmark of the Devil – author and critic Michael Gingold looks back at Hallmark Releasing, the controversial and confrontational distributor that introduced Mark of the Devil to American cinemas

-        Interviews with composer Michael Holm and actors Udo Kier, Herbert Fux, Gaby Fuchs, Ingeborg Schöner and Herbert Lom

-        Mark of the Devil: Now and Then – a look at the film’s locations and how they appear today

-        Outtakes

-        Gallery

-        Reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

-        Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Smith and Anthony Nield, plus an interview with Reggie Nalder by David Del Valle, all illustrated with original stills and artwork

SALVATORE GIULIANO

[Dual Format]

29th September 2014

5 July 1950. Salvatore Giuliano, Italy’s most wanted criminal, is found shot dead in a dusty courtyard. Who killed him, and why?  And who was he?

The film that made Francesco Rosi’s international reputation, this Citizen Kane-style investigative portrait was originally called Sicily 1943-60, as Rosi sought not so much to depict Giuliano himself as the society from which he sprang, in which the police, the carabinieri and the Mafia all have strong vested interests. Filming in the exact locations and utilising court reports as primary source material, Rosi mainly cast local Sicilians, some of whom knew Giuliano personally. The only professional actors were Frank Wolff (Once Upon a Time in the West) and Salvo Randone (L’Assassino).

Stunningly shot by Gianni di Venanzo (Fellini’s 8½), the film was immediately hailed as a masterpiece, with Sight & Sound calling it “one of the most courageous things the Italian cinema has ever attempted”. More recently, Martin Scorsese cited it as one of his twelve favourite films, and his Film Foundation sponsored this sparkling new 4K restoration by the Cineteca di Bologna.  

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New 4K digital restoration from the Cineteca di Bologna

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film;

-        Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio

-        The Filmmaker and the Labyrinth, Roberto Andò’s documentary study of Francesco Rosi’s career featuring the filmmaker himself, Martin Scorsese and Giuseppe Tornatore among others

-        Francesco Rosi on Salvatore Giuliano, a new and exclusive interview with the great Italian director

-        The Sicilian Robin Hood, an interview with Salvatore Giuliano’s nephew Giuseppe

-        Salvatore Giuliano and the Mafia, an interview with journalist and Sicilian Mafia expert Attilio Bolzoni

-        Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw

-        Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Pasquale Iannone, an annotated synopsis by Ben Lawton, plus a selection of contemporary reviews

STRAY CAT ROCK: THE COLLECTION

[Limited Edition Dual Format]

6th October 2014

The Stray Cat Rock series stars Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood, Blind Woman’s Curse) who with these five films began her reign as the badass action queen of the era. In these five tales of rebellious youth she stars alongside the gorgeous Bunjaku Han (Love Letter) and Tatsuya Fuji (In the Realm of the Senses).

In Delinquent Girl Boss, the girl gang go up against criminal organisation the Seiyu Group, following a fixed boxing match blood is shed and friendships are tested. In Wild Jumbo, Kaji and the gang get involved in a kidnapping and the robbery of a religious organisation. In Sex Hunter, Kaji’s girl gang go up against the Eagles, a group led by Fuji where sex and violence erupt over the treatment of ‘half-breeds’. In Machine Animal, gang rivalry is once again the focus with two gangs pursuing some LSD pushers looking to move a big score. The series swansong, Beat ’71, sees Kaji framed and sent to prison by her boyfriend’s father and with the help of some hippies she strives to be re-united.

Directed by genre veterans Yasuharu Hasebe (Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song) and Toshiya Fujita (Lady Snowblood) the films feature a psychedelic mix of girl gangs, bikers, sex, drugs and rock and roll with plenty of ass-kicking to boot, all captured in a delirious mash up of pop aesthetics including split screens, freeze frames, injections of colour, frenetic editing and dizzying angles, making these films a riotous joy from beginning to end.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        Limited Edition Blu-ray (2000 copies only)

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of all 5 films in the Stray Cat Rock series, available in the English speaking world for the first time

-        Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays)

-        New English subtitle translation of all five films

-        Interview with Yasuharu Hasebe director of Delinquent Girl Boss,Sex Hunter and Machine Animal

-        Interview with actor Tatsuya Fuji, star of all five films

-        Original Trailers for all five films

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp

THE VISITOR

[Dual Format]

6th October 2014

THEY KNOW WE ARE HERE.

You may think you’ve seen it all, but NOTHING can prepare you for The Visitor! The ultimate excursion into B-movie madness, this 1979 cinematic oddity from schlock producer extraordinaire Ovidio G. Assonitis, director of such deliciously guilty pleasures as Beyond the Door and Tentacles, brings together an extraordinary ensemble cast in a mind-bending tale of a girl and her pet hawk. 

At first glance, Katy Collins is just like any other normal 8-year-old girl – but appearances can dangerously deceptive. As it turns out, Katy is the Earthly incarnation of an ancient evil by the name of Sateen – an intergalactic supernatural entity who was vanquished many light years ago. Katy possesses tremendous powers making her capable of great destruction – powers which some are keen to eradicate, and some to harness… 

A veritable cult phenomenon thanks to its recent re-discovery, The Visitor combines stunning imagery, incredible set-pieces alongside a truly jaw-dropping cast list which includes John Huston, Mel Ferrer, Shelley Winters and Franco Nero appearing as Jesus! 

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements<

-        Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Interview with Star Lance Henriksen 

-        Interview with Screenwriter Lou Comici

-        Interview with Cinematographer Ennio Guarnieri

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Erik Buckman

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film

THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN

[Dual Format]

13th October 2014

THE FIRST NEW HORROR CREATURE

Before he turned his hand to lycanthropes in An American Werewolf in London, shuffling zombies in the Thriller music video and hostile extra-terrestrials in Men in Black, special effects legend Rick Baker lent his talents to the creation of another memorable horror creature. Step forward, The Incredible Melting Man! 

When spacecraft Scorpio V returns to Earth following a mission to Saturn, two of the crew are dead and the third, astronaut Steve West, is in a critical condition. Critical, that is, until he rises from his hospital bed to bite chunks out of a nurse before escaping into the surrounding countryside. The authorities set about trying to track Steve down before he claims any other victims, but they don’t know the really bad news yet -  Steve is also highly radioactive!

The Incredible Melting Man offers up a wealth of show-stopping B-movie moments in its relatively modest running time – chief among them, the scene in which a disembodied head floats down a river only to smash messily on the rocks further downstream – but the real star of the show here is Baker’s ultra-icky special effects work which let you see the Melting Man’s transition in all its gooey, glistening glory. 

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements

-        Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio Commentary with William Sachs

-        Super 8 digest version of the film

-        Interview with Writer/Director William Sachs and Make-up Effects Artist Rick Baker

-        Interview with Make-up Effects Artist Greg Cannom

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin

-        Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film and more!

SHIVERS

[Dual Format and Limited Edition SteelBook Dual Format]

13th October 2014

BEING TERRIFIED IS JUST THE BEGINNING…

Initially reviled in its native land (some critics took exception to the fact the film was largely funded by the Canadian taxpayer), Shivers is an intensely claustrophobic, subversive masterpiece and an essential entry in the oeuvre of one of the horror genre’s most gifted auteurs. Some 40 years after its release, it still retains its power to shock.

Starliner Island is an idyllic community. Cut off from the rest of the world, the luxury apartment block affords its occupants the chance to escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city. But this isolation is to prove fatal when a new breed of parasite – a combination of aphrodisiac and venereal disease which arouses sexual aggression in its hosts – is let loose in the building, resulting in an orgy terror and mayhem.

Known under a host of alternate titles such as The Parasite Murders and They Came from Within!, Shivers is the startling debut full-length feature from director David Cronenberg which anticipates the body-horror concerns of his later films such as The Fly and Videodrome.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New High Definition Digital Transfer supervised and approved by writer-director David Cronenberg

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation

-        Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Parasite Memories: The Making of Shivers – A brand new documentary featuring interviews with stars Barbara Steele, Allan Kolman and Lynn Lowry, special effects genius Joe Blasco and film critic Kier-La Janisse

-        On Screen! – An episode of the Canadian television programme which documents the release history of Shivers, featuring interviews with Cronenberg, co-producer Don Carmody, as well as other cast and crew

-        From Stereo to Video – A specially-commissioned video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal, author of They Came from Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema, charting Cronenberg’s career from his experimental beginnings through to Videodrome, his first major studio picture

-        Original Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nat Marsh

-        Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Paul Corupe, creator of the Canuxploitation website, reprinted excerpts of Cronenberg on Cronenberg and more, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

WITHNAIL & I + HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING

[Limited Edition Dual-Format]

20th October 2014

The finest cult film known to humanity!

Camden Town, the arse-end of the sixties. Two struggling, unemployed actors decide some respite is in order and so depart their miserable flat for a week in the Lake District – one that will involve rain, booze, minimal supplies, a randy bull and an even randier Uncle Monty.

Based on the real-life experiences of former actor turned writer/director Bruce Robinson, Withnail and I has become one of British cinema’s most fondly remembered comedies. A cult film in the truest sense that has also become a classic.

Perfectly cast – with career-defining roles for Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths and Ralph Brown – and crammed with irresistibly quotable dialogue, Withnail and I is a sheer delight, even on the umpteenth viewing.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New 2K restoration of Withnail and I from the original camera negative, supervised and approved by director of photography Peter Hannan

-        Bruce Robinson’s follow-up feature, How to Get Ahead in Advertising, newly transferred from original film elements and approved by director of photography Peter Hannan

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) Presentation of both films

-        Original uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio for both films

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

-        Audio commentary by writer-director Bruce Robinson

-        Audio commentary by critic and writer Kevin Jackson, author of the BFI Modern Classic on Withnail and I

-        All four original ‘Withnail Weekend’ documentaries, first screened on Channel 4 in 1999, including The Peculiar Memories of Bruce Robinson, which looks at the director’s career, Withnail & Us, which focuses on the film’s making, and two shorter documentaries, I Demand to Have Some Booze and Withnail on the Pier

-        Newly filmed interview with production designer Michael Pickwoad, who discusses his work on Withnail & I and How to Get Ahead in Advertising

-        An appreciation of Withnail & I by Sam Bain, co-creator of Peep Show and Fresh Meat

-        Theatrical trailers for both films

-        Exclusive limited edition hardback book packaging containing new writing on the films, reprints of key articles on Withnail and I, deleted scenes and more across 200 pages, illustrated with original production stills

THE NAKED CITY

[Dual Format]27th October 2014

THERE ARE EIGHT MILLION STORIES IN THE NAKED CITY. THIS IS ONE OF THEM.

Jules Dassin followed up his explosive prison picture Brute Force with another slice of hard-boiled crime fiction. Within a decade he’d make Thieves’ Highway, Night and the City and Rififi, thus confirming Dassin’s position as one of the all-time-great film noir directors.

New York, the middle of summer. A blonde ex-model is murdered in her bathtub and detectives Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) and Halloran (Don Taylor) are assigned to the case. Their investigation will lead them through the entire city, from Park Avenue to the Lower East Side, culminating in a thrilling climax atop the Williamsburg Bridge.

Inspired by the work of the infamous tabloid photographer Weegee, The Naked City was the first major Hollywood production to be shot entirely on the streets of New York, making use of more than a hundred authentic locations. Both its editing and its cinematographer would earn Academy Awards, while the film itself would be recognised by the Library of Congress as one of American cinema’s most significant motion pictures.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        New high definition digital transfer of the film

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation

-        Original mono 1.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

-        Audio commentary by screenwriter Malvin Wald

-        Jules Dassin at LACMA – a 40-minute interview with Bruce Goldstein in which the director discusses his career

-        The Hollywood Ten – a 1950 documentary short on the ten filmmakers blacklisted from Hollywood for their refusal to name names before the House of Un-American Activities, including The Naked City’s screenwriter, Albert Maltz

-        New York and The Naked City: A personalised history of NY on the big screen by critic Amy Taubin

-        Gallery of production stills by infamous photojournalist Weegee

-        Theatrical trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring the original poster and newly commissioned artwork by Vladimir Zimakov

-        Collector’s booklet containing new writing by Alastair Phillips, Barry Salt and Sergio Angelini, illustrated with original production stills

THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH + EVIL EYE

[Dual Format]

17th November 2014

With a nod to Hitchcock and a wink in the direction of Agatha Christie, The Girl Who Knew Too Much inadvertently created a genre that would dominate Italian cinema for years to come: the giallo.

A young American secretary with a taste for lurid paperbacks witnesses a murder whilst visiting Rome – or does she? Nobody will believe her, but she appears to have stumbled upon the work of a serial killer active ten years earlier. The victims’ surnames began A, B and C… and hers begins with the letter D!

Starring the striking Letícia Román and John Saxon (Enter the Dragon, Tenebrae, A Nightmare on Elm Street), The Girl Who Knew Too Much is presented in both its original Italian version and the longer US cut, entitled Evil Eye, that was re-edited and re-scored by American International Pictures.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of two versions of the film: The Girl Who Knew Too Much – the original Italian version; and Evil Eye – the re-edited and re-scored US version prepared by American International Pictures

-        Original uncompressed 2.0 mono PCM audio for both versions

-        Optional English subtitles for The Girl Who Knew Too Much

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for Evil Eye

-        Audio commentary by Mario Bava’s biographer Tim Lucas

-        Introduction by writer and critic Alan Jones

-        All About the Girl – Filmmakers Luigi Cozzi (The Killer Must Kill Again) and Richard Stanley (Dust Devil), alongside authors Alan Jones (Profondo Argento) and Mikel Koven (La Dolce Morte) reflect on Mario Bava's classic giallo

-        International trailer

-        US trailer

-        Reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

-        Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kier-La Janisse

THE KILLERS (1946)

[Blu-ray]

8th December 2014

THE MAN WHO WANTED TO DIE…

Ernest Hemingway’s spare, laconic short story about two professional killers and their encounter with a mysteriously unresisting victim was significantly expanded into this all-time film noir classic, which Hemingway said was the first adaptation of his work that he really admired.

As washed-up boxer turned hitman victim Ole ‘Swede’ Andreson, Burt Lancaster made his screen debut, and was catapulted to instant stardom, not least for the screen chemistry that he showed opposite sultry Ava Gardner, whose Kitty Collins is the very personification of the femme fatale.  

German émigré Robert Siodmak was one of the filmmakers who helped create film noir, and Elwood Bredell’s high-contrast cinematography, all harsh lighting and long shadows, elevates the film far above a conventional crime drama.  But even on that level it’s a first-rate demonstration of how to maintain narrative tension, with the flashback structure withholding crucial details until almost the very end.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        Newly restored High Definition (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by Universal

-        Original uncompressed PCM mono 1.0 audio

-        Isolated Music & Effects soundtrack to highlight Miklós Rózsa’s famous score

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

-        Frank Krutnik on The Killers, a video piece by the author of In a Lonely Street, which introduces the film and offers a detailed commentary on four key scenes

-        Heroic Fatalism, a video essay adapted from Philip Booth’s comparative study of multiple versions of The Killers (Hemingway, Siodmak, Tarkovsky, Siegel)

-        Three archive radio pieces inspired by The Killers: the 1949 Screen Director’s Playhouse adaptation with Burt Lancaster and Shelley Winters; a 1946 Jack Benny spoof; the 1958 Suspense episode ‘Two for the Road’ which reunited original killers William Conrad and Charles McGraw

-        Stills and posters gallery

-        Trailers for The Killers, Brute Force, The Naked City and Rififi

-        Reversible sleeve featuring one of the original posters and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw

-        Collector’s booklet containing new writing by Sergio Angelini and archive interviews with director Robert Siodmak, producer Mark Hellinger and cinematographer Woody Bredell, illustrated with original production stills

VINCENT PRICE AND ROGER CORMAN PRESENT SIX GOTHIC TALES

[Blu-ray]

9th December 2014

From the Merchant of Menace, Vincent Price, and the King of the Bs, Roger Corman, come six Gothic tales inspired by the pen of Edgar Allan Poe.

In The Fall of the House of Usher, a young man learns of a family curse that threatens his happiness with his bride-to-be. In Pit and the Pendulum, a brother investigates the untimely death of sister, played by Barbara Steele. Tales of Terror adapts three Poe classics, Morella, The Black Cat and The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, each starring a horror icon. The Raven is a comic take on the famous poem concerning three rival magicians. In The Haunted Palace, a newcomer in a New England town is suspected of being a warlock. And in The Tomb of Ligeia, filmed in Norfolk and at Stonehenge, a widower’s upcoming marriage plans are thwarted by his dead first wife.

The six films boast a remarkable cast list: not just Price and Steele (Black Sunday), but also Boris Karloff (Frankenstein), Peter Lorre (M, The Beast with Five Fingers), Lon Chaney Jr (The Wolf Man, Spider Baby), Basil Rathbone (The Black Cat) and a very young Jack Nicholson. Adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson (The Twilight Zone, I Am Legend) and Robert Towne (Chinatown), these Six Gothic Tales now rank as classic examples of sixties horror cinema.

LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of all six features, presented across six Blu-rays

-        Original uncompressed mono PCM Audio for all films

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for all films

-        Numerous new and archive commentaries, interviews and featurettes for each film

-        Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork for all six films

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed 2.0 Mono PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman

-        Legend to Legend: An interview with director and former Corman apprentice Joe Dante

-        Interview with author and Gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby

-        Fragments of the House of Usher: A Specially-commissioned video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns examining Corman’s film in relation to Poe’s story

-        Archival interview with Vincent Price

-        Original Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio

-        Optional Isolated Music and Effects Track

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman

-        Audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas

-        Behind the Swinging Blade – A new documentary on the making of The Pit and the Pendulum featuring Roger Corman, star Barbara Steele, Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price and more!

-        Added TV Sequence – Shot in 1968 to pad out the film for the longer TV time slot, this scene features star Luana Anders

-        An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe with Vincent Price – Price reads a selection of Poe’s classic stories before a live audience, including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum (with optional English SDH)

-        Original Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

TALES OF TERROR

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        The Directors: Roger Corman, an hour-long documentary on the filmmaker featuring contributions from James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard

-        Cats in Horror Films, critic and novelist Anne Billson discusses the contributions of our feline friends to genre cinema

-        The Black Cat, a 1993 short film adaptation of Poe’s classic tale directed by Rob Green (The Bunker)

-        Kim Newman on Edgar Allan Poe, the novelist and critic looks at Poe’s influence on the big screen

-        Original Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford

THE RAVEN

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Peter Lorre: The Double Face, Harun Farocki’s 1984 documentary, subtitled in English for the first time

-        Richard Matheson: Storyteller, an interview with the legendary novelist and screenwriter

-        Corman’s Comedy of Poe, an interview with Roger Corman about making The Raven

-        The Trick, a short film about rival magicians by Rob Green (The Bunker)

-        Promotional Record

-        Stills and Poster Gallery

-        Original Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vladimir Zimakov

THE HAUNTED PALACE

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary by Vincent Price’s biographer David Del Valle and writer Derek Botelho

-        Kim Newman on H.P. Lovecraft, a look at the relationship between Lovecraft and the cinema, and the challenges of adapting his work

-        A Change of Poe, an interview with Roger Corman

-        Stills and Poster Gallery

-        Original Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin

THE TOMB OF LIGEIA

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM

-        Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio

-        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

-        Audio commentary by director and producer Roger Corman

-        Audio commentary by star Elizabeth Shepherd

-        All-new interviews with cast and crew members including co-writer/production assistant Paul Mayersberg, first assistant director David Tringham, camera assistant Bob Jordan and composer Kenneth V. Jones

-        Original Theatrical Trailer

-        Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil

200-PAGE BOOK LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE

Limited edition 200-page collector’s book containing new writing on all films, an interview with Roger Corman, extracts from Vincent Price’s autobiography and full reproductions of tie-in comic books for Tales of Terror, The Raven and The Tomb of Ligeia originally published in the sixties.

NEKROMANTIK

[Limited Edition Dual Format + OST]

15th December 2014

DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Nekromantik is the one-of-a-kind shock classic from cult director Jörg Buttgereit, weaving the tale of Rob Schmadtke (Daktari Lorenz), a young man who finds himself competing for the affections of his girlfriend with a putrefying cadaver.

An employee of Joe’s Streetcleaning Agency, a company which cleans up after grisly accidents, Rob takes advantage of his profession to indulge in his chosen hobby – the collection of body parts. Then, one day, Rob brings home an entire decomposing corpse, much to the delight of girlfriend Betty.

There follows a twisted love triangle, resulting in some of the most shocking scenes ever committed to celluloid.

Nearly 30 years after its original release, Arrow Video is proud to present this classic of underground horror cinema – finally classified for UK release in its fully unexpurgated form.

3-DISC DIRECTOR-APPROVED LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

-        High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of three Buttgereit films: Nekromantik (1987), Hot Love (1985) [29 mins] and Horror Heaven (1984) [23 mins]

-        Optional English subtitles for all three films

-        Limited Edition packaging featuring new artwork by Gilles Vranckx

-        Individually-numbered #/3,000 Certificate

-        Set of 5 Exclusive Limited Edition Nekromantik “polaroid” postcards

-        Exclusive Limited Edition 100-page book.

DISC 1 [BLU-RAY] & DISC 2 [DVD] – NEKROMANTIK & JÖRG BUTTGEREIT SHORT FILMS

-        Nekromantik audio commentary with Jörg Buttgereit and co writer Franz Rodenkirchen

-        Hot Love audio commentary with Buttgereit

-        Horror Heaven audio commentary with Buttgereit

-        Director’s introduction to Nekromantik

-        Alternative “Grindhouse Version” of Nekromantik, newly-transferred for this release from the only existing 35mm print [Blu-ray only]

-        In Conversation with The Death King – A brand-new 2014 interview with Buttgereit conducted exclusively for this release

-        Morbid Fascination: The Nekromantik Legacy – A brand-new 2014 documentary looking at the impact of the film on the horror scene both in the UK and abroad, featuring interviews with genre critic Alan Jones, Marc Morris, producer of Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Parts 1 & 2, and Buttgereit biographer David Kerekes

-        Q&A with Buttgereit recorded at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts (2014)

-        The Making of Nekromantik – A vintage documentary featuring a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage, newly-transferred in HD and viewable with two different audio tracks: an English commentary with Buttgereit, co-author Franz Rodenkirchen and David Kerekes, and a German-language audio track featuring radio interviews with Buttgereit, Rodenkirchen and producer Manfred Jelinski

-        Nekromantik Featurette – A look back at the film’s production, featuring interviews with Buttgereit and Jelinski, produced for the film’s 10-year anniversary German VHS release

-        Nekromantik Premiere – A short featurette comprised of footage from the film’s premiere in Berlin, January 1988

-        Das Letzte – A short featurette comprising footage from the 1985 premiere of Hot Love

-        Horror Heaven trailer featuring outtakes from the film

-        Two Buttgereit-directed music videos: ‘I Can’t Let Go’ by Shock Therapy (1995) and ‘Lemmy, I’m a Feminist’ by Half Girl (2013)

-        Complete collection of Buttgereit feature film trailers: Nekromantik, Der Todesking, Nekromantik 2 and Schramm

-        Extensive image gallery including behind-the-scenes stills and the rare, surrealist German-language Nekromantik comic by Berlin artist Fil, reproduced in its entirety.

DISC 3 [CD] – NEKROMANTIK SOUNDTRACK: ULTIMATE EDITION – LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE

27-track CD featuring the complete Nekromantik soundtrack composed and performed by star Daktari Lorenz and musicians John Boy Walton and Hermann Kopp, plus rare tracks from Hot Love.

100-PAGE BOOK – ‘ROMANCE IS DEAD’ – LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE

Exclusive perfect-bound book featuring a new article on Nekromantik from critic Graham Rae, alongside pieces from writers David Kerekes (Sex Murder Art: The Films of Jörg Buttgereit), Kier-La Janisse (House of Psychotic Women), Linnie Blake (The Wounds of Nations ) and an archive interview with real-life necrophile Karen Greenlee, all illustrated with new artwork and original archive stills.