Island of Death - Press Release

Arrow Video is thrilled to announce the world premiere Blu-ray release of cult director Nico Mastorakis’ shocking video nasty, Island of Death. Upon its initial release some 40 years ago, this catalogue of atrocities featured scenes too shocking for the British public and was subsequently banned. However, this newly restored director-approved edition will debut fully-uncut on Blu-ray in all its sleazy and lurid glory (or should that say gory!) from 25^th May 2015.

Boasting a brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative, this new director-approved disc will come loaded with a jam-packed 7 hours of bonus content, including two new featurettes Exploring Island of Death, in which film historian Stephen Thrower discusses the making of the cult classic, and Return to Island of Death in which Mastorakis returns to the original Mykonos locations.

Alongside this, the new release will feature an archive interview with Mastorakis, alternative opening titles and five original tracks from the Island of Death soundtrack. The Films of Nico Mastorakis, a four-part documentary charting the director’s filmmaking career [Blu-ray only] and the Nico Mastorakis Trailer Reel [Blu-ray only] round out the feature-filled package.

In addition, the Blu-ray comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys and a fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by academic and film historian Johnny Walker.

Synopsis

Welcome to Mykonos, the holiday destination of choice for sun, sea and slaughter! From cult director Nico Mastorakis, Island of Death is a travelogue of atrocities with scenes so strong that the British Government was once compelled to ban it as a “video nasty”.

Arriving on the idyllic Greek island, Christopher and Celia appear to be every inch the perfect, handsome young couple. Little do the welcoming locals realise that they are in fact a pair of murderous degenerates, determined to spread their own particular brand of perversion across the island. DIY crucifixions, opportunistic bestiality, sexual peeing and murder by all conceivable forms ensue – including death by makeshift blowtorch, samurai sword, dump truck and more!

Shocking, brutal and totally politically incorrect in its outlook, Island of Death is a gruelling cinematic experience devised by director Mastorakis to out-do the excesses of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which he was hugely inspired by. Now fully uncut and newly-restored from the original negative, fans can enjoy Island of Death in all its sleazy, lurid glory.

Special Features

• Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative, approved by writer-director-producer Nico Mastorakis
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
• Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Exploring Island of Death – film historian Stephen Thrower on the making of a cult classic
• Return to Island of Death – Mastorakis returns to the original Mykonos locations
• Archive interview with Mastorakis
• Alternative opening titles
• Island Sounds – five original tracks from the Island of Death soundtrack
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• The Films of Nico Mastorakis – four-part documentary charting the director’s filmmaking career [Blu-ray only]
• Nico Mastorakis Trailer Reel [Blu-ray only]
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
• Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by academic and film historian Johnny Walker

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne - Press Release

Potent and poetic, mischievous and macabre, Borowczyk’s film shows how many imaginative worlds the horror movie can open up when the right artist holds the keys.

Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

Following unanimous critical acclaim for their 2014 Walerian Borowczyk retrospective collection, Arrow Video is thrilled to announce the world premiere Blu-ray release of Borowczyk’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne, released on dual-format Blu-ray and DVD from 11^th May 2015, marking the first time the film has been made available commercially since the VHS and Laserdisc era. 

Often regarded as Borowczyk’s last great film, and his only out-and-out horror film, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne features his most culty cast including Udo Kier, Patrick Magee and Howard Vernon. The disc will be presented with both the French and English versions of the film, the latter featuring Patrick Magee’s own voice.

                                                                                  

This new release will feature a restored high definition transfer, an introduction by critic and long-term Borowczyk fan Michael Brooke and a new audio commentary featuring archival interviews with Walerian Borowczyk, and new interviews with cinematographer Noël Véry, editor Khadicha Bariha, assistant Michael Levy and filmmaker Noël Simsolo, moderated by Daniel Bird.

This new disc will also feature Himorogi (2012), a short film by Marina and Alessio Pierro, made in homage to Borowczyk, alongside interviews with Marina Pierro, artist and filmmaker Alessio Pierro and a video essay by Adrian Martin and Cristina Alvarez Lopez.

Alongside this, the new edition will also include Eyes That Listen, a featurette on Borowczyk’s collaborations with electro-acoustic composer Bernard Parmegiani and Happy Toy (1979), a short film by Borowczyk based on Charles-Émile Reynaud’s praxinoscope. An introduction to Happy Toy by production assistant Sarah Mallinson will also be included.

Rounding off the Blu-ray, a new featurette by Daniel Bird, Returning to Return: Borowczyk and Early Cinema will also be included, along with the reversible sleeve with artwork based on Borowczyk’s own poster design. The booklet will include new writing on the film by Daniel Bird and archive materials, illustrated with rare stills

Synopsis

It’s the engagement party for brilliant young Dr Henry Jekyll (Udo Kier) and his fiancée, the beautiful Fanny Osbourne (Marina Pierro), attended by various pillars of Victorian society, including the astonishing Patrick Magee in one of his final roles. But when people are found raped and murdered outside and ultimately inside the house, it becomes clear that a madman has broken in to disrupt the festivities – but who is he? And why does Dr Jekyll keep sneaking off to his laboratory?

We know the answer, of course, but Walerian Borowczyk’s visually stunning adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s much-filmed tale is crammed with wildly imaginative and outrageously perverse touches characteristic of the man who scandalised audiences with Immoral Tales and The Beast, not least the explicitly sexualised nature of Mr Hyde’s primal urges.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restoration, scanned from the original camera negative and supervised by cinematographer Noël Véry 
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film, released on both formats for the first time anywhere in the world 
• English and French soundtracks in LPCM 1.0
• Optional English and English SDH subtitles 
• Appreciation by critic and long-term Borowczyk fan Michael Brooke 
• Audio commentary featuring an archival interview with Walerian Borowczyk and new interviews with cinematographer Noël Véry, editor Khadicha Bariha, assistant Michael Levy and filmmaker Noël Simsolo, moderated by Daniel Bird 
• Brand new interviews with Udo Kier and Marina Pierro 
• Himorogi (2012), a short film by Marina and Alessio Pierro, made in homage to Borowczyk 
• Interview with artist and filmmaker Alessio Pierro 
• Phantasmagoria of the Interior, a video essay on Borowczyk’s Dr Jekyll by Adrian Martin and Cristina Álvarez López 
• Eyes That Listen, a featurette on Borowczyk’s collaborations with electro-acoustic composer Bernard Parmegiani 
• Happy Toy (1979), a short film by Borowczyk inspired by Charles-Émile Reynaud’s praxinoscope 
• Interview with Sarah Mallinson, former assistant to Borowczyk and fellow animator Peter Foldes 
• Return to Méliès: Borowczyk and Early Cinema, a featurette by Daniel Bird 
• Theatrical trailer with optional commentary by editor Khadicha Bariha 
• Reversible sleeve with artwork based on Borowczyk’s own poster design 
• Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Daniel Bird and archive pieces by Walerian Borowczyk and André Pieyre de Mandiargues.

Retaliation - Press Release

Arrow Video is excited to announce the Blu-ray world premiere release of Yasuharu Hasebe’s Retaliation starring Jo Shishido (Branded to Kill). This gritty and cynical Japanese thriller will be released in both the UK and US from 11^th/12^th May 2015.

Hasebe and Shishido are here on the upswing from their earlier collaboration on the cool monochrome Massacre Gunas Nikkatsu makes Retaliation an ‘A’ movie, shot in colour, with a starrier cast, this time adding genre icon and the studio’s biggest star (hence the A production values), Akira Kobayashi (Battles Without Honour and Humanity), and in an early role, the soon-to-be superstar Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion).

Featuring exclusive new interviews, with star Jô Shishido and an extensive study of both Hasebe and Shishido’s careers by renowned critic and historian Tony Rayns. The package also features a trailer, gallery and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan.  The enclosed booklet features new writing on the film by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp and is illustrated throughout by MacEwan.

Synopsis

In 1969 future sexploitation specialist Yasuharu Hasebe (Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter) teamed up with the inimitable Jô Shishido (Branded to Kill, Youth of the Beast) for a follow up to their yakuza hit Massacre Gun.

A tale of gang warfare that features a raft of the period’s most iconic stars, Akira Kobayashi (Battles Without Honor and Humanity, The Flowers and The Angry Waves) is a yakuza lieutenant who emerges from jail to find his gang dispersed and his aging boss in his sickbed. Shishido is the rival waiting to kill him and a young Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) is the girl caught in the crossfire.

Gritty and cynical, Retaliation is a hardboiled precursor to Kinji Fukasaku’s revisionist yakuza pictures of the 1970s.

Special Features

• Limited Edition Blu-ray (3000 copies only)
• Restored High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation, on Blu-ray for the first time in the world!
• Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Newly translated English subtitles
• Brand new interview with star Jô Shishido
• Interview with renowned critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Original theatrical trailer
• Gallery featuring rare promotional images
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan
• Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp, newly illustrated by Ian MacEwan and featuring original archive stills

The Train - Press Release

Following the success of Brute Force, The Killers and Sweet Smell of Success, Arrow Academy is delighted to announce their latest Burt Lancaster title, John Frankenheimer’s classic war picture, The Train. Often hailed as the film which set the template for Die Hard and that particular brand of action movie, The Train will arrive on Blu-ray from 11th May 2015.

The high definition presentation of the film will be accompanied by an audio commentary with John Frankenheimer, an isolated score option and a newly-filmed interview with Burt Lancaster’s biographer, Kate Buford, tracing the actor’s career throughout the decade.

Also present are a French television news report on the making of The Train, containing interviews with the locals of Acquigny who assisted in its production, an archive interview with actor Michel Simon, footage from the film’s gala screening in Marseilles and the theatrical trailer.

The Blu-ray will also come with new artwork by Vladimir Zimakov and a collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by Sheldon Hall, illustrated with archive stills and posters.

Synopsis

Directed by John Frankenheimer at the peak of his powers, The Train was made during a tremendous run of top-class pictures that also included Birdman of Alcatraz, Seven Days in May and The Manchurian Candidate, with Seconds soon to follow.

France, 1944. Art lover and fanatical Nazi Colonel Von Waldheim has plundered a Paris museum for its masterpieces, including works by Van Gogh, Picasso and Cezanne. His intention is to have them transported by rail to Berlin, but one man stands in his way. Aware that the Allied forces are fast approaching the French capital, Resistance fighter Labiche need only stall the train for a few more days, but he’ll have to use all of his wits and skills to do so.

Featuring two Oscar-winners in its lead roles – Burt Lancaster as Labiche and Paul Scofield as Von Waldheim – and Jeanne Moreau and Michel Simon in support, The Train combines star power with spectacular action sequences to produce a classic war movie.

Special Features

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the film
• Uncompressed 1.0 mono PCM audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by director John Frankenheimer
• Optional isolated score by Maurice Jarre
• Burt Lancaster in the Sixties – a newly-filmed interview with Lancaster’s biographer Kate Buford, tracing the actor’s career throughout the decade
• French television news report on the making of The Train, containing interviews with the locals of Acquigny
• Archive interview with Michel Simon
• Footage of The Train’s gala screening in Marseilles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vladimir Zimakov
• Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Sheldon Hall, illustrated with original stills and artwork

Coffy - Press Release

Arrow Video is thrilled to announce the World premiere Blu-ray release of Jack Hill’s Blaxploitation classic Coffy, the film, starring the iconic Pam Grier, would pave the way for other genre classics such as Foxy Brown and later Quentin Tarantino’s homage to the actress, Jackie Brown, with the director describing Coffy as “one of the most entertaining films ever made”. 

Massacre Gun - Press Release

Arrow Video is thrilled to announce the world premiere Blu-ray release of Yasuharu Hasebe’s violent yakuza yarn Massacre Gun, released on dual-format Blu-ray and DVD from 6th April 2015.

Job Opportunity - Digital Sales and Operations Assistant

A very exciting opportunity has arrived at Arrow Films! We are opening up the office doors 

and releasing one golden ticket (job opportunity) out into the wild!