Arrow Academy March 2019 Titles
Arrow Academy, the “art house” label of Arrow films, posted their March Blu-ray announcements today, which consist of a classic film noir, making its Blu-ray debut, and a controversial and provocative Alec Guinness drama. While Arrow Academy is a British label, both of these titles will be released simultaneously in the UK, US, and Canada.
Listed below are the disc descriptions directly from the Arrow Academy Facebook page:
NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Phantom Lady (Blu-ray)
A consummate crime classic from the master of film noir, Robert Siodmak.
Pre-order in the UK via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2Pzel4f
US pre-order links coming soon!
Release dates: 04/05 March 2019
From one of the masters of the film noir, Robert Siodmak (The Killers, The Dark Mirror), comes the consummate crime classic, Phantom Lady.
After a fight with his wife, Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis, High Sierra) heads to a bar to drown his sorrows. There he strikes up a conversation with a mysterious, despondent lady who agrees to accompany him to a show uptown but withholds her name. Arriving home, Scott is met by grimly countenanced cops – his wife has been strangled with one of his neckties and he is the prime suspect. He has a solid alibi but his theatre companion is nowhere to be found and no one remembers seeing them together. When Scott is charged with murdering his wife, it falls to his devoted secretary ‘Kansas’ (Ella Raines, Brute Force) to find the phantom lady and save Scott from the electric chair…
Adapted from a hit novel by acclaimed crime writer Cornell Woolrich, Phantom Lady boasts stylish cinematography, cruel characters and memorable performances from Ella Raines and Franchot Tone (Mutiny on the Bounty). The film is presented here for the first time in stunning High Definition.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation transferred from original film elements
- Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Dark and Deadly: 50 Years of Film Noir, an insightful archival documentary featuring contributions from Robert Wise, Edward Dmytryk, Dennis Hopper and more
- Rare, hour-long 1944 radio dramatization of Phantom Lady by the Lux Radio Theatre, starring Alan Curtis and Ella Raines
- Gallery of original stills and promotional materials
- Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Alan K. Rode
NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: The Prisoner (Blu-ray)
A complex, challenging and multifaceted exploration of faith and power, starring Alec Guinness.
Pre-order in the UK via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2RXkGbV
US pre-order links coming soon!
Release dates: 11/12 March 2019
Banned from the Cannes and Venice Films Festivals for being anti-Communist and excoriated elsewhere as pro-Soviet propaganda, Peter Glenville’s The Prisoner stoked controversy at the time of its original release and remains a complex, challenging and multifaceted exploration of faith and power.
In an unnamed Eastern European capital, an iron-willed Cardinal (Academy Award-winner Alec Guinness, The Ladykillers) is arrested by state police on charges of treason. Tasked with securing a confession from him by any means necessary is a former comrade-in-arms from the anti-Nazi resistance (Jack Hawkins, The Bridge on the River Kwai). Knowing the Cardinal will never fold under physical torture, the Interrogator instead sets out to destroy him mentally, breaking his spirit rather than his body.
Adapted by acclaimed playwright Bridget Boland (Gaslight) from her own stage-play and showcasing powerhouse performances by two actors at the height of their game, The Prisoner is a tense, thought-provoking and disturbing drama about the endurance of the human spirit.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
- Original lossless mono audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Interrogating Guinness, a new video appreciation of the film by author and academic Neil Sinyard
- Select scene commentary by author and critic Philip Kemp
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mark Cunliffe
