IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

The Criterion of cult, Arrow Video, posted their April Blu-ray announcements today.  It’s an incredible lineup, including titles for fans of Euro-Westerns, giallo, science fiction, and horror.

Being that Arrow is a British company, keep in mind that not all of their titles will be released both in the U.K. and the U.S., due to distribution rights. However, Arrow always makes it perfectly clear which Blu-rays will be offered in both the U.K. and U.S. versus which ones are U.K. only.

Listed below are the disc descriptions directly from the Arrow Video Facebook page:

NEW US/CA TITLE: Keoma (Blu-ray)

Truly epic in scope, Keoma is considered by many to be one of the greatest spaghetti westerns.

Pre-order via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2MyKjxu
Release date: April 2

A strikingly original spaghetti western with a unique elegiac tone, Keoma truly is a one-of-a-kind classic of its genre…

The legendary Franco Nero (Django, The Fifth Cord) stars in the titular role as a half-breed gunfighter who returns from the killing fields of the civil war to find his hometown riddled with the plague, its inhabitants terrorized (with the help of Keoma’s own estranged half-brothers) by tyrannical gang leader Caldwell (Donald O’Brien, Zombie Holocaust). Keoma’s father (Willian Berger, Sartana in the Valley of Death) welcomes his prodigal son’s return, but when Keoma saves a vulnerable pregnant woman (Olga Karlatos, Zombie Flesh Eaters) from Caldwell’s thugs, the stage is set for a violent confrontation. With the help of his father and his friend, the freed slave George (Woody Strode, Spartacus), Keoma prepares to take a savage revenge on Caldwell and his gang.

Directed with immense flair and virtuosity by veteran Enzo G. Castellari (who channels Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone in equal measure), Keoma is an epic film of Shakespearean and biblical allusions, which boasts compelling performances and thrilling violent action. Truly epic in scope, Keoma is considered by many to be one of the greatest spaghetti westerns. The film is presented here in a stunning new restoration with a wealth of informative and entertaining new extras.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• New 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Uncompressed mono 1.0 LPCM audio
• Original English and Italian soundtracks, titles and credits
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• New audio commentary by spaghetti western experts C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parke
• The Ballad of Keoma, a new interview with the legendary star Franco Nero
• Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, a new interview with director Enzo G. Castellari
• Writing Keoma, a new interview with actor and writer Luigi Montefiori AKA George Eastman
• Parallel Actions, a new interview with editor Gianfranco Amicucci
• The Flying Thug, a new interview with actor Massimo Vanni
• Play as an Actor, a new interview with actor Volfango Soldati
• Keoma and the Twilight of the Spaghetti Western, a newly filmed video appreciation by the academic Austin Fisher
• An Introduction to Keoma by Alex Cox, an archival featurette with the acclaimed director
• Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
• Gallery of original promotional images from the Mike Siegel Archive
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Simon Abrams and Howard Hughes

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Terra Formars (Blu-ray)

An action-packed space adventure brought to life by one of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary filmmakers

Pre-order in the UK via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2WhL8zq
Pre-order in the US via DiabolikDVD: http://bit.ly/2MwDLzA
Release dates: April 1/2

The ever-prolific Takashi Miike, the director behind the likes of Audition, the Dead or Alive trilogy and Blade of the Immortal, returns with this intergalactic epic in which a team of space explorers find themselves pitched against a horde of oversized anthropomorphic cockroaches.

In the mid-21st century, humankind has been forced to look to colonising other planets as a means of combating overcrowding on Earth – their first stop, Mars. With a population of cockroaches having been introduced on Mars some 500 years prior to help prepare the way for human colonization, a manned mission sets out to the red planet with the aim of clearing away the bugs. Upon arrival, however, they discover that the roaches have evolved to huge, vicious creatures capable of wielding weapons.

Based on the popular Manga series of the same name, Terra Formars is an action-packed space adventure brought to life by one of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary filmmakers.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed Stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD MA options
• Newly-translated English subtitles
• The Making of Terra Formars – feature-length documentary on the film’s production featuring a host of cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage
• Extended cast interviews
• Footage from the 2016 Japanese premiere
• Outtakes
• Image Gallery
• Theatrical and teaser trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork options
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by Tom Mes

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (Blu-ray)

An archetypal giallo from the genre’s heyday, Freda’s film is presented here in a stunning new restoration with a host of newly produced extras.

Pre-order in the UK via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2UcUOti
Pre-order in the US via DiabolikDVD: http://bit.ly/2MuXEXV
Release dates: April 8/9

One of several ‘animal-in-the-title’ cash-ins released in the wake of Dario Argento’s box-office smash The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire is a gloriously excessive giallo that boasts a rogues gallery of perverse characters; violent, fetishized murders, and one of the genre’s most nonsensical, red-herring laden plots (which sees almost every incidental character hinted at potentially being the killer).

Set in Dublin (a rather surprising giallo setting), Iguana opens audaciously with an acid-throwing, razor-wielding maniac brutally slaying a woman in her own home. The victim’s mangled corpse is discovered in a limousine owned by Swiss Ambassador Sobiesky (Anton Diffring, Where Eagles Dare) and a police investigation is launched, but when the murdering continues and the ambassador claims diplomatic immunity, tough ex-cop John Norton (Luigi Pistilli, A Bay of Blood) is brought in to find the killer…

Benefitting from a sumptuous score by Stelvio Cipriani (Nightmare City, Death Walks on High Heels) and exuberant supporting performances from Valentina Cortese (The Possessed, Thieves’ Highway) and Dagmar Lassander (The Frightened Woman, The Black Cat), The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire is a luridly over-the-top latter-day entry in the filmography of acclaimed director Riccardo Freda (Caltiki – The Immortal Monster, Murder Obsession). An archetypal giallo from the genre’s heyday, Freda’s film is presented here in a stunning new restoration with a host of newly produced extras.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• New 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Uncompressed mono 1.0 LPCM audio
• Original English and Italian soundtracks, titles and credits
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• New audio commentary by giallo connoisseurs Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
• Of Chameleons and Iguanas, a newly filmed video appreciation by the cultural critic and academic Richard Dyer
• Considering Cipriani, a new appreciation of the composer Stelvio Cipriani and his score to The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire by DJ and soundtrack collector Lovely Jon
• The Cutting Game, a new interview with Iguana’s assistant editor Bruno Micheli
• The Red Queen of Hearts, a career-spanning interview with the actress Dagmar Lassander
• Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Andreas Ehrenreich

NEW UK TITLE: Black Moon Rising (Blu-ray)

A fast-moving, hydrogen-fueled action thriller written by John Carpenter

Pre-order on Blu-ray: http://bit.ly/2HrXTEk
Release date: April 15

Buckle up for ride in the Black Moon, a sleek, high-tech supercar, powered by hydrogen and capable of speeds of over 300mph!

Tommy Lee Jones (Rolling Thunder, Under Siege) stars as Sam Quint, a master thief working for the government who hides a computer disc loaded with evidence of corporate crime in a prototype supercar, the Black Moon. When a gang of thieves steal the car, Quint seduces their leader, Nina (Linda Hamilton, Terminator), to get to the disc. But in order to reclaim his property, Quint and Nina must break into an impenetrable skyscraper and take down Ed Ryland (Robert Vaughn, The Delta Force), the head of a dangerous stolen car syndicate…

A fast-moving, hydrogen-fueled action thriller written by John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing), Black Moon Rising has earned admiration from cult movie audiences for its thrilling chase sequences, pounding synth score, and slick direction courtesy of Harley Cokeliss (Battle Truck, The Glitterball).

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original 35mm interpositive
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Uncompressed PCM 2.0 stereo audio and alternative 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• New audio commentary by Lee Gambin, author of Show Me: The Making of Christine
• Black Moon Ascending, a new interview with director Harley Cokeliss
• Thief in The Night: Producing Black Moon Rising, a new interview with producer Douglas Curtis
• Sound of Speed: Composing Black Moon Rising, a new interview with composer Lalo Schifrin and film music historian Daniel Schweiger
• Carpenter’s Craft, a new video essay on co-writer John Carpenter’s screenwriting career by author and critic Troy Howarth
• Making Black Moon Rising, an archival documentary featuring behind the scenes footage and cast and crew interviews
• Alternative Hong Kong version scenes, a presentation of selected scenes from the Hong Kong theatrical version with a different score and sound effects
• Theatrical trailer and radio spots
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kieran Fisher

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Scared Stiff (Exclusive Slipcase Edition)

Limited edition slipcase edition! Available exclusively via Arrow in the UK and DiabilikDVD in the US

Pre-order in the UK via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2RO4YUj
Pre-order in the US via DiabolikDVD: http://bit.ly/2MxyS9F
Release dates: April 22/23

TV star Mary Page Keller (Pretty Little Liars) appears alongside Andrew Stevens (10 to Midnight, The Fury) as a couple terrorised by an age-old curse in this much-underrated late-80s offering from director Richard Friedman.

Keller plays Kate Christopher, a singer who moves into an old colonial mansion with her son and psychologist boyfriend David (Stevens). But when they make a strange and gruesome discovery in the boarded-up attic, it soon becomes clear that the mansion carries with it a dark and blood-stained past – and one that is about to terrorise them in the present.

The second feature helmed by Richard Friedman, who went on to direct such genre favourites as Doom Asylum and Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge, Scared Stiff (AKA The Masterson Curse) builds to an astonishing practical FX-laden climax sure to please fans of 80s horror.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
• Original uncompressed Stereo audio
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary with director Richard Friedman, producer Dan Bacaner and film historian Robert Ehlinger
• Mansion of the Doomed: The Making of Scared Stiff – brand new documentary featuring interviews with Richard Friedman, Dan Bacaner, Robert Ehlinger, actors Andrew Stevens and Joshua Segal, special effects supervisor Tyler Smith and special effects assistants Jerry Macaluso and Barry Anderson
• Brand new interview with composer Billy Barber
• Image Gallery
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
• Limited edition slipcase featuring original Graham Humphreys artwork
• Fully illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by James Oliver