Arrow Video November Titles
The Criterion of cult, Arrow Video, posted their November Blu-ray announcements (including one late-October release) this morning. 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 UK/US TITLE: Pulp (Blu-ray and DVD releases)
Mike Hodges, Michael Klinger and Michael Caine reunit for another crime picture, albeit with a more oddball flavour…
Release Dates: 6/7 November
A year after they’d created one of the defining British gangster pictures with Get Carter, three Michaels – writer-director Mike Hodges, producer Michael Klinger and star Michael Caine – reunited for another crime picture, albeit with a more oddball flavour…
Caine plays Mickey King, a successful pulp novelist responsible for such titles as My Gun Is Long and The Organ Grinder, who is invited to ghost-write the autobiography of a mystery celebrity. His client turns out to be a former actor, played by Mickey Rooney, well-known for his gangster roles and real-life gangster connections – but death is around the corner, and King finds his commission to be a lot more complicated than he first imagined.
A favourite of J.B. Ballard, Pulp has long existed in the shadow of its predecessor. Tonally, it could not be more different – Get Carter never had the time for sight gags and one-liners – but it’s a real gem in its own right and fully deserving of a wider audience. This brand-new restoration from Arrow Films aims to right than wrong.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, supervised and approved by director of photography Ousama Rawi, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original 1.0 mono sound
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Brand-new interview with writer-director Mike Hodges
• Brand-new interview with director of photography Ousama Rawi
• Brand-new interview with assistant director John Glen
• Brand-new interview with Tony Klinger, son of producer Michael Klinger
• Original theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet containing new writing by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
DVD SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, supervised and approved by director of photography Ousama Rawi, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
• Standard Definition DVD presentation
• Original 1.0 mono sound
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Brand-new interview with writer-director Mike Hodges
• Brand-new interview with director of photography Ousama Rawi
• Brand-new interview with assistant director John Glen
• Brand-new interview with Tony Klinger, son of producer Michael Klinger
• Original theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
NEW UK/US TITLE: Animal Factory (Blu-ray and DVD releases)
A powerful and sincere account of the men caught up in the penal system and the deals they cut with each other, and themselves, in order to survive.
Release Dates: 20/21 November
Troubled youth Ron Decker (Edward Furlong, American History X) is sentenced to a ten-year stint in the notorious San Quentin State Prison for a drug-dealing conviction. Inexperienced in the ways of prison life, he’s taken under the wing of Earl Copen (Willem Dafoe, To Live and Die in LA), an experienced con with the entire prison in the palm of his hand – inmates and guards alike. But as Ron grows increasingly cocky in his privileged role as Earl’s confidant, is he in danger of biting off more than he can chew with some of the jail’s more volatile inhabitants?
Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Eddie Bunker (Reservoir Dogs), Animal Factory was Steve Buscemi (Lonesome Jim, Interview)’s second stint in the director’s chair and sees him marshaling a formidable ensemble cast, including Bunker, Danny Trejo (Machete) and Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), for a powerful and sincere account of the men caught up in the penal system and the deals they cut with each other, and themselves, in order to survive.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition digital transfer
• Lossless original 2.0 stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Interview with critic Barry Forshaw covering Eddie Bunker’s varied career
• New bonus features TBC
• Audio commentary by novelist/co-writer/actor Eddie Bunker and co-producer/actor Danny Trejo
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacob Phillips
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Glenn Kenny
DVD SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition digital transfer
• Lossless original 2.0 stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Interview with critic Barry Forshaw covering Eddie Bunker’s varied career
• New bonus features TBC
• Audio commentary by novelist/co-writer/actor Eddie Bunker and co-producer/actor Danny Trejo
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacob Phillips
NEW UK/US TITLE: Seijun Suzuki: The Early Years. Vol. 1 – Seijun Rising: The Youth Movies (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD) LIMITED EDITION
Making their home-video debuts outside Japan, this diverse selection of Nikkatsu youth movies chart the evolving style of Suzuki
Release Dates: 27/28 November
YOUTHS ON THE LOOSE AND REBELS WITHOUT CAUSES IN THE UNRULY SEISHUN EIGA YOUTH MOVIES OF JAPANESE ICONOCLAST SEIJUN SUZUKI
Making their home-video debuts outside Japan, this diverse selection of Nikkatsu youth movies (seishun eiga) charts the evolving style of the B-movie maverick best known for the cult classics Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967).
The Boy Who Came Back (1958) marks the first appearances of “Nikkatsu Diamond Guys” and regular Suzuki collaborators Akira Kobayashi and Jo Shishido, with Kobayashi cast as the hot-headed hoodlum fresh out of reform school who struggles to make a clean break with his tearaway past. The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain Pass (1961) is a carnivalesque tale of a young student who hooks up with a down-at-heels travelling circus troupe. Teenage Yakuza (1962) stars Tamio Kawaji as the high-school vigilante protecting his community from the extortions of mobsters from a neighbouring city. The Incorrigible (1963) and Born Under Crossed Stars (1965), both based on Toko Kon’s novels about young love, represent Suzuki’s first films set in the 1920s era later celebrated in his critically-regarded Taisho Trilogy.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
• Limited Edition Dual Format Collection [3000 copies]
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation
• Optional English Subtitles
• New introduction to the films by critic Tony Rayns
• 60-page illustrated collector’s book featuring new writing by critic and author Jasper Sharp
NEW UK TITLE: The Villainess (Blu-ray and DVD releases)
A stunning vengeance film that draws its inspiration from western classics including Nikita and Kill Bill.
Release Dates: 30 October 2017
Exploding onto the screen in a kinetic flurry of hyper-stylised action, The Villainess is a stunning vengeance film that draws its inspiration from western classics including Nikita and Kill Bill.
Sook-hee (Kim Ok-bin, Thirst) is a trained assassin who takes revenge on the men who murdered her father in a breathtaking opening sequence. After losing consciousness she awakes at the National Intelligence Service who recruit her as an agent to undertake confidential missions. Initially refusing, Sook-hee soon realises it is her only method of escape, until she is given a new assignment that suddenly changes everything…
Deliriously indulging in the excesses of South Korean action, recalling Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, The Villainess is a visionary new take on the neo-noir genre and an incredible thrill ride not to be missed.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Optional English subtitles
• Original 5.1 DTS HD-MA
• Audio commentary with filmmakers and critics Sam Ashurst and Dan Martin
• Trailer
• More TBC
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Anton Bitel
DVD SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition transfer
• Optional English subtitles
• Original 5.1 surround audio
• Audio commentary with filmmakers and critics Sam Ashurst and Dan Martin
• Trailer
• More TBC
NEW UK TITLE: The Incredible Shrinking Man (Blu-ray)
Rightly regarded as being one of the finest science-fiction films of all time.
Release Dates: 13 November 2017
A FASCINATING ADVENTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN!
He baffles science! He confounds medicine! Submitted for your approval, the strange story of Scott Carey – an ordinary young man who, through an extraordinary set of circumstances, becomes The Incredible Shrinking Man!
Whilst on a holiday cruise with his wife, young Scott finds himself enveloped by a luminous mist which cover him in a strange, glittery dust. Several months later, he’s accidentally sprayed with an insecticide. Soon, Scott starts shrinking at an alarming rate, and before long he’s thrust into a terrifying world of gigantic cats, spiders and other over-sized pitfalls!
Adapted for the screen by celebrated fantasy scribe Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) from his own novel, The Incredible Shrinking Man – directed by sci-fi pioneer Jack Arnold (It Came from Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon) – is rightly regarded as being one of the finest science-fiction films of all time.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Auteur on the Campus: Jack Arnold at Universal – an extended documentary about the early career of director Jack Arnold at Universal-International studios
• There Is No Zero: Writing The Shrinking Man – an in-depth conversation with author Richard Christian Matheson about his father and the creation of the original Incredible Shrinking Man novel
• Super 8 cut-down version
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Teaser
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kim Newman
NEW UK TITLE: The Thing Standard Edition (Blu-ray)
Due to overwhelming demand of the Ltd Ed, we have brought forward our release of the Std Edition. This will contain all the same disc content as the Ltd Ed, and will come with a O-card.
Newly restored by Arrow Video in a stunning 4K transfer supervised by Carpenter and director of photography Dean Cundey.
Pre-order your copy via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2xaM4Iu
Release Date: 20 November
THE ULTIMATE IN ALIEN TERROR
Over the years, star Kurt Russell and master of horror John Carpenter have teamed up on a multitude of films (Big Trouble in Little China and Escape from New York to name a few) but of all their collaborations, 1982 s horror/sci-fi amalgam The Thing surely tops the list.
A research team based out in the snowy wilds of Antarctica find themselves besieged by a terrifying, shape-shifting creature which has found its way into their base. When it becomes clear that the creature can take the form of any organism it so chooses, the tension within the team reaches breaking point any one of them could be… The Thing.
Critically panned at the time of its release, John Carpenter’s The Thing has rightly gone on to become one of the most celebrated sci-fi horror efforts ever made now newly restored by Arrow Video in a stunning 4K transfer supervised by Carpenter and director of photography Dean Cundey.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative, supervised and approved by director John Carpenter and director of photography Dean Cundey
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original Mono and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell
• Who Goes There? In Search of The Thing an all-new feature length documentary produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures exploring the history of The Thing, from the original novella to John Carpenter’s terrifying science fiction classic. Featuring new interviews with the cast and crew, as well as authors, historians, and critics
• 1982: One Amazing Summer an all-new retrospective documentary produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures about the unforgettable films released in the summer of 1982
• John Carpenter’s The Thing: Terror Takes Shape archive documentary on the background and production of the film
• Vintage Featurettes
• Outtakes
• Behind-the-scenes
• Trailers, Teasers, TV and Radio Spots
• Still Galleries
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
P.S. — Keep an eye on Arrow Academy’s Facebook page. This “art house” division of Arrow will announce their November releases on Monday morning.
