Arrow Video October Titles
The Criterion of cult, Arrow Video, posted their October Blu-ray announcements 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 (and I must say that the George A. Romero set looks pretty sweet).
NEW UK/US TITLE: Blood Feast (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)
HG Lewis’ original gore-fest, essential viewing for any self-respecting splatter fan
Release Dates: 9/10 October 2017
The filmography of late movie maverick Herschell Gordon Lewis brims with the mad, macabre, and just downright bizarre. But perhaps the most unhinged of all his directorial efforts, and certainly the most influential, must surely be his original gore-fest Blood Feast – the first ever splatter movie.
Dorothy Fremont is looking to throw a party unlike any other, and she gets just that when she hires the decidedly sinister Fuad Ramses to cater the event. Promising to provide her guests with an authentic Egyptian feast, Ramses promptly sets about acquiring the necessary ingredients – the body parts of nubile young women!
Featuring a host of stomach-churning gore gags including the infamous tongue sequence and much more nastiness besides, Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Feast more than lives up to its name and remains essential viewing for any self-respecting splatter fan.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard DVD presentations
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Scum of the Earth – Herschelll Gordon Lewis’ 1963 feature
• Blood Perspectives – Filmmakers Nicholas McCarthy and Rodney Ascher on Blood Feast
• Herschell’s History – Archival interview in which director Herschell Gordon Lewis discusses his entry into the film industry
• How Herschell Found his Niche – A new interview with Lewis discussing his early work
• Archival interview with Lewis and David F. Friedman
• Carving Magic – Vintage short film from 1959 featuring Blood Feast Actor Bill Kerwin
• Outtakes
• Alternate “clean” scenes from Scum of the Earth
• Promo gallery featuring trailers and more
• Feature length commentary featuring Lewis and David F. Friedman moderated by Mike Grady
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Twins of Evil
NEW UK/US TITLE: JD’s Revenge (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)
Alternately tough and terrifying, this is a Blaxploitation gem waiting to be rediscovered!
Release Dates: 30/31 October 2017
It wasn’t long before the Blaxploitation boom moved into the horror market, bringing the world Blacula, Blackenstein, Abby (Blaxploitation’s The Exorcist) and cult favourite J.D.’s Revenge.
Law student Ike is enjoying a night on the town with his friends when his life changes dramatically. Taking part in a nightclub hypnosis act, he becomes possessed with the spirit of a violent gangster murdered in the 1940s. Believing himself to be the reincarnation of murderous J.D., Ike launches a revenge campaign against those who had done ‘him’ wrong all those years ago…
Directed by Arthur Marks (Bucktown, Friday Foster) and starring Glynn Turman (Cooley High) and Academy Award-winner Louis Gossett Jr (An Officer and a Gentleman), J.D.’s Revenge is a alternately tough and terrifying – a Blaxploitation gem waiting to be rediscovered!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, 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 producer-director Arthur Marks
• More interviews to be announced!
• Original theatrical trailer
• Arthur Marks trailer reel
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet containing new writing by Kim Newman, author of Nightmare Movies
NEW UK/US TITLE: George Romero Between Night and Dawn (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)
Three rare early works by George Romero made between Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead
Release Dates: 23/24 October 2017
George Romero’s name may be synonymous with the living dead subgenre, but his filmography is far richer and more varied than his reputation as “the zombie guy” would suggest. Following the breakout success of his debut feature Night of the Living Dead, the director would embark upon a series of projects which, whilst firmly rooted in the horror genre for the most part, demonstrate a master filmmaker with more than mere gut-munching on his mind.
In There’s Always Vanilla, Romero’s sophomore 1971 directorial effort, young drifter Chris and beautiful model Lynn embark upon a tumultuous relationship which seems doomed from the outset. 1972’s Season of the Witch (originally filmed as Jack’s Wife but released to theaters under the title of Hungry Wives) follows the exploits of Joan Mitchell – a housewife whose dissatisfaction with her humdrum life leads to an unhealthy interest in the occult. Lastly, 1973’s The Crazies, which sees Romero returning to more “straight” horror territory, has a small rural town finding itself in the grip of an infection which send its hosts into a violent, homicidal frenzy.
Taken together, these three early works, made in the period between Romero’s celebrated living dead outings Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, serve to display the broader thematic concerns and auteurist leanings of a skilled craftsman too often pigeonholed within the genre.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard DVD presentations
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Reversible sleeves for each film featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• Limited Edition 60-page booklet featuring new writing on the films
THERE’S ALWAYS VANILLA
• Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative
• Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
• Brand new interviews with actors Judith Ridley and Richard Ricci, producer Russ Streiner and sound recordist Gary Streiner
• Digging Up the Dead – The Lost Films of George A. Romero – archive interview with Romero looking at his early films There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch Trailer
SEASON OF THE WITCH
• Brand new 4K restoration from original film elements
• Alternate extended cut
• Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
• When Romero met Del Toro – celebrated filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro sits down with George Romero for this candid career-spanning conversation
• The Secret Life of Jack’s Wife – archive interview with actress Jan White
• Alternate Opening Titles
• Trailers
THE CRAZIES
• Brand new 4K restoration from original film elements
• Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
• Romero Was Here – featurette revisiting the Crazies filming locations in Evans City, PA
• Never Before Seen BTS footage
• 2016 Q&A with Lynn Lowry from Abertoir Film Festival
• Alternate Opening Titles
• Trailers
NEW UK ONLY TITLE: Miracle Mile (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)
A madcap end-of-the-world adventure like no other with a hypnotic score by Tangerine Dream
Release Date: 16th October 2017
When Harry (Anthony Edwards, Zodiac, ER) meets Julie (Mare Winningham, Turner & Hooch) at the La Brea Tar Pits, it’s love at first sight. But when Harry’s alarm clock fails to go off, he misses their scheduled date by several hours. Alone on a street corner at four in the morning, he answers a ringing pay phone and picks up a garbled message that all-out nuclear war is set to begin in an hour’s time. With the clock ticking and the city spiralling into chaos, can Harry somehow track down Julie and get them both to safety before Armageddon?
In 1983, American Film magazine called Miracle Mile one of the ten best unproduced screenplays, though Hollywood baulked at its idiosyncratic mix of black comedy, romance and nuclear holocaust. Years later, writer Steve De Jarnatt (Cherry 2000) bought back the rights to his own script and in 1988 made the film on his own terms. The result is a madcap end-of-the-world adventure like no other, as hilarious as it is disturbing, featuring scintillating views of nocturnal LA and a hypnotic score by Tangerine Dream.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
• Original English stereo soundtrack (lossless on the Blu-ray Disc)
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• New video interview with writer/director Steve De Jarnatt
• Audio commentary by Steve De Jarnatt
• Audio commentary by Steve De Jarnatt, cinematographer Theo van de Sande and production designer Chris Horner
• Julie & Harry, an interview with actors Mare Winningham and Anthony Edwards
• Supporting cast and crew reunion featurette
• The Music of Tangerine Dream, an interview with co-composer Paul Haslinger
• Deleted scenes and outtakes
• Tarzana, a short film by Steve De Jarnatt
• Eat the Sun, a short film by Jim Cox
• Rubiaux Rising, a short story read by Steve De Jarnatt
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork TBC
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Tim Lucas
NEW UK ONLY TITLE: The Thing Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
One of the most celebrated sci-fi horrors ever made, now newly restored by Arrow Video.
Limited to 4,000 units.
Release Date: 23rd October 2017
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.
LIMITED 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
• Poster
• Lobby Cards
• Book containing new writing on the film
• Newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
The Thing is also being released as a limited Steelbook Edition.
P.S. — Keep an eye on the Arrow Academy’s Facebook page. This “art house” division of Arrow will announce their October releases on Monday morning.
