B-movie mayhem, a gothic shocker and Wes Craven’s masterpiece in UHD! November releases from ARROW VIDEO

B-movie mayhem, a Gothic shocker, and Wes Craven’s masterpiece in UHD

 

Arrow Video’s November films include a box set of films from a prolific German auteur, a definitive edition of a 70s American horror classic, an 80s cult horror absolutely loaded with extras, an influential Italian chiller, and a UHD edition of a Japanese nerve-shredder.

The releases will come in Arrow Video’s superb packaging, with new artwork, 4K restorations so the films look fresh and fabulous, brand new commentaries and featurettes, never-before-seen alternative cuts of the films, as well as fold-out, double-sided posters, art cards, and illustrated booklets.

First in November, Arrow Video is proud to present horror master Wes Craven’s seminal 1977 effort The Hills Have Eyes. Following on from his notorious 1972 directorial debut The Last House on the Left, Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes stands alongside the likes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead as one of the defining classics of American horror, and is presented here in a Limited Edition with a brand new 4K restoration of the film, viewable with both original and alternate endings, as well as a host of extras and a making-of documentary.

Next is the release of Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, a one-of-a-kind genre-bender that riffs on the yakuza film, coming-of-age drama and ‘idol movie’, inventively adapted from Jiro Akagawa’s popular novel by director Shinji Somai (Typhoon Club, Wait and See), a massively influential figure in Japanese cinema whose work has been little seen outside his homeland. Presented in both its Original Theatrical and longer Complete versions, and the first time one of Somai’s films has been released on home video in the West, this landmark work from his early career was responsible for launching teen talent Hiroko Yakushimaru (Legend of the Eight Samurai; Detective Story) as the iconic face of a generation, with the catchy theme song she performs indelibly etched into the zeitgeist of early-1980s Japan.

November also sees the release of the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Collection Vol. 1, bringing together a collection of the finest works from the early years of the career of the enfant terrible of the New German Cinema. He wrote, directed, produced and starred in over 40 films in his short but prolific life, before passing away of a drugs overdose in 1982 aged just 37. The films collected here are presented in high definition digital restorations prepared by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation. The limited edition four disc set includes an exclusive 140-page collectors booklet.

Next up, the kids of Third Year Class-B Shiroiwa Junior High School are back, in a 4K restoration of the classic cult shocker Battle Royale, adapted from the controversial novel by Koushun Takami. Playing like a turbo-charged hybrid of Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game, the final completed work by veteran yakuza-film director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Graveyard of Honor) helped launch a new wave of appreciation for Asian cinema in the 21st century. The two-disc special edition includes documentaries on the film, a director’s cut, as well as an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring essays by Matt Alt and Anne Billson.

November also sees the very special release of Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge. With numerous interpretations of Gaston Leroux’s classic novel The Phantom of the Opera having been turned out over the years, it was only a matter of time before the slasher genre decided to take a stab at the tale – step forward 1989’s superb chiller! Directed by Richard Friedman (Scared Stiff, Doom Asylum), and featuring star turns from Pauly Shore and Morgan Fairchild, Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge swoops onto Blu-ray™ in an extras-packed edition which proves that Arrow Video’s love for ’80s slasher fare never dies! This limited edition release features three versions of the film: the Original Theatrical Cut, the TV Cut and a bonus Integral Fan Cut!

Finally in November, the influential Italian horror: before Black Sabbath, before I Vampiri, director Giorgio Ferroni (The Lion of Thebes, Blood for a Silver Dollar) introduced audiences to period horror Italian-style with his chilling 1960 shocker Mill of the Stone Women – a classic tale of terror redolent with the atmosphere of vintage Hammer Horror. The first Italian horror film to be shot in color, Mill of the Stone Women prefigured a raft of other spaghetti nightmares, including the work of maestros Mario Bava and Dario Argento. Arrow Video is proud to present this brand-new restoration of one of the foundational titles of Italian horror, in Limited Edition packaging with a booklet, poster and postcards.

 

New Releases

 

The Hills Have Eyes

Limited Edition UHD UK 8th November / US & Canada 9th November 

Horror master Wes Craven achieved critical and commercial success with the likes of Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street – but for many genre fans, the director’s seminal 1977 effort The Hills Have Eyes remains his masterpiece.

Taking an ill-advised detour en route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their campervan breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, the family find themselves at the mercy of a group of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills. With their lives under threat, the Carters have no choice but to fight back by any means necessary.

Following on from his notorious 1972 directorial debut The Last House on the Left, Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes stands alongside the likes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead as one of the defining classics of American horror.

 

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 4K restoration of the film, viewable with both original and alternate endings
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in High Dynamic Range
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional lossless 2.0 stereo and 7.1 remixes (original ending only)
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• 6 postcards
• Reversible fold-out poster
• Limited edition 40-page booklet featuring writing on the film by critic Brad Stevens and a consideration of the Hills franchise by Arrow producer Ewan Cant, illustrated with original archive stills and posters
• Audio commentary with actors Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Susan Lanier and Martin Speer
• Audio commentary by academic Mikel J. Koven
• Audio commentary with Wes Craven and Peter Locke
• Looking Back on The Hills Have Eyes – making-of documentary featuring interviews with Craven, Locke, actors Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Robert Houston, Susan Lanier, Dee Wallace and director of photography Eric Saarinen
• Family Business – an interview with actor Martin Speer
• The Desert Sessions – an interview with composer Don Peake
• Outtakes
• Alternate ending
• Trailers and TV Spots
• Image gallery
• Original screenplay
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper

 

Sailor Suit And Machine Gun

On Blu-ray UK 15th November / US & Canada 23rd November

A perky high-schooler takes on the mob in Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, a one-of-a-kind genre-bender that riffs on the yakuza film, coming-of-age drama and ‘idol movie’, inventively adapted from Jiro Akagawa’s popular novel by director Shinji Somai (Typhoon Club, Wait and See), a massively influential figure in Japanese cinema whose work has been little seen outside his homeland.

Hoshi Izumi is a young innocent forced to grow up quickly when her father dies and she finds herself next in line as the boss of a moribund yakuza clan. Wrenched from the security of her classroom and thrust into the heart of the criminal underworld, she must come to terms with the fact that her actions hold the key to the life or death of the men under her command as they come under fire from rival gangs.

Presented in both its Original Theatrical and longer Complete versions, and the first time one of Somai’s films has been released on home video in the West, this landmark work from his early career was responsible for launching teen talent Hiroko Yakushimaru (Legend of the Eight Samurai; Detective Story) as the iconic face of a generation, with the catchy theme song she performs indelibly etched into the zeitgeist of early-1980s Japan.

 

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-rayTM (1080p) presentations of the Original Theatrical Version and the 1982 Complete Version (kanpeki-ban) re-issue of the film, restored by Kadokawa Pictures from a 4K scan of the original negative
• Original uncompressed Japanese mono and 5.1 audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Girls, Guns and Gangsters: Shinji Somai & Sailor Suit & Machine Gun, an exclusive new 50-minute documentary featuring actor Akira Emoto, film scholar Chika Kinoshita, Somai biographer Tatsuya Kimura and Sailor Suit assistant director Koji Enokido discussing the making of the film, its director and its legacy.
• Original Trailers and TV spots for both versions
• Image Gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Michael Lomon

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Aaron Gerow and Alex Zahlten, and a discussion between the film’s star Hiroko Yakushimaru and the acclaimed director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who was an assistant on Sailor Suit and Machine Gun.

 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Collection Volume 1

On Limited Edition Blu-ray UK 22nd November

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s debut feature Love is Colder Than Death (1969) is a playful but cynical crime picture, inspired by the nouvelle vague. Katzelmacher (1969) depicts the dynamics of a group of young layabout friends, which are radically altered by the arrival of an immigrant worker in their community. Beware of a Holy Whore (1971) pulls the curtain on the backstage dramas of the cast and crew of a film shoot as they wait in a Spanish seaside hotel for the arrival of funds to continue their production. The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971) portrays the downfall of a beleaguered fruit seller in 1950s Munich as he struggles to keep his family, body and soul together. Originally written and produced as a stage play, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) focuses on the loves, losses and lamentations of the titular Petra, a successful fashion designer with two marriages behind her and an estranged daughter. The Ulli Lommel-directed Tenderness of the Wolves (1973) sees Fassbinder adopting the role of producer in a bleak tale based on the German serial killer Fritz Haarmann, memorably played by Fassbinder regular Kurt Raab, who also wrote the screenplay.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• High definition digital transfers of all films prepared by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all films
• Original uncompressed PCM mono 1.0 sound for all films
• Optional English subtitles for all films
• Exclusive 140-page collectors booklet containing archive articles and interviews and new writing by Tony Rayns, David Jenkins, Nicole Brenez, Phuong Le, Carmen Gray and Sean Hogan

DISC ONE – THE EARLY WORKS: LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH and KATZELMACHER

• Two early short films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder from 1966, The Little Chaos and The City Tramp
• Interview with actor Ulli Lommel on Love is Colder Than Death
• End of the Commune?, Joachim von Mengershausen’s 1970 documentary portrait of Fassbinder and his troupe including rare footage of his actors rehearsing and Love is Colder Than Death’s premiere at the 1969 Berlin Film Festival
• Original theatrical trailer for Katzelmacher

DISC TWO – THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS and BEWARE OF A HOLY WHORE

• Audio commentary on The Merchant of Four Seasons by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Christian McCrea
• Audio commentary on Beware of a Holy Whore by Adrian Martin
• Interview with actor Lou Castel on Beware of a Holy Whore
• Beware of a Holy Whore theatrical trailer

DISC THREE – THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT

• Commentary by filmmaker and lecturer Diane Charleson
• Life Stories: A Conversation with R.W. Fassbinder, a 50-minute interview with the director conducted for German television in 1978
• Role-Play: Women on Fassbinder, a 1992 documentary containing interviews with four of the director’s leading ladies, Margit Carstensen, Irm Hermann, Hanna Schygulla and Rosel Zech

DISC FOUR – TENDERNESS OF THE WOLVES

• Audio commentary by director Ulli Lommel, moderated by Uwe Huber
• Introduction by Ulli Lommel
• The Tender Wolf, a newly-filmed interview with Lommel
• Photographing Fritz, a newly-filmed interview with director of photography Jürgen Jürges
• Haarmann’s Victim Talks, a newly-filmed interview with actor Rainer Will
• An appreciation by Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA and Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco
• Stills gallery
• Theatrical trailer

 

Battle Royale

On Standard Edition UHD UK 22nd November

The kids of Third Year Class-B Shiroiwa Junior High School are back, in a 4K restoration of the classic cult shocker adapted from the controversial novel by Koushun Takami.

Presenting an alternate dystopian vision of turn-of-the-millennium Japan, Battle Royale follows the 42 junior high school students selected to take part in the government’s annual Battle Royale programme, established as an extreme method of addressing concerns about juvenile delinquency. Dispatched to a remote island, they are each given individual weapons (ranging from Uzis and machetes to pan lids and binoculars), food and water, and the order to go out and kill each other. Every player is fitted with an explosive collar around their neck, imposing a strict three-day time limit on the deadly games in which there can only be one survivor. Overseeing the carnage is ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano (Sonatine, Hana-bi, Zatoichi) as the teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges.

Playing like a turbo-charged hybrid of Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game, the final completed work by veteran yakuza-film director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Graveyard of Honor) helped launch a new wave of appreciation for Asian cinema in the 21st century.

 

4K ULTRA-HD SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• 4K restoration of the Original Theatrical Version and Special Edition Director’s Cut of Battle Royale from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by Kenta Fukasaku
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation of both versions in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio on both cuts
• Optional English subtitles on both cuts
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring essays by Matt Alt and Anne Billson

DISC ONE – BATTLE ROYALE: ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION

• Audio commentary by critics Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
• Coming of Age: Battle Royale at 20, a 42-minute documentary about the legacy of Battle Royale
• Bloody Education: Kenta Fukasaku on Battle Royale, an interview with the film’s producer and screenwriter
• The Making of Battle Royale: The Experience of 42 High School Students, documentary featuring footage from the shooting of the film and cast and crew discussions
• The Slaughter of 42 High School Students, a look behind the scenes of the shoot
• Behind the scenes footage with comments from the cast and crew
• Filming on Set, a look at the shooting of key scenes from the film
• Conducting Battle Royale with the Warsaw National Philharmonic, archive footage of Masamichi Amano conducting the soundtrack rehearsal

DISC TWO – BATTLE ROYALE: SPECIAL EDITION DIRECTOR’S CUT

• Shooting the Special Edition, on-location featurette with footage of the cast and crew reuniting for the shoot of the Special Edition
• Royale Rehearsals, featurette on Kinji Fukasaku directing the film’s young cast
• Masamichi Amano Conducts Battle Royale, archive featurette
• Takeshi Kitano Interview, filmed on location with the Japanese star
• The Correct Way to Fight in Battle Royale, instructional video explaining the rules of the game
• The Correct Way to Make ‘Battle Royale’: Birthday Version, a new version of the original instructional video made to celebrate Kinji Fukasaku’s birthday
• Premiere Press Conference, preceding the film’s first public screening
• Tokyo International Film Festival Presentation, With footage from the gala screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival
• Opening Day at the Marunouchi Toei Movie Theatre, archive footage of the Japanese opening
• Special Effects Comparison showing how the film’s violent killings were created
• Original Trailers and TV spots
• Kinji Fukasaku trailer reel, a collection of original trailers for Fukasaku’s classic yakuza films from the 70s
• Image gallery

 

Phantom Of The Mall: Eric’s Revenge 

On Limited Edition Blu-ray UK 22nd November / US & Canada 23rd November

With numerous interpretations of Gaston Leroux’s classic novel The Phantom of the Opera having been turned out over the years, it was only a matter of time before the slasher genre decided to take a stab at the tale – step forward 1989’s Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge!

High school sweethearts Eric Matthews and Melody Austin are so in love, but their youthful romance is cut tragically short when Eric apparently dies in a fire that engulfs his family home. One year later and Melody is trying to move on with her life, taking up a job at the newly built Midwood Mall along with her friends. But the mall, which stands on the very site of Eric’s former home, has an uninvited guest – a shadowy, scarred figure which haunts its airducts and subterranean passageways, hellbent on exacting vengeance on the mall’s crooked developers.

Directed by Richard Friedman (Scared Stiff, Doom Asylum), and featuring star turns from Pauly Shore and Morgan Fairchild, Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge swoops onto Blu-ray™ in an extras-packed edition which proves that Arrow Video’s love for ’80s slasher fare never dies!

 

LIMITED EDITION 2-DISC BLU-RAY CONTENTS

• Three versions of the feature: Original Theatrical Cut, TV Cut and bonus Integral Fan Cut!
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed mono audio on all cuts
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on all cuts
• 60-page fully-illustrated perfect-bound book featuring new writing by Daniel Budnik and Amanda Reyes
• Large fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourn
• Six postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourn

DISC ONE – THE THEATRICAL CUT (BLU-RAY)

• Brand new 2K restoration of the Original Theatrical Cut from original film elements (90 mins)
• Brand new audio commentary with director Richard Friedman, moderated by filmmaker Michael Felsher
• Brand new audio commentary with disc producer Ewan Cant and film historian/author Amanda Reyes
• Shop Til’ You Drop!: The Making of Phantom of the Mall – brand new making-of documentary featuring interviews with director Richard Friedman, screenwriters Scott Schneid and Tony Michelman, actors Derek Rydall and Gregory Scott Cummins, filmmaker Tony Kayden and special make-up effects creator Matthew Mungle
• The Vandals Go to the Mall – an interview with Joe Escalante of The Vandals on the creation of the Phantom of the Mall theme song.
• Alternate and Deleted Scenes from the TV Cut
• Domestic and International Trailers
• Image Gallery
• Scott J. Schneid and Tony Michelman’s original script and associated special effects storyboards by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. [BD-ROM Content]

DISC TWO – THE TV & INTEGRAL FAN CUTS (BLU-RAY)

• Brand new 2K restoration of the TV Cut with Standard Definition inserts for the footage unique to this version (89 mins)
• Integral Fan Cut combining footage from both the Original Theatrical and TV Cuts for the ultimate Phantom of the Mall experience! (96 mins)

 

Mill Of The Stone Women

On Limited Edition Blu-ray UK 29th November

Before Black Sabbath, before I Vampiri, director Giorgio Ferroni (The Lion of Thebes, Blood for a Silver Dollar) introduced audiences to period horror Italian-style with his chilling 1960 shocker Mill of the Stone Women – a classic tale of terror redolent with the atmosphere of vintage Hammer Horror.

Young art student Hans von Arnam (Pierre Brice, Night of the Damned) arrives by barge at an old mill to write a monograph about its celebrated sculptures of women in the throes of death and torture, maintained and curated by the mill’s owner, the hermetic Professor Wahl (Herbert Böhme, Secret of the Red Orchid). But when Hans encounters the professor’s beautiful and mysterious daughter Elfi (Scilla Gabel, Modesty Blaise), his own fate becomes inexorably bound up with hers, and with the shocking secret that lies at the heart of the so-called Mill of the Stone Women.

The first Italian horror film to be shot in color, Mill of the Stone Women prefigured a raft of other spaghetti nightmares, including the work of maestros Mario Bava and Dario Argento. Arrow Video is proud to present this brand-new restoration of one of the foundational titles of Italian horror.

 

2-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• New 2K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films
• 1080p Blu-ray™ presentations of four different versions of the film: the original 96-minute Italian and English export versions, the 90-minute French version, containing exclusive footage, and the 95-minute US version, containing alternate dubbing, re-ordered scenes and added visual effects
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Roberto Curti, an in-depth comparison of the different versions by Brad Stevens, and a selection of contemporary reviews
• Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais
• Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards

DISC 1 – THE ITALIAN AND ENGLISH EXPORT VERSIONS

• Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
• 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 Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark
• Mill of the Stone Women & The Gothic Body, a new visual essay on the trope of the wax/statue woman in Gothic horror by author and critic Kat Ellinger
• Turned to Stone, a newly edited featurette containing archival interviews with actress Liana Orfei and film historian Fabio Melelli
• A Little Chat with Dr. Mabuse, an archival interview with actor Wolfgang Preiss
• Rare opening titles from the UK release, re-titled “Drops of Blood”
• German opening titles
• US and German theatrical trailers
• Image galleries

DISC 2 – THE FRENCH AND US VERSIONS (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE)

• Restored original lossless mono French soundtrack for the French version
• Restored original lossless mono English soundtrack for the US version
• Newly translated English subtitles for the French soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack