Arrow Video are one of the biggest fan favourite labels out there right now and this months releases of DVD, Blu-ray and dual format just proves why. Below you will find the release schedule for our top picks of this month.
BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
Release Date: 5th September 2016
Format: Blu-ray
Directed by: Russ Meyer
Starring: Dolly Read, Cynthia Meyer, Marcia McBroom, Erica Gavin
When Easy Rider rewrote the box-office rulebook in 1969, Hollywood scrambled to catch up – and 20th Century Fox noticed that one particular independent filmmaker was seeing impressive returns from tiny investments. So what would happen if he was given a decent budget and the run of a Hollywood studio and told to make the ultimate Russ Meyer film?
Well, this is the result: an initially X-rated cult camp classic about an all-female rock band trying to parlay Midwestern success into a Hollywood contract with the aid of a hefty inheritance. But will they be able to maintain their trademark apple-pie wholesomeness under their new manager, the notorious Ronnie ‘Z-Man’ Barzell? Take a wild guess.
Co-scripted by film critic Roger Ebert, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a merciless satire of Hollywood and the music business, a no-holds-barred psychedelic thrill-ride that gleefully stirs sex, drugs, rock’n’roll, fashion, lesbianism, transvestism and Nazis into one of the most riotously unhinged mainstream films ever made.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
Separate music and effects track
Audio commentary by co-screenwriter Roger Ebert
Audio commentary by cast members Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Harrison Page, John La Zar and Erica Gavin
Introduction by John La Zar
Above, Beneath and Beyond the Valley: The Making of a Musical-Horror-Sex-Comedy
Look On Up at the Bottom, with composer Stu Phillips discussing the film’s music
The Best of Beyond, favourite moments selected by cast and crew members
Sex, Drugs, Music & Murder: Signs of the Time, Baby!, a look at the late 1960s culture that spawned Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Casey & Roxanne: The Love Scene, discussed by participants Erica Gavin and Cynthia Myers
Screen tests for Michael Blodgett, Cynthia Myers, Harrison Page, Marcia McBroom
High Definition photo galleries
Multiple trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring two original artworks
Region: B
Rating: 18
Duration:
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio:
Audio: Mono
Colour
Discs: 1
Available to buy direct from Arrow or from Amazon via the link below.
THE SEVEN MINUTES
Release Date: 5th September 2016
Format: DVD
Directed by: Russ Meyer
Starring: John Carradine, Yvonne De Carlo, Wolfman Jack, Charles Napier, Tom Selleck
A BANNED BOOK, A RAPE, AND A TRIAL THAT TORE A TOWN APART!
When Twentieth Century Fox signed sexploitation maestro Russ Meyer to a multi-picture deal, this resulted in two films. The first was the legendary Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. The second was the little-seen The Seven Minutes, about a subject that could hardly have been closer to Meyer’s heart.
Based on the best-selling novel by Irving Wallace, The Seven Minutes is also the title of a notorious 1930s book whose belated publication in the US triggers an obscenity lawsuit, prompted by a hitherto clean-living young man raping a fellow student and leaving her for dead. But is the resulting trial a sincere exploration of links between (alleged) pornography and real-life violence or an attempted Kafkaesque stitch-up involving a shady businessman, ambitious politicians in search of a populist bandwagon, and even the Vatican?
With a dazzling cast including cult legends John Carradine, Yvonne De Carlo (The Munsters), Jay C. Flippen (The Killing), Wolfman Jack (Motel Hell), Charles Napier (The Blues Brothers) and future star Tom Selleck (Magnum P.I.), The Seven Minutes is an absorbing, intelligent and thought-provoking drama.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
DVD presentation of the longer cut of The Seven Minutes, including the notorious sex-film studio scene
Dolby Digital 1.0 sound, with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired
Sinister Image, an interview with Russ Meyer and his former model Yvette Vickers
Theatrical trailer
Region: B/2
Rating: 18
Duration: 113
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: Mono
Colour
Discs: 1
Available to buy direct from Arrow or from Amazon via the link below.
MATINEE
Release Date: 12th September 2016
Format: Dual format Blu-Ray and DVD
Directed by: Joe Dante
Starring: John Goodman
HALF MAN… HALF ANT… ALL TERROR!
So says the advertising campaign for Mant!, the latest low-budget schlock-horror classic from cigar-chomping producer Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman, The Big Lebowski), who more than makes up for his films’ lack of production values by festooning them with gimmicks that would turn even William Castle (The Tingler) green with envy.
But the most potent gimmick of all is accidental: Woolsey schedules a sneak preview of Mant! in Key West, Florida, in October 1962, unaware that the Cuban missile crisis is about to flare up. Will the threat of genuine nuclear war distract the locals from the movie, or will they find it doubly terrifying?
Directed by the legendary Joe Dante (The ’Burbs), this delightful film isn’t just an affectionate love-letter to the sci-fi and horror films that he grew up with in the 1950s and 60s, it’s also a witty and intelligent exploration of the way that the most successful genre films worked by preying on the very real fears of their audiences about everything from Soviet satellite launches to atomic mutation.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
High definition digital transfer supplied by NBC Universal
Lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Paranoia in Ant Vision, a discussion with director Joe Dante about the making of the film
Mant!, the full length version of the film-within-a-film
Discussion with Joe Dante on the effects of Mant!
Vintage ‘making of’ featurette
Rare on-set footage, sourced from Joe Dante’s personal collection
Original theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
First pressing only: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by David Jenkins
Region: B/2
Rating: PG
Duration: 99 minutes
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: Mono
Colour
Discs: 2
Available to buy direct from Arrow or from Amazon via the link below.
DEAD-END DRIVE-IN
Release Date: 19th September 2016
Format: Blu-Ray and DVD
Directed by: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Starring: Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry, Peter Whitford, Wilbur Wilde
THE PRICE OF ADMISSION IS THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
One of Quentin Tarantino’s favourite directors, Brian Trenchard-Smith was a key figure in the Ozploitation movement, responsible for The Man from Hong Kong, Stunt Rock, Turkey Shoot, BMX Bandits… and dystopian cult classic Dead-End Drive In!
Set in a near-future where the economy has crumbled and violent gangs play havoc in the streets, the powers-that-be have decided to lure the delinquent youth into drive-in cinemas and keep them there. No longer just a place to watch trashy movies and make out, these outdoor picture shows have become concentration camps for the unruly and unwanted.
With its day-glo colour scheme, new wave soundtrack and extraordinary stunt work, Dead-End Drive-In is in the tradition of Ozploitation milestones Mad Max and The Cars That Ate Paris only very, very eighties.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new 2K restoration from original film materials
High Definition (1080p) Presentation
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Audio commentary by director Brian Trenchard-Smith
The Stuntmen, Trenchard Smith’s classic television documentary on Grant Page (Mad Max, Road Games) and other Australian stunt performers
Hospitals Don’t Burn Down, Trenchard-Smith’s 1978 public information film told in pure Ozploitation fashion
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon
First pressing only: fully-illustrated collector’s booklet containing writing on the films by Cullen Gallagher and Neil Mitchell
Region: B
Rating: 15
Duration: 88 minutes
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: TBC
Colour / Color
Discs: 1
Available to buy direct from Arrow or from Amazon via the link below.
SLUGS
Release Date: 26th September 2016
Format: Blu-Ray and DVD
Directed by: Juan Piquer Simón
THEY SLIME. THEY OOZE. THEY KILL.
From celebrated Spanish director Juan Piquer Simón, the man behind the truly demented slasher flick Pieces (1982), comes a terrifying tale of mutant slugs on the rampage in small-town America.
The townsfolk of a rural community are dying in strange and gruesome circumstances. Following the trail of horrifically mutilated cadavers, resident health inspector Mike Brady is on the case to piece together the mystery. He soon comes to a terrifying conclusion – giant slugs are breeding in the sewers beneath the town, and they’re making a meal of the locals!
Based on the novel by acclaimed British horror author Shaun Hutson, Slugs outdoes its creature feature peers by adding an extra dose of gross-out gore into the equation, culminating in one of the most squirm-inducing animal attack movies ever to slither its way across screens.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new restoration from original film elements
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original Uncompressed PCM Stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by writer and filmmaker Chris Alexander
Here’s Slugs In Your Eye – an interview with actor Emilio Linder
They Slime, They Ooze, They Kill: The Effects of Slugs – an interview with special effects artist Carlo De Marchis
Invasion USA – an interview with art director Gonzalo Gonzalo
The Lyons Den – an interview and locations tour with production manager Larry Ann Evans
1988 Goya Awards promo reel
Original Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by writer Michael Gingold
Details
Region: B
Rating: 18
Duration: 92 mins
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: Stereo
Colour
Discs: 1
Available to buy direct from Arrow or from Amazon via the link below.
THE HILLS HAVE EYES
Release Date: 26th September 2016
Format: Blu-Ray
Directed by: Wes Craven
THE LUCKY ONES DIED FIRST…
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 a detour whilst on route to Los Angeles, the Carter family 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 are forced to fight back by any means necessary.
As gruelling a viewing experience today as it was upon initial release, 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 moments in American horror cinema.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new 4K restoration from original film elements, supervised by producer Peter Locke
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
6 x postcards
Reversible fold-out poster featuring new and original artwork
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Brad Stevens and a consideration of the Hills franchise by Ewan Cant, illustrated with original archive stills
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, Dee Wallace, Janus Blythe, Robert Houston, Susan Lanier and director of photography Eric Saarinen
The Desert Sessions – brand new interview with composer Don Peake
Alternate ending, in HD for the first time
Trailers and TV Spots
Image Gallery
Original Screenplay (BD/DVD-ROM Content)
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
+ MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!
Region: B
Rating: TBC
Duration: TBC
Language: English
Subtitles:
Aspect Ratio: TBC
Audio: TBC
Colour
Discs: 1
Available to buy direct from Arrow or from Amazon via the link below.