Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

Arena Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 22, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams set.

The vagaries of fame and/or fortune can often be positively confounding, and in that regard it's maybe just a little odd that Charles Band has never seemed to have quite risen to the "immediate name recognition" factor of people like, say, Roger Corman. This may seem especially strange in that Band not only has tended to work in the same kind of less fulsomely budgeted B movie environment that Corman often has, with both sharing a penchant for somewhat sly, winking horror films, but also because Band founded not one but two "studios", Empire Pictures (the "subject" of this collection) and, after the demise of that enterprise, Full Moon Pictures, which continues to release Blu-rays to this day. When you add in the fact that Band hails from a really rather notable family which includes an at least somewhat famous grandfather, father, and various offspring and/or other relatives, the lack of general renown for Band becomes even more inexplicable. Arrow Video is coming to the rescue of this conundrum, however, with this elaborately packaged collection of several Band productions for Empire Pictures which should be of interest to genre aficionados, even if this set can't quite match the extravagance of Band's own Empire Pictures Collection release from several years ago, an immense offering which included all of these films on Blu-ray, save Arena, which was on DVD in that set. As fans will know (or can find out by clicking on links provided in individual reviews), the Empire set was not the only time some of these films have had prior releases on Blu-ray.

Some of the supplements Arrow has aggregated for this release mention without even a hint of irony how this film was an unaccustomedly "big budget" enterprise for Charles Band and Empire, but the truth is accuracy may dictate a slightly altered "bigger budget" might jibe with facts more completely. The setup of the film is simplicity itself, with a menial worker named Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield) thrust into a gonzo boxing tournament where he's pitted against a slew of intergalactic alien monsters. If the story is frankly pretty rote, the film does benefit from some really well done special makeup effects, which help to bring some of Steve's nemeses and even alien audience attendees rather neatly to life.

Arena Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arena is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As mentioned above, Arena is the sole film in this set to not have had a prior release on Blu-ray, having been offered only on DVD in the mammoth Empire set linked to above. That may be due at least in part to some "words of warning" that Arrow has included as a sort of submenu after Play is pressed:

Despite a thorough search, the best quality film material that could be found was a 35mm theatrical print, which is the source element used for this remastered version. The opening titles and onscreen text offset was an error in the initial film printing and has been retained for this presentation.

Further information is provided in the perfect bound booklet Arrow includes with this set:

Arena is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio with stereo sound. A 35mm theatrical print was scanned in 2K resolution at Company 3. The film was graded and restored in 2K resolution at AGFA. The quality of the master is in keeping with the available print materials. The opening titles offset was an error in the initial film printing and has been retained for this presentation.

Within the context(s) outlined above, Arena probably looks better than some might expect, but it pales (both literally in terms of a blanched palette and figuratively in terms of overall quality) when compared to some of the 4K scans off of original camera negatives seen in some of the other presentations in this set. The entire look here is often pretty "dupey", with pretty heavy grain and less consistently fulsome fine detail levels. That said, I was actually rather pleasantly surprised by some of the detail levels on the special makeup effects in particular. There are any number of age related blemishes that have made it through the restoration gauntlet. Some of this presentation probably dips closer to 2.5 levels, while the best moments may at least make a grab at the "brass ring" of 3.5 territory, so I've kind of split the difference in my score.

Arena Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Arena features an often boisterous LPCM 2.0 track that capably supports some of the frankly pretty noisy battle sequences, as well as Richard Band's appealing score and at least more relatively peaceful talking moments. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, with the possible exception of some alien blather delivered through heavy latex and other makeup effects. Optional English subtitles are available.

Arena Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary Features director Peter Manoogian with Empire Pictures fans Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain in this newly recorded track.


• Alternative Full Frame Presentation (HD*; 1:37:15) is culled from an archival standard definition master and is included "for posterity as it features different framing and color grading" from the main feature version.


• Not His Arena (HD; 14:44) is an interview with screewriter Danny Billson. The title kind of cheekily refers to the fact that Billson's original conception that the film be "Body and Soul in Space" wasn't utilized.


• Empire of Creatures (HD; 16:21) is an interview with special makeup effects artist Michael Deak.


• Trailers

  Theatrical Trailer 16:9 (HD; 1:40)

  
  

  Trailer 4:3 (HD; 1:41)

• Image Galleries

  Behind the Scenes (HD; 1:06)

  
  

  Posters and Stills (HD)

*720

Additionally the keepcase features a reversible sleeve, and houses a folded mini poster and art cards.

Arena Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arena is unabashedly goofy, and it's also kind of hilariously cliché ridden despite its 41st century setting. The technical presentation is occasionally hampered by limitations of the source element, so I suggest those interested parse through the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review to get some idea of what this looks like. The supplements are very engaging, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.