Arrow Video have revealed their February titles. Amongst them are Mario Bava's
Five Dolls for An August Moon and Takashi Miike's
Audition.
Five Dolls for an August Moon
A weekend retreat on a private island should be a recipe for rest and relaxation unless you're appearing in a giallo by the master of the macabre, Mario Bava (Black Sunday, Blood and Black Lace)...
Wealthy industrialist George Stark (Teodora Corrΰ, Django the Bastard) has gathered a group of friends - played by a who's who of Italian genre cinema including William Berger (Faccia a faccia), Ira von Fόrstenberg (The Fifth Cord), Edwige Fenech (Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) and Howard Ross (The New York Ripper) - to his island retreat. He hopes to entice them into investing in a new project, but soon the sunbathing and cocktails parties give way to murder, as the corpses begin to pile up one by one.
Paying homage to Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, Five Dolls for an August Moon turns the style up to ten. Surrounded by beautiful women, stunning locations and flamboyant fashions and abetted by Piero Umiliani's equally exotic score Bava creates one of his most eye-catching movies, a visual tour de force.
Special Features:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Optional English and Italian soundtracks presented in original uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Optional isolated Music and Effects track
- Optional English subtitles for the Italian audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English audio
- Audio commentary by Mario Bava's biographer Tim Lucas
- Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre - a documentary profile of the director, hosted by Mark Kermode and featuring interviews with Joe Dante, John Carpenter and Tim Burton
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
- Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Glenn Kenny and a new essay by Adrian Smith on the Fancey family and their efforts to bring international exploitation titles, including Five Dolls for an August Moon, to a UK audience during the 60s, 70s and 80s
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 1.
Audition
One of the most notorious J-horror films ever made, Takashi Miike's Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film would catapult Miike to the international scene and pave the way for such other genre delights as Ichii the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris.
Recent widower Shigharu Aoyama is advised by his son to find a new wife, agreeing Shigeharu seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. Taking advantage of their position as a film company they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu becomes enchanted by Asami, a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. But soon things take a very dark and twisted turn as we find that Asami isn't what she seems to be...
Pulling the audience into a story that will lead to one of the most harrowing climaxes in cinema history, Miike twists and turns us through delirious editing and shocking visuals for one of the most depraved nightmares of all time!
Special Features:
SteelBook (2 discs)
Limited Edition Contents:
- Brand new 2K restoration of original vault elements presented in High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD
- Original 5.1 audio (DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles
- Audio commentary with director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
- Brand new commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes examining the film and its source novel
- Introduction by Miike
- Ties that Bind A brand new interview with Takashi Miike
- Interviews with stars Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi and Ren Osugi
- Trailers
- Gallery including behind-the-scenes images
- Booklet featuring new writing on the film
- More to be announced!
Blu-ray (1 disc)
Special Edition Contents:
- Brand new 2K restoration of original vault elements
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original 5.1 audio (DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles
- Audio commentary with director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
- Brand new commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes examining the film and its source novel
- Introduction by Miike
- Ties that Bind A brand new interview with Takashi Miike
- Interviews with stars Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi and Ren Osugi
- Trailers
- Gallery including behind-the-scenes images
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips
- More to be announced!
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 29.
Hellraiser Trilogy
In 1987, master of horror Clive Barker unleashed Hellraiser upon unsuspecting audiences launching what has proven to be one of the genre's most enduring franchises and creating an instant horror icon in the figure of Pinhead in the process.
In Barker's original Hellraiser, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) comes head-to-head with the Cenobites demonic beings from another realm who are summoned by way of a mysterious puzzle box. Picking up immediately after the events of the original Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II finds Kirsty detained at a psychiatric institute and under the care of Dr. Channard, a man with an unhealthy interest in the occult. Meanwhile, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth sees Pinhead and his band of Cenobites let loose in our own world, with terrifying consequences.
Here presented in brand new 2k restorations, Arrow Video is proud to present the first three instalments in one of the most fiercely original horror franchises of all time.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
- Brand new 2K restorations of Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
- Uncompressed PCM Stereo 2.0 and Lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound for Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II
- Lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0 sound for Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for all three films
- Reversible sleeves for all three films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
DISC 1 HELLRAISER
- Brand new 2K restoration approved by director of photography Robin Vidgeon
- Audio commentary with writer/director Clive Barker
- Audio commentary with Barker and actress Ashley Laurence
- Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser brand new version of the definitive documentary on the making of Hellraiser, featuring interviews with key cast and crew members
- Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellraiser actor Sean Chapman talks candidly about playing the character of Frank Cotton in Barker's original
- Soundtrack Hell: The Story of the Abandoned Coil Score Coil member Stephen Thrower on the Hellraiser score that almost was
- Hellraiser: Resurrection vintage featurette including interviews with Clive Barker, actors Doug Bradley and Ashley Laurence, special make-up effects artist Bob Keen and others
- Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser
- Original EPK featuring on-set interviews with cast and crew
- Draft Screenplays [BD-ROM content]
- Trailers and TV Spots
- Image Gallery
DISC 2 HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II
- Brand new 2K restoration approved by director of photography Robin Vidgeon
- Audio Commentary with director Tony Randel and writer Peter Atkins
- Audio Commentary with Randel, Atkins and actress Ashley Laurence
- Leviathan: The Story of Hellbound: Hellraiser II brand new version of the definitive documentary on the making of Hellbound, featuring interviews with key cast and crew members
- Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellbound actor Sean Chapman talks about reprising the role of Frank Cotton in the first Hellraiser sequel
- Surgeon Scene the home video world premiere of this legendary, never before-seen excised sequence from Hellbound, sourced from a VHS workprint
- Lost in the Labyrinth vintage featurette including interviews with Barker, Randel, Keen, Atkins and others
- Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellbound: Hellraiser II
- On-set interview with Clive Barker
- On-set interviews with cast and crew
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage
- Rare and unseen storyboards
- Draft Screenplay [BD-ROM content]
- Trailers and TV Spots
- Image Gallery
DISC 3 HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH
- Brand new 2K restoration of the Original Theatrical Version [93 mins]
- Alternate Unrated Version [97 mins]
- Brand new audio commentary with writer Peter Atkins
- Audio commentary with director Anthony Hickox and Doug Bradley
- Hell on Earth: The Story of Hellraiser III making-of documentary featuring interviews with Atkins, Keen and actor Ken Carpenter
- Terri's Tales brand new interview with actress Paula Marshall
- Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth
- Raising Hell on Earth archival interview with Hickox
- On-set interviews with Barker and Bradley
- Never-before-seen Hellraiser III SFX dailies
- Theatrical Trailer
- Image Gallery
- Hellraiser III comic book adaptation [Disc gallery]
UK STREET DATE: JANUARY 25.
Koyaanisqatsi
A dizzying, hypnotic example of cinema set to an extraordinary score by Philip Glass. Told without dialogue, narration, cast or characters, Koyaanisqatsi is a dizzying, hypnotic example of cinema set to an extraordinary score by Philip Glass. It contrasts natural beauty with a population ever more dependent on modern technology.
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Shot on a low budget in New York City and the American South West, the film found support from Francis Ford Coppola where it found a larger audience and has gone on to become a cult classic.
Special Features:
- Restored digital transfer, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio
- Introduction by filmmaker and composer Gary Tarn (Black Sun, The Prophet)
- Essence of Life - Interviews with Reggio and composer Philip Glass
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 15.
Powaqqatsi
Godfrey Reggio's remarkable sequel to Koyaanisqatsi. Told without dialogue, narration, cast or characters, Powaqqatsi is a dizzying, hypnotic example of cinema set to an extraordinary score by Philip Glass.
Godfrey Reggio's remarkable sequel to Koyaanisqatsi, his previous collaboration with Glass, focuses on the Southern hemisphere and witnesses ancient cultures and traditions slowly eroding away as the modern world takes over.
Special Features:
- Restored digital transfer, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio
- Anima Mundi - Reggio's 1992 short film, a 28-minute montage of over seventy animal species, scored by Philip Glass
- Impact of Progress - Interviews with Reggio and Glass
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 15.
Reform School Girls
DVD ONLY TITLE
Punk Goddess Wendy O. Williams of The Plasmatics, stars (and lends vocals to the killer theme song) in Reform School Girls, a riotous Women-in-Prison romp from Tom DeSimone (Hell Night).
After a heist gone wrong, first time offer Jenny finds herself sentenced to Pridemore Juvenile Facility, an all-girls reform school presided over by Warden Sutter (Sybil Danning, Chained Heat), a megalomaniacal dictator with the shoulder pads of a 49er and sadistic Head Matron Edna (Pat Ast, Andy Warhol's Heat). Terrorised by resident bad girl Charlie (Williams) Jenny looks to the guards for help, finding them more interested in shower time Jenny and timid runaway Lisa rally girls, guns and buses to battle the lust-crazed lesbians.
A knowing spoof of bad girls gone berserk, Reform Schools Girls mixed plenty of violence and nudity with songs from Williams and Etta James to ensure its cult status.
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 15.