Warner Archive Announces May Releases
HomeWarner Archive Announces May Releases
Posted April 16, 2019 05:43 PM by Webmaster
Warner Archive has announced that it will add four new catalog titles to its Blu-ray catalog: The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), The Golden Arrow (1962), Shaft's Big Score! (1972), and Shaft in Africa (1973). The four releases will arrive on the market in May.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
Synopsis: Forty-eight-year-old Manhattanite Mel Edison just lost his job. Soon he'll lose his wardrobe, temper, self-respect and maybe his mind. In urban life's grueling guerrilla war, Mel just became The Prisoner of Second Avenue.
Adapting his 1971 stage hit, Neil Simon develops Mel's anxiety-ridden plight with razor-edged empathy – and deliciously clever gags. Academy Award® winners* Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft are in top form as Mel and his loving wife, Edna, skillfully melding zany farce with the bittersweet agony of middle-class people whose wall-to-wall carpeting has suddenly been yanked out from under them. Keep a sharp eye out for alleged pickpocket Sylvester Stallone and cabbie F. Murray Abraham in early career roles.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Synopsis: You can't say the mob wasn't warned about John Shaft. "He's a bad dude," a numbers racketeer cautions them. Now, Shaft himself will deliver that message in a way New York City's wiseguys understand.
Richard Roundtree reunites with the director (Gordon Parks) and screenwriter (Ernest Tidyman) of 1971's trendsetting Shaft for Shaft's Big Score!, the second of Roundtree's three movie portrayals of the street-smart, leather-jacketed private investigator. This time, the blown-to-kingdom-come murder of a client plunges Shaft into a case that bounces him like a pinball between the 133rd Precinct and competing mobs. But the players are about to be played in this "rousing and entertaining thriller" (Newsweek).
Technical Specs:
Synopsis: Go ahead. Slug, drug, kidnap and leave John Shaft buck naked in a sweltering hellhole. It's still no deal. If you want to recruit this tough-minded Manhattan detective for an overseas assignment, you'd better use a language he understands. One that offers a fat up-front fee. And a drop-dead-gorgeous accomplice. Richard Roundtree returns as the indomitable Shaft, who poses as a slave, unmasks the leaders of an Africa-to-Europe slavery cartel and, for good measure, mixes his business with amorous pleasure involving a beautiful princess (Vonetta McGee). The cool-fire impact of Roundtree's performances endures: The actor won the 1993 MTV Movie Award for Lifetime Achievement for his work in the three Shaft thrillers.
Technical Specs:
Synopsis: Bandit chief Hassan (Tab Hunter) infiltrates Damascus with a daring plan. Impersonating a prince from the "Island of Flames," Hassan joins the nobles contending for the hand of beautiful Princess Jamila (Rossana Podesta) intending to kidnap her for ransom. The suitors' contest revolves around the legendary Black Bow, the weapon of the true savior and Sultan of Damascus. Whoever can bend the bow will wield the invincible power of the Golden Arrow, claim the hand of Jamila and become ruler. No one is more astonished than Hassan when he succeeds in bending the Black Bow, but the brash young thief ignores the call to heroism, kidnaps the princess and loses the Golden Arrow. With the aid of three magical spirits, Hassan must embark on a quest to recover it, contending with a series of supernatural challenges that refine his spirit and prepare him for battle against Baktiar, the evil vizier who controls Damascus. This "scimitar and sandals" epic soars across fantastic locations with sweeping spectacle thanks to the buoyant direction of journeyman genre-master Antonio Margheriti (Wild, Wild Planet).
Technical Specs:
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
Synopsis: Forty-eight-year-old Manhattanite Mel Edison just lost his job. Soon he'll lose his wardrobe, temper, self-respect and maybe his mind. In urban life's grueling guerrilla war, Mel just became The Prisoner of Second Avenue.
Adapting his 1971 stage hit, Neil Simon develops Mel's anxiety-ridden plight with razor-edged empathy – and deliciously clever gags. Academy Award® winners* Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft are in top form as Mel and his loving wife, Edna, skillfully melding zany farce with the bittersweet agony of middle-class people whose wall-to-wall carpeting has suddenly been yanked out from under them. Keep a sharp eye out for alleged pickpocket Sylvester Stallone and cabbie F. Murray Abraham in early career roles.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- BRAND NEW REMASTER OF THE FILM
- Dinah! Segment Featuring Anne Bancroft and a Gag Reel
- Vintage Featurette "The Making of the Prisoner of Second Avenue"
- Theatrical Trailer (HD)
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
Synopsis: You can't say the mob wasn't warned about John Shaft. "He's a bad dude," a numbers racketeer cautions them. Now, Shaft himself will deliver that message in a way New York City's wiseguys understand.
Richard Roundtree reunites with the director (Gordon Parks) and screenwriter (Ernest Tidyman) of 1971's trendsetting Shaft for Shaft's Big Score!, the second of Roundtree's three movie portrayals of the street-smart, leather-jacketed private investigator. This time, the blown-to-kingdom-come murder of a client plunges Shaft into a case that bounces him like a pinball between the 133rd Precinct and competing mobs. But the players are about to be played in this "rousing and entertaining thriller" (Newsweek).
Technical Specs:
- BRAND NEW REMASTER OF THE FILM
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
Synopsis: Go ahead. Slug, drug, kidnap and leave John Shaft buck naked in a sweltering hellhole. It's still no deal. If you want to recruit this tough-minded Manhattan detective for an overseas assignment, you'd better use a language he understands. One that offers a fat up-front fee. And a drop-dead-gorgeous accomplice. Richard Roundtree returns as the indomitable Shaft, who poses as a slave, unmasks the leaders of an Africa-to-Europe slavery cartel and, for good measure, mixes his business with amorous pleasure involving a beautiful princess (Vonetta McGee). The cool-fire impact of Roundtree's performances endures: The actor won the 1993 MTV Movie Award for Lifetime Achievement for his work in the three Shaft thrillers.
Technical Specs:
- BRAND NEW REMASTER OF THE FILM
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
Synopsis: Bandit chief Hassan (Tab Hunter) infiltrates Damascus with a daring plan. Impersonating a prince from the "Island of Flames," Hassan joins the nobles contending for the hand of beautiful Princess Jamila (Rossana Podesta) intending to kidnap her for ransom. The suitors' contest revolves around the legendary Black Bow, the weapon of the true savior and Sultan of Damascus. Whoever can bend the bow will wield the invincible power of the Golden Arrow, claim the hand of Jamila and become ruler. No one is more astonished than Hassan when he succeeds in bending the Black Bow, but the brash young thief ignores the call to heroism, kidnaps the princess and loses the Golden Arrow. With the aid of three magical spirits, Hassan must embark on a quest to recover it, contending with a series of supernatural challenges that refine his spirit and prepare him for battle against Baktiar, the evil vizier who controls Damascus. This "scimitar and sandals" epic soars across fantastic locations with sweeping spectacle thanks to the buoyant direction of journeyman genre-master Antonio Margheriti (Wild, Wild Planet).
Technical Specs:
- BRAND NEW REMASTER OF THE FILM
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature