Arrow Video has announced its March batch of 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases. They are:
Boyhood (2014),
Four Film Noir Classics Vol. 2 (1944-1955),
Black Sunday,
Knockabout, and
The House That Screamed.
Boyhood 4K Blu-ray
From Richard Linklater, the director of Slacker, Dazed & Confused and Before Sunrise, Boyhood is a ground-breaking cinematic achievement; a fictional drama made with the same group of actors over a 12-year period. At once epic and intimate, it is a one-of-a-kind trip through the exhilaration of childhood, the seismic shifts of modern family life, and the passage of time itself.
Dreamy-eyed grade-schooler Mason (Ellar Coltrane) is facing upheaval: his struggling single mom Olivia (Patricia Arquette) has decided to move him and older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) to Houston – just as their long-absent father Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke) re-enters their world. Thus begins a decade of constantly unfolding heartbreak and wonder. Against the tide of family moves and controversies, faltering marriages and re-marriages, new schools, first loves, lost loves, good times and scary times that will shape him, Mason emerges to find his own road in life.
A remarkable achievement that builds on Linklater's fascination with time, relationships and the ever-changing nature of our lives, Boyhood is a deeply moving experience that found praise from critics around the world and went on to win the award for Best Film at both the Golden Globes and British Academy Film Awards in 2015.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Lossless DTS HD MA 5.1 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Without Ambition, One Starts Nothing, a new featurette featuring American poet and critic Dan Chiasson in conversation with his son Louis Chiasson about their shared love and connection to the film
- In Search of Lost Time, a new visual essay by critic and film-maker Scout Tafoya
- Before and After Boyhood, a previously unheard interview with Richard Linklater by film critic Rob Stone, author of Walk, Don't Run: The Cinema of Richard Linklater
- Richard Linklater at the BFI, director Richard Linklater discusses Boyhood and his whole career in this on stage appearance at the British Film Institute
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- 60-page perfect-bound collector's book featuring new writing on the film by film critic Ben Sachs and scholar Rob Stone, author of Walk, Don't Run: The Cinema of Richard Linklater
UK STREET DATE: MARCH 27.
Boyhood
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- High-definition presentation of the film
- Lossless DTS HD MA 5.1 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Without Ambition, One Starts Nothing, a new featurette featuring American poet and critic Dan Chiasson in conversation with his son Louis Chiasson about their shared love and connection to the film
- In Search of Lost Time, a new visual essay by critic and film-maker Scout Tafoya
- Before and After Boyhood, a previously unheard interview with Richard Linklater by film critic Rob Stone, author of Walk, Don't Run: The Cinema of Richard Linklater
- Richard Linklater at the BFI, director Richard Linklater discusses Boyhood and his whole career in this on stage appearance at the British Film Institute
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- 60-page perfect-bound collector's book featuring new writing on the film by film critic Ben Sachs and scholar Rob Stone, author of Walk, Don't Run: The Cinema of Richard Linklater
UK STREET DATE: MARCH 27.
Black Sunday
Throughout the 1970s, a wave of daring disaster movies gripped cinemagoers with their combination of bravura spectacle and "ripped from the headlines" plotlines. Among these, John Frankenheimer's (The Manchurian Candidate, Ronin) Black Sunday endures to this day as among the cream of the crop.
Robert Shaw (Jaws, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) stars as Major Kabakov, an Israeli agent attempting to avert a terrorist atrocity on US soil. The weapon: a blimp laced with explosives and piloted by Michael Lander (Bruce Dern, Silent Running), a troubled Vietnam vet driven to strike back against the nation he believes has betrayed him. The target: the Orange Bowl stadium, Miami. What follows is a nail-biting race against time culminating in a spectacular aerial climax that will determine the fate of 80,000 spectators.
Adapted from the best-selling debut novel by Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs) and featuring virtuoso performances by a cast headlined by Dern, Shaw and Marthe Keller (Marathon Man), Black Sunday is a nerve-shredding, best-in-class suspense thriller from a filmmaker at the top of his game.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- High-definition presentation
- Original restored lossless mono audio, presented for the first time on Blu-ray
- Optional restored lossless 5.1 and 2.0 stereo audio options
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by film scholar Josh Nelson
- It Could Be Tomorrow – brand new visual essay by critic Sergio Angelini, exploring the film's adaptation and production, and its place within the pantheon of 70s terrorism thrillers
- The Directors: John Frankenheimer – an hour-long portrait of the director from 2003, including interviews with Frankenheimer, Kirk Douglas, Samuel L. Jackson, Roy Scheider, Rod Steiger and others
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
- First pressing only: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw
U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: MARCH 28.
Four Film Noir Classics Vol. 2
Tormented protagonists, sadistic villains, sublimated sex and murder most foul. Take a walk through the shadowy streets of Film Noir in these four atmospheric classics.
In The Suspect (1944) a genial shopkeeper, Philip Marshall, is constantly nagged by his shrewish wife, Cora, while secretly yearning for a pretty young stenographer. When Cora falls to her death the police are suspicious, and Marshall's neighbour sees a chance for blackmail. A classic noir with an unusual Edwardian setting directed by Robert Siodmak (The Killers), and starring Charles Laughton (The Big Clock), Ella Raines (Phantom Lady) and Henry Daniell (The Body Snatcher). Meanwhile, The Sleeping City (1950) sees an undercover policeman investigating murder and narcotics racketeering at New York's Bellevue Hospital. Starring Richard Conte (Thieves' Highway) and Coleen Gray (Nightmare Alley) this tense, semi-documentary thriller was shot entirely on location by director George Sherman. In Thunder on the Hill (1951) convicted murderer Valerie Carns is being transported for execution when a flood strands her and her guards at a convent hospital, where Sister Mary Bonaventure becomes convinced of Valerie's innocence and sets out to find the real killer.
Celebrated director Douglas Sirk is best known for his classic melodramas, but he made a number of noir thrillers and this is one of the best; starring Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night) and Ann Blyth (Mildred Pierce). Finally, in Six Bridges to Cross (1955) streetwise delinquent Jerry Florea is shot and wounded by rookie policeman Eddie Gallagher while fleeing the scene of a robbery. Despite this, the two develop a friendship as Eddie and his wife take Jerry under their wing, trying to keep him on the straight and narrow. As an adult Jerry marries and seems to settle down, until an armoured security company across the street from him is robbed of two and a half million dollars. Directed by Joseph Pevney (Man of a Thousand Faces) the film stars Tony Curtis (Some Like it Hot), George Nalder (Robot Monster), Julie Adams (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and Sal Mineo (Rebel Without a Cause), with cinematography by the great William H. Daniels (The Naked City).
This showcase of lesser known noir classics features sterling performances from a host of screen greats, as well as taut direction, stunning cinematography, and superb screenwriting from the likes of Oscar Saul (A Streetcar Named Desire), Jo Eisinger (Gilda, Night and the City), Andrew Holt (In a Lonely Place) and Sydney Boehm (The Big Heat). Embrace the darkness with these hard-boiled genre gems.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- High-definition Blu-ray presentations of all four films
- Original lossless mono audio on all films
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on all films
- Audio commentaries by leading scholars and critics Farran Smith-Nehme (The Suspect), Imogen Sara Smith (The Sleeping City), Josh Nelson (Thunder on the Hill) and Samm Deighan (Six Bridges to Cross)
- It Had to be Done, a new interview in which author and scholar Alan K. Rode takes a detailed look at the life and work of Robert Siodmak director of The Suspect and other classic noirs
- The Real Deal, a new visual essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas looking at realism and reality in The Sleeping City
- José Arroyo on Thunder on the Hill, a new appreciation by the esteemed film scholar and critic
- Style and Place, a new visual essay by film critic Jon Towlson examining the work of celebrated cinematographer William H. Daniels
- Vintage radio play versions of The Suspect and Thunder on the Hill starring Charles Laughton, Ella Raines, Claudette Colbert and Barbara Rush
- Theatrical Trailers
- Poster and stills galleries
- Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow
- Double-sided fold-out posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow
Hardback collector's book featuring new writing on the films by film critics Kat Ellinger, Philip Kemp and Jon Towlson [Limited Edition Exclusive]
UK STREET DATE: MARCH 20.
The House That Screamed
Spain's first major horror film production, The House that Screamed is a stylish gothic tale of tortured passions and bloody murder that bridges the bloody gap between Psycho and Suspiria.
Thérčse (Cristina Galbó) is the latest arrival at the boarding school for wayward girls run under the stern, authoritarian eye of Mme Fourneau (Lilli Palmer). As the newcomer becomes accustomed to the strict routines, the whip-hand hierarchies among the girls and their furtive extra-curricular methods of release from within the forbidding walls of institutional life, she learns that several of her fellow students have recently vanished mysteriously. Meanwhile, tensions grow within this isolated hothouse environment as Mme Fourneau's callow but curious 15-year-old son Louis (John Moulder-Brown) ignores his mother's strict orders not to get close to the "tainted" ladies under her ward.
Directed by Narciso Ibáńez Serrador (Who Can Kill a Child?), this landmark title in Spanish genre cinema has been restored to its director's original full-length vision for the first time.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- NEW 2K RESTORATION from the original negative by Arrow Films
- High-definition Blu-ray presentations of the 105-minute uncut version titled The Finishing School (La Residencia), and the 94-minute US theatrical version titled The House That Screamed, via seamless branching
- Original lossless English mono audio on both versions, and lossless Spanish audio on the uncut version
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on both versions, and optional English subtitles for the Spanish audio
- Brand new audio commentary by critic Anna Bogutskaya
- This Boy's Innocence, a previously unreleased interview with actor John Moulder-Brown
- Archive interview with Mary Maude, from the 2012 edition of the Festival of Fantastic Films
- All About My "Mama", a brand new interview with Juan Tébar, author of the original story
- The Legacy of Terror, a brand new interview with the director's son, Alejandro Ibáńez
- Screaming the House Down, a brand new interview with Spanish horror expert Dr Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, discussing the history of the film and its director
- Alternative footage from the original Spanish theatrical version
- Original trailers, TV and radio spots
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
- First pressing only: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Shelagh Rowan-Legg and double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE MATCH 7.
UK STREET DATE: MARCH 6.
Knockabout
Having established himself as Hong Kong's premier action choreographer throughout the 1970s, Sammo Hung ended the decade by directing a non-stop assault of kung fu classics for Golden Harvest, starting with the brutal Iron-Fisted Monk. But it would be his 1979 directorial effort that would finally give his Peking Opera brother-in-arms, acrobatic ace Yuen Biao, his first chance at leading man status: Knockabout!
Brothers and partners-in-crime, Yipao (Biao) and Taipao (Warriors Two's "Beardy" Leung Kar-Yan), have made an up-and-down career out of being hustlers, conning everyone from bank tellers to casino dealers. One day, they push their luck with the wrong man, martial arts master Chia Wu Dao (legendary Shaw Brothers fight choreographer Lau Kar-Wing), but convince him to reluctantly become their teacher in hand-to-hand combat. But upon learning Chia's dangerous true nature, Yipao turns to another master: a portly blinking beggar (Hung) trained in the ways of the monkey fist. Will this new skill defeat Chia's secret snake style?
Combining Hung's hard-hitting choreography with the Mo Lei Tau style of humor that was increasing in popularity at the time, Knockabout is a thrill-a-minute action spectacular that would pave the way for later masterpieces such as Hung and Biao's subsequent collaboration, the Wing Chun tour-de-force The Prodigal Son.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- 2K RESTORATIONS from the original elements by Fortune Star of both the original HK Theatrical Cut and the shorter Export Cut
- Original lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio for the HK Theatrical Cut, plus lossless English mono for both cuts
- Two choices of English dubbed audio for the HK Theatrical Cut: the original export dub mono and the newer 5.1 dub created for international DVD presentations
- Optional English subtitles for the HK Theatrical Cut and English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on the Export Cut
- Commentary on the HK Theatrical Cut by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng & Michael Worth
- Commentary on the Export Cut by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
- Archival interview with Sammo Hung
- Archival interview with Bryan "Beardy" Leung Kar-Yan
- Archival interview with Grandmaster Chan Sau Chang (aka The Monkey King), a master of Monkey Style kung fu
- Deleted "Red Room" scene, featuring stars Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung in a teaser promo for the film's Japanese release
- Original theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady
- First pressing only: Illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Simon Abrams and original press materials
U.S. AND CANADA STREET DATE: MARCH 28.