Arrow Video Announces February Releases
HomeArrow Video Announces February Releases
Posted November 29, 2024 07:09 PM by Webmaster
Arrow Video has announced its February batch of 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases. They are: A Certain Killer / A Killer's Key (1967), The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023), Lifeforce (1985), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Alice, Sweet Alice (1976), and Cruising (1980).
A Certain Killer / A Killer's Key
Anticipating the cool aesthetic of Seijun Suzuki's Branded to Kill and based on a crime novel by Shinji Fujiwara, the author of the original material for the same year's A Colt is My Passport, A Certain Killer and A Killer's Key are similarly stylish contemporary hitman thrillers directed by Daiei's top director of jidai-geki, Kazuo Mori (The Tale of Zatoichi Continues) and starring the studio's top actor Raizō Ichikawa (Shinobi: Band of Assassins, Sleepy Eyes of Death).
In A Certain Killer, Shiozaki's low-profile existence as a chef at a local sushi restaurant serves as a front for his true job as a professional assassin whose modus operandi is poisoned needles. He's approached by Maeda, a low-ranking member of a local yakuza group, to take out a rival gang boss. But the sudden arrival into his life of a spirited young woman, Keiko (Yumiko Nogawa, Gate of Flesh), has dramatic ramifications on his relationship with his new employer. Ichikawa's lone wolf assassin is back in A Killer's Key, this time masquerading as a traditional dance instructor named Nitta who is called in to avert a potential financial scandal that threatens to engulf a powerful yakuza group with ties to powerful figures in the political establishment.
Co-scripted by the director Yasuzō Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast) and featuring masterful scope cinematography with an expressionistic eye for colour by one of Japan's most esteemed cinematographers, Kazuo Miyagawa (Rashomon, Ugetsu), these Japanese crime drama essentials are presented for the very first time to the English-language home video market.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 10.
The Last Stop in Yuma County
Blending elements of the western and neo-noir, The Last Stop in Yuma County is a loving and expertly crafted homage to the spirit of 1970s American crime thrillers with a modern twist, winning the prize for Best Film at the Sitges International Film Festival.
A travelling knife salesman impatiently awaits the arrival of a fuel truck in an isolated roadside diner in rural Arizona. His attempt to wile away the hours with a crossword puzzle and a cup of coffee is interrupted by the arrival of Travis and Beau, two bank robbers fleeing from a heist. Realising they've been recognised, the thieves intimidate the diner's staff and clientele into silence just as more oblivious patrons begin to trickle in. As the tension mounts and pressure spirals, the salesman is caught between protecting the safety of the other customers and his own survival, and will make a decision that will change his life forever.
Featuring gripping performances by a cast loaded with genre favourites, including Jim Cummings (The Beta Test), Richard Brake (Barbarian), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), Jocelin Donahue (The House of the Devil) and Alex Essoe (Starry Eyes), The Last Stop in Yuma County is a thrilling exploration of the difficult choices and fragile alliances that arise in desperate situations.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray
When a space shuttle crew finds a mysterious spacecraft containing three human-looking creatures in a state of suspended animation, they bring them back to Earth for further investigation.
It's only then that scientists discover that they are in fact a race of space vampires that feed off people's life-force, rather than their blood. So when they escape and run amok in London, the consequences are apocalyptic – and the shuttle crew's only survivor (Steve Railsback) seems to be the only man who can stop them.
Based on Colin Wilson's novel The Space Vampires, with a screenplay co-written by Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Return of the Living Dead) and directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Poltergeist), this lively sci-fi horror romp has a stellar cast including Peter Firth, Frank Finlay and Patrick Stewart – although it's Mathilda May's appearance as the seductive alien leader that attracts the most attention to this day.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 4K Blu-ray
In 1974, Tobe Hooper changed the face of horror with his landmark film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Though the hulking Leatherface left an indelible mark upon the cinematic landscape, it wouldn't be until 1986 that the buzz came back… in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2!
Relocating the cannibalistic Sawyers to a cavernous labyrinth beneath an amusement park, Hooper's deliciously demented sequel sees local DJ Stretch running afoul of them when she gets mixed up in the brutal slaying of two youngsters. Meanwhile, Lieutenant "Lefty" Enright is hell-bent on avenging the murder of his nephew Franklin, who perished in the original massacre.
Whichever way you skin it, Leatherface's second cinematic outing is an uncompromisingly delirious vision from one of the masters of horror.
TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Alice, Sweet Alice 4K Blu-ray
A young Brooke Shields meets an untimely end in this religious-themed proto slasher par excellence from director Alfred Sole.
On the day of her first communion, young Karen (Brooke Shields) is savagely murdered by an unknown assailant in a yellow rain mac and creepy translucent mask. But the nightmare is far from over – as the knife-wielding maniac strikes again and again, Karen's bereaved parents are forced to confront the possibility that Karen's wayward sister Alice might be the one behind the mask.
Bearing influences from the likes of Hitchcock, the then-booming Italian giallo film and more specifically, Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, Alice, Sweet Alice is an absolutely essential – if often overlooked – entry in the canon of 1970s American horror.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Alice, Sweet Alice
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Cruising 4K Blu-ray
Legendary director William Friedkin brings together Al Pacino, the 70s New York gay scene and a searing punk-rock soundtrack in this one-of-a-kind serial killer thriller, finally restored to its long-unavailable original theatrical version in 4K.
New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who is preying on the patrons of the city's underground gay scene. Young rookie cop Steve Burns (Pacino) is tasked with infiltrating the S&M subculture to try and lure the killer out of the shadows... but as he immerses himself deeper and deeper into the underworld, Steve risks losing his own identity in the process.
Taking the premise and title from reporter Gerald Walker's novel, Cruising was the subject of great controversy at the time of its release and remains a challenging and remarkable movie to this day, with Pacino's haunted lead performance as its magnetic centrepiece. With hours of brand-new bonus features, including never-before-seen material from the deepest recesses of the studio archives, you've never seen Cruising like this.
TWO-DISC 4K BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 24.
A Certain Killer / A Killer's Key
Anticipating the cool aesthetic of Seijun Suzuki's Branded to Kill and based on a crime novel by Shinji Fujiwara, the author of the original material for the same year's A Colt is My Passport, A Certain Killer and A Killer's Key are similarly stylish contemporary hitman thrillers directed by Daiei's top director of jidai-geki, Kazuo Mori (The Tale of Zatoichi Continues) and starring the studio's top actor Raizō Ichikawa (Shinobi: Band of Assassins, Sleepy Eyes of Death).
In A Certain Killer, Shiozaki's low-profile existence as a chef at a local sushi restaurant serves as a front for his true job as a professional assassin whose modus operandi is poisoned needles. He's approached by Maeda, a low-ranking member of a local yakuza group, to take out a rival gang boss. But the sudden arrival into his life of a spirited young woman, Keiko (Yumiko Nogawa, Gate of Flesh), has dramatic ramifications on his relationship with his new employer. Ichikawa's lone wolf assassin is back in A Killer's Key, this time masquerading as a traditional dance instructor named Nitta who is called in to avert a potential financial scandal that threatens to engulf a powerful yakuza group with ties to powerful figures in the political establishment.
Co-scripted by the director Yasuzō Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast) and featuring masterful scope cinematography with an expressionistic eye for colour by one of Japan's most esteemed cinematographers, Kazuo Miyagawa (Rashomon, Ugetsu), these Japanese crime drama essentials are presented for the very first time to the English-language home video market.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- High Definition presentation of both films
- Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio for both films
- Optional newly translated English subtitles
- Brand new audio commentary for both films by critic and Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns
- The Definite Murderer, a brand new 30-minute introduction to the films by Japanese film scholar Mark Roberts
- Original theatrical trailers for both films
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork for both films by Tony Stella
- Illustrated collectors booklet featuring new writing on the films by Jasper Sharp and Earl Jackson
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 10.
The Last Stop in Yuma County
Blending elements of the western and neo-noir, The Last Stop in Yuma County is a loving and expertly crafted homage to the spirit of 1970s American crime thrillers with a modern twist, winning the prize for Best Film at the Sitges International Film Festival.
A travelling knife salesman impatiently awaits the arrival of a fuel truck in an isolated roadside diner in rural Arizona. His attempt to wile away the hours with a crossword puzzle and a cup of coffee is interrupted by the arrival of Travis and Beau, two bank robbers fleeing from a heist. Realising they've been recognised, the thieves intimidate the diner's staff and clientele into silence just as more oblivious patrons begin to trickle in. As the tension mounts and pressure spirals, the salesman is caught between protecting the safety of the other customers and his own survival, and will make a decision that will change his life forever.
Featuring gripping performances by a cast loaded with genre favourites, including Jim Cummings (The Beta Test), Richard Brake (Barbarian), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), Jocelin Donahue (The House of the Devil) and Alex Essoe (Starry Eyes), The Last Stop in Yuma County is a thrilling exploration of the difficult choices and fragile alliances that arise in desperate situations.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- High Definition presentation
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio commentary with director Francis Galluppi and executive producer James Claeys
- Audio commentary with Francis Galluppi and actors Jim Cummings and Jocelin Donahue
- Audio commentary with Francis Galluppi and cinematographer Mac Fisken
- Trust the Audience, a new interview with Francis Galluppi
- Leave the Gun, Take the Rhubarb, a new video essay by film critic Matt Donato
- Sell Your House, a making-of featurette
- Three screenplay-to-film comparisons
- Trailer
- Image galleries
- Illustrated collector's booklet featuring artwork by Adam Perocchi and new writing by film critics Kat Hughes and Meagan Navarro
- Reversible sleeve featuring artwork by Eric Adrian Lee and Nicholas Moegly
- Six vintage-style lobby cards featuring newly-commissioned artwork by Eric Adrian Lee
Lifeforce 4K Blu-ray
When a space shuttle crew finds a mysterious spacecraft containing three human-looking creatures in a state of suspended animation, they bring them back to Earth for further investigation.
It's only then that scientists discover that they are in fact a race of space vampires that feed off people's life-force, rather than their blood. So when they escape and run amok in London, the consequences are apocalyptic – and the shuttle crew's only survivor (Steve Railsback) seems to be the only man who can stop them.
Based on Colin Wilson's novel The Space Vampires, with a screenplay co-written by Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Return of the Living Dead) and directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Poltergeist), this lively sci-fi horror romp has a stellar cast including Peter Firth, Frank Finlay and Patrick Stewart – although it's Mathilda May's appearance as the seductive alien leader that attracts the most attention to this day.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films of the 116-minute International Cut, plus a 4K restoration of the 101-minute Theatrical Cut from the original negative
- Original lossless stereo audio plus optional 5.1 DTS-HD MA Surround and Dolby Atmos remixes for both cuts
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing for both cuts
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford
- Collector's booklet featuring writing on the film by Frank Collins
- 4K presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Audio commentary by director Tobe Hooper, moderated by filmmaker Tim Sullivan
- Audio commentary by visual effects artist Douglas Smith, moderated by filmmaker and scholar Howard S. Berger
- Audio commentary with make-up effects artist Nick Maley, moderated by filmmaker Michael Felsher
- Isolated music and effects track
- Cannon Fodder: The Making of Lifeforce, an epic look at the genesis, production and release of the film, featuring interviews with Hooper, associate producer Michael J. Kagan, editor John Grover, actors Aubrey Morris and Nicholas Ball, make-up artist Sandra Exelby, screenwriter Michael Armstrong, sound designer Vernon Messenger, art designers Tom Adams and Roger Stewart, and effects artist John Schoonraad
- Space Vampires in London, an archive interview with Tobe Hooper
- Dangerous Beauty, an archive interview with Mathilda May
- Carlsen's Curse, an archive interview with Steve Railsback
- Textless opening sequence
- Theatrical trailers
- 4K presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Isolated music and effects track
- Interview outtakes from Mark Hartley's Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, featuring Hooper, Armstrong, Grover and Messenger
- Split screen comparison with TV version
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 4K Blu-ray
In 1974, Tobe Hooper changed the face of horror with his landmark film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Though the hulking Leatherface left an indelible mark upon the cinematic landscape, it wouldn't be until 1986 that the buzz came back… in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2!
Relocating the cannibalistic Sawyers to a cavernous labyrinth beneath an amusement park, Hooper's deliciously demented sequel sees local DJ Stretch running afoul of them when she gets mixed up in the brutal slaying of two youngsters. Meanwhile, Lieutenant "Lefty" Enright is hell-bent on avenging the murder of his nephew Franklin, who perished in the original massacre.
Whichever way you skin it, Leatherface's second cinematic outing is an uncompromisingly delirious vision from one of the masters of horror.
TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Limited edition packaging featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady and Dare Creative
- Booklet featuring new writing by Johnny Mains, Anna Bogutskaya, Guy Adams and Neil Mitchell
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- Texas Battle Land theme park postcard
- Chili cook-off recipe card
- Three double-sided collector's postcards
- 4K restoration from the original negative
- 4K presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original lossless stereo 2.0 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Commentary with director Tobe Hooper
- Commentary with stars Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams and special effects legend Tom Savini
- ? Commentary with cinematographer Richard Kooris, production designer Cary White, script supervisor Laura Kooris and property master Michael Sullivan
- Are We Not Both the Living Dead?, new visual essay by Scout Tafoya
- You've Got Good Taste: Cannibal Camp and Perverse Parody, new visual essay by Miranda Corcoran
- Stretch Lives!, interview with Caroline Williams
- Serving Tom, interview with makeup effects artist Gabe Bartalos
- Texas Blood Bath, interview with makeup effects artist Barton Mixon
- Remember the Alamo, interview with actor Kirk Sisco
- Die Yuppie Scum, interview with actor Barry Kinyon
- Extended interviews with Tobe Hooper and co-producer Cynthia Hargrave, from Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
- It Runs in the Family, (plus outtakes!) on the film's genesis, making and enduring appeal
- House of Pain, interview with makeup effects artists Mixon, Bartalos, Gino Crognale and John Vulich
- Yuppie Meat, interview with actors Chris Douridas and Barry Kinyon
- Cutting Moments, interview with editor Alain Jakubowicz
- Behind the Mask and Cutting Moments with Bob Elmore, two interviews with Leatherface's performer
- Horror's Hallowed Grounds, featurette exploring the film's locations
- Still Feelin' the Buzz, interview with horror expert Stephen Thrower
- Behind-the-scenes
- Alternate opening credits
- Deleted scenes
- Trailers and TV spots
- Still gallery
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Limited edition packaging featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady and Dare Creative
- Booklet featuring new writing by Johnny Mains, Anna Bogutskaya, Guy Adams and Neil Mitchell
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- Texas Battle Land theme park postcard
- Chili cook-off recipe card
- Three double-sided collector's postcards
- 4K restoration from the original negative
- Original lossless stereo 2.0 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Commentary with director Tobe Hooper
- Commentary with stars Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams and special effects legend Tom Savini
- ? Commentary with cinematographer Richard Kooris, production designer Cary White, script supervisor Laura Kooris and property master Michael Sullivan
- Are We Not Both the Living Dead?, new visual essay by Scout Tafoya
- You've Got Good Taste: Cannibal Camp and Perverse Parody, new visual essay by Miranda Corcoran
- Stretch Lives!, interview with Caroline Williams
- Serving Tom, interview with makeup effects artist Gabe Bartalos
- Texas Blood Bath, interview with makeup effects artist Barton Mixon
- Remember the Alamo, interview with actor Kirk Sisco
- Die Yuppie Scum, interview with actor Barry Kinyon
- Extended interviews with Tobe Hooper and co-producer Cynthia Hargrave, from Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
- It Runs in the Family, (plus outtakes!) on the film's genesis, making and enduring appeal
- House of Pain, interview with makeup effects artists Mixon, Bartalos, Gino Crognale and John Vulich
- Yuppie Meat, interview with actors Chris Douridas and Barry Kinyon
- Cutting Moments, interview with editor Alain Jakubowicz
- Behind the Mask and Cutting Moments with Bob Elmore, two interviews with Leatherface's performer
- Horror's Hallowed Grounds, featurette exploring the film's locations
- Still Feelin' the Buzz, interview with horror expert Stephen Thrower
- Behind-the-scenes
- Alternate opening credits
- Deleted scenes
- Trailers and TV spots
- Still gallery
Alice, Sweet Alice 4K Blu-ray
A young Brooke Shields meets an untimely end in this religious-themed proto slasher par excellence from director Alfred Sole.
On the day of her first communion, young Karen (Brooke Shields) is savagely murdered by an unknown assailant in a yellow rain mac and creepy translucent mask. But the nightmare is far from over – as the knife-wielding maniac strikes again and again, Karen's bereaved parents are forced to confront the possibility that Karen's wayward sister Alice might be the one behind the mask.
Bearing influences from the likes of Hitchcock, the then-booming Italian giallo film and more specifically, Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, Alice, Sweet Alice is an absolutely essential – if often overlooked – entry in the canon of 1970s American horror.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative
- 4K presentations of three versions via seamless branching: Communion (original), Alice, Sweet Alice (theatrical) and Holy Terror (re-release)
- Original lossless mono audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary with Richard Harland Smith
- Archival audio commentary with co-writer/director Alfred Sole and editor M. Edward Salier
- First Communion: Alfred Sole Remembers Alice, Sweet Alice – director Alfred Sole looks back on his 1976 classic
- Alice on My Mind – a brand new interview with composer Stephen Lawrence
- In the Name of the Father - brand new interview with actor Niles McMaster
- Sweet Memories: Dante Tomaselli on Alice, Sweet Alice – filmmaker Dante Tomaselli, cousin of Alfred Sole, discusses his longtime connection to the film
- Lost Childhood: The Locations of Alice, Sweet Alice - a tour of the original Alice, Sweet Alice shooting locations hosted by author Michael Gingold
- Deleted scenes
- Split-screen version comparison
- Trailer and TV Spot
- Image gallery, including the original screenplay
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
- Illustrated collectors booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Blyth
Alice, Sweet Alice
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative
- Presentations of three versions via seamless branching: Communion (original), Alice, Sweet Alice (theatrical) and Holy Terror (re-release)
- Original lossless mono audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary with Richard Harland Smith
- Archival audio commentary with co-writer/director Alfred Sole and editor M. Edward Salier
- First Communion: Alfred Sole Remembers Alice, Sweet Alice – director Alfred Sole looks back on his 1976 classic
- Alice on My Mind – a brand new interview with composer Stephen Lawrence
- In the Name of the Father - brand new interview with actor Niles McMaster
- Sweet Memories: Dante Tomaselli on Alice, Sweet Alice – filmmaker Dante Tomaselli, cousin of Alfred Sole, discusses his longtime connection to the film
- Lost Childhood: The Locations of Alice, Sweet Alice - a tour of the original Alice, Sweet Alice shooting locations hosted by author Michael Gingold
- Deleted scenes
- Split-screen version comparison
- Trailer and TV Spot
- Image gallery, including the original screenplay
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
- Illustrated collectors booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Blyth
Cruising 4K Blu-ray
Legendary director William Friedkin brings together Al Pacino, the 70s New York gay scene and a searing punk-rock soundtrack in this one-of-a-kind serial killer thriller, finally restored to its long-unavailable original theatrical version in 4K.
New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who is preying on the patrons of the city's underground gay scene. Young rookie cop Steve Burns (Pacino) is tasked with infiltrating the S&M subculture to try and lure the killer out of the shadows... but as he immerses himself deeper and deeper into the underworld, Steve risks losing his own identity in the process.
Taking the premise and title from reporter Gerald Walker's novel, Cruising was the subject of great controversy at the time of its release and remains a challenging and remarkable movie to this day, with Pacino's haunted lead performance as its magnetic centrepiece. With hours of brand-new bonus features, including never-before-seen material from the deepest recesses of the studio archives, you've never seen Cruising like this.
TWO-DISC 4K BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
- 120-page perfect-bound collector's book featuring articles from The Village Voice and The New York Times, essays from the film's extras cast, an introduction from William Friedkin, and an archive interview with Al Pacino
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde
- 4K presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original lossless English mono audio, 2.0 stereo, and 5.1
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Two archive audio commentaries by director William Friedkin, one solo and one moderated by critic and broadcaster Mark Kermode
- Brand new commentary featuring original musicians involved with the soundtrack
- I Want to Be the Curator, a brand-new interview with actress Karen Allen
- Deleted scenes and alternative footage
- On-set audio featuring the club scenes and protest coverage
- Censored material reels
- Theatrical trailer, teasers, and TV spots
- Walking the Line, a brand-new interview with actor, film consultant, and former police detective Randy Jurgensen
- Cut Offs, an interview with editor Bud S. Smith
- Who's That Guy?, an interview with actor Jay Acovone
- Pounding the Beat, an interview with actor Mike Starr
- Boy on the Bus, an interview with actor Mark Zecca
- Mineshaft Memories, an archive interview with Wally Wallace, former manager of the Mineshaft
- Breaking the Codes, a brand-new visual essay surrounding the hanky-codes featuring actor and writer David McGillivray
- Stop the Movie, a short film by Jim Hubbard capturing the Cruising protests
- The History of Cruising, an archival featurette looking at the film's origins and production
- Exorcising Cruising, an archival featurette looking at the controversy surrounding the film and its enduring legacy
- William Friedkin's BeyondFest 2022 Q&A at the American Cinematheque
- Extensive image gallery featuring international promotional material, on-set sketches, and more
UK STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 24.
