Arrow Video's July announcements are here, and there are more than a few welcome surprises! With seven total releases during the month, there are several high profile classic '80s comedies in the mix that, frankly, I did not see coming. A pair of John Hughes classics headline the retro titles with Sixteen Candles (UK only) and Weird Science (US/UK/CAN), a Willem Dafoe punk gem The Loveless (US/CAN), Jörg Buttegereit nihilist sludgefest Schramm (UK), a snowy slasher wonderland in The Chill Factor (US/UK/CAN), FM (US/UK/CAN) a film about the spirit of radio, and Jones Åkerlund's brilliant black metal opus, Lords of Chaos (UK).
Check out full details below
Sixteen Candles
IT'S THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE THAT MAY LAST A LIFETIME.
In his debut film as writer-director, John Hughes immediately cemented himself as the king of teen cinema with Sixteen Candles, and in the process also introduced one of the most iconic faces of ‘80s Americana: Molly Ringwald.
For high schooler Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald), her 16th birthday might be the worst day of her life. Her entire family has forgotten about it due to her older sister’s impending wedding; her biggest crush, high school hunk Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) has discovered an embarrassing “sex quiz” filled out by Sam in which she details how she is saving herself for him; and to make matters worse, she is hounded by a relentless nerd (Anthony Michael Hall) who won’t take no for an answer. But Sam’s sweet sixteen isn’t over yet, and before the end of the night, all her birthday wishes could still come true…
Taking the rude and crude humour of the teen sex comedies that came before it and placing it within the intimately portrayed perspective of a girl's mid-teenage-life crisis, Sixteen Candles is a bombshell of 80s pop culture that continues to be debated and beloved over three decades after its release.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Theatrical Version of the film (92 mins), plus Blu-Ray world premiere Extended Version (94 mins), featuring the additional “cafeteria” scene newly remastered in high-definition
Original lossless mono audio, plus 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround option
Original English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Alternate “home video” soundtrack prepared for VHS and laserdisc releases
Option to watch additional scene from the Extended Version separately
Newly-filmed conversation between actors Gedde Watanabe and Deborah Pollack
All-new audio interview with casting director Jackie Burch
Newly-filmed interview with composer Ira Newborn
Newly-filmed interview with supporting actor John Kapelos
Newly-filmed interview with camera operator Gary Kibbe
Newly-filmed interview with filmmaker Adam Rifkin, who shadowed John Hughes while working as an extra on set
All-new video essay written and narrated by writer Soraya Roberts, looking at the film from a contemporary feminist perspective
Celebrating Sixteen Candles, an archive documentary featuring interviews with cast, crew and admirers, including stars Anthony Michael Hall, Paul Dooley, Haviland Morris and Gedde Watanabe, among others
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Nikki Baughan and Bryan Reesman
Weird Science
THEY WENT FROM ZEROES TO HEROES IN ONE FANTASTIC WEEKEND.
If you can’t get a date… make one! After proving himself the king of heartfelt teen flicks with Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, writer-director John Hughes infused the genre with a hefty dose of wacked-out sci-fi comedy in Weird Science, a film where every teenage boy’s wildest fantasies come to life.
Perenially picked-on high school nerds Gary (Anthony Michael Hall, Sixteen Candles) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) are sick of their status at the bottom of the social food chain. Using Wyatt’s computer, the two hatch a plan to create their dream woman – and following a massive power surge, that woman unexpectedly appears in the form of Lisa (Kelly LeBrock). Gorgeous, intelligent, and blessed with limitless magic powers, Lisa makes the boys’ dreams come true… but what about Wyatt’s gun-toting psycho older brother Chet (Bill Paxton), and the two bullies (Robert Downey Jr and Vamp’s Robert Rusler) determined to put them back in their place?
Inspired by EC Comics and boosted by a killer soundtrack (including the classic title theme by Oingo Boingo), Weird Science has never looked better than in this new special edition, including an exclusive extended version of the film featuring deleted scenes never released on home video before.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the original Theatrical Version of the film (94 mins), plus seamlessly-branched exclusive Extended Version (97 mins), featuring two additional scenes newly remastered in high-definition
Original lossless stereo audio, plus 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround option (theatrical version only)
Original English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Edited-for-TV version of the film (SD only, 95 mins), plus comparison featurette highlighting the alternate dubs and takes
Option to watch additional scenes from the Extended Version separately
Newly-filmed interview with special makeup creator Craig Reardon
Newly-filmed interview with composer Ira Newborn
Newly-filmed interview with supporting actor John Kapelos
All-new interview with casting director Jackie Burch
It’s Alive: Resurrecting Weird Science, an archive documentary featuring interviews with cast, crew and admirers, including star Anthony Michael Hall
Theatrical trailers and TV spots
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tracie Ching
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Amanda Reyes
The Loveless (Blu-ray)
Raw, angry and honest, The Loveless evokes, with unflinching clarity, both an attitude and a bygone era, exploring the tensions between two very different Americas
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: • Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by co-writer/co-director Monty Montgomery and director of photography Doyle Smith • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation • Original lossless mono audio • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • New audio commentary with co-writer/co-director Monty Montgomery, moderated by Elijah Drenner • No Man’s Friend Today: Making The Loveless, new video interviews with actors Willem Dafoe, Marin Kanter, Robert Gordon, Phillip Kimbrough and Lawrence Matarese • U.S. 17: Shooting The Loveless, new video interviews with producers Grafton Nunes and A. Kitman Ho • Chrome and Hot Leather: The Look of The Loveless, new interviews with production designer Lilly Kilvert and director of photography Doyle Smith • Reckless, new audio interview with musician Eddy Dixon • Extensive image gallery, including on-set photographs, storyboards and original production documentation • Theatrical trailer • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Peter Stanfield
Schramm
Controversial German filmmaker Jörg Buttgereit (Nekromantik, Nekromantik 2) takes you into the twisted mind of a deranged sex killer in the last of his feature films to date, 1993’s deeply disturbing Schramm.
Lothar Schramm, the so-called “Lipstick Killer”, lies dying in a pool of blood and paint. As he expires, fragments of his life flash before his eyes – his uneasy friendship with the prostitute that lives next door (Nekromantik 2’s Monika M); the brutal slaughter of a pair of doorstep evangelists whose bodies he poses in obscene fashion; his unhealthy pastime of hammering nails into his own manhood.
Told in an entirely non-linear fashion, Jörg Buttgereit’s Schramm – with its nightmarish hallucinatory sequences involving severed limbs and gaping, sharp-toothed female genitalia – comes about as close as a film can get to transporting you directly into the world of a sick, disordered mind.
2-DISC DIRECTOR-APPROVED LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
HD transfer overseen by the filmmakers
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original uncompressed Stereo 2.0 audio
Optional English subtitles
Limited edition digipak packaging featuring new artwork by Gilles Vranckx
Limited edition certificate
Set of 5 exclusive Schramm "polaroid" postcards
Soundtrack CD
Limited edition 60-page book
DISC 1 [BLU-RAY] - 'SCHRAMM'
Archival audio commentary with director/co-writer Jörg Buttgereit and co-writer Franz Rodenkirchen
Archival audio commentary with actors Florian Von Gustorf and Monika M
Tomorrow I Will Be Dirt: Scenes from the Afterlife of Lothar Schramm (2019) – brand new animated short film sequel to Schramm made by award-winning filmmaker and stop-motion artist Robert Morgan, produced exclusively for this release
Take My Body: The Journey of a Blow-up Doll – writer Kier-La Janisse on how she came to be the owner of a particularly interesting piece of Schramm memorabilia
Jörg Buttgereit in conversation with Arrow Video’s Ewan Cant at the 2019 Offscreen Film Festival
The Making of Schramm – archival behind-the-scenes documentary
Mein Papi – Jörg Buttgereit short film available in HD for the first time ever and with optional director audio commentary
Jesus – Der Film (1995) – short film segment directed by Jörg Buttgereit
Two short films by Schramm producer Manfred Jelinski: Orpheus in der Oberwelt (1970) and Ein Ku'ze' Film übe' Hambu'g (1990)
Exclusive perfect-bound book featuring new writing from Virginie Selavy and Graham Rae, all illustrated with new artwork and original archival stills
The Chill Factor
The Exorcist meets the Winter Olympics in this tale of demonic possession and snowbound slashing from director Christopher Webster, producer of Hellraiser and Hellraiser II: Hellbound.
For a group of young couples, a snowmobiling trip turns into a waking nightmare when one of their number is thrown from their vehicle and knocked unconscious. Seeking refuge in a nearby abandoned summer camp, the group find themselves holed up in a cabin filled with bizarre and ominous religious artefacts. As night falls, the discovery of a Ouija board amidst the dusty relics awakens a terrifying evil.
Barely released outside of its original VHS outing (for which it was retitled Demon Possessed), cult enthusiasts Arrow Video have dug up The Chill Factor from its wintry analogue grave so horror fans can rediscover this heady mixture of snow, slaughter and Satan!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original uncompressed stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with special effects artist Hank Carlson and horror writer Josh Hadley
Brand new on-camera interview with makeup artist Jeffery Lyle Segal
Brand new on-camera interview with production manager Alexandra Reed
Brand new on-camera interview with stunt coordinator Gary Paul
Still Gallery
Original VHS trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc Schoenbach TO BE REVEALED
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Mike White
FM
The airwaves crackle with the delectable sound of smooth rock in FM, a riotous comedy about the heady world of late-70s US radio.
Michael Brandon (Four Flies on Grey Velvet) stars as Jeff Dugan, the ultra-cool program director at Q-SKY Radio, LA’s number one rock station. Dugan encourages a free-wheeling culture at work, employing an array of eccentric DJ personalities: Mother (Eileen Brennan, Private Benjamin), a husky, world-weary ex-hippie; Eric Swan (Martin Mull, Clue), a mad-cap romantic looking for love, and The Prince of Darkness (Cleavon Little, Blazing Saddles), a cool cat who keeps the night-time airwaves alive. But when the station’s future is thrown in to jeopardy by corporate bosses looking to cash-in, the Q-SKY troupe are forced to batten down the hatches and turn up the volume – will a fully-fledged rock ‘n’ roll rebellion save the day?
Legendary cinematographer John A. Alonzo (Chinatown, Scarface) directs this slickly-produced rock film, which combines hilarious studio hijinks with epic footage of Linda Ronstadt and Jimmy Buffett in concert. FM also boasts an incredible platinum-selling soundtrack featuring a pantheon of AOR greats including Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Eagles and Tom Petty (who also cameos). Now, High Fidelity meets High Definition as FM debuts on blu-ray with a selection of exciting new extras.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation transferred from original film elements
Uncompressed stereo 2.0 PCM audio soundtrack
Mono 1.0 music and effects track
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
No Static at All, a newly filmed interview with Michael Brandon, the star of FM
Radio Chaos, a newly filmed interview with Ezra Sacks, the writer of FM
The Spirit of Radio, a newly filmed video appreciation of the era of FM radio and the FM soundtrack by the film and music critic Glenn Kenny
Extensive gallery of original stills, promotional images and soundtrack sleeves
Original trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by writer and critic Paul Corupe
Lords of Chaos
Oslo. Norway. The early 1990s. A new, uncompromising style of heavy metal explodes onto the underground - True Norwegian Black Metal! Blasting and brutal yet also majestic, this subgenre achieves worldwide infamy through the extraordinary achievements of its musicians and the suicides, murders and church burnings that come to define the scene...
17-year-old Euronymous (Rory Culkin) longs to escape his idyllic middle-class life. Enlisting a clique of fanatical youths - Necrobutcher, Hellhammer and Dead (Jack Kilmer) - he forms the most evil band in the world... Mayhem. The band soon achieve notoriety for the extremity of their shows and the morbid cult that surround them, but the dark world Euronymous has created soon degenerates into a mire of murder and arson when an arch-rivalry with Varg (Emory Cohen), of the band Burzum, spirals out of control...
A thrilling true-crime horror film that weaves together rock ‘n’ roll delinquency, death and betrayal, Lords of Chaos is by turns shocking, funny and tragic. Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund renders the world of black metal with immense detail whilst also coaxing superb performances from his young cast.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
New interview with writer-director Jonas Åkerlund
New interviews with actors Sam Coleman, Jason Arnopp and Arion Csihar
On-stage introduction to the film by Thurston Moore filmed at the Rio cinema, London, 2018
Image galleries
Original trailer
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film
