Arrow Video has delivered their April 2020 lineup and it's a corker!
After digging in to the Nico Mastorakis catalog with Island of Death, Zero Boys, and Hired To Kill in the past few years, they continue to unearth long thought forgotten gems with their newly announced Blu-ray release of 1986's The Wind, starring Meg Foster (They Live) and Wings Hauser (Vice Squad) for US/CAN/UK collectors.
We also get a pair of '80s comedies that have already had UK releases from Arrow getting their US debuts. John Hughes' classic Sixteen Candles finally joins Arrow's Weird Science release in the US/CAN collection. We also get the long overdue US/CAN release of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, which has had an unusually rocky road to home video on this side of the pond.
Perhaps the most exciting release of the month for Screen Anarchy readers is an incredible looking US/CAN boxset featuring the work of Japanese iconoclast, Tsuakamoto Shinya. The box set inclues North American Blu-ray debuts of Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet, A Snake of June, Vital, Kotoko, Killing, The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo, and Haze. This is a must-own set for cult film fans!
The other two releases this month are contemporary genre fest favorites that should have fans very excited. First up is a UK only release of Hagazussa by Lukas Feigelfeld, a slow burn witchy period piece that set the festival circuit on fire a few years ago and is long overdue a UK release. Then there is Kirill Sokolov's adrenaline fueled violent action comedy Why Don't You Just Die!, which I absolutely loved and is certainly one of the most exciting directorial debuts in recent years.
Check out the gallery below for further details.
What would you do if going outside meant being killed by a raging hurricane, but staying indoors meant being hacked to pieces by a sickle wielding maniac? Arrow Video proudly presents The Wind, from prolific genre filmmaker Nico Mastorakis, the director behind such cult classics as Hired to Kill and Island of Death.
When mystery novelist Sian Anderson (Meg Foster, They Live) arrives in the remote Greek town of Monemvasia, Elias Appleby (Robert Morley, The African Queen), the pompous British landlord of the house she’s renting warns her of two dangers: the wind, which gets dangerously strong at night, and Phil (Wings Hauser, Vice Squad), his sleazy and suspicious American handyman. As night falls and the wind starts howling, Sian witnesses the shocking sight of Phil burying Elias’s dead body in a shallow grave in his front garden! Trapped indoors from the raging, tree-branch-breaking wind, Sian must play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the murderous Phil, who’ll stop at nothing to silence this inconvenient witness!
A tense and thrilling blend of Euro-horror and late 80s slasher, The Wind is a stalk ‘n’ slash hidden gem, presented here for the first time on Blu-ray. Get ready to be blown away!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
– New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative, approved by writer-director Nico Mastorakis
– High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation
– Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
– Optional Greek subtitles
– Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and LPCM Stereo 2.0 Audio
– Blowing The Wind – Brand new interview with Director Nico Mastorakis
– The Sound of The Wind – The complete soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers
– A collection of trailers for the films of Nico Mastorakis
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic and author Kat Ellinger
Ridley career retrospective written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
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 humor 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™ 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
Casting ‘Sixteen Candles’, an all-new audio interview with casting director Jackie Burch
When Gedde Met Deborah, a newly filmed conversation between actors Gedde Watanabe and Deborah Pollack
Rudy the Bohunk, a newly filmed interview with supporting actor John Kapelos
The In-Between, a newly filmed interview with camera operator Gary Kibbe
The New Wave Nerd, a newly filmed interview with filmmaker Adam Rifkin, who shadowed John Hughes while working as an extra on set
Music for Geeks, a newly filmed interview with composer Ira Newborn
A Very Eighties Fairytale, an 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, Justin Henry, Haviland Morris and Gedde Watanabe
Theatrical trailers, TV spots and radio spots
Image galleries
BD-ROM: PDF of the original shooting script
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
She’s back! Elvira, Horrorland’s hostess with the mostest, finally busts out on newly restored Blu-ray with this long-awaited, positively bursting-at-the-seams special edition of her big screen debut, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark!
Having just quit her job as a Los Angeles TV horror hostess, Elvira receives the unexpected news that she’s set to inherit part of her great aunt Morgana’s estate. Arriving in the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, Elvira receives a less than enthusiastic reception from the conservative locals – amongst them, her sinister uncle Vincent, who, unbeknownst to Elvira, is in fact an evil warlock secretly scheming to steal the old family spellbook for his own nefarious ends…
Campy, quirky and stuffed to the brim with more double entendres than your average Carry On movie, 1988’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark helped solidify the horror hostess (played by Cassandra Peterson) as a major pop culture icon, here owning every inch of the screen with her quick wit, sass, and of course, cleaving-enhancing gown!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of original film elements
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed stereo 2.0 audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Introduction to the film by director James Signorelli
• 2017 Audio Commentary with director James Signorelli, hosted by Fangoria editor emeritus Tony Timpone
• 2017 Audio Commentary with Patterson Lundquist, www.elviramistressofthedark.com webmaster and judge of US TV show The Search for the Next Elvira
• Too Macabre – The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark – newly-revised 2018 version of this feature-length documentary on the making of the film, including interviews with various cast and crew and rare never-before-seen archival material
• Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster – newly-revised 2018 version of this featurette on the concept and design of the pot monster, as well as the film’s other SFX
• Original storyboards
• Extensive image galleries
• Original US theatrical and teaser trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
One of the most distinctive and celebrated names in modern Japanese cinema, there’s no other filmmaker quite like Shinya Tsukamoto. Since his early days as a teenager making Super 8 shorts, he has remained steadfastly independent, garnering widespread acclaim while honing his own unique and instantly recognizable aesthetic on the margins of the industry. Frequently exploring themes of urban alienation, physical transformation and psychosexual obsession, his films cross genre boundaries, defying straightforward classification. This exclusive collection gathers together eight feature-length films and two shorts from Tsukamoto’s diverse filmography, including his most recent offering – his samurai drama Killing, making its home video premiere.
Includes:
Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet, A Snake of June, Vital, Kotoko, Killing, The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo, Haze
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentations of all ten films
• Original lossless PCM 1.0 mono audio on Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer and Tokyo Fist
• Original lossless PCM 2.0 stereo audio on Bullet Ballet and Haze
• Original lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on A Snake of June, Vital, Kotoko and Killing
• Optional lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on Bullet Ballet
• Optional English subtitles for all films
• Audio commentaries by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes on all ten films, including brand new commentaries on Tetsuo, Tetsuo II, Tokyo Fist, A Snake of June, Kotoko, Killing, The Adventure of Denchu-kozo and Haze
• Brand new career-spanning interview with Shinya Tsukamoto
• An Assault on the Senses, a brand new visual essay on the films and style of Shinya Tsukamoto by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp
• Multiple archival interviews with Shinya Tsukamoto, covering every film in the collection
• Shooting A Snake of June, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette on the film’s production
• Archival The Making of Vital featurette
• Archival behind-the-scenes featurette on Vital’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival
• Archival featurette on Vital’s special effects
• The Making of Haze, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette on the film’s production
• Kaori Fuji at the Locarno Film Festival, an archival featurette focusing on Haze’s lead actress
• Archival Background to The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo featurette
• Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet and Vital music clips
• Multiple trailers and image galleries
• Limited edition packaging featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx, Gary Pullin, Ian MacEwan, Chris Malbon, Jacob Phillips, Tommy Pocket, Peter Strain and Tony Stella
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Kat Ellinger, Jasper Sharp and Mark Schilling
Debut filmmaker Lukas Feigelfeld has crafted one of the most celebrated horror debuts in recent years, playing prestigious festivals worldwide it is one of the most original takes on the subject of witchcraft which echoes Robert Eggers The Witch but draws on broader influences including the creeping dread and hallucinogenic imagery of David Lynch and Panos Cosmatos.
In an isolated Alpine hut at the turn of the 15th Century, Albrun is a young girl growing up alone. As an adult, she is a single mother and a marked woman, outcast by a society twisted in deep-rooted superstitions and misogyny. Still haunted by the death of her own mother and increasingly abused by the community around her, Albrun starts to defy the role she has been dealt in life and embarks on a path of self-empowerment – the price of which may be an even greater darkness than she has ever known before.
Described as “a spellbinding audiovisual symphony” (The Hollywood Reporter) and ranked 3rd in Rotten Tomatoes "Best Horror Movies of 2019", Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse is a journey into the madness prevalent both in our minds and in the world around us, and whether the difference between the two is always as clear as we hope for it to be.
2-DISC DIRECTOR APPROVED LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
- Limited Edition Blu-ray and Soundtrack CD collection (2000 copies)
- High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
- Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and LPCM Stereo 2.0 Audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring artwork by Adrian Baxter
- Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kier-La Janisse and press book extracts, illustrated with original stills
- Double-sided fold-out poster featuring two artworks
- Slipcover featuring original artwork by Adrian Baxter
DISC 1 [BLU-RAY] - HAGAZUSSA
- Audio commentary by critic and author Kat Ellinger
- Select scene audio commentary by writer-director Lukas Feigelfeld
- “Beton” [Concrete] (2013, 55 mins) and “Interferenz” (2013, 48 mins), two short films by Lukas Feigelfeld
- Deleted scene with optional commentary by Feigelfeld
- MMMD Music Video
- Theatrical trailer
- Teaser
DISC 2 [CD] - HAGAZUSSA SOUNDTRACK [Limited Edition Exclusive]
- CD containing the complete Hagazussa Soundtrack by MMMD
Shades of early Tarantino, Edgar Wright and Sam Raimi abound in this violent, stylish and riotously entertaining slice of family life, Moscow style, described as “a splatterpunk action comedy drenched in gleefully dark Russian humor” (The Hollywood Reporter) and “an amazing first feature from a filmmaker to watch” (Screen Anarchy).
Matvey (Aleksandr Kuznetsov) has just one objective: to gain entry to his girlfriend’s parents’ apartment and kill her father Andrey (Vitaliy Khaev) with a hammer to restore her honor. But all is not as it initially seems, and Matvey’s attempts to bludgeon the family patriarch to death don’t quite go to plan as Andrey proves a more formidable – not to mention ruthless – opponent than he anticipated… and Matvey, for his part, proves stubbornly unwilling to die.
Making his feature debut, writer/director Kirill Sokolov presents a rousing tale of family, modern relationships and the dark places they can take you to when things turn sour. Featuring a soundtrack that veers between Ennio Morricone-esque western riffs and toe-tappingly catchy pop numbers, Why Don’t You Just Die! delivers laughs, shocking twists and copious quantities of blood and gore, and establishes Sokolov as one of cinema’s brightest rising stars.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
• Original lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and PCM 2.0 stereo soundtracks
• Optional English subtitles
• Brand new interview with author and critic Kim Newman, exploring Why Don’t You Just Die! within the context of the long-standing tradition of single location cinema
• Exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from rehearsals and the film set
• Four short films by Kirill Sokolov: Could Be Worse, The Outcome, The Flame and the award-winning Sisyphus is Happy (Best Director and Gold Frame awards, 2013 Unprecedented Cinema International Festival of Short Film)
• Theatrical trailer
• Kirill Sokolov’s complete original storyboard for the film (BD-ROM content)
• Reversible sleeve featuring two choices of artwork
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Neil Mitchell