This September, Arrow proudly presents the A Better Tomorrow Trilogy on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition Blu-ray.
In 1986, a chance encounter between producer Tsui Hark and director John Woo led both men to collaborate on the revolutionary A Better Tomorrow, an unexpected smash hit, featuring Chow Yun-Fat in an effortlessly cool breakthrough performance, that spawned sequels, remakes and legions of imitators, gave birth to a new genre – the “heroic bloodshed” film – and firmly established Woo as a master of action cinema.
Woo and Tsui’s magnificent crime trilogy is finally here with glorious new restorations and fully loaded with new and archival extras, reminding everyone that in the action movie game, Hong Kong cinema reigns supreme! The five disc set includes brand new commentaries and interviews, and comes with reversible sleeves, a double-sided foldout poster and a collectors’ perfect-bound booklet.
Then in September, take a trip down into the Underworld on Limited Edition 4K UHD. From the mind of horror legend Clive Barker, director of Hellraiser and Nightbreed, comes a chilling exploration of human transformation and the price of ambition. Blending noir sensibilities with extreme body horror, this atmospheric thriller – released in the US as Transmutations – offers an intriguing glimpse into Barker’s early cinematic explorations of transformation and the grotesque. Now restored in vivid 4K, this 2-disc Limited Edition includes both the theatrical cut and a longer, extended cut, compiled from the best known sources, and includes brand new interviews, a reversible sleeve featuring original and new artwork, and a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Daniel Burnett.
Next in September, Night Falls on Manhattan on Limited Edition Blu-ray. In a career that includes such award-winning masterpieces as Serpico, Prince of the City and The Verdict, director Sidney Lumet has cross-examined the fine line between those who enforce the law and those who exploit it, both in the courtroom and on the streets. Adapting a novel by former NYPD officer Robert Daley (Year of the Dragon), Lumet once again exposes the corrupt underbelly of the city that never sleeps in Night Falls on Manhattan. With a superb cast including Andy Garcia, Ian Holm, Lena Olin, Richard Dreyfuss and James Gandolfini, this underrated entry in Lumet’s canon of crime classics can be freshly reappraised with a stunning restoration and illuminating bonus features.
Then in September, The Desperate Hours on Limited Edition Blu-ray. Director William Wyler (Detective Story, Roman Holiday) pairs up two Hollywood legends – Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca) and Fredric March (The Best Years of Our Lives) – for their only appearance together. The result is an electrifying tour de force pitting two giants of the silver screen against each other in a taut crime drama. Adapted by Joseph Hayes (The Third Day) from his own novel and stage play and inspired by actual events, The Desperate Hours is a classic tale of suspense from a master filmmaker at the height of his creative powers, now fully restored from the original VistaVision negative. The release includes fascinating extras, a reversible sleeve and a collectors’ booklet.
September sees the release of the chilling masterpiece Misery on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition Blu-ray. From director Rob Reiner (Stand By Me, A Few Good Men) and screenwriter William Goldman (Marathon Man, All the President’s Men) comes a terrifying thriller based on the bestseller by Stephen King. Kathy Bates (in an Academy Award-winning performance) and James Caan are outstanding and are matched by a pitch-perfect supporting cast that includes Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen. Reiner takes an unexpected turn to the darker side and proves himself an adept disciple of Alfred Hitchcock as he delivers shocks and suspense worthy of the master. Featuring archival audio commentaries with Reiner, and one with Goldman, there is also a brand new audio commentary, archival and new interviews, a reversible sleeve and collectors’ booklet.
Next up is the Wicked Priest Collection on Limited Edition Blu-ray. Most famous for his role as the stoic Ogami Itto in the legendary Lone Wolf and Cub series, Tomisaburo Wakayama shows a different side in the ebullient martial arts comedy series Wicked Priest, where a devout man of the cloth doesn’t let a little thing like his vows keep him away from women, booze and brawls! Wakayama shines as the rascally Shinkai whose roguish ways attract the ire of his superiors before they’re won over by his righteousness and affinity for roundhouse-kicking ruffians. A thrilling blend of raunchy humor and explosive karate fights, the Wicked Priest series is the nirvana of Japanese 60s action comedy! The 3-disc set includes brand new restorations of all five films in the series: Wicked Priest, Wicked Priest 2: Ballad of Murder, Wicked Priest 3: A Killer’s Pilgrimage, Wicked Priest 4: The Killer Priest Comes Back and Wicked Priest 5: Blood on the Commandments; and comes with brand new video essays and interviews, a reversible sleeve and a collectors’ booklet.
One of the all-time greats of science-fiction cinema, Forbidden Planet, starring Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis, and featuring a robot named Robby, is released on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition Blu-ray. The film elevated the genre to a whole new level, transposing Shakespeare’s The Tempest into deepest space and breaking new ground with its iconic designs, elaborate sets, and pioneering electronic score. For the very first time, Forbidden Planet is presented in its original Cinemascope aspect ratio of 2.55:1 with its theatrical “Perspecta” stereo soundtrack in an eye-popping brand new 4K restoration that is out of this world! Included in the release are a reversible sleeve, double-sided fold-out poster, and a collectors’ booklet containing new writing.
Finally in September, treat yourself to a Tequila Sunrise on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition Blu-ray. In 1974 Robert Towne wrote Chinatown, the film that redefined film noir for a new generation with its peerless portrayal of corruption in pre-war Los Angeles. Fourteen years later, he returned to the genre as writer and director with Tequila Sunrise, bringing a distinctly 80s flair to this Casablanca-inspired neo-noir. See Kurt Russell, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Mel Gibson light up the screen at the peak of their powers, all set against the pristine warmth of the Californian sun and masterfully shot by Conrad Hall (American Beauty). With a brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative by Arrow Films, brand new interviews and appreciations, this one slips down a treat.
Bloody Flicks 