First up is the November 7th release of James Glickenhaus's grindhouse revenge-thriller THE EXTERMINATOR. Check out the sweet artwork from The Dude Designs - that's awesome. Arrow are throwing some serious heat at Synapse Film whom are also releasing a region-free BD of the film on September 13th - it's gonna be a BD battle! Word is the Arrow version is also uncut but I don't think the BBFC have given a final word on the film, at least there's no announcement on the BBFC site as of today anyway. Previous editions were cut by 22 seconds for the following reasons "Cuts required to process beheading and graphic process violence, both in breach of Board guidelines; and to impressionistically strong sadistic torture of woman which is in breach of Board policy on sexual violence". That said, the BBFC seems to have come to their senses of late a have allowed for adults to decide for themselves what they should view. FYI, Arrow's fledgling ArrowDrome imprint are also releasing Glickenhaus's MCBAINE on DVD.
Up next is Wes Craven's DEADLY BLESSING with Sharon Stone, which I've never seen thanks in part to the fact that there's no R1 DVD available. That's a bummer and I think it's the only early Craven film I haven't taken in yet so it'll be a treat to finally check it out. Again, more killer artwork from Gary Pullin and looking forward to the Michael Berryman featurette!
Arrow's cult and exploitation imprint ArrowDrome also have two November titles, first up is the Tokyo erotic thriller TOKYO DECADENCE from director Ryu Murakami who wrote Takashi Miike's AUDITION. The second title is Dario Argento's THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE which was previously an Arrow Video title but is now out of print. This ArrowDrome edition looks pretty good but if you are a special feature whore like myself you NEED to get the Blu-ray edition - it's jam packed with very cool bonus content from High Rising Productions that you're not gonna get with this DVD edition. I haven't seen any of the ArrowDrome titles yet but I can't wait to check out Glickenhaus's MCBAINE.
THE EXTERMINATOR (1980)
Blu-ray (Arrow Video)
Release Date: November 7th 2011
Region ABC (Playable Worldwide)
Rating: TBA
Duration: TBA
Video: 1080p 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1) Aspect Ratio
Audio: Original Uncompressed LPCM Mono Audio
Director: James Glickenhaus
Cast: Robert Ginty, Samantha Eggar and Christopher George
Tagline: Scorching the streets clean…
Flamethrowers ready as the alleyways of skid row are set ablaze with the brutal vengeance of one man… The Exterminator!
John Eastland has been to ‘Nam and he’s seen things… Things you wouldn't believe. Surviving torture and witnessing the brutal deaths of his friends, John returns home to a tough neighbourhood in New York and his loving family. But when some local thugs take a crippling dislike to his best friend Mike, leaving him paralysed, something snaps in John. Did he fight the Vietcong for this?
Taking the law into his own hands, Eastland sets out to clean the streets of every low life, good for nothing gang banger, mobster and ghetto ghoul across the city in director James Glickenhaus' (MCBAIN) brutally violent vigilante classic.
This Edition Contains:
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Collector's booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by critic David Hayles
Blu-ray Special Features:
- Introduction to the film by director James Glickenhaus
- Fire and Slice: Making The Exterminator - An interview with James Glickenhaus
- 42nd Street Then and Now: A tour of New York's former sleaze circuit from director Frank Henenlotter
- Audio commentary with Mark Buntzman, producer of The Exterminator and writer/director of The Exterminator II, moderated by Calum Waddell.
- Original Art by The Dude Designs
DEADLY BLESSING (1981)
DVD (Arrow Video)
Release Date: November 14th 2011
Region 0 PAL
Rating: 15 Certificate
Duration: 98 mins
Video: 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: Original Mono 1.0 Audio
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Sharon Stone, Ernest Borgnine, Michael Berryman
Tagline: They'll Build A Barn From Your Bones!
Wes Craven unearths the darkness that festers beneath an isolated community in Deadly Blessing, a rural tale of mistrust and bloody murder from the director of Last House on the Left.
When Martha marries into a close knit sect she finds herself shunned as an outsider by its fanatical members, but when her husband dies mysteriously while riding a tractor expressly forbidden as a tool of the devil, things take a darker turn. Marked as a incubus by her neighbours, time is running out for Martha and her visiting friends, as plagued by nightmares and fearing for their lives, they face the violent fury and retribution of old time religion.
One of Hollywood's masters of terror presents a tale of rural horror and simmering evil from the golden age of video terror.
This Edition Contains:
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Fangoria art director Gary Pullin
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Collector's booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by author and critic Kim Newman
Original art by Gary Pullin
Special Features:
- Introduction by star Michael Berryman
- Craven Images: The Horror Hits of Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes Series, Cut and Run, Weird Science)
- An interview with Deadly Blessing's iconic star
- Deadly Desires: An interview with screenwriter Glenn M. Benest
- Easter Eggs
TOKYO DECADENCE (1992)
DVD (ArrowDrome)
Release Date: November 21st 2011
Region 0 PAL
Rating: 18 Certificate
Duration: 112 mins
Director: Ryu Murakami
Cast: Miho Nikaido, Yayoi Kusama and Sayoko Amano
Tagline: Erotic sex or dangerous fantasy?
From the writer of Takashi Miike's Audition - Ryu Murakami - comes a journey into a dimly lit world of submission, obedience and restraint.
Ai is a college girl who works on the decadent fringes of Tokyo's S&M scene, servicing the needs of rich men who want to dominate and be dominated. Working in an empty world of other peoples seedy desires, she longs for the love of an artist who has rejected her. Can she escape from the world of dangerous fantasies and risky sex she finds herself in and make her romantic delusions a reality?
Take a trip into the dark heart of prostitution and get a taste of Tokyo Decadence.
Special Features:
- Reversible Sleeve Art of Original Artwork
- Collector's Bookley by author Robin Bougie
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (1971)
DVD (ArrowDrome)
Release Date: November 28th 2011
Region 0 PAL
Rating: 15 Certificate
Duration: 92 mins
Video: 16x9 Widescreen (2:1 Univisium)
Audio: Italian Dolby Digital Mono
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno
Tagline: A Stunning Portrait in Psycho-Terror!
Dario Argento nails the Giallo blueprint in The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, a brutal thriller that packs a gory brace of terrifying murders alongside it's genre defining mix of red herrings, leather gloved slashers and stylish decor.
When Sam, an American writer in Rome, witnesses an attempted slaying in an art gallery, he unwittingly sets the killers sights on himself and his beautiful model girlfriend. But soon, things start to unravel as it becomes clear that the identity of the unknown slayer is very much open to question. Somebody's killing everyone, who is the evil fiend? Could it be Sam himself?
Argento's groundbreaking shocker combines eye-popping visuals with a seamy vein of sadomasochism and a lust for violence to create a genre defining movie classic.
Special Features:
- Reversible Sleeve Art of Original Artwork
- Collector's Booklet by author Alan Jones of 'Profundo Argento'
- Interview with director Dario Argento
