New from Arrow Video US in May!
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Hand of Death Blu-ray
5/9/23
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The Last Starfighter: Collector's Edition 4K UHD
5/30/23
via MVD Entertainment Group
Arrow Video’s May Releases Offer Up Martial Arts and a
Video Game-Inspired Sci-Fi Adventure!
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HAND OF DEATH
On May 9, Arrow Video releases Hand of Death, the only Jackie Chan performance directed by John Woo, and an important early collaboration with Sammo Hung, on Blu-ray in a new 2K restoration. Yun Fei (Tan Tao-Liang) sets out for vengeance after thousands of his fellow Shaolin practitioners are hunted down and killed by Shih Shao-Feng (James Tien), Tu Ching (Sammo Hung) Shih’s vicious lieutenant, and their army. Yun Fei teams with a blacksmith (Jackie Chan) and a swordsman (Yang Wei) to face unsurmountable odds. The Blu-ray edition features a new audio commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng & Michael Worth; From Hong Kong to Hollywood, an archive featurette on John Woo’s early career; archival interviews with star Tan Tao-Liang and Sammo Hung; an alternate credits sequence, Countdown to Kung Fu; a Trailer gallery; an Image gallery; a double-sided fold-out poster and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch.
Bonus Materials:
- 2K restoration from original film elements by Fortune Star
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray transfer
- Original lossless Mandarin and English mono, plus Cantonese stereo and 5.1 remixes in Mandarin and English
Optional English subtitles
- Brand new feature commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng & Michael Worth
- From Hong Kong to Hollywood, an archive featurette on John Woo’s early career, including interviews with Woo, Chow Yun-fat and Peter Lau
- Never-before-seen archive interview with star Tan Tao-Liang, filmed by his former student Michael Worth
- Archive interview with co-star Sammo Hung
- Alternate credits sequence, as Countdown to Kung Fu
- Trailer gallery
- Image gallery
- Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
- Illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing by film programmer William Blaik
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THE LAST STARFIGHTER
Next on May 30th, the ‘80s classic The Last Starfighter is released on 4K UHD, newly restored from a 4K scan of the original negative and featuring a 4.1 mix originally created for the film's 70mm release - never included on previous home video formats. Alex Rogan (Lance Guess) dreams of something bigger than his current existence. He gets more than he bargained for when he breaks the record on The Last Starfighter video game and is recruited by the Star League to defend the universe against Xur and the Kordan Armada. Alex and pilot Grig (Dan O'Herlihy), armed with the “last” Starfighter, are all that stand between the villainous Xur and domination. The 4K UHD edition features audio commentaries with star Lance Guest and his son Jackson Guest, Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast, and director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb; interviews with actor Catherine Mary Stewart, composer Craig Safan, screenwriter Jonathan Betuel, special effects supervisor Kevin Pike, sci-fi author Greg Bear, and arcade game collector Estil Vance on reconstructing the Starfighter game; Heroes of the Screen, an archival featurette; Crossing the Frontier: The Making of The Last Starfighter, an archival 4-part documentary; Image galleries; Theatrical and teaser Trailers; a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Ferguson.
Bonus Materials
- Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Uncompressed 2.0 stereo, 5.1 DTS-HD MA and 4.1 audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio commentary with star Lance Guest and his son Jackson Guest
- Audio commentary with Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast
- Archival audio commentary with director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb
- Maggie’s Memories: Revisiting The Last Starfighter – interview with actor Catherine Mary Stewart
- Into the Starscape: Composing The Last Starfighter – interview with composer Craig Safan
- Incredible Odds: Writing The Last Starfighter – interview with screenwriter Jonathan Betuel
- Interstellar Hit-Beast: Creating the Special Effects – interview with special effects supervisor Kevin Pike
- Excalibur Test: Inside Digital Productions – interview with sci-fi author Greg Bear on Digital Productions, the company responsible for the CGI in The Last Starfighter
- Greetings Starfighter! Inside the Arcade Game – an interview with arcade game collector Estil Vance on reconstructing the Starfighter game
- Heroes of the Screen – archival featurette
- Crossing the Frontier: The Making of The Last Starfighter – archival 4-part documentary
- Image galleries
- Theatrical and teaser trailers
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Ferguson
- Collector's booklet featuring writing by Amanda Reyes and sci-fi author Greg Bear's Omni magazine article on Digital Productions, the company responsible for the CGI in The Last Starfighter
