The sun comes out for film fanatics this June as Arrow Video release a prophetic sci-fi classic, a post-apocalyptic Canuxploitation action thriller, a cult spine-chiller, a new volume of unmissable horror obscurities, and a dazzling giallo, all beautifully packaged and positively groaning with fascinating extras.
THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN
Before he created Westworld and Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton first blurred the line between science fiction and science fact with his breakout success The Andromeda Strain. Two years after the novel’s publication, Robert Wise (The Haunting) directed the film adaptation, a nail-biting blend of clinically-realised docudrama and astonishing sci-fi visuals that ushered in a new subgenre: the “killer virus” biological thriller.
A government satellite crashes outside a small town in New Mexico – and within minutes, every inhabitant of the town is dead, except for a crying baby and an elderly derelict.
The satellite and the two survivors are sent to Wildfire, a top-secret underground laboratory equipped with a nuclear self-destruct mechanism to prevent the spread of infection in case of an outbreak. Realising that the satellite brought back a lethal organism from another world, a team of government scientists race against the clock to understand the extraterrestrial virus – codenamed “Andromeda” – before it can wipe out all life on the planet.
Aided by innovative visual effects by Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey, Silent Running) and an unforgettable avant-garde electronic music score by Gil Melle (The Sentinel), Wise’s suspense classic still haunts to this day, and is presented here in a stunning, exclusive new restoration from the original negative.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original camera negative
High Definition (1080p) Blu-Ray presentation
Original uncompressed mono audio, newly remastered for this release
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by critic Bryan Reesman
A New Strain of Science Fiction, a newly-filmed appreciation by critic Kim Newman
The Andromeda Strain: Making The Film, an archive featurette from 2001 directed by Laurent Bouzereau and featuring interviews with director Robert Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding
A Portrait of Michael Crichton, an archive featurette from 2001 directed by Laurent Bouzereau and featuring an interview with author Michael Crichton
Cinescript Gallery, highlights from the annotated and illustrated shooting script by Nelson Gidding
Theatrical trailer, TV spots and radio spots
Image gallery
BD-ROM: PDF of the 192-page “cinescript” with diagrams and production designs
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Corey Brickley
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Peter Tonguette and archive publicity materials
DEF-CON 4
In the 1980s, faced with the demise of the drive-in and the rise of the multiplex, New World Pictures – the independent studio established by Roger Corman – increasingly relied on smaller-scale productions, made with an eye to the cable TV and home video markets. Among these was Def-Con 4, an example of so-called “Canuxploitation” or Canadian exploitation cinema, riding on the coat-tails of the boom in post-apocalyptic disaster movies that began in the previous decade.
Two months after the planet is ravaged by nuclear war, astronauts Howe (Tim Choate), Jordan (Kate Lynch, The Twilight Zone) and Walker (John Walsch, Blow Out) are forced to return to earth – now an apocalyptic wasteland consumed by radiation and roamed by cannibal gangs. Forced into desperate pacts with unlikely allies, among them eccentric survivalist Vinny (Maury Chaykin, WarGames), the astronauts must draw on all their resourcefulness to survive this brave new world.
Bearing more than a passing resemblance to George Miller’s Ozploitation classic Max Mad, Def-Con 4 is an inventive and action-packed low budget sci-fi romp, elevated by a pounding score by New World stalwart Christopher Young (Hellraiser) and making its UK High Definition debut with this brand new restoration from Arrow Video.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
New 2K restoration from the original 35mm interpositive
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless mono soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brave New World, a new video interview with New World Pictures editor Michael Spence
Nemesis Descending, a new video interview with composer Christopher Young
New video interview with author Chris Poggiali on the history and legacy of New World Pictures
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Neil Mitchell
THE SENDER
Following his Academy Award success working on Star Wars and Alien and directing two breakout short films, British newcomer Roger Christian made his feature directing debut with The Sender, a shocking psychic thriller filled with unforgettably chilling nightmare imagery.
After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, an amnesiac young man (Željko Ivanek, Hannibal) is labelled “John Doe #83” and admitted to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. Dr Gail Farmer (Kathryn Harrold, Modern Romance) tries to establish a connection with him, but soon begins to experience frightening hallucinations.
She quickly realises that the cause of these waking nightmares is none other than the mysterious John Doe, and the strange woman (Academy Award nominee Shirley Knight, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs) who visits the hospital claiming to be his mother…
Hailed by none other than Quentin Tarantino as his favourite film of 1982, and boasting an virtuoso early score by Trevor Jones (The Last Of The Mohicans), The Sender is a stylish precursor to the “rubber reality” dream-logic special effects seen in films like the Nightmare on Elm Street series, but retains a horrific power of its own.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
High Definition (1080p) Blu-Ray presentation
Original uncompressed stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by director Roger Christian
Newly-filmed interview with screenwriter Tom Baum
Newly-filmed appreciation by critic Kim Newman
Deleted scenes from the screenplay, including the original ending
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Insect
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Alan Jones and an excerpt from the novelisation by Tom Baum
DOUBLE FACE
In
the post-war years, the proliferation of transnational European
co-productions gave rise to a cross-pollination of genres, with the same
films sold in different markets as belonging to different movements.
Among these, Riccardo Freda(I vampiri, The Horrible Dr. Hichock)’s
Double Face was marketed in West Germany as an Edgar Wallace ‘krimi’,
while in Italy it was sold as a giallo in the tradition of Mario Bava’s
Blood and Black Lace, combining elements from both genres for a unique
and unforgettable viewing experience.
When
wealthy businessman John Alexander (the legendary Klaus Kinski, giving
an atypically restrained performance)’s unfaithful wife Helen (Margaret
Lee, Circus of Fear) dies in a car crash, it initially looks like a
freak accident. However, the plot thickens when evidence arises
suggesting that the car was tampered with prior to the crash. And John’s
entire perception of reality is thrown into doubt when he discovers a
recently-shot pornographic movie which appears to feature Helen –
suggesting that she is in fact alive and playing an elaborate mind game
on him…
Psychological,
psychedelic, and at times just plain psychotic, Double Face stands as
one of the most engaging and enjoyable films in Freda’s lengthy and
diverse career – a densely-plotted, visually-stunning giallo that evokes
much of the same ambience of paranoia and decadence as such classics of
the genre as One on Top of the Other and A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new 2K restoration of the full-length Italian version of the film from the original 35mm camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Uncompressed mono 1.0 LPCM audio
Original English and Italian soundtracks, titles and credits
Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
New audio commentary by author and critic Tim Lucas
New video interview with composer Nora Orlandi
The
Many Faces of Nora Orlandi, a new appreciation of the varied career of
the film’s composer by musician and soundtrack collector Lovely Jon
The Terrifying Dr. Freda, a new video essay on Riccardo Freda’s gialli by author and critic Amy Simmons
Extensive
image gallery from the collection of Christian Ostermeier, including
the original German pressbook and lobby cards, and the complete Italian
cineromanzo adaptation
Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Neill Mitchell
AMERICAN HORROR PROJECT VOL 2
Continuing its mission to unearth the very best in weird and wonderful horror obscura from the golden age of US independent genre moviemaking, Arrow Video is proud to present the long-awaited second volume in its American Horror Project series co-curated by author Stephen Thrower (Nightmare USA: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents).
Starting off with a little-seen 1970 offering from underrated cult auteur John Hayes (Grave of the Vampire, Garden of the Dead), Dream No Evil is a haunting, moving tale of a young woman’s desperate quest to be reunited with her long-lost father – only to find herself drawn into a fantasyland of homicidal madness.
Meanwhile, 1976’s Dark August stars Academy Award-winner Kim Hunter (A Streetcar Named Desire) in a story of a man pursued by a terrifying and deadly curse in the wake of a hit-and-run accident. Lastly, 1977’s Harry Novak-produced The Child is a gloriously delirious slice of horror mayhem in which a young girl raises an army of the dead against the people she holds responsible for her mother’s death.
With all three films having been newly remastered from the best surviving film elements and appearing here for the first time ever on Blu-ray, alongside a wealth of supplementary material, American Horror Project Volume Two offers up yet another fascinating and blood-chilling foray into the deepest, darkest corners of stars-and-stripes terror.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new 2K restorations from original film elements
High Definition Blu-ray presentation
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Reversible sleeves for each film featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil
American Horror Project Journal Vol. II – limited edition 60-page booklet featuring new writing on the films by Stephen R. Bissette, Travis Crawford and Amanda Reyes
DREAM NO EVIL
Filmed appreciation by Stephen Thrower
Brand new audio commentary with Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan
Hollywood After Dark: The Early Films of John Hayes, 1959-1971 – brand new video essay by Stephen Thrower looking at Hayes' filmography leading up to Dream No Evil
Writer Chris Poggiali on the prodigious career of celebrated character actor Edmond O'Brien
Excerpts from an audio interview with actress Rue McClanahan (The Golden Girls) discussing her many cinematic collaborations with director John Hayes
DARK AUGUST
Filmed appreciation by Stephen Thrower
Brand new audio commentary with writer-director Martin Goldman
Brand new on-camera interview with Martin Goldman
Brand new on-camera interview with producer Marianne Kanter
The Hills Are Alive: Dark August and Vermont Folk Horror – author and artist Stephen R. Bissette on Dark August and its context within the wider realm of genre filmmaking out of Vermont
Original Press Book
THE CHILD
1.37:1 and 1.85:1 presentations of the feature
Filmed appreciation by Stephen Thrower
Brand new audio commentary with director Robert Voskanian and producer Robert Dadashian, moderated by Stephen Thrower
Brand new on-camera interviews with Robert Voskanian and Robert Dadashian
Original Theatrical Trailer
Original Press Book
