H.G. Lewis was an insanely busy man during this time, directing anywhere from 2-5 films a year. Though he would help kickstart the genre with the excellently trashy Blood Feast in 1963, it was 4 long years and 13 films later before he would deliver another genre-defining horror/trash classic with The Gruesome Twosome.
While short on logic and actual plot, the film (thankfully) delivers on the real reason why we come to his horror schlock films, and that's for the gore - and The Gruesome Twosome does not disappoint. Arrow does an outstanding job bringing the technicolor palatte to life in all it's pink blood-drenched glory. And just like with their excellent Blood Feast release, they offer a healthy dose of extras, including the H.G. Lewis vampire classic A Taste of Blood (1967).
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Bonus Feature! 1967’s A Taste of Blood
- Introductions to the films by HG Lewis
- Archive audio commentaries for both films by HG Lewis
- Peaches Christ Flips Her Wig! – San Francisco performer Peaches Christ on The Gruesome Twosome
- It Came from Florida – filmmaker Fred Olen Ray (Scalps, The Alien Dead) on Florida Filmmaking
- HG Lewis vs. the Censors – HG Lewis discusses some of the pitfalls of the blood-and-guts business including local censorship and angry moviegoers
- Trailers and radio spot
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil
Arrow's Region-Free Blu-Ray releases on February 6th and you can order directly from their official website HERE or from any number of online retailers.
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Henri -Georges Clouzot's Inferno (2/6/2018)
In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot, the acclaimed director of thriller masterpieces Les Diaboliques and Wages of Fear, began work on his most ambitious film yet.
Set in a beautiful lake side resort in the Auvergne region of France, L’Enfer (Inferno) was to be a sun scorched elucidation on the dark depths of jealousy starring Romy Schneider as the harassed wife of a controlling hotel manager (Serge Reggiani). However, despite huge expectations, major studio backing and an unlimited budget, after three weeks the production collapsed under the weight of arguments, technical complications and illness.
In this compelling, award-winning documentary Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea present Inferno’s incredible expressionistic original rushes, screen tests, and on-location footage, whilst also reconstructing Clouzot’s original vision, and shedding light on the ill-fated endeavour through interviews, dramatisations of unfilmed scenes, and Clouzot’s own notes.
This fascinating and compelling documentary reconstructs the troubled and doomed production of a film that very well would have become legendary from one of cinema's most gifted New Wave French directors. Just the few images he was able to produce alone before the film was shut down are captivatingly stunning. In fact, this documentary is every bit as good as the film would "possibly" have been. Arrow does another fine job on the transfer of the limited existing footage created, and includes a number of extra features to dig into.
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Lucy Mazdon on Henri-Georges Clouzot, the French cinema expert and academic talks at length about the films of Clouzot and the troubled production of Inferno
- They Saw Inferno, a featurette including unseen material, providing further insight into the production of Inferno
- Filmed Introduction by Serge Bromberg
- Interview with Serge Bromberg
- Stills gallery
- Original trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Twins of Evil
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Seijun Suzuki: The Early Years Vol. 1
Making their home-video debuts outside Japan, this diverse selection of Nikkatsu youth movies (seishun eiga) charts the evolving style of the B-movie maverick best known for the cult classics Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967).
The Boy Who Came Back (1958) marks the first appearances of “Nikkatsu Diamond Guys” and regular Suzuki collaborators Akira Kobayashi and Jo Shishido, with Kobayashi cast as the hot-headed hoodlum fresh out of reform school who struggles to make a clean break with his tearaway past.
The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain Pass (1961) is a carnivalesque tale of a young student who hooks up with a down-at-heels travelling circus troupe. Teenage Yakuza (1962) stars Tamio Kawaji as the high-school vigilante protecting his community from the extortions of mobsters from a neighbouring city.
The Incorrigible (1963) and Born Under Crossed Stars (1965), both based on Toko Kon’s novels about young love, represent Suzuki’s first films set in the 1920s era later celebrated in his critically-regarded Taisho Trilogy.
Each film comes packed in a stunning new box set complete with a brand new 1080p HD presentation with optional English subtitles and a chance for fans of Suzuki's to dig into some of his early work in their best presentations possible.
- Limited Edition Dual Format Collection [1500 copies]
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation
- Optional English Subtitles
- New introduction to the films by critic Tony Rayns
- 60-page illustrated collector's book featuring new writing by critic and author Jasper Sharp
Seijun Suzuki: The Early Years Vol. 1 will be released on February 13th from Arrow Video and will retail for $69.95. You can pre-order directly from Arrow Video HERE or from your favorite online retailers.
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Orchestra Rehearsal (2/13/2018)
Made in 1978 for Italian television, Orchestra Rehearsal is possibly Fellini’s most satirical and overtly political film.
An allegorical pseudo-documentary, the film depicts an Italian television crew’s visit to a dilapidated auditorium (a converted 13th-century church) to meet an orchestra assembling to rehearse under the instruction of a tyrannical conductor. The TV crew interviews the various musicians who each speak lovingly about their chosen instruments. However, as petty squabbles break out amid the different factions of the ensemble, and the conductor berates his musicians, the meeting descends into anarchy and vandalism. A destructive crescendo ensues before the musicians regroup and play together once more in perfect harmony.
Abounding with its director’s trademark rich imagery and expressive style, Orchestra Rehearsal marks the last collaboration between Fellini and the legendary composer Nino Rota (due to the latter’s death in 1979) who provides one of his most beautiful themes in the film’s conclusion.
- Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original 1.0 mono sound
- Optional English subtitles
- Richard Dyer on Nino Rota and Orchestra Rehearsal, the film scholar talks about the great composer and his last collaboration with Fellini
- Orchestrating Discord, a visual essay on the film by Fellini biographer John Baxter
- Gallery featuring rare poster and press material on the film from the Felliniana collection of Don Young
- Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
This new 2K transfer from Arrow will be available on February 13th and will retail for $34.95.
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