Arrow Video is going to make Christmas shopping easier in December with a batch of Blu-rays that will taste as sweet as my Aunt Jean’s sugar cookies. First off is Swedish legend Ingmar Bergman’s The Serpent’s Egg. This movie takes up to the world of Berlin’s cabaret action with a thriller angle as David Carradine (Kung Fu) searches for why his brother died. While we associate Robert De Niro with Martin Scorsese, turns out he made his earliest films with Brian De Palma (Scarface & The Untouchables). Now their first three films will be in a single boxset. De Palma & De Niro: The Early Films has Hi, Mom! Greetings and The Wedding Party. Sergio Corbucci is one of the greats of the Spaghetti Western era with Django being his calling card. Franco Nero plays a gunslinger dragging a coffin behind him in a role that rivals Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” character. As a bonus feature, they also include Texas Adios that stars Nero. The limited edition release comes in a normal box and a steelbook. Blood Birthday is all about cut killer kids that want to blow out your candles. Finally there’s The Apartment. This Billy Wilder film is still topical today as Jack Lemmon (Grumpy Old Men) plays an employee who moves up the corporate ladder by loaning out his apartment to executives that need a private and free space in New York City to hook up with their mistresses and secretaries. Watching creepy Fred McMurray (My Three Sons) is worth the price alone. Santa is going to need a bigger sack. Here’s the press release from Arrow Video:
New from Arrow Video US and Arrow Academy US
THE SERPENT’S EGG [BLU-RAY] (12/4)
DE PALMA & DE NIRO: THE EARLY FILMS [LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY] (12/11)
DJANGO [LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY] (12/11)
DJANGO [LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY STEELBOOK] (12/11)
BLOODY BIRTHDAY [BLU-RAY] (12/18)
THE APARTMENT [BLU-RAY] (12/11)
via MVD Entertainment Group
Winter is Coming and so is Arrow!
With winter right around the corner, you’re going to want to stay inside to beat the cold, unpleasant weather. Thanks to Arrow, staying in is better than ever and this December they’re going to give you six more reasons to do so!
On December 4th, Arrow Video is pleased to release The Serpent’s Egg from legendary director
Ingmar Bergman. In this spellbinding mystery, David Carradine stars as an out-of-work circus performer that gets caught up in a tangled web when he begins to ask questions about his brother’s bizarre death. For this film Bergman teamed with powerhouse Italian director Dino De Laurentiis.
Things get really busy on December 11th starting with the release of De Palma & De Niro: The Early Films. This boxset showcases Robert De Niro on the big screen for the first time and highlights the beginnings of his wonderful relationship with the legendary Brian De Palma. The set includes three films from the iconic duo – The Wedding Party, Greetings and Hi, Mom! – all of which have been newly restored specifically for this release. Featuring brand-new interviews, commentaries and writings, this is one boxset not to be missed.
If you like westerns you’re in luck, because rounding out the December 1th slate will be Sergio Corbucci’s landmark spaghetti western, Django. Franco Nero stars as a mysterious loner that arrives on the US-Mexico border and gets caught up in a war between a racist gang and Mexican revolutionaries. This release features a brand new 4K restoration and includes Texas Adios, the follow up in which Nero returns as Django. Django will also be available as a limited edition steelbook.
Twisted ’80s slasher Bloody Birthday comes home on December 18th with a brand new 2K restoration. A trio born on the same solar eclipse develop a habit for murdering adults in the Ed Hunt directed classic. This new release is loaded with special features, including two new commentaries, an interview with lead actress Lori Lethin and a video appreciation from renowned genre journalist Chris Alexander.
Joining the Arrow Video December releases will be The Apartment, coming to Blu-ray on December 11th from Arrow Academy. Hollywood icons Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon re-team for perhaps their greatest achievement in this hilarious masterpiece that took home five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Arrow Academy is proud to present The Apartment with a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative and produced exclusively for this release.
The Serpent’s Egg
HOW DO YOU MEASURE YOUR OWN SANITY IN A WORLD GONE MAD?
In 1977, legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (The Seventh Seal, Persona) teamed up with the equally legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis (La strada, Danger: Diabolik) for what would be the director’s one and only Hollywood feature. Berlin, 1923. Out-of-work circus performer Abel Rosenberg (David Carradine, Bound in Glory, Kill Bill) is living in poverty. When his brother commits suicide, he moves into the apartment of his cabaret singer sister-in-law (Liv Ullmann, The Emigrants, Scenes from a Marriage), but the pair soon attract the attentions of both the police and a professor with a terrifying area of research when they start to make enquiries about his mysterious death. One of Bergman’s darkest – and most unlikely – films, The Serpent’s Egg is a hypnotic, Kafkaesque tale of paranoia in a poisoned city.
Bonus Materials
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original English mono audio (uncompressed LPCM)
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Audio Commentary by actor David Carradine
Bergman’s Egg – a newly filmed appreciation by critic and author Barry Forshaw
Away From Home, archival featurette including interviews with David Carradine and Liv Ullman
German Expressionism, archival interview with Author Marc Gervais
Stills gallery
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork choices
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Geoffrey Macnab
BLU-RAY
SRP: 39.95
Street Date: 12/04/18
Label: Arrow Academy
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Language: English
Run Time: 114 mins
De Palma & De Niro: The Early Films [Limited Edition Blu-ray]
In 1963, Robert De Niro stepped in front of a movie camera for the first time. The resulting film, a low-budget black and white comedy called The Wedding Party, would take three years to complete, and another three years to be released, but it would also establish a hugely important working relationship for the aspiring actor. One of the filmmakers, long before he became synonymous with suspense thanks to Carrie, Dressed to Kill and other classics, was Brian De Palma. He and De Niro would team up again in the next few years for two more comedies, both with a countercultural bent. Greetings, the first to receive an X certificate in the United States, is a freewheeling satire focusing on a trio of twentysomething friends – a conspiracy theorist, a filmmaker, and a voyeur played by De Niro – as they try to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Hi, Mom!, originally named Son of Greetings, returns to De Niro’s voyeur, now an aspiring maker of adult films, for another humorous glimpse at late-sixties society, this time turning its attentions to experimental theater, cinéma vérité, the African American experience, and the white middle classes. Brought together for the first time – and each newly restored by Arrow Films especially for this release – these three films offer a fascinating insight into the early careers of two American cinema’s major talents.
Bonus Materials
New restoration from a 2K scan of The Wedding Party from the original film negative, carried out exclusively for this release by Arrow Films
New restoration from a 2K scan of Greetings and Hi, Mom! from original film materials, carried out exclusively for this release by Arrow Films
Original uncompressed mono soundtracks
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on all three films
Brand new commentary on Greetings by Glenn Kenny, author of Robert De Niro: Anatomy of an Actor
Brand new appreciation of Brian De Palma and Robert De Niro’s collaborations by critic and filmmaker Howard S. Berger
Brand new interviews with Charles Hirsch, writer-producer of Greetings and Hi, Mom!
Brand new interview with actor Gerrit Graham on Greetings, Hi, Mom! and his other collaborations with Brian De Palma
Brand new interview with actor Peter Maloney on Hi, Mom!
Hi, Mom! theatrical trailer
Newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
Limited collector’s edition booklet featuring new writing on the films by Brad Stevens, Chris Dumas and Christina Newland, plus an archive interview with Brian De Palma and Charles Hirsch
BLU-RAY
SRP: 69.95
Street Date: 12/11/18
Label: Arrow Video
Genre: Cult
Language: English
Run Time: 267 mins
Django [Limited Edition Blu-ray]
In this definitive Spaghetti Western, Franco Nero (Keoma, The Fifth Cord) gives a career-defining performance as Django, a mysterious loner who arrives at a mud-drenched ghost town on the Mexico-US border, ominously dragging a coffin behind him. After saving imperilled prostitute Maria (Loredana Nusciak), Django becomes embroiled in a brutal feud between a racist gang and a band of Mexican revolutionaries… With Django, director Sergio Corbucci (The Great Silence) upped the ante for sadism and sensationalism in Westerns, depicting machine gun massacres, mud-fighting prostitutes and savage mutilations. A huge hit with international audiences, Django’s brand of bleak nihilism would be repeatedly emulated in a raft of unofficial sequels. The film is presented here in an exclusive new restoration with a wealth of extras including the newly restored bonus feature Texas Adios, which also stars Franco Nero, and was released as Django 2 in several territories.
Bonus Materials
New restoration from a 4K scan of Django from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
New restoration from a 2K scan of Texas Adios from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations
Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio
Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
Six double-sided collector’s postcards
Double-sided fold-out poster
Limited edition 60-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by Howard Hughes and Roberto Curti, and original reviews
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips
Audio commentary by film critic, historian and theorist Stephen Prince
Newly filmed interview with star Franco Nero
Newly filmed interview with assistant director Ruggero Deodato
Newly filmed interview with co-writer Franco Rossetti
Newly filmed interview with Sergio Corbucci’s wife Nora Corbucci
Archival interview with co-writer Piero Vivarelli
Archival interview with stuntman and actor Gilberto Galimberti
Discovering Django, newly filmed appreciation by Spaghetti Westerns scholar Austin Fisher
An Introduction to Django by Alex Cox, an archival featurette with the acclaimed director
Gallery of original promotional images from the Mike Siegel Archive
Original trailers
Audio commentary for by spaghetti western experts C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parke
Newly filmed interview with star Franco Nero
Newly filmed interview with co-star Alberto Dell’Acqua
Newly filmed interview with co-writer Franco Rossetti
Hello Texas!, newly filmed appreciation by Spaghetti Westerns scholar Austin Fisher
Gallery of original promotional images from the Mike Siegel Archive
Original trailer
BLU-RAY
SRP: 49.95
Street Date: 12/11/18
Label: Arrow Video
Genre: Western
Language: English
Run Time: 91 mins
Django [Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook]
In this definitive Spaghetti Western, Franco Nero (Keoma, The Fifth Cord) gives a career-defining performance as Django, a mysterious loner who arrives at a mud-drenched ghost town on the Mexico-US border, ominously dragging a coffin behind him. After saving imperilled prostitute Maria (Loredana Nusciak), Django becomes embroiled in a brutal feud between a racist gang and a band of Mexican revolutionaries… With Django, director Sergio Corbucci (The Great Silence) upped the ante for sadism and sensationalism in Westerns, depicting machine gun massacres, mud-fighting prostitutes and savage mutilations. A huge hit with international audiences, Django‘s brand of bleak nihilism would be repeatedly emulated in a raft of unofficial sequels. The film is presented here in an exclusive new restoration with a wealth of extras including the newly restored bonus feature Texas Adios, which also stars Franco Nero, and was released as Django 2 in several territories.
Bonus Materials
Limited Edition SteelBook™ packaging featuring exclusive artwork
New restoration from a 4K scan of Django from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
New restoration from a 2K scan of Texas Adios from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations
Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio
Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
Limited edition fully illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Howard Hughes and original reviews
Audio commentary by film critic, historian and theorist Stephen Prince
Newly filmed interview with star Franco Nero
Newly filmed interview with assistant director Ruggero Deodato
Newly filmed interview with co-writer Franco Rossetti
Newly filmed interview with Sergio Corbucci’s wife Nora Corbucci
Archival interview with co-writer Piero Vivarelli
Archival interview with stuntman and actor Gilberto Galimberti
Discovering Django, newly filmed appreciation by Spaghetti Westerns scholar Austin Fisher
An Introduction to Django by Alex Cox, an archival featurette with the acclaimed director
Gallery of original promotional images from the Mike Siegel Archive
Original trailers
Audio commentary for by spaghetti western experts C. Courtney Joyner and Henry C. Parke
Newly filmed interview with star Franco Nero
Newly filmed interview with co-star Alberto Dell’Acqua
Newly filmed interview with co-writer Franco Rossetti
Hello Texas!, newly filmed appreciation by Spaghetti Westerns scholar Austin Fisher
Gallery of original promotional images from the Mike Siegel Archive
Original trailer
BLU-RAY
SRP: 49.95
Street Date: 12/11/18
Label: Arrow Video
Genre: Western
Language: English
Run Time: 91 mins
Bloody Birthday
The Bad Seed meets Halloween in this deliciously twisted early ’80s slasher offering directed by Ed Hunt (The Brain) and starring the always loveable Lori Lethin (Return to Horror High, The Prey). Debbie, Curtis and Steven may seem cute as buttons. But their angelic facade conceals the wicked, murderous streak given to them having all been born under the same solar eclipse. With the grown-ups around them blissfully unaware of their little darlings’ homicidal tendencies, the evil brats begin to bump off the adults one-by-one. By gun. By arrow. By cake. Bye-bye! Mixing the killer-kid subgenre with elements of the then-booming slice-and-dice movie, 1981’s Bloody Birthday shocks and appalls with its scenes of young children shooting, strangling and bludgeoning their way through the local population. They sure don’t (and can’t!) make ’em like this anymore.
Bonus Materials
Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original Uncompressed mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with director Ed Hunt
Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
Brand new interview with actress Lori Lethin
Bad Seeds and Body Counts – a brand new video appreciation of Bloody Birthday and the killer kid sub-genre by film journalist Chris Alexander
Archival interview with producer Max Rosenberg
Original Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Timothy Pittides
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Lee Gambin
BLU-RAY
SRP: 39.95
Street Date: 12/18/18
Label: Arrow Video
Genre: Horror
Language: English
Run Time: 85 mins
The Apartment
In 1960, following on from the success of their collaboration on Some Like it Hot, director Billy Wilder (Ace in the Hole, Sunset Boulevard) reteamed with actor Jack Lemmon (The Odd Couple, Glengarry Glen Ross) for what many consider the pinnacle of their respective careers: The Apartment. C.C. Bud Baxter (Lemmon) is a lowly Manhattan office drone with a lucrative sideline in renting out his apartment to adulterous company bosses and their mistresses. When Bud enters into a similar arrangement the firm s personnel director, J.D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray, Double Indemnity), his career prospects begin to look up… and up. But when he discovers that Sheldrake s mistress is Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine, Irma la Douce), the girl of his dreams, he finds himself forced to choose between his career and the woman he loves… Winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, The Apartment features a wealth of Hollywood s finest talent on both sides of the camera at the top of their game. By turns cynical, heart-warming and hilarious, Wilder s masterpiece now shines like never before in this all-new, 4K-restored edition from Arrow Films.
Bonus Materials
Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative produced by Arrow Films exclusive for this release
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
Optional 5.1 remix in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio
Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with film producer and historian Bruce Block
The Key to the Apartment, a new appreciation of the film by film historian Philip Kemp
Select scene commentary by Philip Kemp
The Flawed Couple, a new video essay by filmmaker David Cairns on the collaborations between Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon
A Letter to Castro, a new interview with actress Hope Holiday
The Writer Speaks: Billy Wilder, an archival interview from the Writers Guild of America s Oral Histories series
Inside the Apartment, a half-hour making-of featurette from 2007 including interviews with Shirley MacLaine, executive producer Walter Mirisch, and others
Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon, an archive profile of the actor from 2007
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ignatius Fitzpatrick
BLU-RAY
SRP: 39.95
Street Date: 12/11/18
Label: Arrow Academy
Genre: Cult
Language: English
Run Time: 125 mins
