September is the time to go back to school, although thanks to the COVID-19, you’ll just be going back to the dining room table. So how do you play hooky when you’re at home? How about sneaking off to watch a movie in the family room during an extended lunch break? Luckily Arrow Video is bringing a trio of movies that are worth skipping Algebra II. Graveyards of Honor has a both the original and the remake from two of Japan’s cinematic legends that aren’t taught in your boring International cinema class. The original about Yakuza gangster’s dangerous life was made by Kinji Fukasaku, the master behind the ultra violent high school graduation masterpiece Battle Royale. Over 25 years later Takashi Miike (Audition) did his own adaptation of the book. Now both are together so you can compare and contrast in case you need an essay. Jesus Shows You The Way to the Highway is as strange the title with Stalin, Batman and Jesus among the characters. If you need to understand a Russian novel, but want it relocated in Hollywood, you’re ready for Ivansxtc From the director of Candyman comes a chance to enjoy Danny Huston as a leading man. You might remember him as the Axeman in American Horror Story: Coven and General in Wonder Woman. Now he’s an agent about to explode in a bad way. So take a break from remote learning and get a dose of physical education by watching physical media. Here’s the press release from Arrow Video with all the details:
New from Arrow Video US
GRAVEYARDS OF HONOR [Blu-ray] (9/8)
JESUS SHOWS YOU THE WAY TO THE HIGHWAY [Blu-ray] (9/15)
IVANSXTC [Blu-ray] (9/29)
via MVD Entertainment Group
As the summer months wind down, Arrow continues to sizzle!
As the days grow shorter and summer slowly fades into fall, Arrow continues to bring the heat with four new releases that are must-own titles for any cinephile.
On September 8, Arrow is proud to release two cinematic masterpieces – one each from bonafide legends in Kinji Fukasaku and Takashi Miike – packaged in one lovely box, with Graveyards of Honor. This double feature includes Fukasaku’s 1975 original film, Graveyard of Honor, and Miike’s 2002 remake. Both films are based on the life of real-like Yakuza member Rikio Ishikawa. In 1999, the 1975 original was voted as the 38th best Japanese film of all-time by Kinemo Junpo. Both films are presented in high-definition with an assorted of new and archival bonus features.
Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway hits Blu-ray on September 15. This second feature from director Miguel Lanso was praised by Variety as “an inspired mashup of vintage exploitation tropes and pure absurdism.” This wild, “futuristic” trip is part Philip K. Dick, part David Lynch, and a whole lot of weird. This release also includes Lanso’s debut feature, Crumbs.
The month’s final release is ivansxtc which comes out on Blu-ray on the 29th. This update on Leo Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” stars Danny Huston and moves to the story to contemporary Hollywood. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of 2000 to favorable reviews and eventually would earn four Independent Spirit Award nominations. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4-star review, calling it “remarkable.” This new release includes two versions of the theatrical cut, an extended producer’s cut, and a brand-new documentary on the making of the film.
Graveyards Of Honor
Two peerless masters of Japanese cinema – Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Battle Royale) and Takashi Miike (Dead or Alive, Audition) – present their own distinctive adaptations of yakuza expert Goro Fujita’s gangster novel Graveyard of Honor, each tapping into the zeitgeist of a distinct period of Japanese history. Set during the turbulent post-war years, Fukasaku’s original 1975 film charts the rise and fall of real-life gangster Rikio Ishikawa (Tetsuya Watari, Outlaw Gangster VIP). Shot through with the same stark realism and quasi-documentarian approach as Fukasaku’s earlier Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Fukasaku nonetheless breaks new ground through his portrayal of a gangster utterly without honor or ethics, surviving by any means necessary in a world of brutal criminality. Meanwhile, Miike’s 2002 retelling transplants the story to Tokyo at the turn of the millennium. Less a direct remake of Fukasku’s film than a radical reimagining of the same overarching premise, Miike’s film captures both the hedonism and nihilism of the modern Japanese crime scene in deliriously stylish fashion, resulting in a fascinating companion piece to the original that nonetheless stands as its own entity. With both films making their High Definition debut in a sumptuous limited edition packed with new and archival bonus content, Arrow Video is proud to present these two intertwined but unique crime thrillers from two celebrated filmmakers at the peak of their creative powers.
Bonus Materials
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Exclusive two-disc set featuring two different versions of Graveyard of Honor: the 1975 film by Kinji Fukasaku and the 2002 film by Takashi Miike
Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on both films by Jasper Sharp
DISC ONE – GRAVEYARD OF HONOR (1975)
High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
Original lossless Japanese PCM 1.0 mono soundtrack
Optional English subtitles
New audio commentary by author and critic Mark Schilling
Like a Balloon: The Life of a Yakuza, a new visual essay by critic and Projection Booth podcast host Mike White
A Portrait of Rage, an archival appreciation of Fukasaku and his films, featuring interviews with filmmakers, scholars, and friends of the director
On the Set with Fukasaku, an archival interview with assistant director Kenichi Oguri
Theatrical trailer
Imagery gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan
DISC TWO – GRAVEYARD OF HONOR (2002)
High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
Original lossless Japanese PCM 2.0 stereo soundtrack
Optional English subtitles
New audio commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes
New visual essay by author and critic Kat Ellinger
Archival “interview special” featuring Miike and cast members Goro Kishitani and Narimi Arimori
Archival “making-of” featurette
Archival “making-of” teaser
Archival press release interviews featuring Miike, Kishitani and Arimori
Archival “premiere special” featuring Miike, Kishitani and Arimori
Theatrical trailer
Imagery gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan
BLU-RAY DISC
SRP: 69.95
Street Date: 09/08/20
Genre: Horror
Language: Japanese
Run Time: 225 mins
Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway
What do you get when you cross Afro-futurism, Cold War paranoia, the dystopian world of Philip K. Dick and 60s exploitation cinema, along with a hefty dose of Lynchian surrealism? The answer: Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway, the second feature by Miguel Llansó (Crumbs) and one of the most striking and original films you’ll see all year. The year is 2035, and Special Agent Gagano (Daniel Tadesse, Crumbs) dreams of leaving the CIA to open a business with his wife Malin (Gerda-Annette Allikas). Before he can hand in his resignation, however, a strange cyber virus attacks Psychobook, the CIA’s operating system, forcing Gagano to enter cyberspace via virtual reality to combat the threat. Before long, however, the virus starts to reach out into the real world, destabilising the fragile socio-political order for its own ends, and Gagano, trapped in the VR world, must find a way out before it’s too late. Featuring encounters with an Irish-accented Joseph Stalin, a kung-fu-fighting Batman, and Jesus Christ himself, to name but a few, Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway is absurd, audacious and like nothing you’ve ever experienced before.
Bonus Materials
High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
New audio commentary by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Anton Bitel
From Talinn with Love, a new visual essay by critic Will Webb exploring the influence of exploitation cinema on Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway
Exclusive audio interview with director Miguel Llansó, conducted by critic Josh Hurtado
Crumbs (2015), Miguel Llansó’s feature directorial debut and spiritual predecessor to Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (Limited Edition Exclusive)
Chigger Ale (2013) and Night in the Wild Garden (2015), two short films by Miguel Llansó
Original proof-of-concept trailer
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Austin Hinderliter
Double-sided fold-out poster
Limited Edition illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway by Barry Forshaw and Crumbs by Anton Bitel
Limited Edition of 2000 copies
BLU-RAY
SRP: 39.95
Street Date: 09/15/20
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Run Time: 83 mins
Ivansxtc
Danny Huston, Peter Weller and Lisa Enos star in this biting satire on the behind-the-scenes of the Hollywood film industry, with all its drink and drug-fueled excess, from director Bernard Rose (Candyman, Paperhouse). Opening with the death of its titular protagonist, ivansxtc goes back in time to chart the final days of hot-shot Tinseltown agent Ivan Beckman (Huston) and his fast-paced, wheeler-dealer lifestyle, which will ultimately lead him to an early grave after a shock cancer diagnosis. Loosely based on Leo Tolstoy’s celebrated 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and featuring a searing performance by Danny Huston at its core and wonderfully sleazy turn from Peter Weller as Ivan’s biggest client, ivansxtc is a powerful meditation on life, death and morality set against the glitzy backdrop of La La Land.
Bonus Materials
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Robert J Simpson
Extended Party Sequence Outtakes
Charlotte’s Story – a brand new documentary on the making of the film from Lisa Enos
Q&A with Lisa Enos, director Bernard Rose, actors Danny Huston, Peter Weller and Adam Krentzman from a 2018 screening at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles
Original Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
Archival interviews with Lisa Enos and Bernard Rose from the 2001 Santa Barbara Film Festival
Theatrical Cut presented in two versions; the preferred director’s version and the producer’s version, with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Extended Producer’s Cut with Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio, presented for the first time
Brand new commentary for the Extended Cut with co-writer/producer/ actor Lisa Enos and filmmaker Richard Wolstencroft
BLU-RAY
SRP: 39.95
Street Date: 09/29/20
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Run Time: 92 mins
