Arrow Video Has Italian Cops, Prostitutes, Cowboys, & Hairdressers In June

Disc Announcements, News

Summer is coming and you’ll want a reason to stay up late since there’s no school in the morning. Arrow Video kicks off the season with four Blu-ray sets that can keep you awake until breakfast. The Stylist is a recent release that played numerous festivals. It’s all about a creepy hairstylist who might not have a problem trimming your bangs, ears and throat. Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 features examples of Poliziotteschi. As Giallo was losing steam, Italian producers wanted to cash in on Dirty Harry and other American movies with cops who don’t play by the book. They made over a hundred films featuring badasses with a badge and serious guns. This boxset features Savage Three, Like Rabid Dogs, Colt 38 Special Squad, Highway Racer, and No, The Case is Happily Resolved. These films aren’t for people who expect everyone to play by the rules. You have the right to press play.

Summer is coming and you’ll want a reason to stay up late since there’s no school in the morning. Arrow Video kicks off the season with four Blu-ray sets that can keep you awake until breakfast. The Stylist is a recent release that played numerous festivals. It’s all about a creepy hairstylist who might not have a problem trimming your bangs, ears and throat. Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 features examples of Poliziotteschi. As Giallo was losing steam, Italian producers wanted to cash in on Dirty Harry and other American movies with cops who don’t play by the book. They made over a hundred films featuring badasses with a badge and serious guns. This boxset features Savage Three, Like Rabid Dogs, Colt 38 Special Squad, Highway Racer, and No, The Case is Happily Resolved. These films aren’t for people who expect everyone to play by the rules. You have the right to press play.

Irezumi is a tense revenge drama from Japan made in 1966. Otsuya has not merely been forced into becoming a prostitute, but marked as owned by a giant spider tattoo on her back. She refuses to accept her role. When she rebels, she goes after the men who have wronged her. This was directed by Yasuzo Masumura whose masterpiece Giants and Toys had finally been released in America recently. This is also the US debut of Irezumi. Finally there’s Sam Peckinpah’s Major Dundee. This was Sam getting to work with mega-star Charlton Heston (Planet of the Apes). Also along for a ride through the wild west is Richard Harris (Orca). The boxset contains both the 136 minute version and the 123 wide theatrical release. Peckinpah hated what the studio did to his film. You can watch both version and decide.

Here’s the press release from Arrow Video with all the details:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New from Arrow Video US
THE STYLIST [Blu-ray] (6/8)
YEARS OF LEAD: FIVE CLASSIC ITALIAN CRIME THRILLERS 1973-1977[3-Disc Limited Edition Blu-ray] (6/22)
IREZUMI [Blu-ray] (6/22)
MAJOR DUNDEE [2-Disc Limited Edition Blu-ray] (6/29)
via MVD Entertainment Group


A Modern Slasher, A Legendary Debut, and a Misunderstood Western Headline Arrow’s First Summer Lineup of 2021

On June 8, Arrow will kick off their June lineup with the release of The Stylist, a sleek slasher about a lonely hairstylist obsessed with the lives of her clients and driven to a world of murder. The film was a hit on the festival circuit, earning awards and nominations for director Jill Gevargizian and star Najarra Townsend. The limited-edition 2-disc Blu-ray includes the film and soundtrack, plus a selection of bonus features including the original short film that inspired the movie.

June 22 will see Arrow release two titles. First up is Yasuzô Masumura’s revenge tale, Irezumi. Otsuya is forced into a life of prostitution and marked with a spider tattoo to signify she is the property of a man. But Otsuya fights back and seeks vengeance on the men that have mistreated her. Restored in 4K and making its debut release outside of Japan, Irezumi is a landmark film featuring some of the country’s most legendary talent in front and behind the camera.

Also releasing June 22 is Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977. This limited-edition box set is not only a must-own for fans poliziotteschi but the perfect starter kit for those looking to get familiar with the Italian action genre. These five hyper-violent films come from some of Italy’s best genre directors and feature a who’s who of Euro-cult stars. All five films are restored from the original camera negatives and special features include brand-new interviews with cast, crew, and film historians. The set includes Savage Three, Like Rabid Dogs, Colt 38 Special Squad, Highway Racer, and No, The Case is Happily Resolved.

And finally, Sam Peckinpah’s Major Dundee gets a Limited Edition 2-disc Blu-ray release on June 29. Set during the American Civil War, the film was panned during its 1965 release, but has seen reappraisal in recent years and is now considered to be one the most violent and realistic westerns ever made. Starring a slew of icons including Charlton Heston and Richard Harris, and featuring the beautiful cinematography of Sam Leavitt, Major Dundee is more than worthy of a second life. This 2-disc includes both the original theatrical release and the 136-minute extended cut.
The Stylist


Years Of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 [Limited Edition]

Classic Italian crime thrillers which tapped into the violence & instability that defined the so-called ‘Years of Lead’

Years Of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 [Limited Edition]

List Price: $99.95   

The 1970s were a time of intense uncertainty and instability in Italy. Political corruption and widespread acts of left and right-wing terrorism, alongside a breakdown in social cohesion and a loss of trust in public institutions such as the government and police, created a febrile atmosphere of cynicism, paranoia and unexploded rage. Throughout this period, these sentiments found expression in a series of brutal, often morally ambiguous crime thrillers which tapped into the atmosphere of violence and instability that defined the so-called Years of Lead. This box set gathers five films from the heyday of the “poliziotteschi” – the umbrella term used to describe this diverse body of films. In Vittorio Salerno’s Savage Three (1975) and Mario Imperoli’s Like Rabid Dogs (1976), random acts of violence committed by vicious young sociopaths threaten the fragile fabric of respectable society. In Massimo Dallamano’s Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) and Stelvio Massi’s Highway Racer (1977), renegade cops battling against red tape and political corruption turn to new and morally dubious methods to dispense justice. Finally, class dynamics are explored in Salerno’s No, the Case is Happily Resolved (1973) as an innocent man finds himself under suspicion for a savage crime committed by a highly respected member of society. Featuring an impressive line-up of Euro-cult stars, including Joe Dallesandro (The Climber), Ivan Rassimov (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), Maurizio Merli (Violent City) and Enrico Maria Salerno (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), this collection of stylish, hard-hitting Euro-crime thrillers showcases the range and breadth of the genre and is a must-have for newcomers and grizzled veterans alike.High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all five films, restored from the original camera negatives, including a brand new 2K restoration of Colt 38 Special Squad exclusive to this release

Original lossless mono Italian audio

Original lossless mono English audio on Colt 38 Special Squad

English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack on Colt 38 Special Squad

New visual essay by critic Will Webb

Interview with director Vittorio Salerno and actress Martine Brochard on Savage Three

Interview with actor Joe Dallesandro on Savage Three

Interview with cinematographer Romano Albani and historian Fabio Melelli on Like Rabid Dogs

Interview with assistant director Claudio Bernabei on Like Rabid Dogs

Like Rabid Dogs music sampler

Interview and introduction by composer Stelvio Cipriani on Colt 38 Special Squad

Interview with editor Antonio Siciliano on Colt 38 Special Squad

Interview with historian Roberto Curti on Highway Racer

Interview with director Vittorio Salerno on No, the Case is Happily Resolved

No, the Case is Happily Resolved alternate ending

Trailers

Poster galleries

Reversible sleeves featuring original artwork for all five films

Booklet featuring new writing by Troy Howarth, Michael Mackenzie, Rachael Nisbet, Kat Ellinger and James Oliver

Irezumi

WHEN A SEDUCTIVE WOMAN GETS A SPIDER TATTOO… SHE WANTS VENGEANCE ON THOSE WHO MISTREAT HER!

Irezumi

List Price: $39.95  

Drawn from the pen of one of Japan’s foremost writers of the 20th century, Junichiro Tanizaki (A Fool’s Love, The Makioka Sisters), Irezumi is a stylish tale of lust, betrayal and revenge directed by Yasuzo Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast).

Masumura’s muse Ayako Wakao (The Blue Sky Maiden, Red Angel) stars as Otsuya, the daughter of a rich merchant, who is tempted by her lover, Shinsuke, a lowly employee of her father’s, to elope. During their flight, Otsuya’s beauty attracts the gaze of Seikichi, a mysterious master tattooist who sees her pristine white skin as the perfect canvas for his art. The image of the large demonic spider that he emblazons across Otsuya’s back marks her as the property of another man, radically altering her relationships with all around her as her personality transforms under its influence.

Available for the first time outside of Japan in a new 4K restoration, Irezumi sports some of Japanese cinema’s most respected talent of its day both in front of and behind the camera. The bewitching cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa (Rashomon, Ugetsu) captures the sensual atmosphere of the period setting, while the script by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba, Kuroneko) lends a modern twist to this feverish meditation on obsession and the act of creation.

Bonus Materials

  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a new 4K scan
  • Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio
  • Optional English subtitles
  • Brand new audio commentary by Japanese cinema scholar David Desser
  • Newly filmed introduction by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns
  • Out of the Darkness, a brand new visual essay by Asian cinema scholar Daisuke Miyao
  • Original Trailer
  • Image Gallery
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Thomas Lamarre and Daisuke Miyao

Major Dundee [2-Disc Limited Edition]

THE SCREEN STRETCHES TO NEW HORIZONS TO TELL THE EPIC STORY OF THE SOUTHWEST!

Major Dundee [2-Disc Limited Edition]

List Price: $59.95  

After making his first bonafide classic in Ride the High Country, director Sam Peckinpah took a step towards the epic with Major Dundee. The film would, in many ways, define the rest of his career both on screen and off, as the drama behind the camera matched the action in front of it.

Charlton Heston stars as Major Amos Dundee, a vainglorious Union Cavalry officer, who mounts an expedition to hunt down Apache war chief Sierra Charriba. Building his own army of criminals, ex-slaves and Confederate POWs – among them one Captain Ben Tyreen (Richard Harris), whose intense former friendship with Dundee is tainted with a sense of betrayal on both sides – Dundee heads into Mexico, his eye fixed firmly on a last shot at greatness.

Legendarily acerbic, Major Dundee would be the first time that Peckinpah had a movie taken away from him. While a director’s cut may be lost to us, this Limited Edition shows us the thrilling, morally complex epic that Peckinpah was aiming for. Beautifully shot and with a stellar supporting cast including James Coburn, Warren Oates, and L.Q. Jones, it remains a stunning achievement and an essential experience for anyone interested in the life and cinema of “Bloody Sam.”

Bonus Materials

  • TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS
  • The 136-minute Extended Version of the film from a 4K scan, as well as the original 122-minute Theatrical Version
  • 60-page booklet featuring new writing by Farran Nehme, Roderick Heath and Jeremy Carr plus select archive material
  • Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
  • Fold out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
  • DISC ONE – EXTENDED VERSION
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a 4K scan by Sony Pictures
  • DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio with new score by Christopher Caliendo
  • Lossless original mono audio with original score by Daniele Amfitheatrof
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Audio commentary with Nick Redman, David Weddle, Garner Simmons, Paul Seydor
  • Audio commentary by critics Glenn Erickson & Alan K. Rode
  • Audio commentary by Glenn Erickson
  • Moby Dick on Horseback, a brand new visual essay by David Cairns
  • Passion & Poetry: The Dundee Odyssey, a feature length documentary about the making of Major Dundee by Mike Siegel, featuring James Coburn, Senta Berger, Mario Adorf, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Gordon Dawson
  • Passion & Poetry: Peckinpah Anecdotes, nine actors talk about working with legendary director Sam Peckinpah, featuring Kris Kristofferson, Ernest Borgnine, James Coburn, David Warner, Ali MacGraw, L.Q. Jones, Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong, Isela Vega
  • Mike Siegel: About the Passion & Poetry Project, in which filmmaker Mike Siegel talks about his beginnings and his ongoing historical project about director Sam Peckinpah
  • Extensive stills galleries, featuring rare on set, behind the scenes, and marketing materials
  • 2005 re-release trailer
  • DISC TWO – THEATRICAL VERSION (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE)
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a 2K scan
  • Original lossless mono audio
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Riding for a Fall, a vintage behind the scenes featurette
  • Extended/deleted scenes
  • Silent Outtakes
  • Select extended/deleted scenes and outtakes with commentary by historian and critic Glenn Erickson giving context on how they were intended to appear in Peckinpah’s vision of the film
  • Original US, UK and German theatrical trailers
  • Stills gallery

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Irezumi is a tense revenge drama from Japan made in 1966. Otsuya has not merely been forced into becoming a prostitute, but marked as owned by a giant spider tattoo on her back. She refuses to accept her role. When she rebels, she goes after the men who have wronged her. This was directed by Yasuzo Masumura whose masterpiece Giants and Toys had finally been released in America recently. This is also the US debut of Irezumi. Finally there’s Sam Peckinpah’s Major Dundee. This was Sam getting to work with mega-star Charlton Heston (Planet of the Apes). Also along for a ride through the wild west is Richard Harris (Orca). The boxset contains both the 136 minute version and the 123 wide theatrical release. Peckinpah hated what the studio did to his film. You can watch both version and decide.

Here’s the press release from Arrow Video with all the details:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New from Arrow Video US
THE STYLIST [Blu-ray] (6/8)
YEARS OF LEAD: FIVE CLASSIC ITALIAN CRIME THRILLERS 1973-1977[3-Disc Limited Edition Blu-ray] (6/22)
IREZUMI [Blu-ray] (6/22)
MAJOR DUNDEE [2-Disc Limited Edition Blu-ray] (6/29)
via MVD Entertainment Group
A Modern Slasher, A Legendary Debut, and a Misunderstood Western Headline Arrow’s First Summer Lineup of 2021

On June 8, Arrow will kick off their June lineup with the release of The Stylist, a sleek slasher about a lonely hairstylist obsessed with the lives of her clients and driven to a world of murder. The film was a hit on the festival circuit, earning awards and nominations for director Jill Gevargizian and star Najarra Townsend. The limited-edition 2-disc Blu-ray includes the film and soundtrack, plus a selection of bonus features including the original short film that inspired the movie.

June 22 will see Arrow release two titles. First up is Yasuzô Masumura’s revenge tale, Irezumi. Otsuya is forced into a life of prostitution and marked with a spider tattoo to signify she is the property of a man. But Otsuya fights back and seeks vengeance on the men that have mistreated her. Restored in 4K and making its debut release outside of Japan, Irezumi is a landmark film featuring some of the country’s most legendary talent in front and behind the camera.

Also releasing June 22 is Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977. This limited-edition box set is not only a must-own for fans poliziotteschi but the perfect starter kit for those looking to get familiar with the Italian action genre. These five hyper-violent films come from some of Italy’s best genre directors and feature a who’s who of Euro-cult stars. All five films are restored from the original camera negatives and special features include brand-new interviews with cast, crew, and film historians. The set includes Savage Three, Like Rabid Dogs, Colt 38 Special Squad, Highway Racer, and No, The Case is Happily Resolved.

And finally, Sam Peckinpah’s Major Dundee gets a Limited Edition 2-disc Blu-ray release on June 29. Set during the American Civil War, the film was panned during its 1965 release, but has seen reappraisal in recent years and is now considered to be one the most violent and realistic westerns ever made. Starring a slew of icons including Charlton Heston and Richard Harris, and featuring the beautiful cinematography of Sam Leavitt, Major Dundee is more than worthy of a second life. This 2-disc includes both the original theatrical release and the 136-minute extended cut.
The Stylist
We all want what we don’t have
The Stylist
List Price: $39.95  
Obsession gets a makeover in The Stylist, a deliciously twisted slice of female-led psychological horror, nominated for the New Visions Award for Best Motion Picture at the 2020 Sitges International Film Festival and based on co-writer/director Jill Gevargizian’s award-winning short film of the same name. We all dream of being someone else… but for Claire (Najarra Townsend, Contracted), that dream goes from an obsession to a living nightmare. Hairstylist by day, serial killer and collector of scalps by night, Claire’s lonely existence is thrown into turmoil when her regular client, Olivia (Brea Grant, After Midnight, Lucky), asks her to style her hair for her wedding day. Increasingly fixated on Olivia’s seemingly flawless life, Claire vows to lock up her scalp collection and change her ways for good – only to discover that repressing your deadly desires is easier said than done… Featuring striking visuals and pitch-perfect performances from its talented cast, The Stylist offers viewers “a delicately deranged glimpse into social anxiety and loneliness” (Slashfilm) – a bold and mesmerizing debut feature from a filmmaker to watch.
Bonus Materials
2-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Limited Edition Blu-ray and Soundtrack CD collection
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
Double-sided fold-out poster
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Emma Westwood and a gallery of exclusive location scouting photographs
DISC ONE (BLU-RAY) – THE STYLIST
Audio commentary by co-writer/producer/director Jill Gevargizian and actress/producer Najarra Townsend
Exclusive Blu-ray introduction by Jill Gevargizian
The Invisible Woman, an exclusive visual essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, exploring the themes of women’s labor and female killers in The Stylist and horror cinema
The Stylist – Behind the Scenes, a series of eight behind-the-scenes featurettes on different aspects of the film’s production, featuring interviews with the cast and crew
Location scouting featurette
Outtakes
Original Kickstarter video
The original 2016 The Stylist short film directed by Jill Gevargizian and starring Najarra Townsend, that inspired the main feature
Pity, a 2016 short film directed by The Stylist’s editor, John Pata, and executive produced by Jill Gevargizian, with an optional introduction by Pata
Teaser trailer
Theatrical trailer
Image galleries
DISC TWO (CD) – THE STYLIST SOUNDTRACK (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE)
CD containing the original The Stylist Soundtrack

Years Of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 [Limited Edition]

Classic Italian crime thrillers which tapped into the violence & instability that defined the so-called ‘Years of Lead’

Years Of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 [Limited Edition]

List Price: $99.95   

The 1970s were a time of intense uncertainty and instability in Italy. Political corruption and widespread acts of left and right-wing terrorism, alongside a breakdown in social cohesion and a loss of trust in public institutions such as the government and police, created a febrile atmosphere of cynicism, paranoia and unexploded rage. Throughout this period, these sentiments found expression in a series of brutal, often morally ambiguous crime thrillers which tapped into the atmosphere of violence and instability that defined the so-called Years of Lead. This box set gathers five films from the heyday of the “poliziotteschi” – the umbrella term used to describe this diverse body of films. In Vittorio Salerno’s Savage Three (1975) and Mario Imperoli’s Like Rabid Dogs (1976), random acts of violence committed by vicious young sociopaths threaten the fragile fabric of respectable society. In Massimo Dallamano’s Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) and Stelvio Massi’s Highway Racer (1977), renegade cops battling against red tape and political corruption turn to new and morally dubious methods to dispense justice. Finally, class dynamics are explored in Salerno’s No, the Case is Happily Resolved (1973) as an innocent man finds himself under suspicion for a savage crime committed by a highly respected member of society. Featuring an impressive line-up of Euro-cult stars, including Joe Dallesandro (The Climber), Ivan Rassimov (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), Maurizio Merli (Violent City) and Enrico Maria Salerno (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), this collection of stylish, hard-hitting Euro-crime thrillers showcases the range and breadth of the genre and is a must-have for newcomers and grizzled veterans alike.High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all five films, restored from the original camera negatives, including a brand new 2K restoration of Colt 38 Special Squad exclusive to this release

Original lossless mono Italian audio

Original lossless mono English audio on Colt 38 Special Squad

English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack on Colt 38 Special Squad

New visual essay by critic Will Webb

Interview with director Vittorio Salerno and actress Martine Brochard on Savage Three

Interview with actor Joe Dallesandro on Savage Three

Interview with cinematographer Romano Albani and historian Fabio Melelli on Like Rabid Dogs

Interview with assistant director Claudio Bernabei on Like Rabid Dogs

Like Rabid Dogs music sampler

Interview and introduction by composer Stelvio Cipriani on Colt 38 Special Squad

Interview with editor Antonio Siciliano on Colt 38 Special Squad

Interview with historian Roberto Curti on Highway Racer

Interview with director Vittorio Salerno on No, the Case is Happily Resolved

No, the Case is Happily Resolved alternate ending

Trailers

Poster galleries

Reversible sleeves featuring original artwork for all five films

Booklet featuring new writing by Troy Howarth, Michael Mackenzie, Rachael Nisbet, Kat Ellinger and James Oliver

Irezumi

WHEN A SEDUCTIVE WOMAN GETS A SPIDER TATTOO… SHE WANTS VENGEANCE ON THOSE WHO MISTREAT HER!

Irezumi

List Price: $39.95  

Drawn from the pen of one of Japan’s foremost writers of the 20th century, Junichiro Tanizaki (A Fool’s Love, The Makioka Sisters), Irezumi is a stylish tale of lust, betrayal and revenge directed by Yasuzo Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast).

Masumura’s muse Ayako Wakao (The Blue Sky Maiden, Red Angel) stars as Otsuya, the daughter of a rich merchant, who is tempted by her lover, Shinsuke, a lowly employee of her father’s, to elope. During their flight, Otsuya’s beauty attracts the gaze of Seikichi, a mysterious master tattooist who sees her pristine white skin as the perfect canvas for his art. The image of the large demonic spider that he emblazons across Otsuya’s back marks her as the property of another man, radically altering her relationships with all around her as her personality transforms under its influence.

Available for the first time outside of Japan in a new 4K restoration, Irezumi sports some of Japanese cinema’s most respected talent of its day both in front of and behind the camera. The bewitching cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa (Rashomon, Ugetsu) captures the sensual atmosphere of the period setting, while the script by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba, Kuroneko) lends a modern twist to this feverish meditation on obsession and the act of creation.

Bonus Materials

  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a new 4K scan
  • Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio
  • Optional English subtitles
  • Brand new audio commentary by Japanese cinema scholar David Desser
  • Newly filmed introduction by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns
  • Out of the Darkness, a brand new visual essay by Asian cinema scholar Daisuke Miyao
  • Original Trailer
  • Image Gallery
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Thomas Lamarre and Daisuke Miyao

Major Dundee [2-Disc Limited Edition]

THE SCREEN STRETCHES TO NEW HORIZONS TO TELL THE EPIC STORY OF THE SOUTHWEST!

Major Dundee [2-Disc Limited Edition]

List Price: $59.95  

After making his first bonafide classic in Ride the High Country, director Sam Peckinpah took a step towards the epic with Major Dundee. The film would, in many ways, define the rest of his career both on screen and off, as the drama behind the camera matched the action in front of it.

Charlton Heston stars as Major Amos Dundee, a vainglorious Union Cavalry officer, who mounts an expedition to hunt down Apache war chief Sierra Charriba. Building his own army of criminals, ex-slaves and Confederate POWs – among them one Captain Ben Tyreen (Richard Harris), whose intense former friendship with Dundee is tainted with a sense of betrayal on both sides – Dundee heads into Mexico, his eye fixed firmly on a last shot at greatness.

Legendarily acerbic, Major Dundee would be the first time that Peckinpah had a movie taken away from him. While a director’s cut may be lost to us, this Limited Edition shows us the thrilling, morally complex epic that Peckinpah was aiming for. Beautifully shot and with a stellar supporting cast including James Coburn, Warren Oates, and L.Q. Jones, it remains a stunning achievement and an essential experience for anyone interested in the life and cinema of “Bloody Sam.”

Bonus Materials

  • TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS
  • The 136-minute Extended Version of the film from a 4K scan, as well as the original 122-minute Theatrical Version
  • 60-page booklet featuring new writing by Farran Nehme, Roderick Heath and Jeremy Carr plus select archive material
  • Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
  • Fold out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
  • DISC ONE – EXTENDED VERSION
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a 4K scan by Sony Pictures
  • DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio with new score by Christopher Caliendo
  • Lossless original mono audio with original score by Daniele Amfitheatrof
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Audio commentary with Nick Redman, David Weddle, Garner Simmons, Paul Seydor
  • Audio commentary by critics Glenn Erickson & Alan K. Rode
  • Audio commentary by Glenn Erickson
  • Moby Dick on Horseback, a brand new visual essay by David Cairns
  • Passion & Poetry: The Dundee Odyssey, a feature length documentary about the making of Major Dundee by Mike Siegel, featuring James Coburn, Senta Berger, Mario Adorf, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Gordon Dawson
  • Passion & Poetry: Peckinpah Anecdotes, nine actors talk about working with legendary director Sam Peckinpah, featuring Kris Kristofferson, Ernest Borgnine, James Coburn, David Warner, Ali MacGraw, L.Q. Jones, Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong, Isela Vega
  • Mike Siegel: About the Passion & Poetry Project, in which filmmaker Mike Siegel talks about his beginnings and his ongoing historical project about director Sam Peckinpah
  • Extensive stills galleries, featuring rare on set, behind the scenes, and marketing materials
  • 2005 re-release trailer
  • DISC TWO – THEATRICAL VERSION (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE)
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a 2K scan
  • Original lossless mono audio
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Riding for a Fall, a vintage behind the scenes featurette
  • Extended/deleted scenes
  • Silent Outtakes
  • Select extended/deleted scenes and outtakes with commentary by historian and critic Glenn Erickson giving context on how they were intended to appear in Peckinpah’s vision of the film
  • Original US, UK and German theatrical trailers
  • Stills gallery
Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.