Spring is on the way and Arrow Video is ready to welcome in the season with three films that reemerge. The House That Screamed was a major Spanish horror export and now the complete cut is finally arriving in America. The upcoming Blu-ray features the Spanish cut that’s 11 minutes longer than the prints that played US theaters in 1971. Now you’ll get the proper pacing of this tale of a haunted boarding school for wayward girls. Black Sunday was a major thriller when it came out in 1977. The movie dared to ask what would happen if someone turned the Goodyear Blimp into a weapon and attacked The Super Bowl. A group of terrorists are willing to turn America’s big day into a bloodbath. The only person that can stop them is the Orca’s captain from Jaws. The movie was actually shot at Super Bowl X. If you’re a fan of the Dallas Cowboys or the Pittsburgh Steelers, this is the perfect way to see highlights from the tightly contested game. You’ll get to see memorable plays in 1080p widescreen. Knockabout is a treat from Golden Harvest. Yuen Biao is finally given a leading role. His longtime friend Sammo Hung directs the film about two conmen who pick the wrong mark. They beg the old man to teach them his martial arts secrets. Later they realize their true master is man that knows Monkey style played by Sammo.
Here’s the press release from Arrow Video:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New from Arrow Video US
The House That Screamed (3/7/23))
Black Sunday (3/28/23)
Knockabout (3/28/23)
via MVD Entertainment Group
| Arrow kicks off March with a Haunted House, the Super Bowl, and a Martial Arts Extravaganza! |
| On March 7th, Arrow releases an important predecessor of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, director Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s Spanish horror classic The House that Screamed, fully restored to the director’s full-length version. The story focuses on the newest student to a strict 19th century boarding school for young wayward women, Thérèse (Cristina Galbó), who instantly begins to feel unwelcome upon her arrival. Adapting to an environment where her classmates bully her and the headmistress (Lilli Palmer) and her protégé (Mary Maude) offer strict and sadistic punishment, there is also the mysterious disappearance of her fellow students to contend with. The Blu-Ray edition of The House That Screamed features an all-new 2K restoration from the original negative presented in two versions: the 105-minute uncut version, and the 94-minute US theatrical version. Also included on this disc are a new audio commentary by critic Anna Bogutskaya; interviews with actor John Moulder-Brown and Mary Maude, screenwriter Juan Tébar, the director’s son Alejandro Ibáñez, and Spanish horror expert Dr Antonio Lázaro-Reboll; alternative footage from the original Spanish theatrical version, trailers, TV and radio spots, an image gallery and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch. Next up on March 28th, Arrow scores a dramatic touchdown with a film that Rotten Tomatoes calls “a smart, tense thriller,” director John Frankenheimer’s Black Sunday. Based on the best-selling debut novel from Thomas Harris (Silence of the Lambs), the film pits an Israeli agent (Robert Shaw) against a vengeful Vietnam vet-turned-terrorist (Bruce Dern), who plans to detonate a bomb-laden blimp over the biggest sporting event of all…Super Bowl X! Methodical, exacting, intelligent and meticulously produced, Frankenheimer’s film had a major influence on filmmaker Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) and on films such as Die Hard. The Blu-Ray presentation features the original restored mono audio for the first time in high definition, and includes a new audio commentary by film scholar Josh Nelson, a visual essay by critic Sergio Angelini, The Directors: John Frankenheimer – an hour-long TV program about the director’s career, an image gallery and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain. Also on March 28th, Arrow delivers the action-packed cult classic Knockabout, a film “filled to the brim and overflowing with martial arts action,” (City on Fire). Directed by and starring Sammo Hung, the film notably gave acrobat/actor Yuen Biao his first leading role. “Featuring one of the greatest action finales in the history of Hong Kong cinema,” (Gary Tooze, DVD Beaver), Knockabout tells the story of two con men brothers Yipao (Yuen Biao) and Taipao (Bryan Leung), who realize that their most recent target, Silver Fox (Lau Kar Wing), is a martial arts master who then reluctantly agrees to train them. Arrow’s Blu-Ray presentation features 2K restorations from the original elements of both the original HK theatrical cut and the shorter export cut. Also included on the disc are two commentary tracks by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng & Michael Worth, and Mike Leeder & Arne Venema; interviews with director Sammo Hung, actor Bryan “Beardy” Leung Kar-Yan, and Grandmaster Chan Sau Chang; a deleted “Red Room” scene, featuring stars Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung in a teaser promo for the film’s Japanese release; original theatrical trailer, and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady. The House That Screamed One By One They Will Die!  Spain’s first major horror film production, The House that Screamed is a stylish gothic tale of tortured passions and bloody murder that bridges the bloody gap between Psycho and Suspiria. Thérèse (Cristina Galbó) is the latest arrival at the boarding school for wayward girls run under the stern, authoritarian eye of Mme Fourneau (Lilli Palmer). As the newcomer becomes accustomed to the strict routines, the whip-hand hierarchies among the girls and their furtive extra-curricular methods of release from within the forbidding walls of institutional life, she learns that several of her fellow students have recently vanished mysteriously. Meanwhile, tensions grow within this isolated hothouse environment as Mme Fourneau’s callow but curious 15-year-old son Louis (John Moulder-Brown) ignores his mother’s strict orders not to get close to the “tainted” ladies under her ward. Directed by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (Who Can Kill a Child?), this landmark title in Spanish genre cinema has been restored to its director’s original full-length vision for the first time. Media Watch trailer » Bonus Materials Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films High Definition (1080p) Blu-rayTM presentations of the 105-minute uncut version titled The Finishing School (La Residencia), and the 94-minute US theatrical version titled The House That Screamed, via seamless branching Original lossless English mono audio on both versions, and lossless Spanish audio on the uncut version Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on both versions, and optional English subtitles for the Spanish audio Brand new audio commentary by critic Anna Bogutskaya This Boy’s Innocence, a previously unreleased interview with actor John Moulder-Brown Archive interview with Mary Maude, from the 2012 edition of the Festival of Fantastic Films All About My “Mama”, a brand new interview with Juan Tébar, author of the original story The Legacy of Terror, a brand new interview with the director’s son, Alejandro Ibáñez Screaming the House Down, a brand new interview with Spanish horror expert Dr Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, discussing the history of the film and its director Alternative footage from the original Spanish theatrical version Original trailers, TV and radio spots Image gallery Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Shelagh Rowan-Legg and double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch Black Sunday It Could Be Tomorrow! IT COULD BE TOMORROW! Throughout the 1970s, a wave of daring disaster movies gripped cinemagoers with their combination of bravura spectacle and “ripped from the headlines” plotlines. Among these, John Frankenheimer’s (The Manchurian Candidate, Ronin) Black Sunday endures to this day as among the cream of the crop. Robert Shaw (Jaws, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) stars as Major Kabakov, an Israeli agent attempting to avert a terrorist atrocity on US soil. The weapon: a blimp laced with explosives and piloted by Michael Lander (Bruce Dern, Silent Running), a troubled Vietnam vet driven to strike back against the nation he believes has betrayed him. The target: the Orange Bowl stadium, Miami. What follows is a nail-biting race against time culminating in a spectacular aerial climax that will determine the fate of 80,000 spectators. Adapted from the best-selling debut novel by Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs) and featuring virtuoso performances by a cast headlined by Dern, Shaw and Marthe Keller (Marathon Man), Black Sunday is a nerve-shredding, best-in-class suspense thriller from a filmmaker at the top of his game. Media Watch trailer » Bonus Materials High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation Original restored lossless mono audio, presented for the first time on Blu-ray Optional restored lossless 5.1 and 2.0 stereo audio options Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Brand new audio commentary by film scholar Josh Nelson It Could Be Tomorrow – brand new visual essay by critic Sergio Angelini, exploring the film’s adaptation and production, and its place within the pantheon of 70s terrorism thrillers The Directors: John Frankenheimer – an hour-long portrait of the director from 2003, including interviews with Frankenheimer, Kirk Douglas, Samuel L. Jackson, Roy Scheider, Rod Steiger and others Image gallery Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw Knockabout The Powerduo Returns in this Martial Arts Cult Classic Directed By and Starring Sammo Hung! Having established himself as Hong Kong’s premier action choreographer throughout the 1970s, Sammo Hung ended the decade by directing a non-stop assault of kung fu classics for Golden Harvest, starting with the brutal Iron-Fisted Monk. But it would be his 1979 directorial effort that would finally give his Peking Opera brother-in-arms, acrobatic ace Yuen Biao, his first chance at leading man status: Knockabout! Brothers and partners-in-crime, Yipao (Biao) and Taipao (Warriors Two‘s “Beardy” Leung Kar-Yan), have made an up-and-down career out of being hustlers, conning everyone from bank tellers to casino dealers. One day, they push their luck with the wrong man, martial arts master Chia Wu Dao (legendary Shaw Brothers fight choreographer Lau Kar-Wing), but convince him to reluctantly become their teacher in hand-to-hand combat. But upon learning Chia’s dangerous true nature, Yipao turns to another master: a portly blinking beggar (Hung) trained in the ways of the monkey fist. Will this new skill defeat Chia’s secret snake style? Combining Hung’s hard-hitting choreography with the Mo Lei Tau style of humor that was increasing in popularity at the time, Knockabout is a thrill-a-minute action spectacular that would pave the way for later masterpieces such as Hung and Biao’s subsequent collaboration, the Wing Chun tour-de-force The Prodigal Son. Media Watch trailer » Bonus Materials 2K restorations from the original elements by Fortune Star of both the original HK Theatrical Cut and the shorter Export Cut High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio for the HK Theatrical Cut, plus lossless English mono for both cuts Two choices of English dubbed audio for the HK Theatrical Cut: the original export dub mono and the newer 5.1 dub created for international DVD presentations Optional English subtitles for the HK Theatrical Cut and English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on the Export Cut Commentary on the HK Theatrical Cut by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng & Michael Worth Commentary on the Export Cut by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema Archival interview with Sammo Hung Archival interview with Bryan “Beardy” Leung Kar-Yan Archival interview with Grandmaster Chan Sau Chang (aka The Monkey King), a master of Monkey Style kung fu Deleted “Red Room” scene, featuring stars Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung in a teaser promo for the film’s Japanese release Original theatrical trailer Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Simon Abrams and original press materials |
