The Stuff (April 19)
Dillinger (April 26)
The Zero Boys (April 26)
via MVD Entertainment Group
MVD Entertainment Group furthers the distribution of Arrow Video in the US with several new titles in April…
DEATH WALKS TWICE: TWO FILMS BY LUCIANO ERCOLI (Limited Edition Boxset)
The Italian horror classics finally premiere on Blu-ray in this beautifully restored, limited edition collection.
Emerging at the peak of the giallo boom of the early ’70s, Luciano Ercoli’s Death Walks films are two superlative examples of the genre linked by their shared casting of the stunning Nieves Navarro (billed under her adopted stage name of Susan Scott) as the lead woman in peril. In Death Walks on High Heels (1971), exotic dancer Nicole (Navarro), the daughter of a murdered jewel thief, finds herself terrorised by a black-clad assailant determined on procuring her father’s stolen gems. Fleeing Paris and her knife-wielding pursuer, Nicole arrives in London only to discover that death stalks her at every corner. Returning in Death Walks at Midnight (1972), Navarro stars as Valentina – a model who, in the midst of a drug-fuelled photoshoot, witnesses a brutal murder in the apartment opposite hers. But when it becomes clear that the savage slaying she describes relates to a crime that took place six months earlier, the police are at a loss – forcing Valentina to solve the mystery alone. Offering up all the glamour, perversity and narrative twists and turns that are typical of the giallo genre at its best, Luciano Ercoli’s Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight anticipate the super-stylized trappings of Brian De Palma’s early psycho thrillers (most notably, Dressed to Kill).
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Limited Edition boxed-set (3000 copies) containing Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight
- Brand new 2K restorations of the films from original film elements
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original Italian and English soundtracks in mono audio
- Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
- Limited Edition 60-page booklet containing new writing on the films from authors Danny Shipka (Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France), Troy Howarth (So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films) and writer Leonard Jacobs
DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS
- Audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas
- Introduction to the film by screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
- From Spain with Love – featurette comprising newly-edited archive footage of director Luciano Ercoli and actress Nieves Navarro, interviewed at their home in Barcelona
- Master of Giallo – screenwriter Gastaldi on Death Walks on High Heels and how to write a successful giallo
- Death Walks to the Beat – a career-spanning interview with High Heels composer Stelvio Cipriani
- Original Italian and English trailers
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT
- Audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas
- Introduction to the film by screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
- Extended TV version of the feature
- Crime Does Pay – screenwriter Gastaldi reflects on his career in the crime film-writing business, including a look at Death Walks at Midnight
- Desperately Seeking Susan – visual essay by Michael Mackenzie exploring the distinctive giallo collaborations between director Luciano Ercoli and star Nieves Navarro
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
Complete product details, hi res art, etc. can be found HERE.
DATE. MATE. RE-ANIMATE. The success of Stuart Gordon’s hit horror-comedy Re-animator meant that a sequel was all but inevitable. The resulting follow-up, Bride of Re-animator – this time helmed by director Brian Yuzna (Society, Return of the Living Dead 3) – would prove that there was a good deal more life left in the story of Dr. Herbert West and his ghoulish exploits. It is 8 years since the Miskatonic massacre. Unperturbed by the disastrous outcome of his previous meddling with the dead, Dr. West (again played by Jeffrey Combs) continues his research into the phenomenon of re-animation; only this time, he plans to create life – starting with the heart of his young protégé Dan’s dearly deceased, Meg Halsey. Surely nothing could go wrong? With special effects master Screaming Mad George (the man behind the infamous “shunting” sequence in Society) on hand to contribute a host of characteristically weird and wonderful creations – including zombified bats and a one-eyed finger spider – Bride of re-animator is a more than worthy successor to Gordon’s original cult classic.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 3-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 2K restorations of the Unrated and R-rated versions of the film, approved by director Brian Yuzna
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original Stereo 2.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
- Limited Edition Collector’s Booklet
- Limited Edition Packaging to be revealed
DISCS 1 & 2 – BLU-RAY/DVD – UNRATED VERSION
- Brand new 2K restoration of the Unrated version
- Brand new audio commentary with Brian Yuzna
- Audio Commentary with Brian Yuzna, star Jeffrey Combs, visual effects supervisor Tom
- Rainone and the effects team including John Buechler, Mike Deak, Bob Kurtzman, Howard Berger and Screaming Mad George
- Audio Commentary with stars Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott
- Brian Yuzna Remembers Bride of Re-animator – brand new featurette in which the director looks back at the making of the first Re-animator sequel
- Splatter Masters: The Special Effects Artists of Bride of Re-animator – Brand new FX featurette with a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Robert Kurtzman of KNB, Screaming Mad George, Tony Doublin and John Buechler
- Getting Ahead in Horror – archive making-of featurette
- Deleted Scenes
DISC 3 – BLU-RAY – R-RATED VERSION
- Brand new 2K restoration of the R-rated version
PLUS more to be announced!
Complete product details, hi res art, etc. can be found HERE.
OUTLAW: GANGSTER VIP COLLECTION [Blu-ray + DVD]
In 1968, acclaimed director Toshio Masuda (Rusty Knife, Tora! Tora! Tora!) and rising star Tetsuya Watari (Tokyo Drifter) teamed up for Outlaw: Gangster VIP, a gritty yakuza yarn based on the writings of real life ex-gangster Goro Fujita. The series offers up a depiction of the Japanese underworld that was unprecedented in its realism and its sympathetic portrayal of its protagonist as a man haunted by his past, unable to escape a life of crime. The success of the initial instalment spawned five sequels, continuing the story of the lone wolf “Slasher” Goro and his quest for redemption. The films presented a new kind of realism and violence that would prefigure Kinji Fukasaku’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity series, with their winning combination of brutal violence, gang warfare and sweeping romance, these films make for a unique and unforgettable viewing experience. The set includes six films in the Outlaw series released for the first time in the west: Gangster VIP, Gangster VIP 2, Heartless, Goro the Assassin, Black Dagger, and Kill!
BONUS MATERIALS
- Limited Edition Box Set (3000 copies) containing all six films in the Outlaw series, available with English subtitles for the first time on any home video format
- High Definition digital transfers of all six films, from original film elements by Nikkatsu Corporation
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original uncompressed mono audio
- Newly translated English subtitles
- Audio commentary on Outlaw: Gangster VIP by Jasper Sharp
- Visual essay covering the entire series by Kevin Gilvear
- Original trailers for all six films
- Extensive promotional image galleries for all six films
- Exclusive gatefold packaging featuring brand new artwork by Tonci Zonjic
- Booklet featuring an interview with director Toshio Masuda by Mark Schilling, plus new writing by Schilling, Chris D and Kevin Gilvear
Complete product details, hi res art, etc. can be found HERE
THE STUFF [Blu-ray + DVD]
Are you eating it …or is it eating you? The Stuff is the new dessert taking supermarket shelves by storm. It’s delicious, low in calories and – better still – doesn’t stain the family carpet… What’s not to like?! Well, for a start it has a life of its own, and we’re not talking friendly live bacteria… Young Jason seems to be the only one who doesn’t love The Stuff – in fact he won’t go anywhere near it, after having seen the pudding crawling around the fridge one night. What’s more, everyone who eats The Stuff has started acting really weird… Now, teaming up with wise-cracking industrial saboteur “Mo”, Jason must put a stop to The Stuff and the organisation behind it or face a gooey, gloopy demise. Coming courtesy of horror auteur Larry Cohen (director of the It’s Alive series and scribe behind the Maniac Cop trilogy), The Stuff is a titillating treat for the taste-buds which blends elements of films such as Street Trash with the straight-up B-movie flavour of The Blob. So grab a spoon and dig on into The Stuff – the taste that delivers… much more than you bargained for!
BONUS MATERIALS
- New High Definition restoration of the film from a brand new 2K scan of the original camera negative
- Original stereo 1.0 uncompressed PCM Mono audio
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Can’t Get Enough of The Stuff: Making Larry Cohen’s Classic Creature Feature – Documentary featuring Larry Cohen, producer Paul Kurta, actress Andrea Marcovicci, Steve Neill (mechanical makeup effects) and Kim Newman
- Introduction and trailer commentary by director and The Stuff fan Darren Bousman (Saw II, Saw III)
- Original Trailer
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Joel Harley, illustrated with original stills and promotional materials
Complete product details, hi res art, etc. can be found HERE
NOBODY DID IT LIKE DILLINGER! The runaway success of Bonnie and Clyde in 1967 proved massively influential: it made stars of Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, introduced a new form of violence to the movies, and inspired a stream of imitators, including Bloody Mama, Martin Scorsese’s Boxcar Bertha and the directorial debut of John Milius, Dillinger. Milius presents John Dillinger as an almost mythical figure, tracing the rise and fall of the Depression era’s Public Enemy Number One as he takes on the banks and the G-men, led by the infamous Melvin Purvis. Starring Sam Peckinpah favourites Warren Oates and Ben Johnson as Dillinger and Purvis, and with a supporting cast including Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Dreyfuss and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas, Dillinger is a top drawer gangster picture: explosive, stylish and hugely entertaining.
BONUS MATERIALS
- Brand new 2K restoration of the film from original film materials
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD presentations of the film
- Original mono soundtrack (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio commentary by Stephen Prince, author of Savage Cinema and Screening Violence
- Shooting Dillinger, a newly-filmed interview with director of photography Jules Brenner
- Original Gangster, a newly-filmed interview with producer Lawrence Gordon
- Ballads and Bullets, a newly-filmed interview with composer Barry De Vorzon
- Stills gallery
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips
- Collector’s booklet containing new writing by Kim Newman on fictional portrayals of John Dillinger, plus an on-set report containing interviews with writer-director John Milius and others, illustrated with original production stillsLimited Edition Box Set (3000 copies) containing all six films in the Outlaw series, available with English subtitles for the first time on any home video format
Complete product details, hi res art, etc. can be found HERE
THE ZERO BOYS [Blu-ray + DVD]
DAWN OF A NEW BREED OF HEROES From cult director Nico Mastorakis, the man behind such eclectic offerings as the controversial Island of Death and the Oliver Reed-starring actioner Hired to Kill, comes The Zero Boys – the genre-bending ’80s classic with gruesome sequences that anticipate the torture porn horrors of Hostel and Saw. For a group of young friends, a weekend of survival games in the wilderness turns into a genuine battle of life and death when one of their number turns up dead. Finding themselves hunted by a bloodthirsty band of maniacs intent on slaughtering them one-by-one, the self-styled “Zero Boys” must now play their war games for real. Starring Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet, Chopping Mall) and featuring an early score from the legendary Hans Zimmer (Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy), The Zero Boys mixes action, survival and all-out slasher movie elements in a thrilling horror yarn that falls somewhere between Friday the 13th and Deliverance.
BONUS MATERIALS
- Brand new 2K restoration of the film, approved by writer-director Nico Mastorakis
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Original Stereo audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio Commentary with star Kelli Maroney, moderated by Shock Till You Drop’s Chris Alexander
- Nico Mastorakis on… Nico Mastorakis – brand new interview with Mastorakis on the making of The Zero Boys
- Brand new interview with star Kelli Maroney
- Brand new interview with star Nicole Rio
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Stills Gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
- Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by critic James Oliver
Complete product details, hi res art, etc. can be found HERE.