Arrow Films

[MaxCastle]

BTW, did nobody in the US buy from their sale in early December? I still haven't received my order. I'll probably have to send Arrow an email today about it (it's almost been a month now).

When I chased my order up, it transpired that my payment been processed by Worldpay, but no details of the order itself had filtered through to Arrow's despatching company (I had to email them back to let them know what I'd actually ordered). So, yes, probably worth chasing up...

[colinr0380]

I'm sure everyone knows about Knightriders here, but here's Alex Cox's Moviedrome introduction to tide us over!

[Cash Flagg]

Arrow confirmed via email that 4 Times That Night will not be included on Baron Blood.

[colinr0380]

Ah, Bava's softcore version of Rashomon! It really deserves a standalone release.

[Calvin]

Arrow on Twitter/Facebook: "We might have a Sci-Fi double bill this Autumn and thinking about extras, who are your favourite Sci-Fi commentators?"

[matrixschmatrix]

That weird two headed alien thing from the podracing scene in Star Wars 1

[RossyG]

That weird two headed alien thing from the podracing scene in Star Wars 1

[colinr0380]

Voiced by Greg Proops no less, famous for his Whose Line Is It Anyway? appearances.

One of the few redeeming features of Star Wars Episode I is the bizarre casting of comedians in tiny, presumably not meant to be recognisable, roles! I particularly like the way that Celia Imrie (best known for her work with Victoria Wood and for her character being the subject of the "we're going to need considerably bigger buns" line in Calendar Girls) turns up for about five seconds (in flying goggles) as one of the pilots in the final section of the film (She has the single redundant line of exposition as the bad guy's ship explodes: "What's that? It's blowing up from the inside")

[Zot!]

Richard Dawson from Running Man.

[Adam X]

Ah, Bava's softcore version of Rashomon! It really deserves a standalone release.

Someone on AV Maniacs asked them about such a release.
They're reply was "At a later date all being well".
Guess they're seeing how the first few Bava's do. Hopefully Arrow or Kino get to it sometime in the future, as I'd really like to see it

[manicsounds]

Blu-ray.com on "Lisa And The Devil / House Of Exorcism"

[Koukol]

Blu-ray.com on "Lisa And The Devil / House Of Exorcism"

Thanks!

I'd like to see some DVDBeaver comparisons before I buy. What has me curious is why screeners for BLACK SUNDAY haven't been sent out yet. Are they hiding something?

[Matt]

People might just be behind in posting reviews (perhaps taking extra time to savor the superb essay on Black Sunday). I got both Lisa and Black Sunday yesterday.

[Koukol]

People might just be behind in posting reviews (perhaps taking extra time to savor the superb essay on Black Sunday). I got both Lisa and Black Sunday yesterday.

Do you have the Kino version of BLACK SUNDAY, Matt? I would love to know how the Arrow compares.

[med]

Kino's release lacks a certain essay.

Advantage: Arrow

[Matt]

No, I don't, and I haven't even had a minute to look at the Arrow yet. They use the same transfer, though, so they should be very close if not identical. The Arrow also has the AIP version and I Vampiri (plus some other very nice on-disc supplements).

[Koukol]

Unfortunately the Kino version is uneven.
Some scenes have very liitle contrast making the picture look too dark.

[effigy105]

Arrow are leaving their customers with an unfortunate conundrum. They're trying to ramp up exclusivity of their product by moving their signature 'slipcase + multiple covers' packaging to a limited edition extra, available for first-comers for a not-inconsiderable extra fee but then they're also gaining/furthering an reputation of unreliability with first-run orders.

I liked the ornate packaging, I can't justify its expense. I'm okay with that. Still, I pre-ordered Zombie Flesh Eaters because the package looked like an absolute winner. To be fair, it really is a winner but it's a shame it was scuffed by a small lapse in attentiveness.

I'm glad they've seen the folly of a paid replacement scheme but I fear, being based in the US, that the cost of sending the disc back to them will still prove prohibitive. I know from experience that international postage can be risky and so, for six seconds of footage, I don't think I'd risk just sending the disc back without some kind of insurance. Which probably means it'd nearly be as cheap to just wait on a good sale price and just buy the set again.

I'm not sure if anyone else is in the same boat as me. I can't help but compare this to my experience with the BFI and their original pressing of Ozu's An Autumn Afternoon. One email to them and I received a replacement in the mail without paying a penny- aside, of course, from the original price of the set. Of course it's a shame that people took advantage of Arrow on this front before but then again, their paying customers aren't exactly getting the best deal either.

Usually I'd hold back on Arrow releases just to see how they stacked up to their international counterparts. Now I'm more inclined to wait an extra couple of months to allow time for any other issues to surface and, if needs be, for that first pressing to run out of stock.

And that kinda kills the anticipation.


Apologies for the whining all. It's just a little frustrating, exacerbated by the fact that I'm not sure Arrow answer their emails. I didn't much mind when a minor inquiry a month or so back went unheeded but I inquired about this situation last night and have also received no answer. Does anyone have any idea of their turnaround on replying to email? Perhaps they're inundated.

[Minkin]

I emailed them two days ago - and they responded to my many questions (sent to that general "info" email contact they have under 'contact us'. They were equally quick when I asked about getting a replacement order. They've been rather nice and to the point which is better than most companies I email with my questions.

That said, I do find it a bit odd that they told me that they were not able to send me the corrected version of the disc if I were to order Zombie from their website today - saying "the corrected disc is at a different location than the distributor."

The expensive packaging is a bit odd. I was all too happy to buy all of those older releases in the nice cardboard slipcases for about 8 pounds each... but the Black Sunday/Lisa and the Devil seems a bit odd - since you are paying nearly twice as much just for the cardboard and two extra cover options. A poster may have sweetened the deal, but sadly they do not come with one. I suppose you could make comparisons to MOC's Steelbooks - since those were similarly a premium price as well (though they were a tad more exciting than the cardboard cases). I guess there's nothing inherently wrong with either company's actions - there will always be the collector who must have the limited edition of something.

Perhaps you could just see it as a good investment - the limited edition set will certainly be worth more than you paid for it once stock has run out.

[Koukol]

No, I don't, and I haven't even had a minute to look at the Arrow yet. They use the same transfer, though, so they should be very close if not identical. The Arrow also has the AIP version and I Vampiri (plus some other very nice on-disc supplements).

Well. they're almost the same. There's some screen-grabs a BluRay.com showing how similar they are. Too bad it wasn't taken from the original negative like advertised at first.

[tenia]

Honestly, at this stage, I can't even remember or justify why I put the extra money in this just for the 2 more covers and the cardboard sleeve.
On the other end, it's quite sad that they turned what was a nice packaging into a marketing gimmick.

[Minkin]

Well,

Rather bad news for Arrow. Looks like they're going for the cut "softcore" version of Radley Metzger's Score in order to maintain an 18 certificate. BBFC objected to 2 minutes of footage - (which could have been passed as an R18). Arrow's website has dropped the "uncut" descriptor from its website as well. The "softcore" version cuts about 7 minutes of footage from the film.

Fortunately, there's a Region free US Bluray with identical special features (minus a booklet with words from Robin Bougie). There's two separate US versions - the one I linked to is the uncut edition.

Is this and Bare Behind Bars thus far the only Arrow Video titles to be cut? The BBFC just waived previous cuts of Basie-Moi for Arrow, so this seems a bit odd timing.

I do love Arrow and what they are attempting to do as a company, but actions like these make me wary of the company. I know an R18 rating would have killed the sales, but I feel terrible for everyone who pre-ordered it and aren't able to quickly cancel (perhaps pre-orders of Arrow titles are a good thing to skip from here on out, given this and the recent Zombie fiasco). There's no reason anyone should own the Arrow edition now (especially with the nearly identical, region free, uncut US counterpart).

Perhaps Arrow are just not in the best country for their business - at least with the Arrow Video line.

[TMDaines]

Not that I have any interest in this, but, sadly, we do still live in a nanny state where the BBFC won't let adults decide what they want to watch themselves. As much as their podcast harps up on about them being the BBFClassification, all they ever do is talk about cutting x or y, usually because they're acting as the BBFConsultancy to the major studios and are cutting current releases to get them the desired 12A.

And, yes, attitudes to the sale of pornography and R18 material in this country are so conservative and stiff.

[MichaelB]

Not that I have any interest in this, but, sadly, we do still live in a nanny state where the BBFC won't let adults decide what they want to watch themselves. As much as their podcast harps up on about them being the BBFClassification, all they ever do is talk about cutting x or y, usually because they're acting as the BBFConsultancy to the major studios and are cutting current releases to get them the desired 12A.

And, yes, attitudes to the sale of pornography and R18 material in this country are so conservative and stiff.

I completely agree with all the above, but it's probably worth noting that those of a similar orientation to me would probably enjoy the softcore version of Score more!

I've had a chance to compare the two cuts, and they're very similar indeed - this isn't an Opening of Misty Beethoven situation where huge chunks of each version have been assembled from different takes. Although I haven't examined both versions shot by shot, it seems to me that the only difference is that the softcore cut of Score is missing a seven-minute set-piece that cross-cuts an extremely tame (indeed, barely softcore) lesbian encounter with a full-on hardcore gay one. I was initially convinced that an earlier heterosexual encounter had been similarly trimmed, but in fact the editing is identical in both versions.

Obviously, an ideal edition would include both cuts - especially since they're both legitimate, director-approved versions (and I believe Metzger recorded separate commentaries for each) - but having seen the Cult Epics version once, I'm in no hurry to revisit it. Close-ups of all-male 69ing sessions just don't do it for me.

But what's bizarre about the BBFC's attitude here is that they've passed similarly graphic material in the BFI's The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome, allegedly on the grounds that that package doesn't constitute "a sex work". But I'd argue that the same is true of Score - it was based on a stage play (which, famously, originally co-starred a pre-fame Sylvester Stallone), and it's primarily a comedy of manners rather than a "sex work" per se. Certainly, anyone watching even the hardcore version for masturbation material - which seems to be the BBFC's definition of the purpose of "a sex work" - is likely to wonder why they bothered: the way the material is framed and cross-cut seems deliberately designed to regularly break the continuum that most hardcore sex scenes go out of their way to create.

[tenia]

What ? You mean that Score has an explicit hardcore cut ?

Geez, very lucky of me they will use the softcore version instead. I will thus be able to watch the movie through with kids and all.

#-o