Arrow Films

[manicsounds]

Full specs for "Fall Of The House Of Usher"

-High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
-Original uncompressed 2.0 Mono PCM Audio
-Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-Audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman
-Legend to Legend: An interview with director and former Corman apprentice Joe Dante
-Interview with author and Gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby
-Fragments of the House of Usher: A Specially-commissioned video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns examining Corman’s film in relation to Poe’s story
-Archival interview with Vincent Price
-Original Trailer
-Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author and critic Tim Lucas and an extract from Vincent Price’s long out of print autobiography, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

[Finch]

I ordered the steelbook (not a fan of these usually but the design was just too good to resist) a while ago and with those confirmed specs, the waiting has now become unbearable. Dante interviewing Corman should be a blast.

[MichaelB]

He's not interviewing Corman, just reminiscing fondly about him, his working methods and how they fed into the Poe cycle (at one point, he says something like "Poe wasn't just a classic, he was a public domain classic, and AIP liked that"). But it's one of the most enjoyable extras I've seen in ages - and is complemented beautifully by the more analytical but often equally entertaining Jonathan Rigby piece. The combined running time of both is about an hour.

[jsteffe]

Full specs for "Fall Of The House Of Usher"

-High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
-Original uncompressed 2.0 Mono PCM Audio
-Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-Audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman
-Legend to Legend: An interview with director and former Corman apprentice Joe Dante
-Interview with author and Gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby
-Fragments of the House of Usher: A Specially-commissioned video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns examining Corman’s film in relation to Poe’s story
-Archival interview with Vincent Price
-Original Trailer
-Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author and critic Tim Lucas and an extract from Vincent Price’s long out of print autobiography, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

I wonder whether James White worked on this transfer? If so, that should make this basically a perfect package!

[GaryC]

I saw Fall of the House of Usher at the National Film Theatre several years ago in a 16mm print that was cropped from Scope into something like 1.66:1 - that said, the print was in good condition. That was all that was available to show at the time. So this release will be a big step upward, to say the least!

[MichaelB]

I wonder whether James White worked on this transfer? If so, that should make this basically a perfect package!

The HD master came from MGM, but James may well have given it a going-over in London.

The next original James White - i.e., where he was in charge of the whole process from scanning to restoration - is Time Bandits.

[manicsounds]

Arrow is copying Criterion in adding info on what the original elements were, how it was transferred to disc, etc, and the last few releases (the Bavas, Foxy Brown) have had James White listed as the supervisor, so he must be on Arrow's payroll, gladly.

[MichaelB]

I saw Fall of the House of Usher at the National Film Theatre several years ago in a 16mm print that was cropped from Scope into something like 1.66:1 - that said, the print was in good condition. That was all that was available to show at the time. So this release will be a big step upward, to say the least!

Definitely! Obviously, it's in the correct aspect ratio, and I thought the BD transfer looked terrific - at its best, it's so clear and detailed that it's overwhelmingly likely that the softer parts are a by-product of an almost impossibly fast two-week shooting schedule for a film in colour, CinemaScope and with plenty of elaborate camera movements. And the source print is damn near pristine, and the grain seems entirely natural.

[Graham]

Arrow are announcing their October titles on Twitter tomorrow at 11am BST. It makes me so pleased that they've turned things around and that there's this premier UK genre distributor now.

[peerpee]

I doubt anyone would have turned anything around if it weren't for the existence of Criterion. The bar has been raised enormously over the last ten years, and I would argue that it's all down to them. The UK has benefited greatly – everyone pulled their socks up – it's wonderful.

[tenia]

Meanwhile, in France, close to nobody cared...

[Graham]

Meanwhile, in France, close to nobody cared...

So what? Thanks for sharing.

[swo17]

He didn't mean that no one in France cared that UK labels had stepped it up. He meant that French labels have generally not followed suit.

[Graham]

Ah, thanks for explaining. I thought he was being super obnoxious! Sorry about that, tenia.

At least it's easy to import stuff these days, I suppose, providing you speak English.

[Finch]

The Kaufman Body Snatchers should be among the announcements today, fingers crossed.

[John Doe]

October:

The Fury
The Night of the Hunter
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

[antnield]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (October 14th)

3-DISC LIMITED EDITION SET FEATURES:
-High Definition digital transfers of three Tobe Hooper films
-Original uncompressed audio tracks for all films
-Limited Edition Packaging, newly illustrated by Justin Erickson
-Individually Numbered #/10,000 Certificate
-Exclusive Limited Edition Extras

DISC 1 – THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2
-High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a digital transfer supervised by Director of Photography Richard Kooris
-Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-Audio commentary with director and co-writer Tobe Hooper, moderated by David Gregory
-Audio commentary with stars Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams and special-effects legend Tom Savini, moderated by Michael Felsher
-“It Runs in the Family” – A documentary looking at the genesis, making-of and enduring appeal of Hooper’s film. With interviews including star Bill Johnson, co-writer L. M. Kit Carson, Richard Kooris, Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams, Tom Savini, Production Designer Cary White and more!
-Alternate Opening sequence with different musical score
-Deleted scenes
-“Still Feelin' the Buzz” - Interview with horror expert Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA
-Original Trailer

DISC 2 [BLU-RAY] & DISC 3 [DVD] – TOBE HOOPER’S EARLY WORKS – LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE
-High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition (DVD) presentation of two of Tobe Hooper’s early works, available on home video for the first time in the world
-The Heisters (1964) Tobe Hooper’s early short film restored in HD from original elements [10 mins]
-Eggshells (1969) Tobe Hooper’s debut feature restored in HD from original elements [90 mins]
-Audio Commentary on Eggshells by Tobe Hooper
-In Conversation with Tobe Hooper - The legendary horror director speaks about his career from Eggshells to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
-Trailer Reel of all the major works by Tobe Hooper
100-PAGE BOOK – LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE
-Exclusive perfect bound book featuring new writing on the film by John Kenneth Muir, an overview of the Chainsaw franchise by Joel Harley and an investigation of Tobe Hooper’s three-picture Cannon deal by Calum Waddell, illustrated with archive stills and posters with more to be announced!

[JamesF]

Even though I already have the Criterion, I'm tempted to double dip on Night Of The Hunter for the M&E track alone! Graham Humphreys' art is lovely, and adapted from the poster he did for a London screening a couple of years ago.

I'm indifferent to the other two, but will almost certainly be tempted to get TCM2 for the early Hooper films. I saw a festival screening of Eggshells in 2010 and actually quite enjoyed it.

[eerik]

Reversable covers:

[antnield]

Here's the other two...

[MichaelB]

Arrow have confirmed that TCM2 will be uncut.

Essentially, it's the same version that's on the US BD, although the Arrow matches all its extras and throws in several more.

[tenia]

A new 5.1 mix for Night of the Hunter ?

Ah, thanks for explaining. I thought he was being super obnoxious! Sorry about that, tenia.

No problem, I think I should have precised my thought a bit more.

But I'm being a bit unfair : we do have some labels which have amped up their game, and have a usually high consistant level (Carlotta, Gaumont and Wild Side, notably), but there are still too many hit-or-miss, too many releases that you can't blind buy because it might well turned crappy. Just look at the recen Purple Noon French release, for instance : 4K restoration, but filtered and probably not color-timed properly.

And I'm not even talking of Filmedia, which releases a lot of catalog movies on BD, usually in 1080i in far from nice encodes.

At least it's easy to import stuff these days, I suppose, providing you speak English.

Oh yes, it is. I might be a bit expensive, due to shipping fees and banking fees, not to count possible VAT or import fees. But if that's mostly the case for US release (whose prices tend to be close to French prices once converted into euros), UK lower price point makes for it. You have to remember : a new release is usally at either 19.99€ or even 24.99€ in France.

The Fury (August 12th)

Jesus, wow. Now this would actually be worth shelling out 30 bucks for, but instead it's going for half of that?! I feel genuinely sorry for folks who got the TT disc already - and once again a little bit less inclined to order anything from them

Honestly, except Swamp Water, I have yet to see a movie I'm interested in not being available somewhere else in a better and cheaper edition. But I guess that's part of TT editorial line to be in front of releases like this and that, in the end, only a few of their customers are inclined to look somewhere else.

[Wes Moynihan]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
DISC 2 [BLU-RAY] & DISC 3 [DVD] – TOBE HOOPER’S EARLY WORKS – LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE
-High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition (DVD) presentation of two of Tobe Hooper’s early works, available on home video for the first time in the world
-The Heisters (1964) Tobe Hooper’s early short film restored in HD from original elements [10 mins]
-Eggshells (1969) Tobe Hooper’s debut feature restored in HD from original elements [90 mins]
-Audio Commentary on Eggshells by Tobe Hooper

Incredible extras - I thought I'd never get to see Eggshells...

[repeat]

FWIW, both Eggshells and The Heisters have been up on MUBI for at least a year already (not sure for which territories though)

Honestly, except Swamp Water, I have yet to see a movie I'm interested in not being available somewhere else in a better and cheaper edition

I take it you're not interested in Rapture!

[MichaelB]

FWIW, both Eggshells and The Heisters have been up on MUBI for at least a year already (not sure for which territories though)

Not the UK - I've just checked.