July’s Arrow Academy Slates Has Heart Rending Romance And Classic Dostoyevsky

Arrow Academy’s July Blu-ray releases are a classic Hollywood romantic drama making it’s hi-def debut, and a magnificent Dostoyevsky adaptation, both with lavishly illustrated collector’s booklets, video appreciations and rare radio plays, along with much, much more.

First in July is Hold Back the Dawn (1941), a heart-rending romantic drama, from one of the most underrated directors of Hollywood’s golden era, Mitchell Leisen (Remember the Night), starring Charles Boyer (Gaslight), Pauline Goddard (Modern Times) and Olivia de Havilland (Gone with the Wind). A moving and thoughtful film with a wonderful script co-written by Billy Wilder, it was nominated for no-less than six Academy Awards.

June also sees the release of Crime and Punishment (1935), a star vehicle for the incredible Peter Lorre (The Maltese Falcon), playing the guilt-wracked Raskolnikov in a big-screen adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s most famous novel, helmed by Josef von Sternberg (famed for his collaborations with Marlene Dietrich). Stylish direction and Lorre’s tour-de-force performance are ready for rediscovery in this Blu-Ray premiere, that includes a documentary on Lorre, and comes with handsome reversible sleeve art.

Hold Back the Dawn |Blu-ray | 15 July 2019

Charles Boyer (Gaslight) gives an enthralling performance as Georges Iscovescu, a Romanian-born gigolo who arrives at a Mexican border town seeking entry to the US. Faced with a waiting period of eight years, George is encouraged by his former dancing partner Anita (Pauline Goddard, Modern Times) to marry an American girl and desert her once safely across the border. He successfully targets visiting school teacher Emmy Brown (Olivia de Havilland, Gone with the Wind), but his plan is compromised by a pursuing immigration officer, and blossoming feelings of genuine love for Emmy.
SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation, transferred from original film elements
• Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• New audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin
• Love Knows No Borders, a newly filmed video appreciation by film critic Geoff Andrew
• The Guardian Lecture: Olivia de Havilland, A career-spanning onstage audio interview with Olivia de Havilland recorded at the National Film Theatre in 1971
• Rare hour-long radio adaptation of Hold Back the Dawn from 1941 starring Charles Boyer, Paulette Goddard and Susan Haywood
• Gallery of original stills and promotional images
• Original trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by writer and critic Farran Smith Nehme

USA | 1941 | TBC | 116 Mins | 1.37:1 | Drama| English

Crime and Punishment |Blu-ray | 29 July 2019

Poverty-stricken criminology graduate Raskolnikov (played by Lorre) murders a miserly pawnbroker, stealing her valuables before fleeing into the night. The next day, he encounters Inspector Porfiry (Edward Arnold), the detective assigned to the murder, and is asked by Porfiry to consult on the case when an innocent man is arrested as a suspect. How long until the conflicted, guilt-ridden Raskolnikov arouses the master detective’s suspicions?

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation, transferred from original film elements
Original lossless mono soundtrack
Isolated music and effects track
Light And Dark, a newly-filmed appreciation by David Thompson, critic and director of Josef von Sternberg: The Man Who Made Dietrich
The Double Face of Peter Lorre (1984), an hour-long German TV documentary directed by Harun Farocki
Mystery In The Air: Crime And Punishment, a 1947 radio adaptation with Lorre reprising the role of Raskolnikov
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original artwork

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Martin

USA | 1935 | U | 88 Mins | 1.37:1 | Drama| English