Scary School Kids , Donnie Darko Make Up Arrow’s April Slate

Moviemaking nightmares, exploitation classics and special editions of two cult favourites as Arrow Video unveil their April slate. With 4KUHD upgrades of a pair of extraordinary classics, a highly entertaining and informative filmmaking documentary, a restored exploitation masterpiece, a wickedly funny horror comedy, and a little seen action thriller from Greece.

First in April, Death Has Blue Eyes, a gripping paranormal action thriller with shades of giallo, the debut feature from the director of the cult classic video nasty Island of Death (1976). Maverick filmmaker Nico Mastorakis presents us with a generous meze of non-stop car, bike and helicopter chases, a bevy of beautiful girls with guns, sensational softcore sex scenes, psychic thrills and Cold War political intrigue set against the picturesque landscapes of 70s Greece, all presented for the very first time in a new HD master in both widescreen and full-frame versions.

Next up comes Clapboard Jungle, a deeply insightful exploration of what it takes to get a film made and released, when navigating the current film business is more difficult than ever before. Rapidly changing technology and an overcrowded marketplace have led to an industry in which anyone can now make a film, but few can make a living, and Clapboard Jungle serves as a survival guide for the modern independent filmmaker and offers a fascinating insight into a side of the industry with which few are likely to be familiar. Featuring contributions from the likes of Guillermo del Toro and George A Romero, with special edition extras that include over five hours of extended interviews.

Next up is the sensational Switchblade Sisters, from Jack Hill, the iconic cult director of Spider Baby, Coffy, Foxy Brown, and The Swinging Cheerleaders. A Quentin Tarantino favourite, filled with sharp, clever dialogue and tongue in cheek humour, this Shakespeare-influenced Girl Gang / Women in Prison / Action movie medley a stone cold Grindhouse Classic!

Also in April, Battle Royale, on Limited Edition brand new 4K UHD and Blu-ray. The kids of Third Year Class-B Shiroiwa Junior High School are back, in the classic cult shocker adapted from the controversial novel by Koushun Takami. Playing like a turbo-charged hybrid of Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game, the final completed work by veteran yakuza film director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Graveyard of Honor) helped launch a new wave of appreciation for Asian cinema in the 21st century. Also included in the set is the incendiary sequel Battle Royale II, the director’s cut of the first film, an extended cut of the sequel, a soundtrack CD, 120 page book, a wealth of extras, as well as a booklet and collectable trump cards.

At the end of April, she’s back! Elvira, Horrorland’s hostess with the mostest, busts out on positively bursting-at-the-seams special edition of her big screen debut, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark! Campy, quirky and stuffed to the brim with more double entendres than your average Carry On movie, 1988’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark helped solidify the horror hostess (played by Cassandra Peterson) as a major pop culture icon, here owning every inch of the screen with her quick wit, sass, and of course, cleaving-enhancing gown!

Last but by no means least in April, a Limited Edition 4k UHD Blu-ray of Donnie Darko. Fifteen years before Stranger Things combined science fiction, Spielbergian touches and 80s nostalgia to much acclaim, Richard Kelly set the template – and the high-water mark – with his debut feature, Donnie Darko. Initially beset with distribution problems, it would slowly find its audience and emerge as arguably the first cult classic of the new millennium. Described by its director as “The Catcher in the Rye as told by Philip K. Dick”, Donnie Darko combines an eye-catching, eclectic cast – pre-stardom Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal,  Patrick Swayze, f Drew Barrymore,  Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, and  Noah Wyle.

Death Has Blue Eyes On Blu-ray 5th April.

When local gigolo Chess (Chris Nomikos) greets his vacationing friend Bob Kovalski (Peter Winter) at Athens airport, the pair embark on a string of scams and erotic dalliances that eventually lead them into contact with an elegant wealthy woman, Geraldine Steinwetz (Jessica Dublin), and her glamorous daughter Christine (Maria Aliferi). Geraldine blackmails the two cheeky bachelor boys into acting as bodyguards for Christine, whom it transpires has telepathic abilities and has had her eye on them for some time. After fleeing from a series of assassination attempts, it soon becomes clear that Geraldine herself might not be quite whom she seems, as the two young men find themselves caught up in a political conspiracy of international dimensions.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new restoration from the original camera negative, approved by the director
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Two versions of the film: the widescreen 1.85:1 version and the full-frame 1.33:1 version
• Original mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Exclusive new interview featurette with Nico Mastorakis
• Exclusive new interview with actress Maria Aliferi
• Dancing with Death: tracks from the Death Has Blue Eyes original soundtrack
• Original theatrical trailers
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Julian Grainger

Clapboard Jungle On Blu-ray 12 April

Following five years in the life and career of independent filmmaker Justin McConnell (Lifechanger), this documentary explores the struggles of financing, attracting the right talent, working with practical effects and selling the finished product in the hope of turning a profit. Featuring interviews with a range of industry luminaries – including Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak), Sid Haig (Spider Baby), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), Mick Garris (The Stand), Dick Miller (Matinee), Tom Holland (Fright Night) and George A. Romero (The Crazies), alongside a host of others – not only are technical aspects and interpersonal skills discussed but also the emotional stamina and little-known tips needed to survive in the low budget film industry.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
• Original lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Optional Spanish and Catalan subtitles
• Audio commentary with director Justin McConnell
• Crew commentary with Justin McConnell, co-producer Darryl Shaw, executive producer Avi Federgreen and editor/associate producer Kevin Burke
• Guest commentary/panel discussion with Barbara Crampton, Richard Stanley, John McNaughton, Gigi Saul Guerrero and Adam Mason
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Justin McConnell
• Five hours of extended interviews, featuring Anne-Marie Gélinas, Barbara Crampton, Brian Trenchard-Smith, Brian Yuzna, Charles Band, Corey Moosa, Dean Cundey, Dick Miller, Don Mancini, Frank Henenlotter, Gary Sherman, George A. Romero, George Mihalka, Guillermo Del Toro, John McNaughton, Jon Reiss, Larry Cohen, Larry Fessenden, Lloyd Kaufman, Mette-Marie Kongsved, Michael Biehn & Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Mick Garris, Paul Schrader, Richard Stanley, Sam Firstenberg, Tom Holland, Tom Savini and Vincenzo Natali
• Two bonus documentaries from Justin McConnell, Working Class Rock Star (2008) and Skull World (2013), both with optional commentary and new director introductions
• 13 short films from Justin McConnell, all with optional commentary and new director introduction
• Trailers, promos, photo gallery and Easter eggs
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by legendary genre
producer/director Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator, Society)

Switchblade Sisters On Blu-ray 19 April

Lace (Robbie Lee), the leader of inner city girl gang the Dagger Debs, meets her match when new girl Maggie (Joanne Nail) moves into the neighbourhood. Mistrust and conflict turn to friendship as the girls end up in Juvenile Detention together at the mercy of abusive guards. Meanwhile, the Dagger Debs’ male counterparts the Silver Daggers have to contend with the arrival of a new gang, led by the villainous Crabs (Chase Newhart). But when the girls get back on the streets, a planned retaliation strike in tandem with the Silver Daggers backfires and puts Lace in hospital. Maggie assumes control, teaming up with Muff (Marlene Clark) and her gang of African-American militants from across town to declare all out war. But there’s a traitor in their midst

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by historians/critics Samm Deighan & Kat Ellinger
• We Are The Jezebels, an archival documentary featuring director Jack Hill, producer John Prizer, casting director Geno Havans, production designer B.B. Neel, stunt coordinator Bob Minor, and stars Joanne Nail, Asher Brauner, and Chase Newhart
• Gangland: The locations of Switchblade Sisters, an archival documentary in which Jack Hill and filmmaker Elijah Drenner revisit the shooting locations of Switchblade Sisters
• Jack Hill and Joanne Nail at the Grindhouse Film Festival, a 2007 archival interview with the director and actor
• Interview with Jack Hill, Robbie Lee, Joanne Nail, an archival 1990’s interview with the director and stars in conversation with Johnny Legend
• Galleries of behind the scenes stills, international posters, video covers, and lobby cards.
• Theatrical trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Heather Drain

Battle Royale On Limited Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray 26 April

Presenting an alternate dystopian vision of turn-of-the-millennium Japan, Battle Royale follows the 42 junior high school students selected to take part in the government’s annual Battle Royale programme, established as an extreme method of addressing concerns about juvenile delinquency. Dispatched to a remote island, they are each given individual weapons (ranging from Uzis and machetes to pan lids and binoculars), food and water, and the order to go out and kill one other. Every player is fitted with an explosive collar around their neck, imposing a strict three-day time limit on the deadly games in which there can only be one survivor. Overseeing the carnage is ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano (Sonatine, Hana-bi, Zatoichi) as the teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges.

4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 4K restoration of the Original Theatrical Version and Special Edition Director’s Cut of Battle Royale from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by Kenta Fukasaku
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation of both versions of Battle Royale in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Battle Royale II: Requiem theatrical cut and the Battle Royale II: Revenge extended cut
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Original soundtrack CD for Battle Royale [Limited Edition Exclusive]
• Kinji Fukasaku: Man of Rage, an exclusive 120-page monograph on the director by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes [Limited Edition Exclusive]
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new essays by Matt Alt and Anne Billson and archival articles
• Exclusive Battle Royale collectors’ Trump Card set [Limited Edition Exclusive]
• Reversible poster with new artwork [Limited Edition Exclusive]

DISC ONE – BATTLE ROYALE: ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (4K UHD BLU-RAY)

• Brand new audio commentary by critics Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
• Battle Royale at 20: Back to School, an exclusive new 42-minute documentary about the legacy of Battle Royale
• Bloody Education: Kenta Fukasaku on Battle Royale, a brand new exclusive interview with the film’s producer and screenwriter
• The Making of Battle Royale: The Experience of 42 High School Students, documentary featuring footage from the shooting of the film and cast and crew discussions
• The Slaughter of 42 High School Students, a look behind the scenes of the shoot
• Behind the scenes footage with comments from the cast and crew
• Filming on Set, a look at the shooting of key scenes from the film
• Conducting Battle Royale with the Warsaw National Philharmonic, archive footage of Masamichi Amano conducting the soundtrack rehearsal

DISC TWO – BATTLE ROYALE: SPECIAL EDITION DIRECTOR’S CUT (4K UHD BLU-RAY)

• Shooting the Special Edition, on-location featurette with footage of the cast and crew reuniting for the shoot of the Special Edition
• Royale Rehearsals, featurette on Kinji Fukasaku directing the film’s young cast
• Masamichi Amano Conducts Battle Royale, archive featurette
• Takeshi Kitano Interview, filmed on location with the Japanese star
• The Correct Way to Fight in Battle Royale, instructional video explaining the rules of the game
• The Correct Way to Make Battle Royale: Birthday Version, a new version of the original instructional video made to celebrate Kinji Fukasaku’s birthday
• Premiere Press Conference, preceding the film’s first public screening
• Tokyo International Film Festival Presentation, with footage from the gala screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival
• Opening Day at the Marunouchi Toei Movie Theatre, archive footage of the Japanese opening
• Special Effects Comparison showing how the film’s violent killings were created
• Original Trailers and TV spots
• Kinji Fukasaku trailer reel, a collection of original trailers for Fukasaku’s classic yakuza films from the 70s
• Image Gallery

DISC THREE – BATTLE ROYALE II: REQUIEM (BLU-RAY)

• Bloody Graduation: Kenta Fukasaku on Battle Royale II, an exclusive brand new interview with the director and screenwriter of Battle Royale II
• Behind the Scenes of Battle Royale II, on-location featurette during the film’s shoot
• Rehearsals footage of the auditions and pre-production rehearsals
• War and Struggle, featurette of the cast discussing their thoughts on war
• Alternate Piano Scene
• The Recording of the Music Score, archive footage of Masamichi Amano and the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra
• Opening Gala with The Orchestra, featuring a public introduction by the director and main cast
• Battle Royale II Premiere, a featurette on the film’s first screening at the Marunouchi Toei Movie Theatre
• Trailers and TV spots
• Image gallery

DISC FOUR – BATTLE ROYALE II: REVENGE (BLU-RAY)

• A Tribute to Kinji Fukasaku, featuring scenes of Kinji Fukasaku on the location of Battle Royale II
• Kinji Fukasaku’s 73rd Birthday: A Speech by Kenta Fukasaku, paying public tribute to his father

DISC FIVE – BATTLE ROYALE (SOUNDTRACK CD)

• CD featuring the complete score to Battle Royale by Masamichi Amano and the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark On Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray [UK Zavvi Exclusive] 26 April

Having just quit her job as a Los Angeles TV horror hostess, Elvira receives the unexpected news that she’s set to inherit part of her great aunt Morgana’s estate. Arriving in the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, Elvira receives a less than enthusiastic reception from the conservative locals – amongst them, her sinister uncle Vincent, who, unbeknownst to Elvira, is in fact an evil warlock secretly scheming to steal the old family spellbook for his own nefarious ends

LIMITED EDITION STEELBOOK CONTENTS

• 2018 restoration from a 4K scan of original film elements
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed stereo 2.0 audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Introduction to the film by director James Signorelli
• 2017 Audio Commentary with director James Signorelli, hosted by Fangoria editor emeritus Tony Timpone
• 2017 Audio Commentary with Patterson Lundquist, www.elviramistressofthedark.com webmaster and judge of US TV show The Search for the Next Elvira
• Too Macabre – The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark – 2018 version of this feature-length documentary on the making of the film, including interviews with various cast and crew and rare never-before-seen archival material
• Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster – 2018 version of this featurette on the concept and design of the pot monster, as well as the film’s other SFX
• Original storyboards
• Extensive image galleries
• Original US theatrical and teaser trailers
• Limited edition Steelbook featuring newly produced artwork
• Limited edition booklet featuring a foreword by writer and director Sam Irvin and writing on the film by Kat Ellinger and Patterson Lundquist

Donnie Darko On Limited Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray 26 April

Donnie is a troubled high school student: in therapy, prone to sleepwalking and in possession of an imaginary friend, a six-foot rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world is going to end in 28 days, 06 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. During that time he will navigate teenage life, narrowly avoid death in the form of a falling jet engine, follow Frank’s maladjusted instructions and try to maintain the space-time continuum.

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• New 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films, supervised and approved by director Richard Kelly and cinematographer Steven Poster
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentations of both cuts in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• 100-page hardcover book featuring writing by Nathan Rabin, Anton Bitel and Jamie Graham, an in-depth interview with Richard Kelly, an introduction by Jake Gyllenhaal and contemporary coverage, illustrated with original stills and promotional materials
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece
• Six double-sided collector’s postcards
• Limited Edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece

DISC 1 – THE THEATRICAL CUT [4K UHD BLU-RAY]

• Audio commentary by writer-director Richard Kelly and actor Jake Gyllenhaal
• Audio commentary by Kelly, producer Sean McKittrick and actors Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, Beth Grant, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Katharine Ross and James Duval
• Deus ex Machina: The Philosophy of Donnie Darko, a documentary by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures on the making of Donnie Darko, containing interviews with writer-director Richard Kelly, producer Sean McKittrick, cinematographer Steven Poster, editor Sam Bauer, composer Michael Edwards, costume designer April Ferry, production designer Alec Hammond and actor James Duval
• The Goodbye Place, Kelly’s 1996 short film, which anticipates some of the themes and ideas of his feature films
• 20 deleted and alternate scenes with optional commentary by Kelly
• Trailer

DISC 2 – THE DIRECTOR’S CUT [4K UHD BLU-RAY]

• Audio commentary by Kelly and filmmaker Kevin Smith
• The Donnie Darko Production Diary, an archival documentary charting the film’s production, with optional commentary by cinematographer Steven Poster
• Archive interviews with Kelly, actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Noah Wyle and Katharine Ross, producers Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Hunt Lowry and Casey La Scala, and cinematographer Steven Poster
• Three archive featurettes: They Made Me Do It, They Made Me Do It Too and #1 Fan: A
Darkomentary
• Storyboard comparisons
• B-roll footage
• Cunning Visions infomercials
• Music video: Mad World by Gary Jules
• Galleries
• Director’s Cut trailer
• TV spots

About the Author

Paul

Administrator

The founder of The People's Movies, started the site 20th November 2008.The site has excelled past all expectations with many only giving the site months and it's still going strong. A lover of French Thrillers, Post Apocalyptic films, Asian cinema. 2009 started Cinehouse to start his 'cinema education' learning their is life outside mainstream cinema. Outside of film, love to travel with Sorrento, Guangzhou and Manchester all favourite destinations.Musically loves David Bowie, Fishbone, Radiohead.

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