Arrow Films

[tenia]

Ask MoC how some of their more esoteric standalone releases worked out for them. We raved about them here but they didn't sell particularly well.

I think there is a reason why their line-up has become a bit (to say the least) less esoteric than before. Sure, many silent films having new restorations have been released, so you need some others to keep feeding the label, but still, there is quite a world between a Madame Dubarry BD and a Man of the West one. Comparing 2014 and 2015 clearly shows a difference in the type of titles being released, and I would be surprised sales hasn't anything to do with it.

At least Arrow with their limited model are still offering good value,

You don't have to engage with scalpers.

I think that's my main issue with those complaining about it. I understand how it constraints the time window within which you need to get it or you'll miss it. It IS a constraint because you simply can't push your purchase indefinitely.
On the other end, the prices for these LE are indeed usually quite good (the Rivette was a steal with its early bird price, the Fassbinder even more) and they're announced way early enough to help anybody saving money for this.

The most recent exemple is the Hellraiser LE : I pre-ordered mine on July 8th, and it sold out only 2 weeks prior to its release date. It means that anybody who wanted to buy it at a proper price only needed to save £4 per week. So it's silly doing the blame game and shifting it on Arrow.

Sure, I'd like to be able to build my purchase time table without having the feel it has to be built around expensive sets release dates (it will be for me for December because of the Fassbinder set).


As for scalpers, as long as there are people willing to pay £100 for a 200p book and an numbered outer case (Boro set) or a 200p book, an outer case and a bonus disc, why shouldn't they take advantage ?
There was a French humorist (Coluche) who used to say "One need to remember : it only needs us stop buying them for those to stop selling" ("Quand on pense qu'il suffirait d'arrêter d'en acheter pour que ça arrête de se vendre").

[MichaelB]

As for scalpers, as long as there are people willing to pay £100 for a 200p book and an numbered outer case (Boro set) or a 200p book, an outer case and a bonus disc, why shouldn't they take advantage ?

The Boro book was actually 344 pages. Although I'd possibly baulk at paying £100 for it.

[rapta]

I've seen it all now. People non-sarcastically asking for less exciting films to be released. -.-

If you're referring to what I said, then no. What I actually said was that I'd prefer if Arrow didn't do as many expensive and/or limited edition box sets as often as they have been doing. It will just lead to a lot of people missing out on some, and scalpers buying them up for resale once they're OOP. Be more sensible to spread them out at least by a few months (or do one every two months or something, if that's entirely necessary).

Yes, I feel the same. One box-set every two months is enough.

Basically what I was saying, but has now been elaborated on past my main point...but I guess if they're selling comfortably well for Arrow then they're gonna keep increasing their game until they hit a wall and some of the riskier ones really don't sell well.

I've seen it all now. People non-sarcastically asking for less exciting films to be released. -.-

If you're referring to what I said, then no. What I actually said was that I'd prefer if Arrow didn't do as many expensive and/or limited edition box sets as often as they have been doing. It will just lead to a lot of people missing out on some, and scalpers buying them up for resale once they're OOP. Be more sensible to spread them out at least by a few months (or do one every two months or something, if that's entirely necessary).

They are employing this model to mitigate the risk on their side. I doubt an alternative would be releasing the Rivettes and Yoshidas in simple editions without first ensuring they break even with this model. Ask MoC how some of their more esoteric standalone releases worked out for them. We raved about them here but they didn't sell particularly well. At least Arrow with their limited model, unlike say Twilight Time, are still offering good value, a reasonably safe investment and a more exciting range of films. What's more, most of the stuff comes out in a non-limited form further down the line.

You say "a lot of people missing out on some" as if it is a bad thing. Why do you need to own every limited edition put into print? It'd be a sad day if my film purchasing choices were limited to the budget of Joe Bloggs. It's largely a digital product after all. If you're enough of a maniac to throw a couple of hundred pounds at scalpers, essentially for a nice slipbox and book of essays that you cannot afford, then more fool you. You can either pick up the non-limited re-release at great value (as I did with Boro) or if the material was never made available elsewhere, just grab it off the Internet. You don't have to engage with scalpers.

I understand perfectly the model they are implementing, I was simply expressing my frustration with them arriving so frequently. To put it simply, whilst I am looking to save up for the Yoshida and/or Rivette sets, they could very well announce an even more exciting set in next month's announcement, and then I'm suddenly saving up for that one instead - those other two would be put on the back-burner and might go OOP...and I'd likely miss out on one, if not both. I can't be the only one having this trouble, unless others are simply allocating all their home video budget solely on Arrow box sets (and not many of their single titles) and/or not buying much from any other labels (Eureka, BFI etc).

Of course, it hasn't happened yet - I'm not a big enough Fassbinder fan to jump at the new box set, and I can happily wait for separate re-releases of The Yakuza Papers titles - but who's to say it won't in the new year? I wouldn't be as voracious in my argument if I knew there would be at least a slimmed-down edition of the Yoshida titles, or reissues of one or two of the Rivettes, and on Blu-ray rather than just DVD.

Besides, I didn't say I needed to "own every limited edition put into print", I was being quite specific about just the Yoshida and Rivette sets and that they were limiting their availability in high-definition (not to mention all the extras and literature). This is fine when it's a more affordable title, but when it's one of the most expensive titles they've released to date, that's a different matter. Of course I wouldn't be overly distraught if they did go OOP before I could get hold of either of them, as I'm sure they'd end up releasing something equally as interesting in future (if not more so).

Again, I didn't say I would be funding any scalpers, just that I'd prefer to have more than one option, even if it just meant only one or two films from the set got a slimmed-down release. If I ever did consider buying a set from a third-party, it would have to be an all-time favourite filmmaker, and if that were the case I would already be selling whatever I could to get hold of it as soon as possible (before it had gone OOP). Perhaps this is my long-winded way of revealing neither Yoshida nor Rivette are the most important filmmakers on my radar...but that's not to say I'd still feel I missed out if they did go OOP.

Lastly, I'd much rather have hard copies of these films as they're films I'm likely to revisit, read about and think about. I do occasionally torrent some things I know will be one-watch-only, or to check them out before buying them (if I'm really not sure), but if I were to take the attitude of 'well I could just torrent it' then I may as well give up right now. And if everyone were to take that attitude, then these boutique labels should give up too.

Also Arrow have said *if* Yoshida or Rivette sells out they will be rereleased, but that it would be on DVD. It wouldn't be going out of print.

Thinking about it some more, I'd be happier letting Rivette slip by and picking those up on DVD eventually rather than missing out on a worldwide exclusive like the Yoshida set (and I'm actually a bigger fan of Japanese cinema, especially of that era). I think I've just decided my priorities in regards to these two sets - though I was tipping towards Yoshida anyway, purely because of the lower asking price.

Ask MoC how some of their more esoteric standalone releases worked out for them. We raved about them here but they didn't sell particularly well.

I think there is a reason why their line-up has become a bit (to say the least) less esoteric than before. Sure, many silent films having new restorations have been released, so you need some others to keep feeding the label, but still, there is quite a world between a Madame Dubarry BD and a Man of the West one. Comparing 2014 and 2015 clearly shows a difference in the type of titles being released, and I would be surprised sales hasn't anything to do with it.

At least Arrow with their limited model are still offering good value,

You don't have to engage with scalpers.

I think that's my main issue with those complaining about it. I understand how it constraints the time window within which you need to get it or you'll miss it. It IS a constraint because you simply can't push your purchase indefinitely.
On the other end, the prices for these LE are indeed usually quite good (the Rivette was a steal with its early bird price, the Fassbinder even more) and they're announced way early enough to help anybody saving money for this.

The most recent exemple is the Hellraiser LE : I pre-ordered mine on July 8th, and it sold out only 2 weeks prior to its release date. It means that anybody who wanted to buy it at a proper price only needed to save £4 per week. So it's silly doing the blame game and shifting it on Arrow.

Sure, I'd like to be able to build my purchase time table without having the feel it has to be built around expensive sets release dates (it will be for me for December because of the Fassbinder set).


As for scalpers, as long as there are people willing to pay £100 for a 200p book and an numbered outer case (Boro set) or a 200p book, an outer case and a bonus disc, why shouldn't they take advantage ?
There was a French humorist (Coluche) who used to say "One need to remember : it only needs us stop buying them for those to stop selling" ("Quand on pense qu'il suffirait d'arrêter d'en acheter pour que ça arrête de se vendre").

I was wondering if that shift was to do with sales too, but it's also based on studio/distributor deals, and the big last-minute deal with Paramount only increased this year's frequency of high-profile titles. It could just be a coincidence, but it could also be like you said: the need for stronger sellers. I've certainly bought more titles on release day than I did last year, but that could also be due to my increased interest in the label.

As for 'time windows', obviously it would be unfair to complain about the frequency of these high-priced box sets if one wasn't planning on actually buying said sets. You may have calculated your pre-order of the Hellraiser set but my complaint was concerning the increasingly regular announcements of box sets (almost every month now), and more specifically of Arrow Academy sets that will not see separate reissues on Blu-ray (only on DVD, if at all). Thought it was worth pointing out the difference as it makes it sound like I was complaining about box sets in general.

And as for the practice of scalping, sure you can see why they do it but that's a completely different issue. In the case of Borowczyk, it's quite bizarre as you can easily get about 90% of the content from that set - give or take a few percent - in the standalone editions released concurrently. And with Hellraiser and Videodrome, other than the booklets, it's only the extra disc which the biggest fans would have jumped on at the quickest opportunity (whilst I'm personally happy to wait for the standalone edition of Videodrome, for example). My concern is that these Academy sets - with the exception of Fassbinder - will turn out like MoC's Late Mizoguchi and become the only way to get hold of hard copies of these films in high-definition (other than Carlotta's Out 1 release). Though unlike the Late Mizoguchi set, which took roughly 6 months to go OOP, these might sell out within a couple of months.

[tenia]

the big last-minute deal with Paramount only increased this year's frequency of high-profile titles. It could just be a coincidence, but it could also be like you said: the need for stronger sellers.

I don't think the frequency of high-profile titles has simply increased : they (IMO) have replaced the lower-profile ones especially the silent movies.
In 2014, MoC released Wings, Faust, Frau in Mond, The Gang's All Here, Madame Dubarry, Caligari, Spione, Diary of a Lost Girl, The Thief of Bagdad, Intolerance and Les misérables. That's 40% of their 2014 releases.
What did we have like that in 2015 ? Wooden Crosses.

The output has also vastly shifted towards English (US, UK, Australian, etc) movies. Last year, 13 movies were foreign (52%). This year, there only are the Bernard, the Resnais, the Shoah set, one Fellini, one Oshima and 1 Hu. That's 6 out of 23 (26%, half of last year).

I'm not complaining. I'm still buying most if not all of these anyway. But it definitely feel less adventurous choices.

[MichaelB]

The Paramount deal is a major reason for that.

[RossyG]

The Boro book was actually 344 pages. Although I'd possibly baulk at paying £100 for it.

I thought you paid £1000 for it.

[MichaelB]

The Boro book was actually 344 pages. Although I'd possibly baulk at paying £100 for it.

I thought you paid £1000 for it.

£1,080, actually. Plus at least twice as much again for was effectively two months of unpaid overtime.

But I don't think I'm the best representative of an ordinary punter here.

[tenia]

The Paramount deal is a major reason for that.

I certainly can understand that, but to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised being told that the deal is also very practical in terms of sales. I can imagine that Shane, Stalag 17 and Seconds might sell more than Spione or Madame Dubarry.

[rapta]

the big last-minute deal with Paramount only increased this year's frequency of high-profile titles. It could just be a coincidence, but it could also be like you said: the need for stronger sellers.

I don't think the frequency of high-profile titles has simply increased : they (IMO) have replaced the lower-profile ones especially the silent movies.
In 2014, MoC released Wings, Faust, Frau in Mond, The Gang's All Here, Madame Dubarry, Caligari, Spione, Diary of a Lost Girl, The Thief of Bagdad, Intolerance and Les misérables. That's 40% of their 2014 releases.
What did we have like that in 2015 ? Wooden Crosses.

The output has also vastly shifted towards English (US, UK, Australian, etc) movies. Last year, 13 movies were foreign (52%). This year, there only are the Bernard, the Resnais, the Shoah set, one Fellini, one Oshima and 1 Hu. That's 6 out of 23 (26%, half of last year).

I'm not complaining. I'm still buying most if not all of these anyway. But it definitely feel less adventurous choices.

Did you not read all of my response? As MichaelB says:

The Paramount deal is a major reason for that.

The reason they've released so many English-language studio titles is likely because of the Paramount deal, which they basically had to do now or never. I even asked Kevin in an email once and he admitted that they had done a large Paramount deal last-minute after they heard the news about Paramount handing their international distribution home-video over to Universal (starting in the UK in July 2015), because it might mean it would be more difficult in future to license Paramount titles - they would obviously have to go through Universal which could complicate contracts, both legally and financially. It makes sense to try and snap up as many Paramount titles as possible now, or they may never have the chance again.

So basically, the start of 2015 featured several films from a deal with Fox/MGM that they clearly already had in the works, and then the mass of Paramount titles from their deal started to come out. Once they already had the Fox/MGM titles signed off they couldn't very well cancel those for the sake of diversity in their lineup, nor could they dawdle on the Paramount deal - the clock is ticking on the license.

Fox/MGM - Two for the Road, Wild River, Man of the West, The Offence, Pickup on South Street, A Letter to Three Wives, Forty Guns
Paramount - Paper Moon, Stalag 17, Medium Cool, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Seconds, Shane, Day of the Outlaw, The Quiet Man, The Naked Prey, A New Leaf

I think for a team of their size, they should be commended for managing to release a handful of outstanding non-Hollywood titles this year in amongst those studio deals - particularly the King Hu, but also Shoah and Wooden Crosses at the beginning of the year, and the surprise of a newly restored Oshima film too. Not to mention the Eureka Classics titles, which have arguably been some of the strongest yet (a Hammer, an Amicus, and a few notorious cult classics).

You can fuss all you like about there not being many silent or 'older' titles this year , but it's simply part of contractual agreements and financial margins. It makes sense for them to license multiple studio titles at once, and the Paramount deal clashing with the Fox/MGM deal just created the illusion they're more interested in doing English-language titles from now oe. That's clearly not the case if we know that some of the upcoming 2016 titles are foreign-language classics: A Touch of Zen, Man with a Movie Camera, Rocco and His Brothers. They also expressed interest in upgrading Kwaidan at some point, which would also be excellent.

Perhaps you shouldn't be looking at their output year-on-year anyway. You mentioned Wooden Crosses as being the only title 'like the others' from 2014, but that's because it was likely produced alongside Les Miserables (both Bernard films, and both from Pathé). Likewise, most of those silents were from Transit Films/Murnau Stiftung (Faust, Spione, Frau im Mond, Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Madame DuBarry, The Diary of a Lost Girl), Wings was part of a previous Paramount deal (Serpico, Nashville, White Dog, Ace in the Hole, Harold & Maude, If...., Too Late Blues), The Gang's All Here from Fox (coupled with Boomerang!, and possibly linked to the early 2015 deal), and both Intolerance and The Thief of Bagdad were licensed from Cohen (I assume with one or two others...I don't own everything from 2014 yet). So as you can see, these aren't just random phases but planned business deals with different licensors, and they have to be released as soon as possible as to make the most of their exclusive license window. Maybe you got lucky last year and they catered to your preferences, but Joe Bloggs who loves Westerns would have been equally as delighted from this year's slate.

[tenia]

I read your first answer and agree with it on a general point of view (with your second post too).
I however wasn't aware of the time window for licensing stuff and understand now better why they favoured the Paramount titles.

Prior to this knowledge, I was simply wondering what had the bigger weight in choosing this title over that one : the accessibility or the higher sales potential. It's obviously a mixture of both, but was it 50/50 ? 25/75 ? Let's say it this way to try and make my question easier to understand : if the Paramount titles were more confidential / obscure, would have MoC favoured them as much as they did ?

As a whole again, I understand your points and agree with most (if not all) of them. I'm also usually always happy with the titles being released (and how they're technically handled, even if some releases are obviously using older masters) by MoC (being a Murnau or a Mann, I'm usually discovering them for the first time anyway, and I have very broad tastes).

I was just wondering what had the bigger weight in the scale of choosing that title over this one. It seems to me now, reflecting more around the Paramount license that needed to be taken NOW, that the accessibility has more to do, and that the probable higher potential sales is a sweet second effect.

[rapta]

I read your first answer and agree with it on a general point of view (with your second post too).
I however wasn't aware of the time window for licensing stuff and understand now better why they favoured the Paramount titles.

Prior to this knowledge, I was simply wondering what had the bigger weight in choosing this title over that one : the accessibility or the higher sales potential. It's obviously a mixture of both, but was it 50/50 ? 25/75 ? Let's say it this way to try and make my question easier to understand : if the Paramount titles were more confidential / obscure, would have MoC favoured them as much as they did ?

As a whole again, I understand your points and agree with most (if not all) of them. I'm also usually always happy with the titles being released (and how they're technically handled, even if some releases are obviously using older masters) by MoC (being a Murnau or a Mann, I'm usually discovering them for the first time anyway, and I have very broad tastes).

I was just wondering what had the bigger weight in the scale of choosing that title over this one. It seems to me now, reflecting more around the Paramount license that needed to be taken NOW, that the accessibility has more to do, and that the probable higher potential sales is a sweet second effect.

Yes, as you say in your last point, time is the primary factor in deciding when to release stuff. If they've only licensed one or two titles, obviously that means they can shift focus around and build up a diverse 'run' of releases. But if they've licensed 10+ titles at one time (in the case of their most recent Paramount deal), those obviously will start to bunch up in the lineup. I think they've tackled this quite well so far, and was pleasantly surprised with the announcement of Cruel Story of Youth in amongst these studio titles (and glad to finally get Dragon Inn and Listen Up Philip as well).

The fact that these are studio titles means they inherently will have more sales potential, but I do think some of their choices have been a bit more left field (e.g. The Naked Prey, Day of the Outlaw). Some are these are also a chance to release titles that haven't been readily available in the UK even on DVD (e.g. Medium Cool, Seconds, A New Leaf, The Friends of Eddie Coyle), and a few are actually worldwide Blu-ray debuts (Paper Moon, The Naked Prey, Day of the Outlaw). Hopefully, next week's releases of Shane and The Quiet Man will prove to be the best releases of either film to date, worldwide (certainly Shane looks like it will be).

I'm actually hoping there are a few more Paramount titles left in this deal, as there are plenty I'd love to see Eureka handle - A Place in the Sun, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Hud, El Dorado, Targets, Uptight, Catch-22, Play It Again Sam, Bad Company, Child's Play, The Parallax View, Phase IV, The Gambler, The Day of the Locust, The Tenant, The Shootist, The Memory of Justice, Black Sunday, The Duellists, Goin' South, Real Life, Ordinary People, Gallipoli, The Keep, Witness...and most of all, Days of Heaven!

But yeah, basically it's never an 'either/or' situation. They're not going to release Westerns OR silents, or new French films OR old ones. They'll be looking to release both, but some may have to be prioritised due to licensing conditions, or just because it makes financial sense.

Anyway, back to Arrow who seem to never have this problem because they have a wider reach and are able to be more ambitious, thanks to their success as a cult film label first and foremost. That said, they never got to deal with Paramount like Eureka, but I'm hoping their operations in the US will convince some other studios (Sony, Warner, Disney) to consider sub-licensing some of their titles out eventually. We'll have to wait and see I suppose.

[tenia]

About your last point, I think part of this has to do with Arrow simply releasing more titles per month (even with taking into account Arrow Films) than MoC : MoC released about 23 titles for the whole of 2015, which is what Arrow Video + Arrow Academy have released just on Oct + Nov + Dec 2015 !

I'm not sure it's 100% down to a wider reach but at least partially because it seems they have a larger structure (human resources + money) allowing them to release more stuff, meaning less situations needing priorisation or choices (could be wrong like I was 1 hour ago, though !).

[kekid]

I am happy with what Arrow Films has been doing for some time now. I like the content they choose (Rivette, Yoshida, Fassbinder, etc.).
I like the quality of their product (e.g. image quality). I like their packaging (Far superior to Criterion and the BFI). I like their release strategy of issuing box sets first, then follow up with individual releases (the Boro set. Compare this with AE releasing individual Truffaut's first, then the box sets - quite unfair to those who collect the box sets). Unlike views expressed by some posters, I have no problem with their release frequency. I do not wish to be ungrateful to Criterion or the BFI for what they have been doing, but both of them have issued box sets of great importance (Herzog and Rossellini for the BFI and Apu Trilogy for Criterion) in mediocre packaging. Further, Criterion has been also having quality control problems lately. I hope they both learn from Arrow things they could improve.

[rapta]

About your last point, I think part of this has to do with Arrow simply releasing more titles per month (even with taking into account Arrow Films) than MoC : MoC released about 23 titles for the whole of 2015, which is what Arrow Video + Arrow Academy have released just on Oct + Nov + Dec 2015 !

I'm not sure it's 100% down to a wider reach but at least partially because it seems they have a larger structure (human resources + money) allowing them to release more stuff, meaning less situations needing priorisation or choices (could be wrong like I was 1 hour ago, though !).

Sorry, by 'wider reach' I did mean the size of their team as well as their audience. Obviously they can tackle a wider scope of titles as they have more resources, and presumably can take a small hit with something risky. As for picking what they release and how they release it, I feel like they're being a bit too careful on some...hence my frustration with Yoshida and Rivette, which aren't going to get any standalone reissues on Blu-ray, whilst Fukasaku and Fassbinder are.

As for Eureka, to be fair to them they also released 6 new titles for their growing Eureka Classics line as well...some of them being just as interesting as some of their MoC line, and all very much worth owning in my opinion (I actually own all but 2 of them so far). They also did a few reissues this year, and rather than trimming off them (like Arrow does, and the BFI have started to do), they've generally actually added value to them - steelbook packaging and a second Blu-ray for Metropolis, DVD copies for Kuroneko/Onibaba/Le Pont du Nord, and a final-run collectable box set for Imamura (although sans-physical booklets, understandable to keep production costs down).

I'm expecting big things from them in the new year - what with this deluxe edition of A Touch of Zen, and a promised deluxe edition for Man with a Movie Camera too...and there was word of some box sets soon! I have a feeling they've lined up some of their best stuff for the new year whilst they've been ploughing through this Paramount deal. They certainly started 2015 quite strongly, with 4 releases in the first month including a box set (Shoah).

I am happy with what Arrow Films has been doing for some time now. I like the content they choose (Rivette, Yoshida, Fassbinder, etc.).
I like the quality of their product (e.g. image quality). I like their packaging (Far superior to Criterion and the BFI). I like their release strategy of issuing box sets first, then follow up with individual releases (the Boro set. Compare this with AE releasing individual Truffaut's first, then the box sets - quite unfair to those who collect the box sets). Unlike views expressed by some posters, I have no problem with their release frequency. I do not wish to be ungrateful to Criterion or the BFI for what they have been doing, but both of them have issued box sets of great importance (Herzog and Rossellini for the BFI and Apu Trilogy for Criterion) in mediocre packaging. Further, Criterion has been also having quality control problems lately. I hope they both learn from Arrow things they could improve.

I'm happy too, in terms of content, quality of transfers/extras/packaging, regular sales, communication with fans. They're certainly setting the precedent for most other UK labels - I noticed the BFI have adjusted their output to match the quality of Eureka and Arrow, not just in terms of transfers but packaging too (see the Bill Morrison set for example, and the Dreyer one was an improvement too). This said, I'm guessing they have the biggest team of all the UK boutique labels, and can afford to spin several plates at once.

I was annoyed about Artificial Eye doing that box set stuff...releasing single titles first and a box set afterwards (the Satyajit Ray titles, but Truffaut as well). I think they've stopped that now, or at least made it clear in press releases (and on Amazon) if there's an upcoming box set...like with the recent Chaplin releases, where for some reason they've had to spread them out (probably because they were doing so many at once, and alongside other titles too). Be interesting to see how they handle Tarkovsky - I think I'd go for a box set if it turned out to be cheaper or had some added value (e.g. extra discs, booklet).

Arrow are not perfect themselves though - they have produced some okay results in terms of PQ (e.g. The Hound of the Baskervilles), had a few problems with quality (none that I've bought luckily, but one of the recent Spaghetti Westerns had something wrong with it, and Shivers has yet to be resolved...nothing quite like Criterion's Dressed to Kill though), and frequently have to delay releases (though many labels have been doing this...the BFI recently put The Wages of Fear back an entire year, and Farewell My Concubine by 2 months). I have also had frustrations with their own store - for example, I pre-ordered My Darling Clementine only for it to arrive damaged, and had to return it before they sent a replacement (which took a whole week, and several emails back-and-forth), which isn't the first time I'd had a damaged item from them (thank god it wasn't something OOP). They are certainly good at communicating problems though, and do whatever they can to rectify any problems with their products. Good business, basically, and looking to improve in all areas.

[MichaelB]

If by "one of the recent spaghetti westerns" you mean Requiescant, the subtitle-sync slippage has been corrected (annoyingly, this slippage happened after QC sign-off), and all current retail copies should be fine.

[chatterjees]

I was not sure where to post this. I just got an email from amazon that the estimated arrival date for Deep Red [Blu-Ray + Soundtrack CD] is now February 01 2016 - February 05 2016! Is this really delayed now?

[Ribs]

UK-only March titles:

NEW UK ONLY TITLE: Waking Life (Arrow Video) Dual Format
An extraordinary thought-provoking trip, quite unlike anything before or since.
Pre-order your copy here: http://bit.ly/1maEVCu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Release Date: 14th March
Region: B
DREAM IS DESTINY
In 2001 writer-director Richard Linklater released a spiritual sequel to his acclaimed early features Slacker and Before Sunset. Taking its cue from their walk-and-talk stream of consciousness, Waking Life enquired into the relationship between dreams and the big screen, and how cinema captures the phantasy state.
Aiding Linklater’s exploration were two major players: actor Wiley Wiggins (Dazed and Confused, Computer Chess), who acts as our guide through the dreamscape, and animator Bob Sabiston, who created the appropriately disassociated, floating rotoscoped visuals. He and Linklater would later collaborate again on A Scanner Darkly to equally stunning effect.
Featuring Adam Goldberg, Nicky Katt, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke (reprising their Jesse and Céline characters from Before Sunset) and director Steven Soderbergh, Waking Life is an extraordinary thought-provoking trip, quite unlike anything before or since.
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
•High definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
•Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
•Optional subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
•Commentary by writer-director Richard Linklater, art director Bob Sabiston, actor Wiley Wiggins and producer Tommy Pallotta
•Commentary by the 25-strong animation team
•A selection of Bob Sabiston’s short films, including The Trees (1991), Project Incognito (1997), Snack and Drink (1999), Figures of Speech (1999), Grasshopper (2003), Ryan’s Capitol Tour (2006) and The Even More Fun Trip (2007)
•Original ‘making of’ featurette including interviews with Linklater, Sabiston and Pallotta
•Animation tutorial with Sabiston
•Deleted and alternative animation sequences
•Pre-animation live action footage captured on Mini DV
•Trivia subtitle track written by Linklater
•Theatrical trailer
The first pressing also includes a booklet containing new writing on the film by critic David Jenkins and a guide to Bob Sabiston’s short films

NEW UK ONLY TITLE: The Merchant of Four Seasons + Beware of a Holy Whore (Arrow Academy) Blu-ray
Two classics from a key stage in the career of Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Pre-order your copy here: http://bit.ly/1maEyYs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Release Date: 28th March
Region: B
Made in quick succession in 1970 and 1971, Beware of a Holy Whore and The Merchant of Four Seasons represent a key stage in the career of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the point at which he matured as a filmmaker and first began to attract an international audience.
A fictional recounting of the making of Whity, Fassbinder’s take on the American West, Beware of a Holy Whore is a backstage melodrama set in a Spanish seaside hotel. Starring Lou Castel (Requiescant) as the director and Eddie Constantine (Alphaville) as himself, the film is an intriguing and often acidic look through the mirror at Fassbinder and his ‘family’ of cast and crew.
The Merchant of Four Seasons concerns itself with Hans, a fruit seller, former Foreign Legionnaire and family man. Inspired by the discovery of Douglas Sirk’s work – and set, like those classic melodramas, in the 1950s – Fassbinder charts Hans’ downfall with a perfect blend of poignancy and high drama. The Sirkian formula worked so well it would inspire a new phase in the director’s output and produce such classics as The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and Fear Eats the Soul.
•Brand new 4K restorations of the films from original camera negatives
•High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations
•Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
•Optional English subtitles
•Audio commentary on The Merchant of Four Seasons by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Christian McCrea
•Audio commentary on Beware of a Holy Whore by Adrian Martin
•Newly-filmed interview with actor Lou Castel on Beware of a Holy Whore
•Beware of a Holy Whore theatrical trailer

NEW UK ONLY TITLE: Fear Eats the Soul (Arrow Academy) Blu-ray
A key film for both Fassbinder and the New German Cinema.
Pre-order your copy here: http://bit.ly/1maEhEQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Release Date: 28th March
Region: B
In March 1974 Rainer Werner Fassbinder released what would become arguably his most loved work. Fresh from the Cannes Film Festival, where it had earned its director two prizes, Fear Eats the Soul would soon delight audiences the world over with its tale of romance and racial prejudice in present-day Munich.
Emmi (Brigitte Mira), a widowed cleaning lady in her sixties, meets Ali (El Hedi ben Salem), a Moroccan immigrant in his thirties. Seeking companionship, the pair marry to the outrage Emmi’s family (including Fassbinder himself as her aggressive son-in-law), her friends and her colleagues.
Paying homage to the classic melodramas of Douglas Sirk, in particular All That Heaven Allows, Fear Eats the Soul is a beautifully performed look at intolerance and hypocrisy, and a key film for both Fassbinder and the New German Cinema.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
•Brand new 4K restoration from original camera negatives
•High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
•Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
•Optional English subtitles
•Audio commentary by critic and lecturer Mark Freeman
•My Name is Not Ali, Viola Shafik’s 2011 feature-length documentary on the life and death of El Hedi ben Salem, star of Fear Eats the Soul
•Newly-filmed interviews with director of photography Jürgen Jürges
•Theatrical trailer

Some interesting tidbits from MichaelB over in the Blu-ray forums:

there's plenty of Academy stuff coming out already (and not just for Fassbinder fans: I'm currently working on non-Fassbinder Academy releases for April, May and June)

One of them is one of my all-time favourite films, and another has never had a UK video release of any kind (bafflingly, given that it had a very healthy repertory life back in the day), but my lips are otherwise sealed.

3-5 UK/US and US only titles being announced Friday.

[domino harvey]

MichaelB has mentioned Festen is one of the all time favs, perhaps it's a Dogme 95 box?

[rapta]

MichaelB has mentioned Festen is one of the all time favs, perhaps it's a Dogme 95 box?

Interesting theory...I'd go for Festen (or any other Vinterberg) but I can't stand The Idiots (or almost any other Von Trier). Julien Donkey-Boy might be one of the only Korine films I'd consider upgrading. If it does turn out to be that, I hope they issue them separately as well.

[Stephen]

MichaelB has mentioned Festen is one of the all time favs, perhaps it's a Dogme 95 box?

Perhaps it’s some Svankmajer given his herculean effort with that tremendous BFI box set. Faust has never had a UK DVD release and still patrols the repertory circuit.

[reaky]

Thundercrack! Never seemed to be off the screen at the Scala in London. I'm not suggesting it's one of MichaelB's favourite films, I should add.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Thundercrack! Never seemed to be off the screen at the Scala in London. I'm not suggesting it's one of MichaelB's favourite films, I should add.

Along with the Devil's Cleavage. Normallly a double bill. How about a Kuchar box?

[rapta]

MichaelB has mentioned Festen is one of the all time favs, perhaps it's a Dogme 95 box?

Perhaps it’s some Svankmajer given his herculean effort with that tremendous BFI box set. Faust has never had a UK DVD release and still patrols the repertory circuit.

I'd very much be on board for some Svankmajer (and/or some Jiri Trnka if the difficulties with those have been cleared up). BFI's Alice and Jan Svankmajer Collection set were both great. I still need to get that Brothers Quay Collection that Michael Brooke also worked on.

[MichaelB]

MichaelB has mentioned Festen is one of the all time favs

I was half tempted to ignore this, because there's nothing I enjoy more than wildly misleading guesses, but I don't think I've ever posted anything online about Festen, much less championed it as a personal favourite!

(I saw it when it came out, thought it was OK, but have never had the slightest desire to see it again and I don't even own it on DVD.)

I'm a bigger fan of Thundercrack!, to be honest, but that's not going to get a UK release any time soon - the BBFC has made it clear that it won't get an 18 certificate without substantial cuts, and an R18 (denoting porn) makes it commercially unviable.

[domino harvey]

Yes, I see no evidence of you saying what I thought you said, I blame bad memory! Mea culpa!