Arrow Announcements, Speculation & Wild, Irresponsible Conjecture

[tenia]

It could very simply be the current design for all Arrow postcards now that they're doing UHDs.

[bad future]

Given that they already released a blu ray of True Romance in 2019, apparently from the same old master, would they be promoting now if it wasn't going to be a new transfer or a new format? I'm probably missing something; not super familiar with their marketing practices...

[Adam X]

I only linked it up with 4K because it was the only coded ‘clue’ on that page that seemed to match up. Nothing more.

While not without precedent, I’d find it weird if Arrow were to be rereleasing the film just to add a couple more extras if it wasn’t to also feature a new restoration. There’s always a first time, and True Romance sorely needs a makeover.

[Calvin]

I think we can be pretty sure that if/when Arrow release True Romance, they'll release it on UHD if it's up to them. Same goes for The Last of the Mohicans and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - they're all huge gets for Arrow.

[tenia]

Given that they already released a blu ray of True Romance in 2019, apparently from the same old master, would they be promoting now if it wasn't going to be a new transfer or a new format? I'm probably missing something; not super familiar with their marketing practices...

They released it as a bare-bones Arrow Films release but is supposedly going to get a later more traditional Arrow treatment, with possibly/hopefully a new restoration, hence why it still gets promoted now.

[EddieLarkin]

Same TR card was also found in a US copy of Tremors, so it's pretty much a dead cert it'll at least be a new transfer, if not UHD. I'd be very pleased with either.

[dwk]

Morgan Creek titles are with Sony in the US, and they don't license UHD rights.

[RichardFisk]

Paul Boland over at Hi-Def Ninja just confirmed a new Arrow release of True Romance!

[M Sanderson]

A fresh scan would be great. A UHD would be truly essential.

[Dylan]

Arrow has posted a clue for one of their Friday releases.

I'm guessing it's Roger Vadim's Blood and Roses, one of my all-time favorite horror films even though I've never seen a "definitive" version. I've seen the French cut, which is floating around in 2.35:1 and the track's dialogue maintains the (I assume) intended ambiguity of the story, but it's missing a lot of the final dream sequence. I've also seen the American cut with the English dub and cropped to 1.33:1. The English track isn't badly done technically, but it reworks the dialogue in a way that dispenses with most of the ambiguity, which reduces the impact. The American cut does seem to have the dream sequence in tact, however (or at least it's longer than it is in the French cut). I somehow recall reading that the longest cut of this film was the Italian release version, which might be lost.

There is so much potential for a Blu-ray of Blood and Roses, and it's a perfect title for Arrow. In any case, we'll see what it is on Friday.

[domino harvey]

I don't share your passion, sadly, but I think it's a film very much in their wheelhouse, so maybe you'll get lucky!

[yoloswegmaster]

I've seen people speculate that it could be for My Bloody Valentine or for The Prowler (otherwise known as Rosemary's Killer)

[Ribs]

UHDs coming for Donnie Darko and Battle Royale.

The MSRP for the latter is £80 for some reason.

[ex-cowboy]

UHDs coming for Donnie Darko and Battle Royale.

The MSRP for the latter is £80 for some reason.

Judging by the packaging, the BR set will include both films (and possibly the alternate cuts of both BR & BRII, giving you 4 cuts), hence the price I'm assuming.

(I think the 'Battle Royale' is meant to signify the series, rather than just the first film)

[tenia]

Battle Royale UHD set will be a 5 discs set : 2 UHDs (for each cut of the 1st movie + extras), 2 BDs (for each cut of the 2nd movie + extras), 1 CD with the 1st movie OST. It also will have a 120 pages "monograph on Kinji Fukasaku by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes" on top of a more general booklet, some "Trump Cards" and a reversible poster.

I'm a bit frustrated by this release because the first collector set (did it ever sell out in the end ?) was amongst the first Arrow release I bought and it's clear the label weren't operating as rigorously as now : the masters weren't very good, neither were the encodes, and god this DVD-sized set was unpractical to store ! But of course, that's just because this was then.

I'm more surprised by Donnie Darko's UHD, because Carlotta didn't do a UHD release in France because there weren't a usable 4K digital file of the movie (ie despite the restoration having been performed in 4K, the resulting digital files weren't "future-proofed" for a UHD release). I wonder if Arrow went back to it to generate usable files in 4K, or if they managed to retrieve somewhere exploitable 4K files...

[yoloswegmaster]

I'm a bit frustrated by this release because the first collector set (did it ever sell out in the end ?) was amongst the first Arrow release I bought and it's clear the label weren't operating as rigorously as now : the masters weren't very good, neither were the encodes, and god this DVD-sized set was unpractical to store ! But of course, that's just because this was then.

I would like to believe that it ended up selling out since Arrow was selling the theatrical and extended cut on separate blurays. There is a bit of oddness going on with the UHD release since it's listed as being Region B instead of being Region Free. Anyhow, does anyone know who Arrow licensed Battle Royale from? It's a bit surprising to see Arrow restoring a Japanese film themselves instead of relying on whatever masters that were passed down to them.

[dwk]

Someone on the Blu-ray forum asked on twitter and were told the B code on the listing was a mistake, but they are going to leave it up to keep Toei from getting upset (I am certain that the 2 blus for part 2 are going to be B locked.)

[Dylan]

The other releases are Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Switchblade Sisters, Clapboard Jungle, and Death Has Blue Eyes.

Darn, no Vadim. But I am now wondering which one of these new titles fits the literal blood and roses clue? One of the Battle Royale movies?

[dwk]

Blu-ray forum people are saying the clue was for Death Had Blue Eyes

[What A Disgrace]

Hinting at the least interesting film in the slate is a pretty cheeky move.

[Dylan]

I've heard of Death Has Blue Eyes (aka The Para Psychics) but I've never seen it. Clapboard Jungle is a new documentary about independent filmmaking that possibly has the last on-camera interviews with Dick Miller, Larry Cohen, and Sid Haig.

[swo17]

Nico Mastorakis 5, Michel Deville 0

*Edited by swo17 out of profound embarrassment at 11:08am, 1/29/2021

[Stefan Andersson]

Would Arrow be interested in releasing a box set of Otar Iosseliani´s films? My memories of films like "Pastorale", "Monday Morning", "Farewell Sweet Home" and others are of droll, exquisitely directed Tatiesque comedy.

[therewillbeblus]

Michel Deville has a sister?

[swo17]

Michel Deville has a sister?

No idea what you're talking about :-"

And any Iosseliani would be wonderful!