Today, Arrow announced its Arrow Video and Arrow Academy release slates for March 2018, plus a new book and soundtrack LP for the new year.

Arrow Video is getting things started in March with Brian De Palma’s classic Hitchcockian psycho-thriller Raising Cain. Twisted, terrifying and overflowing with special features, this is a Blu-ray must-have. The creepiness continues with the Blu-ray release of the film adaptation of VC Andrews’ gothic chiller, Flowers in the Attic. Combining melodrama with undercurrents of child abuse and incest, this edition is packed with extras to satisfy even the most ardent fan of the film and novel. Also coming in March is a trio of the late George A. Romero’s lesser known works, with There’s Always Vanilla, Season of the Witch and The Crazies all coming individually to Blu-ray. Massively influencing the director’s later films such as Dawn of the Dead, each of these three is a must-watch for any Romero fan. Next up is a duo of iconic Spaghetti Westerns, with A Pistol for Ringo & The Return of Ringo: Two Films by Duccio Tessari heading to Blu-ray. Both films were huge influences on the Italian Western thanks to their stylish cinematography and skilled direction and are released here in beautiful brand new restorations. Last but not least is the Blu-ray release of Killer Klowns from Outer Space, newly restored with some out of this world special features.

Arrow Academy, meanwhile, begins March with the classic Western, Ramrod, from Andre DeToth – who has been acclaimed by both Tarantino and Scorsese. As well as a plot full of intrigue and violence, the film also features stunning turns from Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea, two of the biggest film stars of the 1940s. Arrow Academy’s second treat for cinephiles is Robert Altman’s masterpiece, Images, which deftly blends hallucination and reality to keep the audience as unsure as its tortured heroine - an award-winning turn by Susannah York. Last out of the Academy is Sacha Guitry: Four Films 1936-1938, showing off a quartet of films from the “Gallic Noël Coward”: The New Testament, My Father Was Right, Let’s Make A Dream… and Let’s Go Up the Champs-Élysées. The set comes with a selection of extras to give real insight into the films.

To kick of the new year, January sees Arrow Books release All the Colors of Sergio Martino by Kat Ellinger. A must-read for fans of one of Italy’s most celebrated cult directors. The book looks at his entire career, including his collaborations, his gialli, and even his more overlooked films. In the same month, Arrow Records proudly present the previously unpublished on vinyl soundtrack to Mario Bava’s Viking epic, Erik the Conqueror. Newly mastered from the original analogue tapes, the soundtrack is presented on a limited edition yellow vinyl, complete with stunning, specially commissioned artwork.

ARROW VIDEO TITLES

Raising Cain | Blu-ray | 5 March 2018 | £19.99

Having spent the latter half of the eighties trying out new styles of filmmaking – Wise Guys knockabout comedy, The Untouchables prestige gangster pic, Casualties of War Vietnam movie and The Bonfire of the Vanities satirical misfire – Brian De Palma returned to what he knew best, the Hitchcockian psycho-thriller, for Raising Cain.

John Lithgow plays three roles: child psychologist Carter, his evil twin brother Cain, and their Norwegian father, Dr Nix, who likes to experimental on the young. Carter’s wife is concerned that her husband isn’t quite paying their daughter the right kind of attention; she’s also having an affair which, upon discovery, threatens to send him into a psychotic rage...

A relentless blend of murder, multiple personalities, cross-dressing, crazed parents, bizarre dream sequences and stunning cinematic assurance, Raising Cain harks back to those twin masterpieces Psycho and Peeping Tom, but is pure unadulterated De Palma.

Special Edition contents:

• High Definition digital transfer of the theatrical version 
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing 
• Hickory Dickory Doc, a brand-new interview with actor John Lithgow
• The Man in My Life, an interview with actor Steven Bauer
• Have You Talked to the Others?, an interview with editor Paul Hirsch 
• Three Faces of Henry, an interview with actor Gregg Henry
• The Cat's in the Bag, an interview with actor Tom Bower
• A Little Too Late for That, an interview with actor Mel Harris
• Raising Pino, a brand-new interview with composer Pino Donaggio
• Father s Day, a brand-new video essay about the multiple versions of Raising Cain by Chris Dumas, author of Un-American Psycho: Brian De Palma and the Political Invisible
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh

Flowers in the Attic | Blu-ray | 12 March 2018 | £24.99

When her husband dies in a tragic accident, widow Corrine Dollanganger (Victoria Tennant, The Holcroft Covenant) takes her four children to the ancestral family home she fled before they were born. Locked away in the attic by their tyrannical grandmother (Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), it falls to older and sister brother Chris (Jeb Stuart Adams, The Goonies) and Cathy (Kristy Swanson, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to care for their younger siblings. But with their mother growing increasingly distant and erratic and a mysterious sickness taking hold, will any of the Dollanganger children survive to escape the clutches of the house’s cruel matriarch?

Originally published in 1979, VC Andrews’ novel Flowers in the Attic was a smash hit, spawning four sequels and going on to sell over 40 million copies worldwide. With undercurrents of incest and child abuse and a haunting score by Christopher Young (Hellraiser), Flowers in the Attic is a dark and chilling Gothic suspense thriller in the classic tradition.

Special Edition contents:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original lossless 2.0 stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author and editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine
• Home Sweet Home: Filming Flowers in the Attic, a new interview with cinematographer Frank Byers
• Fear & Wonder: Designing Flowers in the Attic, a new interview with production designer John Muto
• The Devil’s Spawn: Playing Flowers in the Attic, a new interview with actor Jeb Stuart Adams
• Shattered Innocence: Composing Flowers in the Attic, a new interview with composer Christopher Young
• Production gallery of behind-the-scenes images, illustrations and storyboards
• The original, studio-vetoed ending
• Original theatrical trailer
• Two versions of the script: the unproduced Wes Craven draft, and the final shooting script, including original scenes and reshoots, as well as both endings (BD-ROM content)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love
• First pressing only: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Bryan Reesman

There’s Always Vanilla | Blu-ray | 12 March 2018 | £19.99

Available for the first time on Blu-ray, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero’s second feature film, There’s Always Vanilla – a biting satire of early ’70s American society and an unjustly overlooked entry in the late director’s filmography. 

When young drifter Chris meets beautiful model Lynn by a chance occurrence, the pair hit it off and a romantic relationship ensues. But with their wildly contrasting outlooks on life, it soon becomes clear that the coupling is doomed from the outset. 

Starring Judith Streiner (born Judith Ridley) from Night of the Living Dead and Ray Laine, who would go on to appear in Romero’s next film, Season of the Witch, There’s Always Vanilla is a unique entry in the director’s canon and one that’s ripe for reappraisal.

Special Edition contents:

• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements 
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original Uncompressed PCM Mono Audio 
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing 
• Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford 
• Affair of the Heart: The Making of There’s Always Vanilla, brand new documentary featuring interviews with producers John Russo and Russell Streiner, stars Judith Streiner and Richard Ricci, and sound recordist Gary Streiner 
• Digging Up the Dead – The Lost Films of George A. Romero, archive interview with Romero discussing his early films There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch
• Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz
• Memorabilia Gallery
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

Season of the Witch | Blu-ray | 12 March 2018 | £19.99

Perhaps the most unclassifiable of filmmaker George A. Romero’s works, 1972’s Season of the Witch sees the Night of the Living Dead filmmaker returning to the realm of the supernatural for this bewitching tale of a housewife driven to an interest in the dark arts. 

On the surface, Joan Mitchell has it all – family, friends, and a beautiful home equipped with all the latest appliances. But when a neighbor educates her on the practice of witchcraft, Joan believes she’s discovered the perfect antidote to her monotonous suburban existence, and embarks upon a dark path that will lead to a shocking conclusion. 

Filmed as Jack’s Wife and subsequently cut down and retitled Hungry Wives for its theatrical release in an attempt to market it as a sexploitation film, Season of the Witch is arguably one of Romero’s most overlooked films – an intimate and thought-provoking character study that serves as the perfect companion piece to his later Martin.

Special Edition contents:

• Brand new 4K restoration of the original theatrical version from the camera negative [90 mins] 
• Alternate extended version [104 mins]
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original Uncompressed PCM Mono Audio
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing 
• Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford 
• When Romero Met Del Toro, filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro in conversation with George Romero 
• The Secret Life of Jack’s Wife, archive interview with actress Jan White
• Alternate Opening Titles 
• Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz
• Memorabilia Gallery
• Trailers 
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

The Crazies | Blu-ray | 12 March 2018 | £19.99

After the experimental outings of There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero returned to rather more distinct horror territory with his 1973 infection opus The Crazies. 

When a plane carrying a secret biological weapon crash-lands in the vicinity of a small, rural town, the area descends into chaos. Infected with a virus that sends them into a homicidal frenzy, the locals turn on each other in an orgy of bloody violence. As the army cordons off the town and government agents clash with scientists over the appropriate course of action, a small band of survivors attempt to make their way to safety. 

Starring cult icon Lynn Lowry (Shivers, I Drink Your Blood), the influence of Romero’s The Crazies can be felt in everything from the director’s own subsequent work – many commentators have noted the stylistic and thematic similarities to his zombie classic Dawn of the Dead – right up to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and beyond.

Special Edition contents:

• Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative 
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original Mono Uncompressed PCM Audio
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing 
• Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford 
• Romero Was Here: Locating The Crazies, Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz takes us on a guided tour of Evans City, PA and the locations used in The Crazies 
• Crazy for Lynn Lowry, cult star Lynn Lowry discusses her early career including her role in The Crazies 
• Q&A with Lynn Lowry filmed at the 2016 Abertoir Film Festival 
• Audio interview with producer Lee Hessel 
• Behind-the-scenes footage with optional commentary by Lawrence DeVincentz
• Alternate Opening Titles 
• Image Galleries
• Trailers & TV Spots 
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

A Pistol for Ringo & The Return of Ringo: Two Films by Duccio Tessari | Blu-ray | 19 March 2018 | £24.99

The original Ringo films introduced another iconic hero to the spaghetti western; a clean-cut sharp shooter who was markedly different to Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name.

In A Pistol For Ringo, the eponymous hero, played by Giuliano Gemma (Day of Anger, Tenebrae), infiltrates a ranch of Mexican bandits to save a beautiful hostage (Nieves Navarro, Death Walks on High Heels). In The Return Of Ringo, the gunslinger, now a veteran of war, disguises himself as a Mexican in order to take revenge on outlaws who have stolen his property and taken his wife. 

Hugely successful upon their original release, thanks in part to the skilled direction of Duccio Tessari (The Bloodstained Butterfly, Death Occurred Last Night), the Ringo films proved influential on the Italian western, spawning numerous unofficial sequels, due to their gripping set-pieces and unforgettable musical scoring by Ennio Morricone. Arrow Video is proud to present both films in sumptuous new restorations that truly brings their stylish cinematography to life.

Special Edition contents:

• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation 
• Original Italian and English soundtracks
• Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Audio commentaries for both films by Spaghetti Western experts C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke
• They Called Him Ringo, an archival featurette with star Giuliano Gemma
• A Western Greek Tragedy, an archival featurette with Lorella de Luca and camera operator Sergio D’Offizi
• Original trailers
• Gallery of original promotional images
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• First pressing only: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Howard Hughes and a newly-translated interview with Duccio Tessari

Killer Klowns from Outer Space | Blu-ray | 26 March 2018 | £24.99

Step aside Pennywise… These Killer Klowns from Outer Space are outta this world – literally! – and they’re packing deadly popcorn guns and cotton candy cocoons! 

When Mike and his girlfriend Debbie warn the local police that a gang of homicidal alien-clowns have landed in the nearby area (in a spaceship shaped like a circus big-top, no less), the cops are naturally sceptical. Before long however, reports are coming in from other anxious residents detailing similar run-ins with the large-shoed assailants. There can no longer be any doubt – the Killer Klowns from Outer Space are here, and they’re out to turn the Earth’s population into candy floss! 

Written and produced by the Chiodo brothers – knowns for their work on a host of special-effects laden hits such as Team America: World Police and the Critters movies – Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a cinematic experience unparalleled in this galaxy, now newly restored by Arrow Video for this stellar edition.

• Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation 
• Newly remastered stereo 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio options 
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing 
• Archive audio commentary with the Chiodo Brothers 
• Let the Show Begin! Anatomy of a Killer Theme Song, an all-new interview with the original members of the American punk band, The Dickies 
• The Chiodos Walk Among Us: Adventures in Super 8 Filmmaking, all-new documentary highlighting the making of the Chiodo Brothers childhood films, from the giant monster epics made in their basement to their experiments in college 
• New HD transfers of the complete collection of the Chiodo Brothers 8mm and Super 8 films, including Land of Terror, Free Inside, Beast from the Egg, and more! 
• Tales of Tobacco, an interview with star Grant Cramer
• Debbie’s Big Night, an interview with star Suzanne Snyder 
• Bringing Life to These Things, a tour of Chiodo Bros. Productions
• The Making of Killer Klowns, archive production featurette
• Visual Effects with Gene Warren Jr., archive interview with co-writer/producer Charles Chiodo and visual effects supervisor Gene Warren Jr.
• Kreating Klowns, archive interview with Charles Chiodo and creature fabricator Dwight Roberts
• Komposing Klowns, archive interview with composer John Massari
• Klown Auditions
• Deleted Scenes with filmmaker’s audio commentary
• Bloopers
• Image Galleries
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck

ARROW ACADEMY RELEASES

Ramrod | Blu-ray | 5 March 2018 | £19.99

One of the classic Westerns of its era, Ramrod stars Veronica Lake as Connie Dickson, a headstrong cowgirl who’s plans to marry a sheep rancher are thwarted when a powerful local cattle baron, Frank Ivey (Preston Foster), and her own father (Charles Ruggles), force her fiancé to flee town. 

Refusing to kowtow to these powerful men, Connie inherits her ex-fiancés land and determines to run the ranch with the help of her new ramrod, reformed alcoholic Dave Nash (Joel McCrea). But Dave’s diplomatic attempts to resolve the dispute fall upon deaf ears and a bloody turf war on the open range ensues. 

With Ramrod, Andre DeToth (a Hungarian-American director who has earned praise from Tarantino and Scorsese) skilfully creates a dangerous world of greed, lies and murder whilst garnering superb performances from McCrea and Lake, two of the biggest Hollywood stars of the 1940s.

Special Edition 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 
• Audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin 
  Andre DeToth in Conversation with Patrick Francis, far-reaching audio-only interview conducted by the documentary filmmaker 
• Newly-filmed appreciation by expert on American genre films, Peter Stanfield 
• Andre DeToth Interviewed at the National Film Theatre, a career-spanning archival interview from 1994, conducted by writer and broadcaster Kevin Jackson 
• Gallery of original promotional images
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips\
• First pressing only:  Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Danks, contemporary reviews and production stories

Images | Blu-ray | 19 March 2018 | £19.99

The early seventies were a period of remarkable activity for Robert Altman, producing masterpiece after masterpiece. At the time he came to make Images, M*A*S*H and McCabe & Mrs. Miller were behind him, with The Long Goodbye, California Split and Nashville still to come. 

Originally conceived in the mid-sixties, Images concerns a pregnant children’s author (Susannah York, who won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival) whose husband (Rene Auberjonois) may or may not be having an affair. While holidaying in Ireland, her mental state becomes increasingly unstable resulting in paranoia, hallucinations and visions of a doppelgänger. 

Scored by an Oscar-nominated John Williams, with “sounds” by Stomu Yamash'ta (The Man Who Fell to Earth), Images also boasts the remarkable cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind).

Special Edition features:

• Brand-new 4K restoration from the original negative, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release 
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation 
• Original English mono audio (uncompressed LPCM) soundtracks 
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing 
• Audio commentary by Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger 
• Scene-select commentary by writer-director Robert Altman 
• Interview with Robert Altman 
• Brand new interview with actor Cathryn Harrison 
• An appreciation by musician and author Stephen Thrower 
• Theatrical trailer 
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil
• First pressing only: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Carmen Gray and an extract from Altman on Altman

Sacha Guitry: Four Films 1936-1938 | Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD | 26 March 2018 | £44.99

Sacha Guitry has been referred to as the Gallic Noël Coward - a celebrated polymath who worked as a stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and as an acclaimed playwright. Four Films 1936-1938 brings together a quartet of 1930s features by Guitry, each based on his own, earlier works for the theatre. 

The New Testament (Le Nouveau testament) follows a holier-than-thou physician who is scuppered by his own hypocrisy. My Father Was Right (Mon père avait raison) tells of a man who, after being left by his wife for another man, raises his son to be wary of women. Let’s Make a Dream… (Faisons un rêve...) is another story of mistrust, between husband, wife and their lovers. And the history of one of France’s most famous streets is retold in Let’s Go Up the Champs-Élysées (Remontons les Champs-Élysées), featuring multiple performances from Guitry himself. 

This set presents some of Guitry’s most enjoyable works for the first time on Blu-ray, with each film amply displaying the versatile talents of this unique performer and artist.

Limited Edition contents:

• Limited Edition Dual Format Collection [2000 copies] 
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations 
• Original French mono soundtracks on all films (uncompressed LPCM on Blu-ray)
• Optional English language subtitles
• Newly filmed introduction to the films of Sacha Guitry by French cinema expert and academic Ginette Vincendeau 
• Selected scene commentaries by Ginette Vincendeau 
• Four video essays on different Guitry themes by critic Philippe Durant 
• Interviews about Guitry with writer and director Francis Veber, and filmmaker Pascal Thomas
• Let’s Make a Dream… sound tests
• Let’s Make a Dream… theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeves featuring newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow for all films
• Limited edition 60-page book illustrated with original stills, featuring new writing by Craig Keller and Sabrina Marques; and credits for all films [Limited Edition Exclusive]

ARROW RECORDS AND ARROW BOOKS JANUARY RELEASES

All the Colors of Sergio Martino | Paperback | 26 January 2018 | £19.99

Mondo, giallo, crime thriller, cannibal, comedy, western, sci-fi and action. Over the best part of 40 years Italian Maestro Sergio Martino has worked tirelessly in many genres of film and television. While his output is often diverse in tone and theme, one thing you can always guarantee is that his cinema is always entertaining.

Author Kat Ellinger tracks the director’s rise, from his humble beginnings as actor, production manager and second unit director, to his status as one of Italy’s most celebrated cult filmmakers of the seventies and eighties. Chapters in the book include a run down of his earliest collaborations — with the likes of Mario Bava and Umberto Lenzi — and his first films, before turning to provide an in-depth examination of his giallo films. Later chapters focus on his crime thrillers, horror, sci-fi, action and adventure films; as well as delving into some of his most important partnerships; including those with his long-time producer, brother Luciano Martino, script-writer Ernesto Gastaldi and giallo and sexy comedy queen Edwige Fenech. In addition to this, the book takes a long look at some of the director’s most overlooked films; including the massive contribution he made to the Italian sexy comedy and his major works for Italian television.

Kat Ellinger is the Editor-in-Chief of Diabolique Magazine, and co-host of their Daughters of Darkness and Hell’s Belles podcasts. She is also the author of Daughters of Darkness (Devil’s Advocates Series, Auteur). Featuring new artwork by Gilles Vranckx and original stills.

Erik the Conqueror | Translucent Yellow Vinyl | 26 January 2018 | £29.99

Arrow Records proudly presents the original soundtrack to Mario Bava’s swashbuckling epic of treachery, heroism and forbidden love, Erik the Conqueror! 

Previously unpublished on vinyl, Roberto Nicolosi’s rousing film score evokes romance and adventure with a selection of compelling and varied musical cues that truly bring Bava’s Viking spectacle to life. This limited, translucent yellow, double-vinyl edition has been newly mastered from the original analogue tapes by James Plotkin and is presented on 180 gram wax, housed inside a 350gsm sleeve. 

Featuring newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys and accompanying film notes by Tim Lucas.