Arrow Academy’s March releases are a brace of monochrome masterworks for the discerning film fanatic - a classic film noir making its Blu-ray debut, and a controversial and provocative Alec Guinness drama. As usual from Arrow, the films are lavishly packaged, with collectors booklets, reversible sleeves, and a wealth of extras.
First up is Phantom Lady from 1944, a magnificent adaptation of one of Cornell Woolrich’s most deliciously dark and twisting thriller novels. Directed by Robert Siodmak (who would go on to helm landmark film noirs The Killers with Burt Lancaster and The Dark Mirror with Olivia de Havilland), Phantom Lady features a superb performance from Alan Curtis (High Sierra), as a man desperately seeking a mystery woman (Ella Raines – Brute Force) who is the only person who can provide an alibi for his wife’s murder.
Also in March is The Prisoner, a complex, challenging and multifaceted exploration of faith and power, starring Alec Guiness as an iron-willed Cardinal in an Eastern European capital, arrested by state police on charges of treason. Jack Hawkins is the man tasked with securing a confession from him by any means necessary, and knowing the Cardinal will never fold under physical torture, the Interrogator instead sets out to destroy him mentally.
Phantom Lady (1944) | Blu-ray | 4 March 2019 | £24.99
From one of the masters of the film noir, Robert Siodmak, comes the consummate crime classic, Phantom Lady.
After a fight with his wife, Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis) heads to a bar to drown his sorrows. There he strikes up a conversation with a mysterious, despondent lady who agrees to accompany him to a show uptown but withholds her name. Arriving home, Scott is met by grimly countenanced cops - his wife has been strangled with one of his neckties and he is the prime suspect. He has a solid alibi, but his theatre companion is nowhere to be found and no one remembers seeing them together. When Scott is charged with murdering his wife, it falls to his devoted secretary ‘Kansas’ (Ella Raines) to find the phantom lady and save Scott from the electric chair...
Adapted from a hit novel by acclaimed crime writer Cornell Woolrich, Phantom Lady boasts stylish cinematography, cruel characters and memorable performances from Ella Raines and Franchot Tone (Mutiny on the Bounty). The film is presented here for the first time in stunning High Definition.
Special Edition Blu-ray contents:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation transferred from original film elements
- Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Dark and Deadly: 50 Years of Film Noir, an insightful archival documentary featuring contributions from Robert Wise, Edward Dmytryk, Dennis Hopper and more
- Rare, hour-long 1944 radio dramatization of Phantom Lady by the Lux Radio Theatre, starring Alan Curtis and Ella Raines
- Gallery of original stills and promotional materials
- Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Alan K. Rode
The Prisoner (1955) | Blu-ray | 11 March 2019 | £24.99
Banned from the Cannes and Venice Films Festivals for being anti-Communist and excoriated elsewhere as pro-Soviet propaganda, Peter Glenville’s The Prisoner stoked controversy at the time of its original release and remains a complex, challenging and multifaceted exploration of faith and power.
In an unnamed Eastern European capital, an iron-willed Cardinal (Academy Award-winner Alec Guinness – The Ladykillers) is arrested by state police on charges of treason. Tasked with securing a confession from him by any means necessary is a former comrade-in-arms from the anti-Nazi resistance (Jack Hawkins – The Bridge on the River Kwai). Knowing the Cardinal will never fold under physical torture, the Interrogator instead sets out to destroy him mentally, breaking his spirit rather than his body.
Adapted by acclaimed playwright Bridget Boland (Gaslight) from her own stage-play and showcasing powerhouse performances by two actors at the height of their game, The Prisoner is a tense, thought-provoking and disturbing drama about the endurance of the human spirit.
Special Edition Blu-ray contents:
- High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
- Original lossless mono audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Interrogating Guinness, a new video appreciation of the film by author and academic Neil Sinyard
- Select scene commentary by author and critic Philip Kemp
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mark Cunliffe
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