Arrow Academy’s releases for July and August include a deluxe bells-and-whistles edition of a superlative American thriller from a master auteur, the Blu-ray debut of a wonderfully poignant arthouse classic, and an Oscar-winning Italian masterwork. These beautifully presented discs feature brand new restorations and commentaries, documentaries and featurettes, along with collector’s booklets and brand new artwork.
First, in July, a limited deluxe edition of David Fincher's edge-of-your-seat thriller The Game, which is followed in August by Jaco Van Dormael's debut feature Toto the Hero, and Vittorio De Sica's seminal work of Italian neorealism, Bicycle Thieves.
THE GAME (1997) | Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD | 27 July 2020 | £44.99
Made in between Seven and Fight Club, David Fincher’s edge-of-your-seat thriller The Game remains arguably his most underappreciated film, bolstered by an exceptional star performance by Michael Douglas.
Despite his large mansion and intimidating bank balance, multimillionaire Nicholas Van Orton is haunted by the childhood memory of his father’s suicide. On the day he reaches the same age his father was when he died, Nicholas receives an unconventional birthday present from his estranged brother Conrad (Sean Penn): an invitation to play a mysterious “game”, the aim and rules of which are kept secret. As the game unfolds, Nicholas suddenly finds himself in a fight for his life, assisted by the enigmatic Christine (Deborah Kara Unger, Crash) but unsure of where to turn and who to trust.
Presented in a director-approved remaster available for the first time in the UK, the twisty mysteries of Fincher’s pulse-pounding paranoiac puzzle are explored in an exciting array of new and archive bonus features.
TWO-DISC LIMITED DELUXE EDITION CONTENTS:
- Limited to only 3,000 units
- Deluxe packaging including a 200-page hardback book housed in a rigid slipcase, illustrated with newly commissioned artwork by Corey Brickley
- 200-page book exclusive to this edition includes a newly-commissioned full-length monograph by Bilge Ebiri, and selected archive materials, including an American Cinematographer article from 1997, a 2004 interview with Harris Savides by Alexander Ballinger, and the chapter on the film from Dark Eye: The Films of David Fincher by James Swallow
- Arrow Academy Blu-ray including new bonus features and UK home video premiere of director-approved 2K restoration
- Universal Special Edition DVD featuring archive extras with cast and crew
DISC ONE – BLU-RAY:
- 2K restoration from the original negative by The Criterion Collection supervised and approved by director David Fincher and cinematographer Harris Savides
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original 5.1 & 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Isolated Music & Effects track
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- New audio commentary by critic and programmer Nick Pinkerton
- Fool's Week: Developing The Game, a newly filmed interview with co-writer John Brancato
- Men On The Chessboard: The Hidden Pleasures of The Game, a new visual essay by critic Neil Young
- Archive promotional interview with star Michael Douglas from 1997
- Alternatively-framed 4:3 version prepared for home video (SD only), with new introduction discussing Fincher’s use of the Super 35 shooting format
- Theatrical trailer
- Teaser trailer
- Image gallery
DISC TWO – DVD
- Standard definition DVD (PAL) presentation
- 5.1 Dolby Digital audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio commentary with director David Fincher, actor Michael Douglas, screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris, director of photography Harris Savides, production designer Jeffrey Beecroft and visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug
- Behind The Scenes featurettes - Dog Chase, The Taxi, Christine’s House, The Fall (with optional commentary by Fincher, Douglas, Savides, Beecroft and Haug)
- On Location featurettes – Exterior Parking Lot: Blue Screen Shot, Exterior Fioli Mansion: Father’s Death, Interior CRS Lobby and Offices, Interior Fioli Mansion: Vandalism, Exterior Mexican Cemetary (with optional commentary by Fincher, Savides, Beecroft and Haug)
- Theatrical trailer (with optional commentary by Fincher)
- Teaser trailer
- Teaser trailer CGI test footage (with optional commentary by designer/animator Richard Baily)
- Alternate ending
- Production design and storyboard galleries
TOTO THE HERO (1991) | Blu-ray | 3 August 2020 | £24.99
The acclaimed debut film from Jaco Van Dormael (Mr Nobody) is a funny and magical journey in the spirit of Cinema Paradiso and My Life as a Dog.
Thomas is obsessed with the idea he was swapped at birth with his neighbour Alfred during a hospital fire. Believing the wealthy and privileged Alfred has lived the life he should have had Thomas is heart broken by the loss of his sister and plots his revenge, imagining himself to be the secret agent, Toto the Hero.
Cutting between past and present, comedy and tragedy Van Dormael’s multi-award-winning film is presented on Blu-ray for the first time.
SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS:
- High definition digital transfer
- Original Uncompressed mono audio
- Newly translated optional English subtitles
- Memories of Hero – an extensive documentary on the making of Toto featuring members of the cast and crew
- Francois Schuiten – Architect of an Unfinished Dream – the comic book artist and concept artist for Toto discusses his involvement in the film and working with Van Dormael
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow
BICYCLE THIEVES [LADRI DI BICICLETTE] (1948) | Blu-ray & DVD | 24 August 2020 | £24.99 (Blu-ray), £15.99 (DVD)
Heralded as the greatest film ever made on release, winning an Oscar in 1949 and topping the Sight & Sound film poll in 1952, Vittoria De Sica’s seminal work of Italian neorealism has had an impact on cinema worldwide from release to the present day, with filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray and Ken Loach claiming the film as a direct influence on their own.
Bicycle Thieves tells the story of Antonio, a long unemployed man who finally finds employment putting up cinema posters for which he needs a bicycle. His wife pawns all the family linen to redeem the already pawned bicycle and for Antonio salvation has come, until the bicycle is stolen. Antonio and his son take to the streets in a desperate search to find the bicycle. Bicycle Thieves is as much about the position of Italians in post-War, post-Fascist Italy as the relationship between father and son, told through the labyrinth of the cinematic city with De Sica’s arresting visual poetry.
Defining neorealism, a small period of filmmaking that focused on simple, humanist stories, Bicycle Thieves was one of the most captivating and moving. Now presented in a new 4K restoration from the original camera negative.
SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS:
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative
- Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
- Feature length audio commentary by Italian Cinema expert Robert Gordon, author of BFI Modern Classics Bicycle Thieves
- Money Has Been My Ruin – a brand new video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns on Vittorio De Sica’s career and filmmaking
- Indiscretion of an American Film Producer – a brand new video essay by film historian Kat Ellinger on De Sica's relationship with Hollywood producers David O. Selznick and Joseph H. Levine and the version that never was
- Original trailer advertising De Sica’s films, featuring Bicycle Thieves star Lamberto Maggiorani and Francesco Golisano presenting Miracle in Milan
- Optional English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vince McIndoe
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Booklet featuring writing on the film by film historian Michael Brooke, archival writings by Zavattini, De Sica, and contemporary reviews, illustrated with original stills and artwork
DVD SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative
- Original mono audio
- Feature length audio commentary by Italian Cinema expert Robert Gordon, author of BFI Modern Classics Bicycle Thieves
- Money Has Been My Ruin – a brand new video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns on Vittorio De Sica’s career and filmmaking
- Indiscretion of an American Film Producer – a brand new video essay by film historian Kat Ellinger on De Sica's relationship with Hollywood producers David O. Selznick and Joseph H. Levine and the version that never was
- Original trailer advertising De Sica’s films, featuring Bicycle Thieves star Lamberto Maggiorani and Francesco Golisano presenting Miracle in Milan
- Optional English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vince McIndoe
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