Arrow Video’s June films include a fiercely impressive psychological horror debut, an A-list actioner from a legendary auteur, an extraordinary Japanese drama making its Blu-ray debut in the UK, a magnificent box set of Italian ‘70s crime thrillers, and a superb 4K UHD debut for a giallo classic. The releases will come in beautifully-designed packaging, with brand new artwork and original promotional material, featuring sparkling restorations and fascinating commentaries, short films, feature-length documentaries, booklets with new writing on the filmmakers, reversible sleeves, collectable limited editions as well as goodies including soundtrack CDs, posters and reproduction lobby cards.

First in June, Arrow Video presents The Stylist, a deliciously twisted slice of female-led psychological horror, based on co-writer/director Jill Gevargizian’s award-winning short film of the same name. Next, Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 is a box set containinga collection of brutal, often morally ambiguous crime thrillers –  Savage Three (1975); Like Rabid Dogs (1976); Colt 38 Special Squad (1976); Highway Racer (1977), and No, the Case is Happily Resolved (1973). Also in June comes Irezumi, a stylish tale of lust, betrayal and revenge directed by Yasuzo Masumura, available for the first time outside of Japan in a new 4K restoration. June also sees the release of Sam Peckinpah’s epic Major Dundee, starring the great Charlton Heston, a film that would, in many ways, define the rest of his career both on screen and off, as the drama behind the camera matched the action in front of it. Finally in June, Dario Argento’s staggeringly assured debut The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, which will be presented in a brand new 4K Ultra HD presentation.

THE STYLIST (2020) | Blu-ray | 7 June 2021 | £24.99

Obsession gets a makeover in The Stylist, a deliciously twisted slice of female-led psychological horror, nominated for the New Visions Award for Best Motion Picture at the 2020 Sitges International Film Festival and based on co-writer/director Jill Gevargizian’s award-winning short film of the same name.

We all dream of being someone else… but for Claire (Najarra Townsend, Contracted), that dream goes from an obsession to a living nightmare. Hairstylist by day, serial killer and collector of scalps by night, Claire’s lonely existence is thrown into turmoil when her regular client, Olivia (Brea Grant, After Midnight, Lucky), asks her to style her hair for her wedding day. Increasingly fixated on Olivia’s seemingly flawless life, Claire vows to lock up her scalp collection and change her ways for good – only to discover that repressing your deadly desires is easier said than done…

Featuring striking visuals and pitch-perfect performances from its talented cast, The Stylist offers viewers “a delicately deranged glimpse into social anxiety and loneliness” (Slashfilm) – a bold and mesmerizing debut feature from a filmmaker to watch.

2-DISC LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS:

• Limited Edition Blu-ray and Soundtrack CD collection
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Emma Westwood and a gallery of exclusive location scouting photographs

DISC ONE (BLU-RAY) – THE STYLIST:

• Audio commentary by co-writer/producer/director Jill Gevargizian and actress/producer Najarra Townsend
• Exclusive Blu-ray introduction by Jill Gevargizian
• The Invisible Woman, an exclusive visual essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, exploring the themes of women’s labor and female killers in The Stylist and horror cinema
• The Stylist – Behind the Scenes, a series of eight behind-the-scenes featurettes on different aspects of the film’s production, featuring interviews with the cast and crew
• Location scouting featurette
• Outtakes
• Original Kickstarter video
• The original 2016 The Stylist short film directed by Jill Gevargizian and starring Najarra Townsend, that inspired the main feature
• Pity, a 2016 short film directed by The Stylist’s editor, John Pata, and executive produced by Jill Gevargizian, with an optional introduction by Pata
• Teaser trailer
• Theatrical trailer
• Image galleries

DISC TWO (CD) – THE STYLIST SOUNDTRACK (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE):

• CD containing the original The Stylist soundtrack

YEARS OF LEAD (1973-1977) | Blu-ray box set | 21 June 2021 | £59.99

The 1970s were a time of intense uncertainty and instability in Italy. Political corruption and widespread acts of left and right-wing terrorism, alongside a breakdown in social cohesion and a loss of trust in public institutions such as the government and police, created a febrile atmosphere of cynicism, paranoia and unexploded rage. Throughout this period, these sentiments found expression in a series of brutal, often morally ambiguous crime thrillers which tapped into the atmosphere of violence and instability that defined the so-called Years of Lead.

This box set gathers five films from the heyday of the “poliziotteschi” – the umbrella term used to describe this diverse body of films. In Vittorio Salerno’s Savage Three (1975) and Mario Imperoli’s Like Rabid Dogs (1976), random acts of violence committed by vicious young sociopaths threaten the fragile fabric of respectable society. In Massimo Dallamano’s Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) and Stelvio Massi’s Highway Racer (1977), renegade cops battling against red tape and political corruption turn to new and morally dubious methods to dispense justice. Finally, class dynamics are explored in Salerno’s No, the Case is Happily Resolved (1973) as an innocent man finds himself under suspicion for a savage crime committed by a highly respected member of society.

Decried by critics for their supposedly fascistic overtones, the poliziotteschi were in fact more ideologically varied and often considerably more nuanced than such superficial readings would suggest, and proved a huge hit with theatergoers, who responded to their articulation of present-day social concerns. Featuring an impressive line-up of Euro-cult stars, including Joe Dallesandro (The Climber), Ivan Rassimov (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), Maurizio Merli (Violent City) and Enrico Maria Salerno (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), this collection of stylish, hard-hitting Euro-crime thrillers showcases the range and breadth of the genre and is a must-have for newcomers and grizzled veterans alike.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET CONTENTS:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all five films, restored from the original camera negatives, including a brand new 2K restoration of Colt 38 Special Squad exclusive to this release
• Original lossless mono Italian audio on all five films
• Original lossless mono English audio on Colt 38 Special Squad
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack on Colt 38 Special Squad
• Poliziotteschi: Violence and Justice in the Years of Lead, a new visual essay by critic Will Webb exploring the recurring traits and themes of the genre
• Rat Eat Rat, an interview with writer/director Vittorio Salerno and actress Martine Brochard on Savage Three
• The Savage One, an interview with actor Joe Dallesandro on Savage Three
• When a Murderer Dies, an interview with cinematographer Romano Albani and film historian Fabio Melelli on Like Rabid Dogs
• It’s Not a Time for Tears, an interview with assistant director Claudio Bernabei on Like Rabid Dogs
• Music sampler for Like Rabid Dogs
• Always the Same Ol’ 7 Notes, an interview with composer Stelvio Cipriani on Colt 38 Special Squad
• A Tough Guy, an interview with editor Antonio Siciliano on Colt 38 Special Squad
• Archival introduction to Colt 38 Special Squad by Stelvio Cipriani
• Faster Than a Bullet, an interview with film historian Roberto Curti on Highway Racer
• Mother Justice, an interview with writer/director Vittorio Salerno on No, the Case is Happily Resolved
• Alternate ending to No, the Case is Happily Resolved
• Original trailers for Like Rabid Dogs, Colt 38 Special Squad and No, the Case is Happily Resolved
• Poster galleries
• Reversible sleeves featuring original artwork for all five films
• Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Troy Howarth, Michael Mackenzie, Rachael Nisbet, Kat Ellinger and James Oliver

IREZUMI (1982) | Blu-ray | 21 June 2021 | £24.99

Drawn from the pen of one of Japan’s foremost writers of the 20th century, Junichiro Tanizaki (A Fool’s Love, The Makioka Sisters), Irezumi is a stylish tale of lust, betrayal and revenge directed by Yasuzo Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast).

Masumura’s muse Ayako Wakao (The Blue Sky Maiden, Red Angel) stars as Otsuya, the daughter of a rich merchant, who is tempted by her lover, Shinsuke, a lowly employee of her father’s, to elope. During their flight, Otsuya’s beauty attracts the gaze of Seikichi, a mysterious master tattooist who sees her pristine white skin as the perfect canvas for his art. The image of the large demonic spider that he emblazons across Otsuya’s back marks her as the property of another man, radically altering her relationships with all around her as her personality transforms under its influence.

Available for the first time outside of Japan in a new 4K restoration, Irezumi sports some of Japanese cinema’s most respected talent of its day both in front of and behind the camera. The bewitching cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa (Rashomon, Ugetsu) captures the sensual atmosphere of the period setting, while the script by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba, Kuroneko) lends a modern twist to this feverish meditation on obsession and the act of creation.

SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a new 4K scan
• Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Brand new audio commentary by Japanese cinema scholar David Desser
• Newly filmed introduction by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns
• Out of the Darkness, a brand new visual essay by Asian cinema scholar Daisuke Miyao
• Original Trailer
• Image Gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Thomas Lamarre and Daisuke Miyao

MAJOR DUNDEE (1965) | Blu-ray | 28 June 2021 | £34.99

After making his first bonafide classic in Ride the High Country, director Sam Peckinpah took a step towards the epic with Major Dundee. The film would, in many ways, define the rest of his career both on screen and off, as the drama behind the camera matched the action in front of it.

Charlton Heston stars as Major Amos Dundee, a vainglorious Union Cavalry officer, who mounts an expedition to hunt down Apache war chief Sierra Charriba. Building his own army of criminals, ex-slaves and Confederate POWs - among them one Captain Ben Tyreen (Richard Harris), whose intense former friendship with Dundee is tainted with a sense of betrayal on both sides - Dundee heads into Mexico, his eye fixed firmly on a last shot at greatness.

Legendarily acerbic, Major Dundee would be the first time that Peckinpah had a movie taken away from him. While a director’s cut may be lost to us, this Limited Edition shows us the thrilling, morally complex epic that Peckinpah was aiming for. Beautifully shot and with a stellar supporting cast including James Coburn, Warren Oates, and L.Q. Jones, it remains a stunning achievement and an essential experience for anyone interested in the life and cinema of “Bloody Sam.”

TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS:

• The 136-minute Extended Version of the film from a 4K scan, as well as the original 122-minute Theatrical Version
• 60-page perfect bound booklet featuring new writing by Farran Nehme, Roderick Heath and Jeremy Carr plus select archive material
• Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
• Fold out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella

DISC ONE - EXTENDED VERSION:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a 4K scan by Sony Pictures
• DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio with new score by Christopher Caliendo
• Lossless original mono audio with original score by Daniele Amfitheatrof
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary with Nick Redman, David Weddle, Garner Simmons, Paul Seydor
• Audio commentary by historian and critics Glenn Erickson & Alan K. Rode
• Audio commentary by historian and critic Glenn Erickson
• Moby Dick on Horseback, a brand new visual essay by David Cairns
• Passion & Poetry: The Dundee Odyssey, a feature length documentary about the making of Major Dundee by Mike Siegel, featuring James Coburn, Senta Berger, Mario Adorf, L.Q. Jones, R.G.Armstrong, Gordon Dawson
• Passion & Poetry: Peckinpah Anecdotes, nine actors talk about working with legendary director Sam Peckinpah, featuring Kris Kristofferson, Ernest Borgnine, James Coburn, David Warner, Ali MacGraw, L.Q. Jones, Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong, Isela Vega
• Mike Siegel: About the Passion & Poetry Project, in which filmmaker Mike Siegel talks about his beginnings and his ongoing historical project about director Sam Peckinpah
• Extensive stills galleries, featuring rare on set, behind the scenes, and marketing materials
• 2005 re-release trailer

DISC TWO - THEATRICAL VERSION (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE):

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation from a 2K scan
• Lossless original mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Riding for a Fall, a vintage behind the scenes featurette
• Extended/deleted scenes
• Silent Outtakes
• Select extended/deleted scenes and outtakes with commentary by historian and critic Glenn Erickson giving context on how they were intended to appear in Peckinpah’s vision of the film
• Original US, UK and German theatrical trailers
• Stills gallery

THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (1970) | 4K UHD Blu-ray | 28 June 2021 | £34.99

In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria) made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage – a film which redefined the ‘giallo’ genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom.

Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante, We Own the Night), an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman (Eva Renzi, Funeral in Berlin) in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless of the danger to both himself and his girlfriend Giulia (Suzy Kendall, Spasmo)…

A staggeringly assured debut, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage establishes the key traits that would define Argento’s filmography, including lavish visuals and a flare for wildly inventive, brutal scenes of violence. With sumptuous cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) and a seductive score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone (Once Upon a Time in the West), this landmark film has never looked or sounded better in this brand new 4K Ultra HD presentation from Arrow Video!

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:

• New 4K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
• Black Gloves and Screaming Mimis, an interview with author and critic Kat Ellinger exploring the film’s themes and its relationship to both the giallo and Fredric Brown’s novel The Screaming Mimi
• The Power of Perception, a visual essay on the cinema of Dario Argento by Alexanda Heller-Nicholas, author of Devil’s Advocates: Suspiria and The Giallo Canvas: Art, Excess and Horror Cinema, reflecting on the recurring theme of perception and the role of art in Argento’s filmography
• Crystal Nightmare, an interview with writer/director Dario Argento
• An Argento Icon, an interview with actor Gildo Di Marco
• Eva’s Talking, an archival interview with actor Eva Renzi
• Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
• 2017 Texas Frightmare trailer
• Image galleries
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Howard Hughes and Jack Seabrook, and a new essay by Rachael Nisbet
• Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative
• Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring originally and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative