Arrow Video's June lineup includes an outstanding 4K release of Robert Eggers' maritime masterwork The Lighthouse, an amazing box set of films from the legendary Empire International Pictures, a trilogy of films starring Toei action star Yusaku Matsuda, and Kevin Costner science-fiction epic Waterworld in UHD. 

The releases feature UHD debuts, brand new restorations, alternative versions, deleted scenes, featurettes, exclusive short films, director commentaries, reversible sleeves, collector's booklets, art cards, perfect bound books featuring new writing, fold-out posters, and even an Arrow Video Store membership card.

THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019)
Limited Edition 4K UHD & Blu-ray | 12 June 2023 | £34.99 (UHD), £29.99 (Blu-ray)

From Robert Eggers, the visionary director of The Witch and The Northman, comes The Lighthouse, a hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two men teetering on the edge of sanity.

Two "wickies" – one inexperienced (Robert Pattinson, Tenet), the other a grizzled veteran (Willem Dafoe, To Live and Die in LA) – arrive on a remote New England island in the 1890s for a four-week stint maintaining the local lighthouse. But as isolation and personal differences take their toll, both men slowly succumb to their inner demons and to the strange, otherworldly allure of the lighthouse itself…

Featuring virtuoso performances by its two leads, striking and period-authentic monochrome photography, and shot through with wickedly dark humour, The Lighthouse is an intense, claustrophobic experience like no other that cements Eggers' status as one of the most exciting filmmakers of our time.

LIMITED EDITION UHD CONTENTS:

• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible), approved by director Robert Eggers
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio options
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by authors Guy Adams and Alexandra Benedict
• Audio commentary by co-writer/director Robert Eggers
• Art of Darkness: Making The Lighthouse – a brand new, in-depth documentary on the film, its production, themes and influences, featuring new interviews with co-writer/director Robert Eggers, director of photography Jarin Blaschke, production designer Craig Lathrop, costume designer Linda Muir and authors Guy Adams and Alexandra Benedict
• The Lighthouse Next Door: The Consuming House Tale of Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse – a brand new visual essay on the film and its folklore influences by author and critic Kat Ellinger
• The Lighthouse: A Dark & Stormy Tale – a three-part documentary on the making of the film
• Deleted scenes
• Two theatrical trailers
• Image gallery
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeffrey Alan Love
• Limited edition 60-page perfect bound book featuring new writing on the film by Simon Abrams, Wickham Clayton, Martyn Conterio and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeffrey Alan Love
• Six double-sided collector's postcards
• Contents on the Blu-ray Edition are the same except for:
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation, approved by director Robert Eggers

THE GAME TRILOGY (1978-1979) | Limited Edition Blu-ray | 19 June 2023 | £24.99

Made at the end of the 1970s, Murakawa Tōru's Game Trilogy launched actor Matsuda Yusaku as the Toei tough guy for a new generation. Matsuda was the definitive screen icon of 1980s until his career was tragically cut short by cancer at the age of 40, following his Hollywood debut in Ridley Scott's Black Rain.

In this career-defining triptych, Matsuda is Shohei Narumi, an ice cool hitman of few words, a steely trigger finger, and a heart of stone, hired in The Most Dangerous Game [Mottomo kiken na yuugi] (1978) by a company bidding for a lucrative government air defence contract to take out the competition. In The Killing Game [Satsujin yugi] (1978), Narumi finds himself caught in the midst of violent yakuza gang warfare, while his own brutal past catches up with him in the form of two beautiful women still bearing the emotional scars of his past assignments. In The Execution Game [Shokei yugi] (1979), Narumi falls for a mysterious saloon bar chanteuse who may or may not be part of the same, shadowy underworld organisation as the rival hitmen he is employed to rub out.

Released for the very first time outside Japan, with their cool blue cinematography by Nagisa Ōshima collaborator Seizô Sengen and a sultry score by jazz legend Yuji Ohno, Murakawa's masterful set of films raised the bar for the Japanese action movie to new heights.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all films
• Original lossless mono Japanese soundtracks
• Optional newly translated English subtitles
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
• Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Hayley Scanlon and Dimitri Ianni

DISC 1 – THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME:

• Brand new audio commentary by Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow
• The Action Man, a 30-minute interview with director Tōru Murakawa
• Original Japanese theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

DISC 2 – THE KILLING GAME & THE EXECUTION GAME:

• Brand new audio commentary on The Killing Game by Earl Jackson and Jasper Sharp 
• Brand new audio commentary on The Execution Game by Tom Mes
• Remembering Yusaku Matsuda, an interview with Yutaka Oki, film critic and personal friend of Yusaku Matsuda
• Game Changer, an interview with The Execution Game screenwriter Shoichi Maruyama 
• Original Japanese theatrical trailers for both films
• Image galleries for both films

ENTER THE VIDEO STORE: EMPIRE OF SCREAMS (1984-1989)
Limited Edition Blu-ray box set | 26 June 2023 | £69.99

Remember the shelves of your local video store? Those days aren't gone! Reject reality and substitute your own with Arrow Video! In 1983, entrepreneurial producer and director Charles Band founded Empire International Pictures, which would go on to make some of the most memorable and beloved genre movies of the 1980s. Empire became a mainstay of video stores across the world with their catchy titles, outlandish art and Band's wholehearted belief in giving audiences a good time.

tlandish art and Band's wholehearted belief in giving audiences a good time. 

In The Dungeonmaster (AKA Ragewar, 1984), computer programmer Paul Bradford is sucked into a fantasy world by Mestema, a demonic sorcerer in search of a worthy opponent. Meanwhile, fresh from the one-two punch of Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986), director Stuart Gordon takes a turn toward fairytale gothic in Dolls (1986), in which a group of strangers find themselves forced to seek shelter at the isolated home of an old toymaker and his wife, only to find that the puppets and dolls have a vicious life of their own. In Cellar Dweller (1987), a comic book artist (Jeffrey Combs) with a penchant for the macabre takes inspiration from an ancient tome and unleashes an ancient evil. Arena (1989) presents the ultimate fight night event: man vs monster! In the far future of 4038, a short order cook becomes the first human in fifty years to compete in an intergalactic boxing event on the far side of the universe. Finally in Robot Jox (1989), Stuart Gordon directs Empire Pictures' most ambitious movie yet, as men and women pilot giant machines in gladiatorial battle to settle international disputes over territory.

Freshly restored for the digital era with a wealth of new and archival extras, these films have never looked better. No need for a time machine, these golden age video classics will send you back to the 80s!

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:

• High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentations of all five films
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition packaging featuring original artwork by Laurie Greasley
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady
• Double-sided posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady
• 15 postcard-sized reproduction artcards
• Arrow Video store "membership card"
• 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing on the films by Lee Gambin, Dave Jay, Megan Navarro, and John Harrison plus select archival material

DISC ONE – THE DUNGEONMASTER:

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the original negative
• Three different versions of the film via seamless branching: the US theatrical version (The Dungeonmaster), the pre-release version, and the international version (Ragewar)
• Original lossless mono audio
• New audio commentary with star Jeffrey Byron, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
• Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own, a new interview with star Jeffrey Byron
• Theatrical trailers
• Image gallery

DISC TWO – DOLLS:

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the original interpositive
• Original lossless stereo audio
• New audio commentary by David Decoteau, Empire alumnus and friend of Stuart Gordon
• Archive audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon and writer Ed Naha
• Archive audio commentary with cast members Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Stephen Lee, Carrie Lorraine, and Ian Patrick Williams
• Assembling Dolls, a new interview with Lee Percy, editor of Dolls, Re-Animator and From Beyond
• Toys of Terror: The Making of Dolls, an archive featurette with Gordon, Yuzna, Purdy-Gordon, Williams, Brian Yuzna, Charles Band and Gabe Bartalos
• Film-to-storyboard comparison
• Theatrical trailers
• Image gallery

DISC THREE – CELLAR DWELLER:

• Additional picture restoration by Arrow Films
• Original lossless stereo audio
• New audio commentary by special make-up effects artist Michael Deak who inhabited the Cellar Dweller creature suit, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
• Grabbed by the Ghoulies, a new appreciation of John Carl Buechler, special make-up effects artist of many Empire Pictures films and director of Cellar Dweller, by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
• Inside the Cellar, a new interview with special make-up effects artist Michael Deak
• Original sales sheet
• Original production notes
• VHS trailer
• Empire Pictures trailer reel
• Image galleries, including behind the scenes photos courtesy of special make-up effects artist Michael Deak

DISC FOUR – ARENA:

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the last known surviving 35mm elements
• Original lossless stereo audio
• New audio commentary with director Peter Manoogian, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
• Alternative fullframe presentation
• Not His Arena, a new interview with co-screenwriter Danny Bilson
• Empire of Creatures, a new interview with special make-up effects artist Michael Deak
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

DISC FIVE – ROBOT JOX:

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the original negative
• Original lossless stereo audio
• Archive audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon
• Archive audio commentary with associate effects director Paul Gentry, mechanical effects artist Mark Rappaport, and stop-motion animator Paul Jessell
• Crash and Burn, a new interview with actor Gary Graham
• Her Name is Athena, a new Interview with actress Anne-Marie Johnson
• The Scale of Battle: David Allen and the FX of Robot Jox, a new appreciation of stop motion animator David Allen by those who knew him, featuring contributions from fellow visual effects artists Steve Burg, Yancy Calzeda, Paul Gentry, Kevin Kutchaver, Dennis Muren and John Vincent
• Looking Back, an archival interview with actor Paul Koslo
• Original sales sheet
• Original production notes
• Theatrical trailer
• Image galleries, including behind the scenes stills courtesy of associate effects director Paul Gentr

WATERWORLD (1995) | Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray | 26 June 2023 | £34.99

The most expensive film ever made at the time of its release, Waterworld has thrilled audiences through the years with its awe-inspiring action scenes, gargantuan maritime sets and ground-breaking special effects (I copied this verbatim from the press release – anyone care to comment?).

A definitive post-apocalypse blockbuster (and again...), Waterworld stars Kevin Costner (The Untouchables) as The Mariner – a mutant trader, adrift in a dystopian future where Earth is submerged under water and humankind struggles to survive on boats and in ramshackle floating cities. The Mariner becomes embroiled with the Smokers, a gang of pirates who, led by villainous leader Deacon (Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet), are seeking Enola (Tina Majorino, Napoleon Dynamite), a girl with a map to the mythical realm of Dryland tattooed on her back.

Famous for both its epic scale and the controversy that swirled around its production, Waterworld is a key cult film of the 1990s, and an essential entry into the subgenre of ecologically-minded blockbusters. Presented here in an exclusive new restoration of the theatrical cut in 4K Ultra HD, alongside Blu-ray presentations of the TV and Ulysses cuts, and with a wealth of extra material, this high-water mark of high-concept Hollywood can now be enjoyed as never before.

THREE-DISC LIMITED EDITION UHD CONTENTS:

• Three cuts of the film newly restored from original film elements by Arrow Films
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Six collector's postcards
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• Limited edition 60-page perfect bound book featuring writing on the film by David J. Moore and Daniel Griffith, and archival articles
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper

DISC ONE – THE THEATRICAL CUT (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the original theatrical cut
• Dolby Atmos, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio options
• Maelstrom: The Odyssey of Waterworld – feature-length making-of documentary including extensive cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage
• Dances With Waves – original archival featurette capturing the film's production
• Global Warnings – film critic Glenn Kenny explores the subgenre of ecologically themed end-of-the-world films
• Production and promotional stills gallery
• Visual effects stills gallery
• Original trailers and TV spots

DISC TWO – THE TV CUT (BLU-RAY) [LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE]

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the extended US TV cut, which runs over 40 minutes longer than the theatrical cut
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio options

DISC THREE – THE ULYSSES CUT (BLU-RAY) [LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE]

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the extended European Ulysses cut, which include previously censored shots and dialogue
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio options
• Image galleries 
• Theatrical and teaser trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Ferguson
• Collector's booklet featuring writing by Amanda Reyes and sci-fi author Greg Bear's Omni magazine article on Digital Productions, the company responsible for the CGI in The Last Starfighter