Coming to Arrow video this March is an impressive lineup of 4K Blu-rays to suit all tastes.
First in March from Arrow Video comes one of the most powerful and unsettling giallo thrillers ever produced, from Lucio Fulci, the godfather of gore – his 1972 masterpiece, Don’t Torture a Duckling. Deemed shocking at the time for its brutal violence, depiction of the Catholic Church, and themes of child murder and implied pedophilia, Don’t Torture a Duckling is widely regarded today as Fulci’s greatest film, rivaling the best of his close rival Dario Argento. When the sleepy rural village of Accendura is rocked by a series of murders of young boys, the superstitious locals are quick to apportion blame, with the suspects including the local “witch”, Maciara (Florinda Bolkan, A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin). With the bodies piling up and the community gripped by panic and a thirst for bloody vengeance, two outsiders – city journalist Andrea (Tomas Milian, The Four of the Apocalypse) and spoilt rich girl Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) – team up to crack the case. But before the mystery is solved, more blood will have been spilled, and not all of it belongs to innocents. The film is presented in its 4K debut, with a brand new restoration and a host of extras, along with a reversible sleeve and an illustrated collector’s booklet.
Next in March, Dressed to Kill, on Limited Edition 4K UHD. Upon its release in 1980, Brian De Palma’s thriller, starring Michael Caine and Angie Dickinson, was as acclaimed for its stylish set pieces and lush Pino Donaggio score as it was condemned for its sexual explicitness – but the glee with which the writer/director turns this material inside out is completely infectious, as he delves deep inside the troubled psyches of his characters to undermine expectations at every turn. After sexually frustrated housewife Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) has a session with her psychiatrist, Dr Elliott (Michael Caine), she silently seduces a man in an art gallery – an assignation that ends in murder and the only witness, high-class prostitute Liz Blake (Nancy Allen), being stalked by the killer in turn. One of De Palma’s darkest and most controversial suspense thrillers, This iconic neo-Hitchcockian masterwork is presented in stunning 4K alongside a raft of archival and newly commissioned bonus features. The release features a reversible sleeve and collector’s booklet.
Also in March, Deep Blue Sea, will be available on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition Blu-ray. From Renny Harlin, maximalist director of Die Hard II, Cliffhanger, and The Long Kiss Goodnight, comes this shark-infested action-thriller where everyone – including Saffron Burrows and Samuel L.Jackson – is on the menu. At an isolated research facility in the middle of the ocean, a team of scientists, led by Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows), are working on a cure for Alzheimer’s by genetically altering the brains of sharks. When a shark escapes and attacks a pleasure boat, the company sponsoring the research threatens to pull its funding and sends corporate executive Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson) to investigate. McAlester has just 48 hours to prove the value of her work, but her experiments have made the sharks smarter. No longer happy to be injected, prodded, and caged, they begin to turn the tables. As a freak storm causes chaos on the surface, making it impossible to leave, the facility is flooded and the scientists must fight to survive against the rising water and the hungry sharks that now swim freely through the corridors. Embracing action, horror, and suspense with a knowing sense of humour and pushing them all as far as they can go, Deep Blue Sea is an adrenaline rush of pure entertainment presented in a brand new 4K restoration approved by director Renny Harlin. This fantastic release includes a reversible sleeve, a 60-page perfect bound collector’s book, a double-sided fold-out poster, and postcards from Aquatica.
Next in March, The Terminal Man on Limited Edition Blu-ray. From the director of Get Carter and the writer of Jurassic Park comes a chilling techno-thriller starring George Segal in the titular role. Much admired by Terrence Malick, Stanley Kubrick, and Robert Altman alike, Mike Hodges’ film of Michael Crichton’s novel – featuring a superb performance from Segal – is an unnerving slow-burn masterpiece long overdue for re-evaluation. Harry Benson (George Segal) is a brilliant computer scientist who suffers from seizures that induce blackouts and violent behaviour. Undergoing experimental surgery, electrodes are implanted in his brain to detect oncoming seizures and stop them with an electrical impulse. But the pleasure centre of his brain becomes addicted to the stimulus, triggering seizures at shorter and shorter intervals. If they become continuous the blackouts will be permanent, and Benson a homicidal killer. With a brand new commentary and video essays, the Blu-ray comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork, and an illustrated collector’s booklet.
Finally, in March, Play it Cool, on Limited Edition Blu-ray, a chic and erotically charged drama starring popular Japanese singer of the day Mari Atsumi as a college girl negotiating her way through the male-dominated hierarchies of Tokyo’s seductive but treacherous nightclub culture. Yumi (Mari Atsumi) is a pretty fashion student who shares a cramped home with her mother Tomi (Akemi Negishi, The Saga of Anatahan) and good-for-nothing stepfather Ryoichi. Tomi works at a local hostess bar and hopes for a better fate for Yumi. When Ryoichi violently forces himself upon her blossoming daughter, Tomi is not afraid to take action to protect her, an act which lands her in jail. Left to fend for herself, Yumi is taken in by her mother’s former place of employment, where she finds herself fighting off the unwanted attentions of the men who swarm around her. Then one day, a rescue by handsome former lawyer Nozawa (Yusuke Kawazu, Cruel Story of Youth) from a vicious gangster seems to offer an escape into an altogether glitzier world, albeit one that turns out fraught with similar dangers. Arrow Video is proud to release this little-seen gem by one of Japan’s most highly regarded directors of the 1960s, Yasuzō Masumura (Giants and Toys, Irezumi), a filmmaker known for his social satires and powerful portrayals of women, as Play it Cool is released for the very first time for the home video market outside of Japan in a brand new high-definition transfer. The Blu-ray includes a brand new commentary and video essay, a reversible sleeve, and a collector’s booklet.
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