The Arrow Thread

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Justin101

That Ring collection is £50!! Surely a mistake lol...

Oh it’s 4 films... I just saw the picture and thought it was only Ring and Ring 2, still pretty pricey.

[Susan Foreman]

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Sister Street Fighter Collection (Blu-ray)

Genre entertainment of the highest order, the Sister Street Fighter films are a wild ride through some of the best exploitation cinema Japan produced in the 1970s.

Release dates: March 4/5

"After the massive success of The Street Fighter, the Toei Company decided to build a new karate series around a female lead, and cast a young actress who had appeared in a cameo role alongside her mentor Sonny Chiba. Still a teenager at the time, Etsuko Shihomi exploded onscreen in her first leading role and created a new character type: a tough fighter who was fierce, fearless, good-hearted, and decidedly non-sexualised, a departure from Toei’s typical formula.

In 1974’s Sister Street Fighter, Shihomi is the half-Chinese, half-Japanese Li Koryu, who travels to Yokohama to investigate the disappearance of her brother, an undercover cop. Li discovers a smuggling ring run by a drug lord with his own personal army of deadly fighters, and must penetrate his evil lair with the help of a fellow karate master (played by Chiba). Shihomi and director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Wolf Guy) made two additional films based on the same character over the next year, Sister Street Fighter: Hanging By A Thread and Return Of The Sister Street Fighter, with a final unrelated follow-up (Sister Street Fighter: Fifth Level Fist) helmed by original Street Fighter director Shigehiro Ozawa appearing in 1976.

Genre entertainment of the highest order, the Sister Street Fighter films are a wild ride through some of the best exploitation cinema Japan produced in the 1970s. Funky and over-the-top, filled with wall-to-wall action, and featuring some of the craziest villains ever depicted onscreen, the series embodies female power in a male-dominated genre and is a magnificent showcase for the physical presence and martial arts skills of its lead star.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all four films
• Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio
• Original English dubbed audio for Sister Street Fighter
• New optional English subtitle translation for all four films
• English SDH subtitles for the English dub for Sister Street Fighter
• New video interviews with actor Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba, director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, and screenwriter Masahiro Kakefuda
• Original Japanese theatrical trailers for all four films
• Original U.S. theatrical trailer for Sister Street Fighter, plus original English opening titles to the film
• Original German theatrical trailer for Sister Street Fighter, plus original German opening titles to the film • Stills and poster gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Kungfubob O’Brien
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated booklet featuring writing on the series by Patrick Macias and a new essay on the U.S. release of Toei’s karate films by Chris Poggiali"

[Susan Foreman]

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Kolobos (Blu-ray)

The Real World meets Saw by way of Suspiria in this super-smart, super-gory - and, sadly, super-overlooked - late ’90s slasher.

Release dates: March 11/12

"The Real World meets Saw by way of Suspiria in this super-smart, super-gory - and, sadly, super-overlooked - late ’90s slasher effort from filmmakers Daniel Liatowitsch and David Todd Ocvirk, released in the midst of the post-Scream slice-and-dice revival.

A group of youngsters arrive at a snow-covered house under the guise of participating in a “ground-breaking” new experimental film. With the entire property fitted out with cameras, their every move will be recorded. But when the house locks down, trapping the youngsters within, it soon becomes clear that something sinister is afoot. Scream - you’re on camera…

Marketed as little more than a generic horror flick at the time of its release, Kolobos, far from being a run-of-the-mill slasher clone, has much more in common with the booby-trap stylings of Cube (1997) and the reality TV theme of My Little Eye (2002), which it preempted by some three years.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative
• Original Stereo and 5.1 audio options
• Audio commentary with co-writers and co-directors Daniel Liatowitsch and David Todd Ocvirk
• Real World Massacre: The Making of Kolobos - brand new featurette on the making-of Kolobos including interviews with Daniel Liatowitsch, David Todd Ocvirk and co-writer/producer Nne Ebong
• Face to Faceless - a brand new Interview with “Faceless” actor Ilia Volok
• Slice & Dice: The Music of Kolobos - a brand new interview with composer William Kidd
• Behind-the-Scenes Image Gallery
• Super 8 short film by Daniel Liatowitsch with commentary
• Original Trailer
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by Phillip Escott"

[Susan Foreman]

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz (Blu-ray)

Spanish-born director José Ramón Larraz (Symptoms) finally receives his due with this collection of his work, the first of its kind, bringing together a fascinating cross-section of films from the first half of his lengthy cinematic career.

Release dates: March 25

"One of the most underrated and oft-neglected genre filmmakers of his generation, Spanish-born director José Ramón Larraz (Symptoms) finally receives his due with this collection of his work, the first of its kind, bringing together a fascinating cross-section of films from the first half of his lengthy cinematic career.

In Larraz’s debut feature, the hitherto ultra-rare Whirlpool (1970), Vivian Neves stars as Tulia, a young model invited to a photographer’s secluded country home for what purports to be a quiet weekend retreat - but soon transpires to be anything but. 1974’s Vampyres - perhaps the best known and most widely-released of all José Larraz’s films - sees a duo of blood hungry female vampires prowling the British countryside, from where they lure unsuspecting male motorists back to their imposing, dilapidated mansion for draining... in more ways than one. Meanwhile, in 1978’s The Coming of Sin (La Visita del Vicio, in its native Spanish), a young gypsy girl experiences a violent sexual awakening as her dreams of a naked young man on horseback become reality.

By turns terrifying, titillating, artful and scandalous, these three films collected here - all newly restored from original film elements, with Whirlpool and The Coming of Sin making their Blu-ray world premieres - collectively offer film fans a unique perspective on the fascinating, highly-varied career of one of the horror genre’s most overlooked auteurs.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• Three films from José Ramón Larraz: Whirlpool, Vampyres and The Coming of Sin, all newly-restored in 2K from original film elements
• Newly-produced, extensive bonus features and unseen archival content
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing for all features
• Newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing by Jo Botting, Tim Greaves and Vanity Celis

WHIRLPOOL
• Original US Theatrical Cut
• Brand new audio commentary by Tim Lucas
• Obsessive Recurrence: The Early Films of José Larraz - author and critic Kim Newman reflects on the recurring themes and underlying obsessions linking together the early productions of José Larraz
• A Curious Casting - actor Larry Dann on the strange story behind his casting in Whirlpool
• Deviations of Whirlpool - featurette comparing the differences between the US Theatrical Cut and a previously circulated, alternate cut of the film
• Extract from an archival interview with José Larraz
• Image Gallery
• Original US Theatrical Trailer

VAMPYRES
• Brand new audio commentary by Kat Ellinger
• Brand new interviews with producer Brian Smedley-Aston, actors Marianne Morris, Anulka Dziubinska, Brian Deacon, Sally Faulkner, makeup artist Colin Arthur and composer James Kenelm Clarke
• Reimagining Vampyres - a brand new interview with Larraz’s friend and collaborator Victor Matellano, director of the 2015 Vampyres remake
• Extract from an archival interview with José Larraz
• Jose Larraz and Marianne Morris Q&A at 1997 Eurofest
• Image Gallery
• Trailers

THE COMING OF SIN
• Spanish and English language versions of the feature
• Brand new audio commentary by Kat Ellinger
• Variations of Vice: The Alternate Versions of The Coming of Sin – exploitation expert Marc Morris on the strange and scandalous release history of José Larraz's most censored film
• Remembering Larraz – author and filmmaker Simon Birrell shares his fond and extensive memories of his long-time friend and collaborator José Larraz
• His Last Request (2005, 27 mins) - short film by Simon Birrell made under the guidance of José Larraz and starring Spanish horror legend Jack Taylor
• Extract from an archival interview with José Larraz
• Image Gallery
• Original Spanish Trailer"

[Rob4]

those boxsets are a bit pricey, but if you can't find anything that floats your boat with that crop of releases you are officially subscribed to the wrong forum

[Rik]

Definitely gonna get Strip Nude and I’ll wait for separate releases of Ring and Vampyres, maybe Coming of Sin because never seen it, I’d buy the boxset for £30, but £50 is too much for 2 blind buys

[fuzzymctiger]

Originally Posted by Rob4

those boxsets are a bit pricey, but if you can't find anything that floats your boat with that crop of releases you are officially subscribed to the wrong forum

My view exactly. Bloody expensive, but I'll be damned if this isn't the best month they've had in a while

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Rik

...I’ll wait for separate releases of Ring and Vampyres

It would appear that 'Ring' is being released both as part of the box set and also as a stand-alone single release - both normal packaging and a limited edition steelbox version

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Are these March?

I thought Kolobos was an April fool.

[Rob4]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Are these March?

I thought Kolobos was an April fool.

is it not very good Dem? i was going to do a blind buy when it came into the 5 for 30 offer.