The Arrow Thread

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Hawkmonger

I've never seen or heard of Hellgate

Lucky, lucky you.

.........................

Great response by the way.

[BAKA]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

You could always guarantee a few titles brand new to the shiny disc format. That scenario is long gone.

AIP cuts of several Bava films, Eggshells, not to mention a few films have had their blu-ray world premiere this year from Arrow. Looking back to the launch of Arrow Video, I'm seeing very little that we hadn't already had at one point of other in the UK before, which makes your stance a little bewildering to me. They still seem to be releasing the same type of fare to me, although they've expanded to more areas within the cult spectrum.

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

They are all MGM films though. The beauty of Arrow was that their diversity was in the many original cult films they released.

Why would films sourced through MGM not be considered cult films? Something can be mainstream and cult; one isn't the antithesis of the other. Look at Star Wars, huge cult following, from a major studio, with mainstream franchise success. Regardless of whether you consider it cult, it’s widely accepted as cult, due to its following. A fair amount of the MGM releases from Arrow were never MGM titles to begin with, it's worth noting, but MGM acquired rights in various different ways (from acquiring catalogs from companies that went under to contributing to funding). Not to mention, plenty of films that were aimed at mainstream audiences failed, and are getting new leases of life due to cult followings (Runaway Train).

I'm aware you're DVD only, (or were?), so a lot of releases may not be worth the upgrade (I'd argue new features, and new transfers from HD materials using more sophisticated technology would be worthy of it, but everyone is different, and it's entirely your prerogative in what you buy.), but it's a bit of a stretch to say they're not releasing cult films anymore. Spider Baby, Motel Hell, Squirm, Lust In The Dust, Runaway Train (considered a bomb, but has a much deserved cult following), Dead End Drive In, etc, all this year, and many more. Arrow have some great stuff lined up next year too, Nightmare City (finally!), Pit Stop (I’m very curious) etc. What they're putting out may not appeal to you, but to be fair, they're still releasing cult films, just covering a much broader swathe.

I’m very hopeful they’ll look at the success of their Academy KickStarter recently, and consider looking at something for the Arrow Video line.

[Demoncrat]

Remo!! Finally I can retire my old vhs. and speaking of old vhs, where has The Mayor gone?? Just saying.....

[Mick L]

My Tenebrae has been despatched too now

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Remo Williams = cult film. Big Trouble In Little China = cult film. White Of The Eye = cult film. Hell Comes To Frogtown = cult film. Withnail & I = cult film. I could go on.

[Michael Brooke]

Originally Posted by BAKA

A fair amount of the MGM releases from Arrow were never MGM titles to begin with.

I'm not sure any of them were! The vast majority originated from AIP, Cannon and United Artists - and in fact Roger Corman has a good laugh at the MGM lion opening The Fall of the House of Usher on the commentary, something that would have seemed utterly inconceivable back in 1960 when AIP was a cheap'n'cheerful exploitation outfit.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

Remo Williams = cult film. Big Trouble In Little China = cult film. White Of The Eye = cult film. Hell Comes To Frogtown = cult film. Withnail & I = cult film. I could go on.

Its still a massive departure from the films they were flogging when they were heroes of Cult Labs.

[BAKA]

Originally Posted by Michael Brooke

I'm not sure any of them were! The vast majority originated from AIP, Cannon and United Artists - and in fact Roger Corman has a good laugh at the MGM lion opening The Fall of the House of Usher on the commentary, something that would have seemed utterly inconceivable back in 1960 when AIP was a cheap'n'cheerful exploitation outfit.

Oh, I'm 100% certain. Cannon, for example, since you mentioned them, have had ties with many a major, including Warner Bros at one point, before their library was picked up by Pathe owner Giancarlo Parretti, which later merged with MGM, and UA, which Parretti also acquired. There's a great book with some very interesting stuff on the history, including the whole Parretti fraud case, but the name escapes me at the moment. I'll be sure to look it up, if you're interested.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Its still a massive departure from the films they were flogging when they were heroes of Cult Labs.

That's very true. If, after they had released The House by the Cemetery, Macabre and Sleepless, you had told me they will be releasing steelbooks of Big Trouble in Little China, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Lifeforce and Foxy Brown (for example) in 2013, I wouldn't have believed you.

[BAKA]

While I'm here, I thought the comments made from Francesco Simeoni, Label Manager at Arrow to MovieMail were pertinent to the 'cult' films discussions.

The label’s ethos was written on the packaging (and still is) – “the art of cult films is back!” so I said why not release all kinds of cult films not just horror?

So we added action, revenge, erotica, the plain weird and much more. More than three years later we keep adding to the stable with the kinds of films cult film fans love but we keep horror as the backbone of the label since that’s our origin and many fantastic horror films have become available to us.

Part One and Part Two, for anyone interested. Some very interesting information as a whole, well worth giving those articles a read.

I may not agree with you Dem, but I do feel where you're coming from. It sucks when a label that once felt attuned to your needs suddenly feels so out of touch with your tastes. I feel very similarly with Shameless at the moment (although I haven't checked out if they've announced anything that would interest me of late). But I haven't picked up anything for over a year, The House With Laughing Windows being the last.