Arrow Video’s June Blu-ray and 4K releases include Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits, Audition, and more
Arrow Video, the video division of Arrow Films, is known for releasing horror and cult films on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K. Today, the company unveiled the new titles they’ll be releasing this June – and they have some interesting films in the mix, including a Mortal Kombat Kollection (you can read about that one HERE), Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits, Takashi Miike’s Audition, and more. Let’s go over the list!
The June Lineup
John Woo’s 1990 film Bullet in the Head is getting both limited edition Blu-ray and limited edition 4K releases:
After re-inventing the action film with The Killer, John Woo would turn inward and deliver the semi-autobiographical Bullet in the Head, complementing the stylistic flourishes that made his name with an unflinching and nihilistic brutality to deliver one of the most intense war films of all time. Set during the Vietnam war, the film follows B, Fai and Wing (iconic actors Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee), three best friends fleeing from Hong Kong to seek their fortune as smugglers. In Saigon, they join forces with fellow expat Lok (Simon Yam) and double-cross the ruthless gangster Luong to steal his gold and rescue nightclub singer Sau-ching (Yolinda Yan) from his clutches. The gang must fight their way out of the country in a nightmarish odyssey where each new battle pushes them beyond their limits and threatens to destroy their friendship. Combining the gravity of Apocalypse Now with the spectacular action of Woo’s earlier films, Bullet in the Head is an uncompromising look at the ravages of war where ideals of brotherhood and comradeship disintegrate into greed and cruelty in a storm of bullets and blood.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Reversible sleeve and double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
Six postcard-sized reproduction artcards
Collectors’ perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing on the film by critics Priscilla Page and Sean Gilman, archival writing by critic Arnaud Bordas and an excerpt from an interview with John Woo conducted by Stéphane Moïssakis
DISC ONE – THEATRICAL CUT (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the Hong Kong Theatrical Cut
Original lossless Cantonese mono and Dolby Atmos audio, and lossless English mono audio
Optional newly translated English subtitles for the Cantonese audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English audio
Brand new audio commentary by film critic and Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng
Deleted and extended scenes
Alternate boardroom ending
Alternate English opening and closing credits
Cantonese and English trailers
Image gallery
DISC TWO – FESTIVAL CUT (BLU-RAY)
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Festival Cut
Original Cantonese lossless mono audio
Optional English subtitles
Extended Festival Cut, including footage previously exclusive to the Theatrical Cut
Option to play with the alternate boardroom ending
DISC THREE – EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
Brilliance with a Bullet, a brand new interview with director John Woo
The Long-Suffering Siu-Chun, a brand new interview with actor Fennie Yuen
Head Case!, a brand new interview with actor Waise Lee
Army of One, a brand new interview with regular John Woo collaborator Terence Chang
Apocalypse Woo, a brand new interview with editor David Wu
Tumultuous Times, a brand new interview with associate producer Catherine Lau
Hong Kong Confidential: Inside Bullet in the Head, a brand new interview with author and Hong Kong film expert Grady Hendrix
Apocalypse How, a brand new interview with author and historian Dr Lars Laamann
Archival interviews with John Woo, David Wu, actors Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam, stunt coordinator Lau Chi-Ho and associate producer Patrick Leung
Director Paul Bogart’s 1969 film Marlowe, starring James Garner as the Raymond Chandler character Philip Marlowe (and featuring an appearance by Bruce Lee), is getting the limited edition Blu-ray treatment:
Following in the footsteps of Dick Powell (Murder, My Sweet) and Humphrey Bogart (The Big Sleep), James Garner (The Great Escape) brought iconic private investigator Philip Marlowe into the Age of Aquarius in this 1969 neo-noir based on Raymond Chandler’s classic novel The Little Sister. When Orfamay Quest hires Philip Marlowe to find her brother, it seems like just another missing persons case. But soon enough Marlowe’s investigation leads him on a trail of blackmail and murder, all of it seemingly linked to a mobster and his TV star mistress. Luscious starlets, pugnacious gangsters, suspicious cops and corpses with ice picks jammed in their necks… welcome to Marlowe country! Garner’s easy-going style is a perfect match for Chandler’s “shop-soiled Galahad”, paving the way for his performance in classic TV show The Rockford Files. Meanwhile, the many suspects are brought vividly to life by the likes of Carroll O’Connor (All in the Family), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Jackie Coogan (The Addams Family), Gayle Hunnicut (The Legend of Hell House) and none other than Bruce Lee (Enter the Dragon) making his American feature debut.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Original lossless mono audio
$100 A Day (Plus Expenses), a brand new appreciation by film historian Howard S. Berger
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by John Pearson
Collectors’ booklet containing new writing by critics Jeff Chang and Priscilla Page
Arrow is giving Takashi Miike’s Audition a limited edition 4K release:
One of the most notorious J-Horror films ever made, Takashi Miike’s Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the 21st century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film catapulted Miike to the international scene and paved the way for such other genre delights as Ichii the Killer and 13 Assassins. When recent widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi, American Yakuza) is advised by his son to find a new wife, he seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. The two men decide to take advantage of their position working at a film company to stage an audition to find the perfect partner. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu soon becomes enchanted by Asami (Eihi Shiina), a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. However, events quickly take a very dark and twisted turn as we find that Asami isn’t what she seems to be… Pulling the audience into a story that will lead to one of the most harrowing climaxes in cinema history, Miike twists and turns us through delirious editing and shocking visuals for one of the most depraved nightmares of all time, now presented in stunning 4K UHD.
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new 4K restoration from the original Super 16mm camera negative by Arrow Films approved by director of photography Hideo Yamamoto
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Newly restored original lossless stereo and 4.0 audio, plus optional DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles
Introduction by director Takashi Miike
Audio commentary by director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
Audio commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes
Callback, a brand new interview with actor Ryo Ishibashi
Ties that Bind, an interview with director Takashi Miike
Damaged Romance, an appreciation by Japanese cinema historian Tony Rayns
Archive interviews with stars Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi and Ren Osugi
Deeper Deeper Into Audition, an audio essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Trailers
Image gallery
Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anton Bitel, Jennie Kermode and Jamie Graham
Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Dark Inker – Sampson and original UK artwork by Graham Humphreys
Ted Kotcheff’s Wake in Fright is coming to both Blu-ray and 4K:
Raw and brutal in its depiction of Outback country drinking culture in the 1970s, Wake in Fright is an uncompromising landmark of Australian cinema from director Ted Kotcheff (First Blood). John Grant (Gary Bond, Zulu), a bored schoolteacher working in the remote outback, stops overnight in the frontier mining town of Bundanyabba on his way back to Sydney for the Christmas holidays. After he loses all his savings in a bad gambling bet, Grant finds himself marooned and swept up in the vortex of a succession of hard-drinking, hard-living and crude men led by Doc (Donald Pleasence, Halloween) who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent as they are. Ignored upon release, Wake in Fright has now been acclaimed as one of Australia’s most legendary, unique and horrifying contributions to cinema history by the likes of Martin Scorsese and Nick Cave, and is presented here in a definitive 4K restoration.
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by director Ted Kotcheff and editor Anthony Buckley
Audio commentary by Peter Galvin, author of The Making of Wake in Fright
Return to the ‘Yabba, a featurette tracking down the film’s Broken Hill locations
Take in Fright, an interview with director of photography Brian West
Sounds of the Outback, a previously unreleased interview with sound editors Keith Palmer and Eddy Joseph
The Cinema’s Great Squeaky Bald Git, an appreciation of actor Donald Pleasence by film historian Kim Newman
The Filmmaker and the Film Buff, a discussion between Philippe Mora and Paul Harris
Yer Mad, Ya Bastard!, an archive interview with director Ted Kotcheff
Not Quite Hollywood, an archive interview with actor Jack Thompson
Q&A with Ted Kotcheff from the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
Audio interview with Ted Kotcheff, conducted by Paul Harris
Audio interview with composer John Scott, conducted by music historian Daniel Schweiger
Alternate scenes from Outback
2009 TV report on the rediscovery and restoration of Wake in Fright
Who Needs Art?, a 1971 TV segment with behind-the-scenes footage
Chips Rafferty obituary by Ken G. Hall
US theatrical trailer and TV spot
Foreign Visions of Local Stories, a trailer reel of Australian films helmed by overseas filmmakers
Image gallery
Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jay Slater, Paul Lê and David Michael Brown plus archive materials
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeff Marshall
And then we have two versions of Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits, one of which is an Arrow store exclusive!
He was the biggest movie star in the East for two decades, but Hong Kong action legend Jackie Chan had never successfully cracked the West… until the 1990s kicked off a six-film run of phenomenal smash hits that would finally make him an international household name, instantly synonymous with the most jaw-dropping and death-defying stunts ever put on screen! 1994’s Drunken Master II sees Jackie back as Wong Fei-hung, the role that first made his name, and teaming up with Shaw Brothers legends Lau Kar-leung and Ti Lung to deliver the ultimate, era-defining love letter to classic kung fu. The following year saw Jackie’s first number one box office success in America thanks to Rumble in the Bronx, in which he visits New York City and must defend his friends and family against vicious street gangs and ruthless smugglers, followed by Thunderbolt in which Jackie is forced to compete behind the wheel against a criminal street racer who has kidnapped his sister. In the fourth entry of the much-beloved Police Story series (also known as First Strike), Jackie chases a stolen nuclear warhead on an explosive globe-trotting secret mission; Chan’s “big brother” Sammo Hung takes the director’s chair in Mr. Nice Guy as Jackie plays a TV chef in Australia forced to do bloody battle against the mob; and finally in Who Am I?, our hero is an ass-kicking amnesiac on the trail of a mysterious new power source as well as his own lost identity. Finally together and restored in 4K for the first time, this collection of unparalleled martial arts madness chronicles Jackie Chan’s crossover to worldwide superstardom (just before Rush Hour made him a bonafide Hollywood icon), in which no bone in his body is left unbroken in his quest to leave you entertained!
LIMITED 10-DISC 4K UHD COLLECTION CONTENTS
Brand new 4K restorations of each film from the original negatives by Arrow Films
Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Sam Hadley
160-page perfect bound book featuring an archive interview with Jackie by Craig D. Reid plus new writing by Thorsten Boose, Peter S. Bruce, Matt McAllister, Elaine Chung and Jialu Zhu
Twenty-four lobby card reproductions
Reversible poster with vintage poster artwork
DISC 1 – DRUNKEN MASTER II
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentations in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of three versions: the uncut 102-minute Hong Kong Cut , the 100-minute International Cut and the American Cut re-titled The Legend of Drunken Master (102 mins)
Original lossless Cantonese, Mandarin and English mono audio for the Hong Kong Cut
Original lossless English mono audio for the International Cut
Original English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio for The Legend of Drunken Master
Optional English subtitles and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
Before the Breakout, a new featurette in which stuntman Wang Yao, academic Dr. Wayne Wong and critics David West and James Mudge look back at Jackie Chan’s earlier career
Breakout! Part 1, a new featurette in which Wong, West, Mudge and stuntman Mars look back at the film
Deadly When Drunken, a new interview with co-writer Yuen Kai-chi
Tipsy Tribulations, an expanded interview with stuntman Mars
Period Postures, a new interview with academic Dr. Lars Laamann on the historical context behind the film
Drunken Defiance, a new appreciation of the film by martial arts cinema expert Ricky Baker
Archive interview with Jackie Chan filmed for the American release in 2000
Alternate Mandarin drinking scene (contains standard-definition inserts)
Textless outtakes
Chinese New Year messages recorded by Jackie for the Taiwanese and Malaysian openings
Trailer gallery
Image gallery
DISC 2 – RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (HONG KONG CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless Cantonese/English (sync-sound) stereo audio and English (export dub) mono audio
Optional English subtitles and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
Breakout! Part 2, a new featurette in which stuntman Mars, stuntwoman Kathy Hubble, martial arts cinema expert Ricky Baker and critics David West and James Mudge look back at the film
Rumble Recollections, an expanded interview with Hubble
Alternate footage
Textless outtakes
Image gallery
DISC 3 – RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (INTERNATIONAL CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original English-dubbed lossless stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Electronic press kit interview with Jackie Chan
Two scenes added for the network TV version with dubbing unique to this version
US trailer and TV spots
DISC 4 – THUNDERBOLT
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the uncut 110-minute International Cut
Original lossless Cantonese/English (sync-sound) stereo audio, English (export dub) stereo audio and English (US dub) DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
97-minute Japanese Cut with lossless Cantonese/English sync-sound stereo audio (high-definition only)
Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
Breakout! Part 3, a new featurette in which stuntman Mars, critics David West and James Mudge, and dubbing supervisor Paul Clay look back at the film
A Thunderous Presence, an expanded interview with Clay on his collaborations with Jackie Chan
Alternate English export credits
Textless outtakes
International trailer
Japanese trailers
Image gallery
DISC 5 – POLICE STORY 4: FIRST STRIKE (HONG KONG CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless Cantonese/English (sync-sound) stereo and Mandarin (dubbed) stereo audio
Optional English subtitles and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
Breakout! Part 4, a new featurette in which critics David West and James Mudge look back at the film
Textless outtakes
Image gallery
DISC 6 – POLICE STORY 4: FIRST STRIKE (INTERNATIONAL CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original English-dubbed lossless stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Striking Back, a new interview with martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng
Scenes added for the US network TV version with dubbing unique to this version
US trailer
DISC 7 – MR. NICE GUY (JAPANESE & HONG KONG CUTS)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio for both cuts
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by critic James Mudge
Breakout! Part 5, a new featurette in which stuntman Mars and critics David West and James Mudge look back at the film
Nice Thoughts, a new appreciation by martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng
Alternate English credits
Textless outtakes
Original trailer
Image gallery
DISC 8 – MR. NICE GUY (INTERNATIONAL CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
US trailer
DISC 9 – WHO AM I? (HONG KONG CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand new commentary by critic James Mudge
Breakout! Part 6, a new featurette in which critic James Mudge, actor Glory Simon and second unit cinematographer Ray Wong look back at the film
From Drunk to Slam Dunk: Jackie Chan in the New Millennium, a new featurette in which Mudge, Simon, Wong, stuntwoman Kathy Hubble, stuntmen Wang Yao and Mars, critic David West and others look at Jackie’s career in the years since
The Making of Who Am I?, a three-part archive behind-the-scenes featurette
Alternate English credits
Textless outtakes
Original trailer
Image gallery
DISC 10 – WHO AM I? (INTERNATIONAL CUT)
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Who, When & Where, an expanded interview with Wong
Jostling with Jackie, an expanded interview with Simon
US trailer
What do you think of Arrow Video’s June line-up? Will you be adding any of these 4Ks and/or Blu-rays to your collection? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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