The Arrow Thread

[Susan Foreman]

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: The El Duce Tapes (Blu-ray)

Release date: February 1st

In the early 90s, aspiring filmmaker (and General Hospital co-star) Ryan Sexton filmed hour upon hour of VHS footage of the jaw-droppingly offensive Shock Rock band The Mentors, focusing on their infamous lead singer, “El Duce.”

"In the early 90s, aspiring filmmaker (and General Hospital co-star) Ryan Sexton lugged a giant camcorder into some of the seediest clubs and the filthiest apartments in Hollywood. There he filmed hour upon hour of VHS footage of the jaw-droppingly offensive Shock Rock band The Mentors, focusing on their infamous lead singer, “El Duce.”

30 years later, the team behind The Nightmare and Room 237 and the editor of Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist uncover this dusty stockpile of long forgotten – and unseen – footage. They begin to piece together a picture of the man under the black executioner’s hood and what his wilfully offensive act and controversial views might tell us about 21st century America.

An incendiary, tragicomic documentary (midway between The Decline of Western Civilization and Crumb) which has been hailed as “Essential Viewing” by CineVue and called “Dark and Irresistible” by director John Carpenter, The El Duce Tapes will chew you up, spit you out, and leave you floored."

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Brand new audio commentary with The El Duce Tapes crew
• The Ryan Sexton Tapes – 34-minute illustrated audio conversation between Ryan Sexton and producer Tim Kirk about the shooting of the original VHS footage
• The Nilbog Tapes – Video of the band recording the original score for the film
• More El Duce Tapes – A free-standing alternate assembly of unused material, sort of a sideways sequel
• Tape 2: Hollywood Reservoir – A piece of raw tape providing a peek behind the scenes of the process of shooting the footage and a candid document of El Duce and Ryan’s rapport
• El Duce Stories – A humorous cut-up of a few of El Duce’s famously long aimless stories into one completely incomprehensible and endless word salad
• Return to Rape Rock Mountain – A brand new interview with Steve Broy, aka Dr. Heathen Scum of The Mentors
• Reality Check presents the all-female El Duce tribute band The Womentors
• Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by John Pearson and reverse art by Benjamin Marra
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Manish Agarwal

[Susan Foreman]

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Shogun’s Joy of Torture (Blu-ray)

Release date: February 22nd

From the outrageous imagination of cult director Teruo Ishii (Orgies of Edo, Horrors of Malformed Men) comes this infamous omnibus of three shocking tales of crime and punishment based on true-life documented cases set during the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate.

"From the outrageous imagination of cult director Teruo Ishii (Orgies of Edo, Horrors of Malformed Men) comes this infamous omnibus of three shocking tales of crime and punishment based on true-life documented cases set during the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate.

The first tale sees the beautiful Mitsu (Masumi Tachibana) going to horrifying lengths to tend to her older brother Shinzō (Teruo Yoshida), a carpenter injured in a work accident, but the law catches up on them and metes out a terrifying retribution after they violate the ultimate taboo. In the second, unfettered passions in a Buddhist nunnery are not allowed to go unpunished after abbess Reihō (Yukie Kagawa) and her attendant Rintoku (Naomi Shiraishi) encounter a virile young monk from a neighbouring temple. In the closing segment, a sadistic torturer (Fumio Watanabe) attempts to show a tattoo artist (Asao Koike) how to depict convincing expressions of faces of pain in his work by allowing him to sketch a selection of Europeans as they are tortured for entering Japan with the aim of spreading Christianity.

Ishii’s notorious portmanteau of Edo-era excess signalled a change in direction for a director until then regarded for his crime and yakuza films, setting the ball rolling on the run of grotesque historical anthologies for which he is now best remembered. Vehemently denounced by the critics of the day, Shogun’s Joy of Torture set a new benchmark for the depiction of sex, sadism and depravity in Japanese exploitation, with Ishii staging his elaborate torture methods with an unmatched verve and inventiveness."

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio commentary by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes
• Teruo Ishii: Erotic-Grotesque Maestro – an exclusively newly filmed interview with the author Patrick Macias
• Bind, Torture, Thrill – author and critic Jasper Sharp discusses the history of torture in Japanese exploitation cinema
• Original trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacob Phillips
• First Pressings Only: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mark Schilling

[Nordicdusk]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: The El Duce Tapes (Blu-ray)

Release date: February 1st

In the early 90s, aspiring filmmaker (and General Hospital co-star) Ryan Sexton filmed hour upon hour of VHS footage of the jaw-droppingly offensive Shock Rock band The Mentors, focusing on their infamous lead singer, “El Duce.”

"In the early 90s, aspiring filmmaker (and General Hospital co-star) Ryan Sexton lugged a giant camcorder into some of the seediest clubs and the filthiest apartments in Hollywood. There he filmed hour upon hour of VHS footage of the jaw-droppingly offensive Shock Rock band The Mentors, focusing on their infamous lead singer, “El Duce.”

30 years later, the team behind The Nightmare and Room 237 and the editor of Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist uncover this dusty stockpile of long forgotten – and unseen – footage. They begin to piece together a picture of the man under the black executioner’s hood and what his wilfully offensive act and controversial views might tell us about 21st century America.

An incendiary, tragicomic documentary (midway between The Decline of Western Civilization and Crumb) which has been hailed as “Essential Viewing” by CineVue and called “Dark and Irresistible” by director John Carpenter, The El Duce Tapes will chew you up, spit you out, and leave you floored."

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Brand new audio commentary with The El Duce Tapes crew
• The Ryan Sexton Tapes – 34-minute illustrated audio conversation between Ryan Sexton and producer Tim Kirk about the shooting of the original VHS footage
• The Nilbog Tapes – Video of the band recording the original score for the film
• More El Duce Tapes – A free-standing alternate assembly of unused material, sort of a sideways sequel
• Tape 2: Hollywood Reservoir – A piece of raw tape providing a peek behind the scenes of the process of shooting the footage and a candid document of El Duce and Ryan’s rapport
• El Duce Stories – A humorous cut-up of a few of El Duce’s famously long aimless stories into one completely incomprehensible and endless word salad
• Return to Rape Rock Mountain – A brand new interview with Steve Broy, aka Dr. Heathen Scum of The Mentors
• Reality Check presents the all-female El Duce tribute band The Womentors
• Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by John Pearson and reverse art by Benjamin Marra
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Manish Agarwal

Ill be picking this up for sure.

[Rik]

Annoyed that Beyond Re-animator isn’t an LE like the other 2 films for continuity purposes, but I’ll definitely be getting that and the Demons set, rest I couldn’t care less about tbh

[Susan Foreman]

BONUS ANNOUNCEMENT - NEW UK/US TITLE: An American Werewolf in London (Zavvi Red Carpet Customers & DiabolikDVD Exclusive Limited Edition Blu-ray SteelBook with Slipcase)

Zavvi exclusive - https://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/an-ame...wRwgxtCnXyFeDo

Release date: March 29th

"One of the greatest directors of the 1980s, John Landis (The Blues Brothers, Trading Places), expertly combines macabre horror with dark humour in the lycanthropic classic, An American Werewolf in London.

American tourists David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are savaged by an unidentified vicious animal whilst hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. David awakes in a London hospital to find his friend dead and his life in disarray. Retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse (Jenny Agutter, Walkabout) to recuperate, he soon experiences disturbing changes to his mind and body, undergoing a full-moon transformation that will unleash terror on the streets of the capital...

An American Werewolf in London had audiences howling with laughter and recoiling in terror upon its cinema release. Landis’ film has gone on to become one of the most important horror films of its decade, rightly lauded for its masterful set-pieces, uniquely unsettling atmosphere and Rick Baker’s truly ground-breaking, Oscar-winning special makeup effects. Now restored and presented with an abundance of extra features, this big beast of horror can be devoured as never before..."

LIMITED EDITION STEELBOOK CONTENTS

• Limited to 1500 units
• 2019 restoration from the original camera negative supervised by John Landis
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed 1.0 mono and optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by Beware the Moon filmmaker Paul Davis
• Audio Commentary by actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne
• Mark of The Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf, feature-length documentary by filmmaker Daniel Griffith, featuring interviews with John Landis, David Naughton, Joe Dante and more
• An American Filmmaker in London, an interview with John Landis in which he reflects on British cinema and his time working in Britain
• I Think He's a Jew: The Werewolf's Secret, video essay by filmmaker Jon Spira (Elstree 1976) about how Landis’ film explores Jewish identity
• The Werewolf’s Call, Corin Hardy, director of The Nun, chats with writer Simon Ward about their formative experiences with Landis’ film.
• Wares of the Wolf, featurette in which SFX artist Dan Martin and Tim Lawes of Prop Store look at some of the original costumes and special effects artefacts from the film
• Beware the Moon, Paul Davis’ acclaimed, feature-length exploration of Landis’ film which boasts extensive cast and crew interviews
• Making An American Werewolf in London, a short archival featurette on the film’s production
• An Interview with John Landis, a lengthy archival interview with the director about the film
• Makeup Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London, the legendary make-up artist discusses his work on the film
• I Walked with a Werewolf, an archival interview with the make-up artist about Universal horror and its legacy of Wolfman films
• Casting of the Hand, archival footage from Rick Baker's workshop as they cast David Naughton's hand
• Outtakes
• Storyboards featurette
• Original trailers, teasers and radio spots
• Extensive image gallery featuring over 200 stills, posters and other ephemera
• Limited edition Steelbook featuring newly produced artwork by Gary Pullin
• Limited edition booklet featuring writing by Craig Ian Mann and Simon Ward

[Trashforcash]

Nothing for me, except possibly El Duce Tapes. I'll stick with my Demons 1&2 steelbook and I my dvd copy of Beyond Reanimator has never been watched. Bought it in the Fantastic Factory set about 8 yrs ago. If was gonna get watched, itd get watched by now!

[nosferatu42]

I wasn't particularly keen on Reanimator 3 when it came out, need to give my dvd a rewatch.

[Rob4]

The Fran Simeoni list that has Blurage frothing with anticipation

EDIT: the most intriguing one for me is 'H X 2 UHD' - i think this could be two Halloween films?

[will graham]

Damnit new this week was the wrong time to sell bloodtide second hand on ebay.

[Nostalgic]

I love Re Animator 1&2, saw 3 at Frightfest, bought the Arrow dvd....

And sadly I just don't get it.

Demons is tempting but my steelbook is nice, haven't watched it a great deal. Feb must be double (or triple) dip month.

Good selection if you didn't already have some of them.