Jonny T here with have a film on me Friday, Well not actually on me but off of that there YouTube, So this week’s Treat is Yokai Monsters-Spook Warfare, Asian monster madness at its finest, Now Asia is mainly known for the classic Monsters Godzilla, Gamera and of course Ultraman, but delve deeper and ye shall find such classics as this, The legendary Takashi Miike made a “Yokai” movie some years back and that also is well worth tracking down, So me choosing this came about from recently listening to the new Motion Picture Massacre Podcast (as you should!) and Vaughn mentioned that he hadn’t seen this and I remembered seeing it on YouTube so I thought I’d share with you and indeed Vaughn.
Enjoy!
Jonny T.
A film by Brandon Cano- Errecart Starring Matthew Black, Sumiko Braun and Brian Burke. Unable to come to terms with the death of her brother following a freak radiation leak, Devan and her friends break into the condemned house where he and 41 others perished, months earlier. Sure of uncovering a government conspiracy, they document the whole thing on camera, but have no idea of the horror that lies waiting for them within the eerily deserted building...
Release date 22th July 2013Certificate 15 & Running time 75 Minutes RRP / 15.99
METRODOME DISTRIBUTION ANNOUNCES 5th AUGUST 2013 HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASE DATE FOR
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMANT OF ROSALIND LEIGH
STARRING ACADEMY AWARD WINNER VANESSA REDGRAVE AND AARON POOLE “Cerebral and truly original, you can’t do much better than this”DREAD CENTRAL After inheriting his estranged mother’s house, Leon is about to spend his first night there but is disturbed to discover that she had devoted her home as a shrine to a mysterious cult, which Leon believes was responsible for her death. When strange things start to happen, he begins to suspect that her oppressive spirit is reaching out to him with an urgent message...
Release date 5th August 2013Certificate 15 & Running time 82 Minutes RRP / 12.99
Arrow Video is pleased to announce the worldwide Blu-ray debut of Elliot Silverstein’s 1977 cult horror classic “THE CAR” on Monday 15th July.
Often referred to as “Jaws on Wheels”, THE CAR has been lovingly re-mastered by Universal Pictures and, for the first time in its history, will finally be available on the Blu-ray format. This landmark release also marks the first time the film has been available with extras.
Starring James Brolin (The Amityville Horror; father of Josh Brolin) alongside Kathleen Lloyd (The Missouri Breaks), John Marley (The Godfather), and Ronny Cox (Deliverance), THE CAR tells the story of a mysterious automobile which goes on a murderous rampage, terrorizing the residents of a small town.
In addition to the HD restoration, Arrow has sourced a host of bonus material and special features, something which has never been done before for this film. The deluxe Blu-ray package includes Audio Commentary with director Elliot Silverstein, two exclusive featurettes on the making of the film and its history, the original theatrical trailer with commentary by John Landis (director of An American Werewolf in London), extended collector’s booklet and, as is becoming customary with Arrow Video’s classic film releases, an exclusive reversible sleeve, containing both the original and newly commissioned artwork. THE CAR’s brand new sleeve comes courtesy of acclaimed illustrator Joe Wilson.
Made when Jaws was still the most successful film of all time, THE CAR has almost exactly the same premise, but replaces the ocean with the Utah desert, and the shark with a Lincoln Continental Mark III, of possibly supernatural origin.
When two teenage cyclists and a hitch-hiking musician are killed in apparently deliberate hit-and-runs, the police department of Santa Ynez investigates, whereupon the seemingly driverless vehicle turns on its hapless officers as well.
When the car strikes rather too close to the home of Captain Wade Parent (James Brolin), he vows to stop at nothing to defeat it.
Despite a police cordon being applied to all roads in the Santa Ynez region, THE CAR still manages to enter the town, causing murderous havoc wherever it roams.
With police officers, bystanders, squad cars, civilian homes, a marching band, and even an innocent gatepost all falling victim to the un-manned killing machine, Captain Parent must stop at nothing if he is to defeat THE CAR and make his beloved town safe once again.
Director Elliot Silverstein (Cat Ballou, A Man Called Horse) keeps everything as slick and streamlined as the car itself, turning the desert landscape into a powerfully mythic backdrop for a potent clash between the forces of good and those of inexplicable, but clearly implacable, evil.
A complete list of the special features included on the deluxe blu-ray release of THE CAR is as follows:
- High Definition presentation (1080p), on Blu-ray for the first time in the world!
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
- Audio commentary with director Elliot Silverstein, moderated by Calum Waddell.
- “Making a Mechanical Monster” – Special effects artist William Alridge remembers The Car.
- “Hitchhike to Hell” – Actor John Rubinstein recalls becoming a victim of The Car.
- Trailer commentary by director and The Car fan John Landis.
- Original Trailer.
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson.
- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Cullen Gallagher as well as a brand new interview with co-writer Michael Butler, conducted by Calum Waddell, illustrated with original archive stills and artwork.
- Easter Egg.
Release Date Monday 15th July 2013
Director Elliot Silverstein
Starring James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, Ronny Cox
Jonny T here, Now then we all know what happens when a film gets quite large, yes that's right we get a ton of similar kind of movies, Paranormal Enitity Etc, So with the recent release of World War Z comes Apocalypse Z! Starring non other than the man that divides the horror community more than Moses can divide the sea, the one, the only, Uwe Boll playing the role of non other than the president of the USA! Now come on stop your groaning surely it's got to be worth a watch? Review and more coming very soon!
Jonny T.
METRODOME DISTRIBUTION ANNOUNCES 1st JULY 2013 HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASE DATE FOR APOCALYPSE Z
Starring Uwe Boll
When a bacteriological weapon the US government have been developing in secret accidentally causes a zombie outbreak in a small town in Eastern Europe, the US President (Uwe Boll) approves a plan to cover up the incident. A team of mercenaries are duly hired to smuggle an atomic bomb into the city's nuclear power plant so that the eradication of the infected area will seem like a tragic accident. However, with hordes of the undead blocking the path to the plant, executing the plan will be no simple matter.
Release date 1st July Certificate 18 & Running time 86 Minutes RRP / 12.99
Hello you lovely people!
It’s been a long while since Jonny has let me loose on the review pages but since I got the opportunity to watch World War Z before he did I get to offer you my honest opinion of Hollywood’s take on the much loved and often maligned Zombie genre. Now I know that some horror fans have unfairly written off the film ahead of its release due to the fact that there are fast moving running zombies ala 28 days later, and I myself was even a little sceptical of its direct connections to main stream cinema, I mean come on Brad Pitt in a frickin zombie movie?! Fortunately I can confirm that World War Z really isn’t all that bad, in fact both the Missus and I quite enjoyed the almost sold out early Saturday morning matinee showing.
Right off the bat I had better address any connections to Max Brook’s novel of the same name. This film is very loosely based on Max’s work and takes place at the beginning of the virus outbreak. We still have lead character Gerry making his way around a devastated planet but just about everything else is adapted for the big screen. World war Z or ‘Z’ as I shall call it from now on starts with retired UN specialist Brad Pitt and family about to embark on a holiday. Whilst stuck in traffic the virus hits downtown Philadelphia and within a few moments hundreds and then thousands of zombies (yes we are using the Z word!) are attacking the city since the virus transforms its host into a flesh muncher within 12 seconds of incubation. Fortunately our hero is highly skilled at disaster aversion and quickly escapes with the wife and kids in tow. Finding temporary sanctuary in a block of flats Brad, I mean Gerry, gets a call from his old government buddies who insist on his help to fight the zombie plague in exchange for safe haven for his kin on a ship in the middle of the ocean. He must lead a scientist and small band of marines into South Korea to discover a cure for the virus. I’ll admit things sound a bit corny at this point but where the film might lack originality it more than makes up for it with impressive action sequences and awesome special effects thanks to its massive budget. I can honestly say that I have never seen so many zombies on screen at once. The invasion scenes set in Jerusalem are quite breath taking as millions of infected form waves of un-dead that literally flow over the walled city like a tide in the sea. A later scene set on an aircraft that gets overrun mid flight was equally exhilarating and it was almost easy to forgive the film of its short comings had it not spoiled things slightly by keeping all the dials set at 11. The pretty consistent pace means there is little time for any real story development so we see Gerry go from one action set piece to another, albeit on a different continent. It also overdoes the tension, particularly towards the finale which for me led to some quips of disbelief rather than nail biting. I’m not sure the film makers intentionally wanted me to laugh as hero Gerry stopped to neck an energy drink before making his escape through a lab full of ghouls but I couldn’t help myself. Also, it’s worth noting that should a zombie apocalypse happen for real it might be advisable to head for Cardiff as they are seemingly better prepared to handle things. Whilst the rest of the world is engulfed in waves of the un-dead the locals there need only worry about late milk deliveries!
‘Z’ is an enjoyable popcorn Zombie film for the main stream audience. Sure there are things that will no doubt offend horror purists and viewers who like a little more than special FX and noise thrown at them but it certainly entertained me. I urge anybody who has already written it off to give it a go. I also did quite like Brad Pitt in the lead role and I can’t think of many other ‘A’ list celebs that might have been be able to pull it off as well as he did. It won’t win any Oscars but it is nice to see the zombies getting some well earned respect from Hollywood.
Hello Folks,Jonny T here with my review of the Blu-Ray release of Spider Baby,
Now i do have to say before i start that this may be a little bit of a "Gushing Fan Boy" kind of review as it is one of my all time favourite movies, I do a have a region 1 version that was released a good few years back which is pretty good but this release from Arrow Films is quite simply superb.
Also known as "The Maddest story ever told" it tells the story of three orphaned siblings who suffer from "Merrye Syndrome" a disease which appears to give them murderous desires amongst other symptons, They are cared for by a caretaker late great Lon Chaney JR. Who looks after them after their father’s death.
The films opening credits are a great “Cartoon style” sequence and brilliant theme tune sung apparently by non-other than Lon Chaney JR, similar in tone to the likes of The Munster’s and The Addams family but I for one can certainly tell you it’s a lot darker than any of those other shows ever got!
The film opens with a guy reading from a book telling us the story of what they call “Merrye Syndrome”, so called because it existed only within the Merrye Family,Most experts and scientist denied that the syndrome ever existed, A syndrome we are told wherein the victim regresses to a pre natal/pre human state leading to insanity and even cannibalism.
When then see a postal working making his way happily along a road on a bright sunny day looking to make a delivery to the Merrye house, He stops to ask a couple of children if they know where the Merrye house is at which point their mother runs out and grabs the children and tells him pretty bluntly “If there is such a place we know nothing about it!” obviously the Merrye family are non-too popular with the local residents.
He eventually spots the house in the distance through the woods and drives up to the big gates at the front of the property, Dismounts his bike to see that the gates are chained shut but easily come open, He looks to his bike to ride up the path but weirdly his bike seems to shake as if to say “I ain’t going anywhere near that place!” so he takes the long walk up the driveway and see the house straight in front of him, the shot when we 1st see the house is a near carbon copy scene of the 1st time you see the Psycho house in Hitchcock’s 1960’s classic. He ascends the long staircase and knocks on the door a couple of times, no answer, he then goes back out on to the porch and shouts “Is anybody home?” then mutters to himself in a very scared manner “I hope someone is home”. He spots what appears to be an open window and decides to go take a look, he pokes his head through the window to see a dilapidated and very grubby looking room, then boom! The sash window closes on the back of his neck trapping him solid at which point a young girl appears with a knife in each hand and what appears to be some form of cloth webbing between each hand, she moves very creepily from side to side eventually reaching the poor trapped postman, throws the webbing over him then starts to slash at him extremely violently resulting in us seeing one of his ears fall to the floor, so from the quirky opening credits and comedic tone set this is now blown apart by our introduction to the 1st Merrye family member, Virginia.The SpiderBaby.
We then get to see for the 1st time Bruno (Lon Chaney JR) Driving back to the Merrye house in it has to be said a very very cool car, He arrives at the gates and see’s the postman’s abandoned bike, this throws him in to a panic as he know what the family are capable off, he drives up to house, leaves the car and starts shouting for Virginia and Elizabeth, We see Virginia happily skipping in the garden and Elizabeth appears on the porch telling him that Virginia has done something “Real Bad" He spots the poor old postal workers body hanging out of the window, He then goes back down the stairs where Virginia spots Bruno's car and runs to it shouting “Ralph, Ralph, Ralph!!” Bruno returns to the car, Opens the back door and out comes Ralph, A role played brilliant by the great man Sid Haig, Now from this you can clearly tell that it is Virginia and Ralph that are the main 2 affected mostly by Merrye Syndrome, Whereas Virginia is still slightly coherent Ralph has lost his mind completely. Bruno sit’s them down at the top of the stairs and tries to explain the rights and wrongs but the sadness in his voice and face clearly indicates that he is fighting a losing battle, Ralph then retrieves the letter from the postman and takes it over to Bruno who starts to read it, The letter states that there will be some people coming who will become the legal guardians of the children as the last surviving members of the Merrye family, They will becoming on the 14th……..Today is the 14th! Bruno states and then tells the children they have to keep some secrets, now with them all together the film really starts in earnest.
We see them start to clean up the house, The girls clean up the blood whilst Bruno seems to put what appears to be a wrapped up body in a laundry chute and sends it down to the cellar, He then reveals a secret door down into the cellar which he goes down into and we hear all manner of strange noises, so maybe Ralph, Virginia and Elizabeth aren’t the only remaining family members?
So the guardians arrive and it’s obvious from the start that they have only greedy intentions and don’t really give a crap about the children,Bruno susses them out pretty quickly and from here on in it’s a non stop insane rollercoaster ride, such scenes as Ralph thinking a cat’s a rabbit, We also get a brilliant dinner table scene much in the vain of Todd Brownings much maligned classic Freaks where all what is served up is questionable to say the very least, The ending is also brilliant and does not let the film down in anyway, the end credits also end with “The End?” So who knows maybe one day and with the current climate it may get a remake but I doubt whatever the calibre of the cast, crew and director could ever come close to the atmosphere and great performances shown in Jack Hill’s Original, Here is a great quote from IMDB “as I'm a child of the 80's and typically prefer blood, guts, tits, and ass over the black-and-white, "atmospheric" stuff - but I did really enjoy SPIDER BABY. “and what a quote it is! A solid gold cult classic and a truly awesome release.
SPIDERBABY EXTRA’S
Now it has to be said that the extras on this release really make it stand out head and shoulders above other releases that have been out before, these include,
The Hatching of SpiderBaby - A documentary where a host of stars talk about the movie including Sid Haig.
Spider Stravinsky- Another great documentary on the films score composer,
Audio Commentary - from both Jack Hill and Sid Haig.
The Merrye house revisited – A great little segment where they revisit the house where it was filmed and it’s still standing and looks as creepy as ever!
Alternative opening sequence – Where we get to see the film’s original title of “Cannibal Orgy”
Cast and Crew Panel Discussion – A real fascinating part of the extra’s where audience members ask some great questions and get some great answers!
The Host – A short film by Jack Hill, A crazy western types short featuring Sid Haig with hair!
An extended scene and Trailer.
I do have many of the Arrow Video releases and I have to say that this one is up there with the best of them, Not just because of the fact that it is one of my favourite movies but everything down from the superb sleeve art, to the brilliant extra’s, You can really tell with the restoration of it that was supervised by Jack Hill that some much love and care has gone into this release and it should now deservedly hit the radar of many people that have yet to see this long lost classic. And if you are one of those people yet to see it I highly recommend that you do or if you have seen it I cannot recommend this version highly enough, Now since I have been doing this site not many films have received this rating but I do have to give this release a solid 10/10,(Told you I’d gush!)Spiderbaby dual DVD/BLU-RAY will be available from Arrow Films Monday 17th JUNE.
It is the story of Henrik, Nina and there troubled daughter Stine, But just what is it that she is troubled about?
We see Henrik and Nina at home planning a party. Their daughter Stine seems to want to stay in her bedroom all the time, Good friends of theirs then arrive Pede and Pernille, It seems that Stine doesn’t want to speak to anyone except Pernille, Much to the shock of Henrick and Nina that she has actually spoken to someone, You can tell that between them Henrik and Nina are quite worried as to what was said as it transpires that Stein in the past has made up some pretty big lies such as her dad beating her and her mum having cancer and they are obviously very concerned as to what she will make up this time around.
Henrik is a swimming teacher at a local school and we see him going about his daily swimming lessons and when he is done the headmaster calls him into his office to say that there has been a complaint against him, We then see an angry father and his son Jonathan who says Jonathan came home crying as he was forced to jump in the deep end, Henrik explains that no one ever forced to do what they don’t want to but he is completely not there, when they are talking he seems miles away, even to the point that he gets the child’s name wrong, It’s not that he doesn’t care, he does have something a lot bigger playing on his mind.
Henrik returns home from work one day to find Nina distraught then she tells him that Stine has been taken in to care pending some allegations that have been made against Henrik. Henrik returns to work the next day as normal when the headmaster appears at a window overlooking the pool with two policemen and beckons Henrick to come to the office immediately. When he gets there one of the officers reads him his rights and tells him that Stein has made accusations that he sexually abused her over the last few years, this then leads to a great scene where the officer is questioning him and Henrick asks the question “Are you still sleeping with your sister?” Basically meaning if he answers no that means that he has in the past and if he answers yes that is just plain and simply wrong, Basically Henrick knows from what has happened with Stein in the past he is in a no win situation, They then tell him that he will be remanded in custody until the day of the Hearing.
In obvious disbelief we then hear that Nina has been informed and he is then moved to a solitary cell in prison, She arrives and the discuss what to do and decide all they can do is wait until the hearing, A prison guard arrives when Nina has gone and asks Henrik if he wishes to stay in solitary or move to the populated part of the prison, He then warns him what prisoners do to people like him again to the disbelief of Henrick, He meets with his defence lawyer and says the maximum he will get if found guilty will be two years.
This then leads to scenes of Henrick pacing up and down in solitary, Unable to sleep, Occasionally being visited by Nina who brings him cakes and tries her best to cheer him up but it seems to no avail.We then get to the day of the trial and Henrick is told that he will be up in court 1st then be asked to leave the court, Stine will then give then give evidence via video link, we see him give his evidence then onto Stine, She says that he abused her on many an occasion but then is asked about all the lies she is told in the past which resorts her to tears, Henrick then returns to the courtroom and angrily thanks his defence lawyer for making his daughter cry.
Now folks, That is as far as I shall take this review as I don’t want to spoil the verdict or what happens afterwards, needless to say that the end few scenes are like a punch to the chest, real gripping and hard to watch. Now as you may or may not be aware this was originally released in 2005 and now thanks to Arrows Nordic Noir label is available to a lot wider audience and I personally can’t wait to see what other titles will be coming out under the Nordic Noir banner, You may well know Sofie Gråbøl from the excellent show The Killing, My 1st thoughts when I saw that she was in this and as a massive fan of The Killing that it maybe that weird thing of it’s hard to watch someone you know so well from something in something else if you know what I mean, But literally within 5 minutes I had completely taken to her character Nina, a great actress.
As with a lot of Nordic films/ TV shows this is a slow burn and it has to be said often bleak but the performance’s, acting and directing is all top notch and holds your attention right until that final punch to the chest.
8/10
Jonny T.
UK DVD RELEASE: MONDAY 17th JUNE
AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER FROM AMAZON UK - ACCUSED, DVD
Ahead of its UK DVD release on Monday June 17th, Arrow Films’ Nordic Noir label have today unveiled the official trailer for ACCUSED, a new feature film starring the original heroine of the Scandi-crime genre, Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing’s Sarah Lund).
A gripping and absorbing picture, ACCUSED unsparingly portrays the ugly side of family life - how a normal and happy middle-class couple’s world is torn apart by their troubled 14-year old daughter. As The Killing’s lead detective Sarah Lund, Gråbøl single-handedly kick-started the UK’s love-affair with Scandinavian television. Beginning what can only be described as a full blown Nordic cultural invasion, Gråbøl found herself as the poster girl for gloomy Saturday evenings, stylised Danish landscapes, terrible social skills, and Faroese knitwear.
On Saturday June 15th, ACCUSED will receive its UK premiere at the Noridicana show in Clerkenwell, London. Taking place on June 15th/16th, Nordicana is the UKs first ever expo celebrating Scandinavian crime & thriller fiction & film. Featuring the very latest Nordic film & TV programmes, specialist Scandi food & drink, a host of other activities, and the chance to meet some of stars of the genre, this is the event UK Scandi-philes cannot afford to miss! Visit the official Nordicana site for more info and a list of special guests – http://nordicnoir.tv/nordicana/
Hello Folks,
Jonny T here with the trailer for The Hobbit-The Desolation of Smaug, Set to be released in December (way too long to wait!) this looks great, Big Dogs, Big Spiders and the return of Orland Bloom! So i for one will be definatley be booking my seats for the big 3D Imax!
Enjoy!!!
Jonny T.
Following the success of the incredible BRAQUO series and the unstoppable rise of the Gallic Noir genre, Arrow Films are pleased to announce the release of a brand new French thriller, STATE AFFAIRS.
Making its UK DVD debut on Monday June 17th, STATE AFFAIRS comes from BRAQUO director Éric Valette and features André Dussollier (Micmacs) alongside some of France’s most exciting young acting talent.
STATE AFFAIRS is a suspenseful, action-packed, political thrill-ride revolving around three main characters – a corrupt politician, his henchman, and a hard-boiled female cop.
A plane explodes above the Gulf of Guinea... A prostitute is murdered in a Parisian park.
Thousands of miles separate these two horrific events, and yet Nora Chahyd, a stubborn Parisian policewoman, believes there's a connection, much to her superior’s chagrin.
As Nora investigates, the murders and betrayals continue to stack up, until she finds herself in the midst of a complex government cover-up, a conspiracy which goes all the way up to the President’s office.
"A bloody game of cat and mouse"
-VARIETY
Adapted from award-winning French writer Dominique Manotti’s novel about a string of killings linking an arms-dealing middleman to the upper echelons of French political power, STATE AFFAIRS is a gripping and fast-paced thriller, featuring multiple plot twists and turns en route to an explosive finale where Nora must fight for her life in order to clear her name.
Alongside the aforementioned Braquo, other titles in Arrow’s Gallic Noir locker include Maison Close, and a brand new title, Jo, starring Jean Reno, arriving in August.
Combine these with their array of quality imports from a wide range of other territories – The Killing and Borgen from Denmark, Wallander and Arne Dahl from Sweden, Prisoners Of War from Israel, Jack Irish from Australia – and it’s easy to see why Arrow are fast becoming the UK’s biggest and best distributor of foreign-language entertainment.
"STATE AFFAIRS" - PRODUCT INFORMATION
Release Date Monday 17th June 2013
Language French (English subtitles)
Director André Dussollier
Starring André Dussollier, Thierry Frémont, Rachida Brakni
Django Prepare a coffin - Blu-Ray – Review by Jonny T.
So here we see Terence Hill in the role of Django and yet again another classic in my opinion. The film opens with a celebratory party for a local Politician David, The party subsides and we are left with the politician David and bandit and his two men and sitting quietly in the corner looking cool as hell, Django. The men are at loggerheads and this leads to the two of them with guns poised ready to shoot it out to the death, Enter Django, He tries to calm the situation but then it ends in a brawl between them all where Django pulls off some killer moves and the bad guys are dispatched.
David then asks him to be basically his right hand man but Django declines saying he has a big job lined up tomorrow, a robbery of a shit ton of Gold, David accepts Django has his own ways so lets him partake upon his mission. The following day we see Django on a horse and cart happily with his lady riding across the countryside when a wheel on his cart buckle, he stops to repair it when suddenly he himself is ambushed, robbed of all the gold and shot, The robbers also kill his men and his lady, luckily Django survives and see’s on top of the hill David all in black in a classic spaghetti western style, David is in on the raid on poor old Django, Revenge is abound!
The movie then moves on to Django basically doing his day job, a hangman, but there is a twist, he rigs up the harnesses in such a way that the alleged criminals don’t actually hang, so he returns under the cover of night to release the men and set up his gang, It transpire that all the criminals aren’t actually guilty but it is made to seem that way so that unscrupulous types can get hold of their land and assets.So with his gang assembled in a secret location the revenge is on, A few of the men are given the ok by Django to go out and issue warnings to some of the men that would see them hang, after a few raids the word gets back to the ring leader of all the wrong doing and the scene is set for epic revenge from both sides………….
So in summing up, This to me ranks right alongside the original Django and it’s great to see Terrance hill in this role, There are some great twists, loads of blood, great and insane stunts, basically all you would expect to get from a classic Django movie and it doesn’t disappoint on any level, cracking stuff indeed.
Arrow have re-mastered it and I have to it is superb print, the colours come through stunningly, especially within the opening credits, It’s great to see some of the Django movies getting this treatment but I do wonder if Arrow will be releasing them all, very doubtful as within the documentary on the disc “Django Explained” there are tons and tons of Django Movies but if this release is anything to go by if they did do them all I would certainly buy everyone whether the be Good, Bad or Ugly (sorry about that!)
Following the massive success of their Bafta winning series The Killing and Borgen, and the newly Bafta nominated series The Bridge, Arrow Film’s Nordic Noir label are pleased to announce the DVD & Blu-ray box set release of a brand new Swedish production, Arne Dahl which will be available from Monday 10th June.
It was the Danes that first launched the UK’s love of Scandinavian television with two female-fronted shows that made a huge cultural impact. First came Sarah Lund fronted The Killing, which was followed a year later by the political tour-de-force, Borgen.
Then, in mid-2012 came an entirely new proposition, a Danish / Swedish co-production which co-starred a Danish Man and a Swedish Woman. The resulting show, entitled The Bridge, received the highest-rating series debut of any Nordic shows to date.
So, it is with baited breath that we await the arrival of Arne Dahl, not only an entirely Swedish production, but a series with six lead characters.
Created by SVT, the same Swedish production company responsible for The Bridge, Arne Dahl is based on a series of books by legendary novelist Jan Arnald.
Arne Dahl, which is Arnald’s pen name, begins as CID inspector Jenny Hultin is tasked with assembling a specialist police team to catch a prolific and highly professional serial killer. The six chosen officers are drafted in from all over Sweden, hand-picked for their unique skill sets and differing backgrounds. The elite team are known as “A-group”.
The 10 x 90 minute episodes focus around 5 of Arnald’s novels, each with a different member of “A-group” at the fore. The cases A-group are called upon to handle are of the highest-priority, involving complex and dangerous violent crimes with an international connection. Their ongoing hunt for murderers and psychopaths puts a heavy strain on relationships, not just within the group, but on the members’ private lives, which prove to harbour unexpected secrets – sometimes with a disturbing connection to their work.
Regarded as one of the finest literary crime writers in Scandinavia, celebrated author, critic and editor, Jan Arnald’s Arne Dahl books have sold over 2.5 million copies. They have won their creator distinguished crime writing awards in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. In 2007, the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers awarded Arnald a special prize for his "vitalization and development of the crime genre through the Arne Dahl series".
In what is now becoming a rich tradition for the world’s top foreign-language drama, Arne Dahl is currently airing in BBC4’s prestigious Saturday evening slot; it will be released as a box set via Arrow’s Nordic Noir label on June 17th.
Following their success with the likes of The Killing, Borgen, and The Bridge, Arrow continue to strive in bringing UK viewers the very best in Scandinavian television via their Nordic Noir label. While the aforementioned titles all aired on BBC4 prior to their box set releases, Arrow have also enjoyed acclaim for bringing never-before-seen Nordic shows directly to UK living rooms via the home entertainments market.
Their passion and excitement for the genre found Arrow looking further into the Nordic catalogue and it was there that they discovered some fantastic, high quality shows, crying out for a new audience.
2013 has already seen the Nordic Noir label release “Unit One”, starring Mads Mikkelson, “Above The Street Below The Water”, starring Sidse Babett Knudsen, and “The Protectors” direct to UK fans via DVD and Digital Download; which have all been received exceptionally well.
To celebrate Monday’s DVD box set release of the acclaimed Scandi-crime drama ARNE DAHL, Arrow Films have released a fantastic new trailer, showcasing some of what the series has to offer.
Stars: James Balog, Svavar Jonatansson, Adam LeWinter
Follow National Geographic photographer James Balog across the Arctic as he deploys time-lapse cameras designed for one purpose: to capture a multi-year record of the world's changing glaciers.
Hello Folks,
Jonny T here with my review of Chasing ice Blu-Ray from Dogwoof.
This is the 1st Blu-Ray release from Dogwoof and I have to say they could not have chosen a better one! A documentary highlighting the actual facts of the polar ice caps melting. It tells the story of Photographer James Balog, whose portfolio shown throughout the film is superb, highlighting struggles in nature he always takes things to the extremes when it comes to getting the best photographs he possibly can.
This leads on to his interest in the subject of climate change and the myths that surround it, the good thing about it is that he is not a full on believer at first so sets out to see what he can find out what is truly happening and his findings are astonishing and scary at the same time. We get to see various news clips of people saying the whole climate thing change is a load of rubbish, truly one-sided opinionated people that won’t listen to both side of the argument. So he sets out getting sponsorship to do an experiment that will last a year and set up camera’s throughout the worlds glaciers and take daily photographs to do a time lapse of the declining ice, this doesn’t go as smoothly as would have hoped.
The problem it turns out that although the cameras are encased in weather proof cases some of them still succumb to the elements and these particular cameras capture nothing at all, This leads to a very sad scene in which James is reduced to tears as he feels that all his hard work has come to nothing, His real passion for the subject is admirable to say the very least, but all hope is not lost, there are more cameras and some of them miraculously considering the extremes have worked and when you get to see the results it Is breath-taking.
One scene that stood out for me in particular was when after knee surgery James is forced to stay at home and his team is out doing an expedition, They are watching an ice cap the size of Manhattan, yes that’s the size the ice caps can reach and probably even larger, when 17 days in they are on the phone to him telling him nothing is happening and they will give it a few more days then return due to the expeditions budget when suddenly one of them spots something moving, The scene is incredibly well done because all you see is the screen full of the glacier and the voices of those watching, we hear a VERY loud rumble and you can clearly see very small cracks appearing, more crashes and rumbles then something rising from the middle of the glacier that appears like a snow white Godzilla! This is explained that it is finally on the move and the glacier is rising, the stunning thing is the scale, they super impose Manhattan island on what you are seeing and explain that the ice rising is now nearly 600ft high, incredible.
Now I am no climate change expert but I found the whole of Chasing Ice fascinating from start to finish. You see James hanging off and even entering bottomless ice pits to get the best shots he can, some insane looking ice formations and the effects that it is having on the rising waters of the world, The extra’s on the Blu-Ray are equally impressive, It is one of those few documentaries that really does leave you wanting more and I even carried on and continue to follow the work of James and the effects and on-going changes to the glaciers, so I guess it did its job on me!
The Blu-Ray transfer is stunning, the picture quality is crystal clear and the sound rumbles threw you as if you were the one sat on the edge of a Glacier,
