Get ready for some major releases from Arrow VIdeo on Physical Media (4K UHD and Blu-ray) this March. Starting on March 17th, they’re hitting us with The Birthday on its worldwide 4K debut. The limited edition release includes a 4K restoration from the original negative presentation, hours of special features, and newly commissioned extras. There is also a Blu-ray edition.
The Spanish production ran at the prestigious Sitges Film Festival in 2004, but The Birthday didn’t make its theatrical premiere in America until Jordan Peele (Get Out) screened it at Lincoln Center in 2023, nearly twenty years after its initial release.
Norman (Corey Feldman, The Lost Boys) accompanies his girlfriend Alison (Erica Prior, Guantanamero) to the birthday party of her father (Jack Taylor, Conan The Barbarian). The old luxury hotel hosting the festivities is dark and creepy. Norman never knows what to expect, with figures appearing in the dimly lit hallways and lurking behind creaky doors. The awkwardness only grows since none of Alison’s family knows about him. He’s not even on the guest list. There’s more being served than cake and ice cream. Can Norman survive the insane evening before the father blows out his candles?
Special features include a 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible); the original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio; optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing; an audio commentary by actor Corey Feldman and co-writer/director Eugenio Mira; a brand new interview with Eugenio Mira; an in-depth breakdown of a scene by Eugenio Mira featuring archival behind-the-scenes footage, storyboards and rushes; 2024 Q&A with Corey Feldman and Eugenio Mira from the film’s 20th anniversary screening at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas; the original trailer; the 20th anniversary trailer; image gallery; and a collectors’ booklet.
Red Sonja Hits 4K UHD
March 24th brings Red Sonja to 4K UHD for the first time. From the legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis and director Richard Fleischer (Conan The Destroyer) comes a female hero created by writer Robert E. Howard (Conan The Barbarian). The limited edition release includes a 4K restoration from the original negative with new HDR grading by Arrow Films, hours of special features, and newly commissioned extras.
Red Sonja (Brigitte Nielsen, Cobra) has her life, family, and home torn apart by the evil Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman, Conan The Barbarian) and her ruthless soldiers, driving Sonja to pray for revenge. A spirit blesses her with the strength of a great warrior, and she trains until her master can teach her no more, leaving her ready to exact revenge. Can Red Sonja save the world from the Queen and her powerful relic, and will Lord Kalidor (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Conan The Barbarian) convince her that he is worthy enough to be her partner in this epic battle? The clanging steel of Red Sonja’s epic battles is accompanied by a rousing score from Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad And The Ugly).
Special features include a 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible); Original lossless mono audio and optional DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio; Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing; two brand new audio commentaries; newly filmed interviews with actor Ernie Reyes Jr. and others; an archival unreleased interview with poster artist Renato Casaro; an archival featurette on Arnold Schwarzenegger; an archival interview with assistant director Michel Ferry; the original theatrical trailer; image gallery; a collectors’ perfect-bound booklet; double-sided foldout poster; and six postcard-sized reproduction artcards.
Salem’s Lot Heads Home On 4K UHD
March 31st sees Salem’s Lot come to 4K UHD with both the original TV mini-series version and the shorter theatrical-cut distributed internationally. Director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) scared millions of primetime viewers with his adaptation of Stephen King’s second novel. The limited edition release features brand new 4K restorations of both versions, hours of special features, and newly commissioned extras.
Bestselling author Ben Mears (David Soul, Starsky & Hutch) returns to his childhood home of Salem’s Lot, Maine, to tap into the source of his nightmares, intending to rent the ominous and haunted Marsten House. Mears feels the house is evil, fueled by rumors surrounding the original owner, Hubie Marsten, after he killed himself inside.
As a boy, Mears had snuck into the abandoned mansion and encountered the ghost of Marsten, an experience that never left him. Mears still wants to get inside the creepy place to receive literary inspiration, but his plan is thwarted when he learns the house has already been purchased by antiques dealer Richard Straker (James Mason, Lolita) and his mysterious partner Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder, The Dead Don’t Die). When a new horror hits the small town and people begin to disappear, Mears wonders if he revived the undead evil by returning home?
The all-star cast includes Fred Willard (This Is Spinal Tap), Bonnie Bedelia (Die Hard), Lance Kerwin (James At 15), Geoffrey Lewis (High Plains Drifter), George Dzundza (Basic Instinct), Elisha Cook Jr. (Rosemary’s Baby), and Brad Savage (Red Dawn).
Special features include 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentations in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of both versions of the film; the original lossless mono audio; optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing; a Salem’s Lot town sign sticker; double-sided foldout poster; brand new audio commentaries; an archival audio commentary by director Tobe Hooper; commercial bumpers; the original broadcast version of the antlers death; the original shooting script gallery; brand new interviews with Mick Garris and others; a video appreciation; new featurettes about the locations of Salem’s Lot and more; the trailers; an image gallery; and a collectors’ perfect-bound booklet.
Eiichi Kudo’s Samurai Revolution Trilogy
Also on March 31, the true nature of life in feudal Japan takes center stage in Eiichi Kudo’s Samurai Revolution Trilogy, making its Blu-ray debut. Director Eiichi Kudo revolutionized the jidaigeki genre during the 1960’s with 13 Assassins, The Great Killing, and Eleven Samurai, the very films that make up this landmark trilogy. The limited edition boxset features High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all three films, hours of special features, and newly commissioned extras.
The Shogun and Samurai warriors were originally presented in cinema as noble men who upheld the morality and ethics of the Bushido code in feudal Japan, an attitude that shifted with director Eiichi Kudo’s 13 Assassins. Lord Matsudaira has been accused of horrifying crimes, yet nothing can be done to punish him since his brother is the Shogun and he’s about to be promoted to an even higher position. A group of Samurai secretly plots justice, assembling 13 assassins to ambush Lord Matsudaira and his 200 guards.
The Great Killing centers on the Chief Elder’s conspiracy to elevate the Shogun’s easily controllable brother to power, allowing him to truly administer authority without holding the title. A rival official must recruit allies to prevent the scheme from unfolding.
In Eleven Samurai, a hunting party led by Lord Nariatsu journeys onto the Oshi clan’s fiefdom in pursuit of prey, and this border breach leads the petulant Lord to murder an Oshi official. The head of the Oshi clan demands action from the Shogun’s Council of Elders, but they instead award the Oshi fiefdom to Lord Nariatsu, as he is the Shogun’s son and can do no wrong. This injustice drives members of the Oshi clan to plot an uprising against their new leader.
All three films are loosely based on historical events involving Shogun-connected family members failing to live up to the Bushido code.
Special features include original lossless Japanese mono audio on all three films; optional newly translated English subtitles for all three films; an illustrated collectors’ booklet; brand new audio commentaries on each film; video essays on the score, cinematography and the historical setting; Samurai Guerilla is a three part archival interview with Eiichi Kudo’s former assistant director Misao Arai; theatrical trailers for 13 Assassins; a tribute to director Eiichi Kudo by his former assistant and brother-in-law Masaaki Ito; and an archival interview on the films of Eiichi Kudo.
For more on Physical Media, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.
That Hashtag Show
