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JUSTICE IS DONE
DUTY CALLS
ARROW’S NEW OWNERS…
…AS COMPANY UNVEILS ROMANCE
VIRTUOSO PERFORMANCE
THE GLITCH IS BACK
HITCHING A RIDE
BERGMAN BONANZA…
…AS BFI REVEALS SUMMER TITLES
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the much-talked about, fan-demanded new cut of the epic superhero tale from Warner is certainly proving its worth on home entertainment as well as its use to the nascent HBO Max streaming service in the US (it debuted on Sky Cinema here in the UK). For the title is spending a second week at number one in the Official Film Charts listing as announced by BASE and its assorted partners. The film is sitting pretty atop the chart on the strength of its digital release alone, with the physical due to follow and certain to bolster its position for longer. It comes as Warner dominates the chart, with five of the top six – the other one in the upper echelons is the highest new entry, Universal’s Blithe Spirit, which is being handled by Warner on the s&d side as part of the deal between the two majors. Oh, and another good week for Arrow, marking its new ownership by The Hut Group (see below), with a new entry at number seven in the shape of Battle Royale, part of an impressive showing in the charts from the company, again, see more. below.
All the talk this week, on television news and chat shows, in the newspapers and around virtual water coolers everywhere has been Line Of Duty and the finale of the sixth outing for the bent coppers series. But between the headlines – and everyone has an opinion on the ending – the mere fact that the whole nation is talking about Jed Mercurio’s show stands the digital release, on May 3 from Acorn and the company’s forthcoming physical bow of S6 and a complete box box set featuring all six outings (both due on May 31) in good stead. The PR for Acorn’s release kicked off in earnest this week, with credits for Acorn’s release appearing on much of the coverage – including interviews with the “fourth man’, aka the corrupt officer known as H. And there was also the hugely impressive performance in terms of viewing figures too. The finale was watched by the biggest audience for a drama (not including soaps) since modern records began in 2002. Acorn’s director of marketing Helen Squire said: “We didn’t think it could get any bigger – but it did! Last Sunday’s Line Of Duty finale did it again with record breaking ratings. We’re desperate for news of another series but fear we may be kept in suspense a while longer. In the meantime customers can download and keep the series or wait another couple of weeks for the arrival of the DVD and Blu-ray.”
Arrow has started life under is new owner THG plc. THG confirmed the sale in its Q1 trading update, which explained the acquisition by THG of the long-standing indie saying: “The acquisition of Arrow Films, a motion picture distribution studio, provides THG OnDemand with vertical integration of physical and digital film content.” Meanwhile, one of the first big releases under the new partnership, Battle Royale in a mammoth, definitive set and a further feather in Arrow’s 4K cap, alongside another equally impressive and sumptuous release, Donnie Darko. Outlining their success, Arrow’s senior sales manager Dean Lawson said; “We’re thrilled to have achieved the third and fifth highest entries in the Official Charts Company chart this week with our new Battle Royale UHD and BD Limited Editions, and, Donnie Darko UHD Limited Edition releases. The demand for these releases exceeded our initial expectations and we are delighted to see the ever increasing appetite for the UHD format in the market. We could not have anticipated a better performance in release week and we are happy to see the dedicated fanbase of the Arrow Video label turn out in droves once more. These are the definitive presentations of these classics, and the discs are brimming with multiple cuts of the films, umpteen hours of extras and are encased in top-quality packaging with stunning newly commissioned artwork. These films are true beacons of the Arrow Video label, and we’re excited to share what we have coming in the year ahead.”
Sticking with Arrow, and the company has revealed its slate of titles due on July, with more potential biggies as well as its usual selection of more obscure titles which will be snapped up by the legions of Arrow Video imprint fans. Unveiling the slate, the company’s Fran Simeoni said: “We are thrilled with the reaction to our bumper July announcements including Dual Format UHD and Blu-ray re-issues of our popular Demons releases following rapid sell out of our first Limited Edition double pack these two new releases sport the same wonderful disc content now re-packaged in matching double sided rigid slipcovers. Continuing our series of new cult acquisitions, 2020’s shot-on-iphone indie horror Threshold arrives on Blu-ray in a stacked edition sporting hours upon hours of extras lovingly created by the director duo Powell Robinson and Robert Young along with the Arrow team. One of our most anticipated releases of the year comes in huge cult favourite True Romance, released in a variety of packaging formats with a newly minted 4K HDR restoration on Limited Edition Blu-ray and UHD, Dual Format SteelBook and a Zavvi-exclusive super deluxe Dual Format release including exclusive Coming Home in a Body Bag poster, tattoo sticker and postcard along with the lobby card reproductions, poster and booklet found in the other editions. Working with celebrated artists Sam Gilbey and Sarah Deck across these releases has given customers choice in addition to their preferred directions on format and packaging. Next up we have collections from Arrow favourite genres in Japanese monsters and Spaghetti westerns, two deluxe sets with hours of extras each, superb new artwork and extensive booklets, the former finds us in the hands of a stone monster kaiju in the Daimajin trilogy, making its UK debut on any format while the latter collects four tales of revenge in Vengeance Trails, four westerns featuring films by celebrated genre auteurs Lucio Fulci, Massimo Dallamano, Antonio Margheriti and Maurizio Lucidi starring icons of the genre Franco Nero, George Hilton, Klaus Kinski and more, these films again making their UK debuts on any format. Our final release of the month sees the return of our celebrated Dario Argento collection with his sophomore feature The Cat O Nine Tails this time released on UHD with the same bounty of extras as before, the film will be made available in dual packaging options, the series collection artwork following Bird with the Crystal Plumage and continuing with our Arte Originale initiative the original Italian Locandina. It’s a busy slate which has seen forums and pre-order boxes in overdrive, the variety of titles with multiple genres and countries represented ensures we’re catering to the widest cult audience we can.”
Releases due in stores on Monday May 10 now and, ahead of its big Oscar-winning Anthony Hopkins title The Father, Lionsgate has The Virtuoso, another title due featuring the Academy Award-winning star, albeit in a far different role from that of the family scion suffering with dementia. Instead, the star appears as a vicious criminal ordering a hitman to do his bidding. Commenting on the release, Lionsgate junior product manager Katy Machin said: “On Monday, we are very excited to bring to the UK market, The Virtuoso, where every betrayal begins with trust… Anson Mount is a deadly assassin sent on a mission by his cold-blooded boss, 2021 Oscar®-winner, Sir Anthony Hopkins. Offering noir-style thrills and cloak-and-dagger mystery, The Virtuoso also stars Abbie Cornish, Eddie Marsan and Richard Brake and is directed by Nick Stagliano. We are supporting the release with a thorough PR campaign, consisting of interviews with talent, features and competitions in order to raise awareness. We are also running a small, targeted media campaign to excite fans of the genre and cast.”
Fresh off the international festival circuit having premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and on DVD and Blu-ray from Monday via Dogwoof, Room 237 director Rodney Ascher returns with his latest mind-bending documentary, A Glitch in the Matrix. Tumbling down the rabbit hole of simulation theory and those convinced that the world we live in is not quite what it seems, Ascher draws in a wide array of pop culture references – including the titular Matrix franchise – to put flesh onto the bones of these theories. Here's Dogwoof's head of home entertainment Daniel Green on the film's physical bow: "This is our first collaboration with Rodney and we're really proud to have been able to turnaround both a digital release back in February - a week after the film's world premiere - and now its DVD and Blu-ray launch so speedily. Aim Publicity has done a fantastic job securing key press across all formats and we're also really happy with the exclusive art cards that will add plenty of value to the Blu-ray SKU, in addition to a Sundance Q&A with Ascher."
Second Sight is keeping itself busy in the coming months too, with two major announcements being made via social media this week. Both are late 20th century classics, with one from these shores – The Krays, directed by Philip Ridley and starring Spandau Ballet's Kemp brothers, Martin and Gary, as the eponymous East London gangsters – and another from further afield which represents one of the most requested titles for boutique labels. Firstly, The Krays – the film that launched a thousand DTV films about the notorious East End gangsters and their acolytes – is arriving in a restored version with the usual bells and whistles you’d expect from the independent, which, on the back go the likes of its excellent Dawn Of The Dead release last year, has upped the ante or special edition releases. It’s also announced a release for the much-requested Rutger Hauer classic The Hitcher, much beloved of genre fans and one of the outstanding VHS era titles due or such treatment. As its announcement noted this week, it won’t be a full 4K, but it will be restored to the highest specs possible: “Hours will be spent in manual restoration for further dirt and scratch removal, splice removal, improved stability and flicker repair. We are also re-grading to balance colour given the print source. We aim to give The Hitcher the best possible presentation it has ever had.” Comment on the new announcements, joining a busy slate including The Babadook and Lake Mungo, Second Sight’s Chris Holding said: We have a very busy schedule this year, shaping up to be possibly the strongest in the company’s history. The Krays has been a long time coming and we’ve seen a great reaction. The Hitcher has been another level in terms of excitement generated and the feedback to our post this week. This is one of those classics that’s been in demand for many years and we aim to do it justice. We are still looking into all available material and plan to have it looking the best it ever has on disc.
With the BFI’s theatrical operations set to reopen shortly, there’s plenty of activity from the BFI and it has just announced its next raft of titles, due in July and August. Worthy of its own separate announcement is a major retrospective of Ingmar Bergman’s work, with 32 films being released on disc across four volumes, with the first due on July 19. There will be some separate releases of selected titles too, and the second volume is due in the autumn. The deal for the package was negotiated by BFI acquisitions manager Laura Dos Santos with Helene Aurø, sales and marketing director at Re-invent on behalf of SF Studios. Dos Santos said: “The celebrations of Ingmar Bergman’s centenary and BFI Southbank’s incredibly successful retrospective in 2018, have demonstrated that contemporary audiences have an insatiable appetite for the Swedish master’s filmography. BFI Distribution is proud to have acquired all UK-Ireland distribution rights for the Bergman Collection, a monument of world cinema which we are now handling with the greatest care and passion. All films will be available in beautifully restored versions, for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK. We will release them over the next two years and across four chronological boxsets rich with additional content”.
As for the rest of July and August, there’s plenty there to admire too, with the usual diverse and wide-ranging selection of titles due from the organisation. To talk us through them, here’s the BFI’s head of video publishing John Ramchandani, who said: “Who isn’t thrilled to see the cinemas reopening after what feels like an eternity? While we all look forward to the long-overdue new releases on the big screen, the BFI DVD team has been busy collating a range of culturally-diverse classics of world cinema for home viewing. Following the highly anticipated release of Ingmar Bergman Volume 1, we look forward to bringing A Unflinching Eye: The Films Of Richard Woolley back to the DVD catalogue. Woolley was unapologetic in his tackling of controversial themes such as class, race, sexuality and the human instinct for violence and this new issue includes two as-yet unreleased audio commentaries. Julian Henrique’s compelling drama, Babymother, is widely considered to be the first truly black British musical, telling the Harlesden-set story of a teenage single mum determined to make the big time as a reggae star. Newly remastered by the BFI, this will be released on Blu-ray for the first time and packed with must-see extras. We begin August with Aleem Khan’s award-winning, incredibly moving British feature debut, After Love (2020). Starring the phenomenal Joanna Scanlan, the Blu-ray comes out hot on the heels of the theatrical release. 16 August heralds the release of Great Noises That Fill The Air – a collection of music, poetry and performance from the Arts Council English archive, including inspirational works such as the newly restored Dread Beat An’ Blood, featuring Linton Kwesi Johnson. August also sees the release of the long-awaited dual format edition of Sidney Lumet’s drama, The Pawnbroker (1964) featuring Rod Steiger in his Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning role as Sol Nazerman, a survivor of the Nazi death camps who continues to be haunted by vivid flashbacks of the concentration camps. For some light relief and back by popular demand, we are pleased to present more family entertainment in the guise of Children’s Film Foundation Bumper Box Volume 3, a fun-packed collection of adventures from the 50s to the 80s and this time featuring the familiar faces of George Cole, Ronnie Barker, Brenda Fricker and against all odds, Phil Collins! Rounding off our eclectic month of classics is Jean Renoir’s first colour feature, The River (1951), a visual tour de force shot entirely on location in India. Presented on Blu-ray from the restoration by the Film Foundation, this coming-of-age tale of an adolescent girl living on the banks of West Bengal was described by Martin Scorsese as ‘one of the most beautiful colour films ever made’.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Like many in our industry, we’ve been waiting for today’s announcement in the hope that you would acknowledge the breadth of issues facing the HFPA and provide a clear roadmap for change. Today’s vote is an important first step. However, we don’t believe these proposed new policies — particularly around the size and speed of membership growth — will tackle the HFPA’s systemic diversity and inclusion challenges, or the lack of clear standards for how your members should operate. So we’re stopping any activities with your organisation until more meaningful changes are made.
“We know that you have many well-intentioned members who want real change — and that all of us have more work to do to create an equitable and inclusive industry. But Netflix and many of the talent and creators we work with cannot ignore the HFPA’s collective failure to address these crucial issues with urgency and rigour.”
Netflix chief Ted Sarandos in a letter to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The organisation is currently under fire for its failure to speed up diversification of its membership and other key changes demanded by distributors, producers, PR people, press and more and many are refusing to work with it until it speeds up the process… Next year’s Golden Globes awards could be in jeopardy…
AT THE MOVIES
Big news from Studiocanal, which is continuing to mine a rich vein of very British film productions following the huge success of both Paddington films and the likes of Swallows And Amazons. Latest to be announced is The Railway Children Return, a sequel to one of the best-loved homegrown family films ever, which has started shooting on locations around the UK, including many from the original film. What’s more, as well as an all-new cast of kids – the film follows Second World War evacuees heading to Yorkshire – and stars such as Sheridan Smith and Ton Courtenay, one of the original Railway Children, Jenny Agutter, will be reprising her role from the original film more than 50 years ago. The film will be released in April next year, and, ever the canny operator, the official announcement from Studiocanal noted the original’s status too: “The Railway Children is a key title in Studiocanal’s Vintage Classics collection. The fully restored Blu-ray and DVD release of The Railway Children includes a retrospective documentary and interviews with key cast Jenny Agutter, Bernard Cribbins and Sally Thomsett, the film is also available to own on Digital across all major retailers.”
A big week for Marvel fans as Disney released a big trailer unveiling the next phase of its ongoing superhero films (Phase 4, apparently, although we’ve long since stopped bothering about such terminology, this is for the hardcore devotees only). There was plenty of detail in it for fans – detailing shots and clips from the first back-at-cinemas Marvel release, July’s much delayed Black Widow, onwards. There was eagerly awaited first footage from The Eternals, directed by Oscar-winning Nomadland helmer Chloe Zhao. There were title reveals and dates for the likes of the second Black Panther and Captain Marvel films respectively Wakanda Forever and The Marvels) and more going through to 2023’s third Guardians Of The Galaxy film. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, there was a tease of a Fantastic Four logo at the end. See Trailers Of The Week below for more…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Here’s that Marvel trailer in full…
Due on Sky Cinema…
https://youtu.be/QVMoWmKYYh4 From Universal, due at cinemas, then Amazon… At cinemas from August via Studiocanal…
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