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May 31, 2014

NEW BLU-RAY EDITIONS

A pair of rare, out-of-print cult movies are making their way to Blu-ray this summer: Remo Williams and Elio Petri's early Mastroianni classic, The Assassin! Two more reasons to pick up an all-region player (both editions are PAL format from England). Details below.


Remo Williams (1985) starring Fred Ward and Joel Grey (directed by 007 alum Guy Hamilton!), will be released on July 7th. From AmazonUK: "First they faked his death and gave him a new identity. Now a top secret organisation is training a former New York cop to combat corrupt forces operating outside of the law. His mentor, Chiun, is an ageing Korean master of the martial arts who can run on water and dodge speeding bullets. Born on the pages of Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir s The Destroyer series of men s adventure novels, Remo Williams was placed in the capable hands of Bond director Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger, The Man with the Golden Gun) for his big-screen outing. Fred Ward (Tremors) plays the trainee assassin, with Academy Award-winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) occupying the role of Chiun. With its classic set-piece atop the Statue of Liberty, much-loved score by Craig Safan and a healthy sense of its own silliness, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins... offers up a cracking slice of mid-eighties action. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High definition digital transfer. Newly created and exclusive content including interviews with cast and crew! Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Red Dress. Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film and more!


The Assassin (1961) starring Marcello Mastroianni and directed by Elio Petri (The 10th Victim, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion) will be released on June 21st. From AmazonUK: "Released within months of Fellini s La Dolce Vita and Antonioni s La Notte, Elio Petri s dazzling first feature L Assassino also stars Marcello Mastroianni, this time as dandyish thirtysomething antiques dealer Alfredo Martelli, arrested on suspicion of murdering his older, far wealthier lover Adalgisa (Micheline Presle). But as the increasingly Kafkaesque police investigation proceeds, it becomes less and less important whether Martelli actually committed the crime as his entire lifestyle is effectively put on trial. Best known for Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and The Tenth Victim, Petri was one of the finest and yet most underrated Italian directors of the 1960s and 70s. Highly acclaimed on its original UK release but unjustly neglected since, L Assassino is a remarkably assured debut from one of the cinema s sharpest chroniclers of Italian social and political realities. Petri said that he wanted to reflect the changes wrought by the early sixties, and to examine a new generation of upstarts who lacked any kind of moral scruple. Arrow Academy is proud to present the first ever UK video release of L Assassino in a gorgeous high-definition restoration created by the Cineteca di Bologna. SPECIAL FEATURES: New 2K digital restoration from the Cineteca di Bologna. Uncompressed Mono 2.0 PCM Audio. Elio Petri and L Assassino, an introduction by Italian cinema expert Pasquale Iannone. Tonino Guerra: A Poet in the Movies: Nicola Tranquillino s documentary about the great Italian screenwriter. Theatrical Trailer. Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jay Shaw. Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Elio Petri expert Camilla Zamboni, plus a selection of contemporary reviews.


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