COME JUNE, ARROW VIDEO STITCHES UP A BUNCH OF KILLER TOMATOES AND STAR WARS

It has often been said that tomatoes are a very resilient and misguided ingredient. For a start, they're a fruit, and not a vegetable as most people believe. Secondly, you can either squash them into a juice or slice them into a salad. And most importantly of them all, if you ever see a tomato carrying a hand-gun, or sporting a rather large axe, please keep in mind that this squash-able and slice-able fruit, always seeks revenge. Want to know what I'm talking about? Then check out these DVDs by Arrow Video.

Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 2 

Nikkatsu is the oldest film studio in Japan, and in the late 1950s inaugurated a star system which found talent and hired them to star in a series of wild genre pictures. This second collection celebrates these "Diamond Guys" with three classic films from directors Buichi Saito (Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril), Ko Nakahira (Crazed Fruit), and Haruyasu Noguchi, who is a new discovery for the West.

In Saito's Tokyo Mighty Guy, mega star Akira Kobayashi stars as Jiro in a rambunctious tale of a chef who opens a restaurant in the busy Ginza district. His culinary skills and dashing good looks bring in the women as well as unwanted trouble, while an explosive political scandal builds around his girlfriend's business.

Next, Jo Shishido (Massacre Gun), stars in Danger Pays, a crime caper from Ko Nakahira about counterfeiting. When one billion yen goes AWOL, "Joe the Ace" (Shishido) spies an opportunity to get rich quick, but things soon go wrong as it turns out he isn't the only one who'll stop at nothing to get his hands on the missing cash.

Finally, Shishido stars once again in Noguchi's screwball classic, Murder Unincorporated. When the mysterious "Joe of Spades" executes one of the bosses from a powerful syndicate, his colleagues, fearing for their own lives, call on the services of assassin agency Murder Unincorporated to take care of the problem. This unique entry showcases some of the most peculiar killing tactics to ever hit Japanese cinema!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Limited Edition Blu-ray collection (3000 copies).
• High Definition digital transfers of all three films in this collection, from original film elements by Nikkatsu Corporation.
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation.
• Original uncompressed mono audio.
• Newly translated English subtitles.
• Specially recorded video discussions with Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp on Diamond Guys Jo Shishido and Akira Kobayashi.
• Original trailers for all three films.
• Extensive promotional image galleries for all films.
• Reversible sleeve featuring brand new artwork by Graham Humphreys.
• Booklet featuring new writing on all the films and director profiles by Stuart Galbraith IV, Tom Mes and Mark Schilling.

Release Date: June 14th, 2016 / Genre: Adventure / Running Time: 241 minutes / Number of Discs: 3 / Audio: NTSC / Language: Japanese / Subtitles: English

Suture

Inspired by the paranoid visions of John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds, compiled with the desert noir style of Detour, plus the black and white widescreen beauty of Hiroshi Teshigahara's The Face of Another and Woman of the Dunes, comes Suture, a great feature debut developed by writer-directors David Siegel and Scott McGehee, and is truly a unique piece of cinema.

The wealthy and self-assured Vincent (Michael Harris) meets his blue collar half-brother Clay (Dennis Haysbert) at their father's funeral and is struck by their similarity. Soon after he decides to murder Clay and take his identity, only Clay survives the assassination attempt with no memory and is mistaken for Vincent. The fact that Harris is white and Haysbert is black only complicates a film that probes into the nature of identity.

After viewing an early rough cut, Steven Soderbergh came on board as executive producer and enthusiastic patron. Later Suture went on to become a hit on the festival circuit, including Sundance where it deservedly won the award for Best Cinematography.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative.
• High Definition (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD Presentations.
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
• Audio commentary with writer-directors David Siegel and Scott McGehee.
• All-new interviews with Siegel, McGehee, executive producer Steven Soderbergh, actor Dennis Haysbert, cinematographer Greg Gardiner, editor Lauren Zuckerman, and production designer Kelly McGehee.
• Deleted scenes.
• Birds Past, Siegel & McGehee's first short film, about two young San Franciscans who journey to Bodega Bay along the path set by Tippi Hedren in Hitchcock's classic, The Birds.
• US theatrical trailer.
• European theatrical trailer.
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm.

Release Date: June 21st, 2016 / Genre: Thriller / Running Time: 96 minutes / Number of Discs: 2 / Audio: NTSC / Language: English / Subtitles: English

Return Of The Killer Tomatoes

The killer tomatoes are back! But this time around, they're going to have to contend with late '80s George Clooney and his wicked mullet! Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Nope, it's Return of the Killer Tomatoes!

Ten years on from the Great Tomato War, mankind lives in fear of another uprising by the waxy red menace. Meanwhile, Professor Gangreen (as played by John Astin from TV's The Addams Family) sets out to pursue his own evil ends by creating a burgeoning army of tomato militia men (who, somewhat conveniently, look just like regular men).

Following on from the 1978 cult classic, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Return of the Killer Tomatoes came armed with a healthy sense of its own ridiculousness and would expand upon a franchise that now comprises four films, two TV series, and a video game. So what are you waiting for? Make Return of the Killer Tomatoes one of your five-a-day now!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation.
• Original Stereo audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray).
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
• Brand new audio commentary with writer-director John De Bello.
• Brand new interview with star Anthony Starke.
• Original Theatrical Trailer.
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin.
• Fully-illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by critic James Oliver.

Release Date: June 28th, 2016 / Genre: Horror / Running Time: 98 minutes / Number of Discs: 1 / Audio: NTSC / Language: English / Subtitles: English

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan

The remarkable career of the movie industry's most admired and influential special-effects auteur, the legendary Ray Harryhausen, is the subject of Gilles Penso's definitive documentary, Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan.

Leaving no doubt as to Harryhausen's seminal influence on modern-day special effects, the documentary features enlightening and entertaining interviews with the man himself, Randy Cook, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippet, Terry Gilliam, Dennis Muren, John Landis, Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and many more.

These filmmakers, who today push the boundaries of special effects movie-making, pay tribute to the father of Stop Motion animation and films such as 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms', 'It Came from Beneath the Sea', 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad', 'Mysterious Island', 'Jason and the Argonauts', and 'The Golden Voyage of Sinbad' -- the films that enthralled them as children and inspired them to become filmmakers in their own right.

BONUS MATERIALS

• Interviews with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Peter Lord, and Rick Baker.
• 12 Interview outtakes with Joe Dante, John Lasseter, Nick Park and more!
• A message to Ray.
• Deleted Scenes.
• On the set of Sinbad.
• Paris Cinematheque Q&A.
• London Gate Theater Q&A.
• Audio commentary with the filmmakers.
• Original Trailer.
• Ray Harryhausen Trailer Reel.

Release Date: June 28th, 2016 / Genre: Documentary / Running Time: 97 minutes / Number of Discs: 1 / Audio: NTSC / Language: English / Subtitles: English

Elstree 1976

This documentary explores the lives of the actors and extras behind one of the most celebrated Science Fiction films in cinematic history, Star Wars.

From the man behind film's most iconic villain, to the actor whose character was completely cut from the final film, the documentary delves into the eccentric community these individuals have formed and how the Star Wars franchise -- which spans five decades from A New Hope to The Force Awakens -- continues to impact their lives decades later. 

Many of the minor characters were merely part of the set design, but eventually gained recognition as the Star Wars universe expanded into books, comics, etc. Fans learned the history of masked characters like Boba Fett and Greedo, but the sci-fi blockbuster also had a lasting impact on the people inside the costumes. 

However, not all of the interviewees had minor roles in the series. For example, David Prowse, whose six-foot-eight bulk filled out Darth Vader's suit and provided the menacing movements of film's most iconic villain, wouldn't be recognized on the street by all but the most ardent Star Wars fans. In the final cut of the movie, his face and voice were replaced by Sebastian Shaw and James Earl Jones, respectively. Others got to work on what would become the biggest movie of all time, but saw their characters cut entirely from the finished film. Who may they be? Watch this documentary to find out.

Release Date: June 28th, 2016 / Genre: Documentary / Running Time: 101 minutes / Number of Discs: 1 / Audio: NTSC / Language: English / Subtitles: English