JULY 2023 RELEASES FROM ARROW VIDEO
An extraordinary Bruce Lee UHD box set and an essential Western collection
Arrow Video’s July lineup includes a definitive collection of beautifully restored Bruce Lee classics and specially curated four disc volume of outstanding Westerns in all their brutal and bloody brilliance.
The releases feature brand new restorations, alternative versions of the films, deleted scenes, featurettes, brand new commentaries, video essays and documentaries, reversible sleeves, limited edition packaging, hardbound books, stills, posters and collectors booklets.
First in July, Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest. In only a handful of films, Lee high-kicked his way into audiences’ imaginations forever, thanks to his blistering screen presence and his masterful ‘Jeet Kune Do’ fighting technique. Today, five decades since his passing, Bruce Lee continues to be the most beloved and influential martial artist in the world. This definitive collection (including The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, and Game of Death and its 1981 sequel), featuring exclusive 4K restorations by Arrow Video, hours of brand new bonus features and previously unreleased footage – including the extended Mandarin Cut of The Big Boss, now ten minutes longer than any version ever released on video worldwide, and the never-before-seen ‘log fight’ from the original Game of Death shoot – is the ultimate tribute to Bruce Lee’s enduring legacy and fruitful collaboration with Golden Harvest. The set is available on Limited Edition 4K UHD, and a Limited Edition Arrow Store exclusive only available from Arrow, containing a hardbound book, lobby cards, photos and much more.
July also sees the release of Blood Money: Four Western Classics Vol. 2. In the mid-1960s, the runaway success of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars” trilogy gave rise to an explosion of similar productions. Filmmakers by the dozen sought to capitalise on this new, uniquely Italian take on the western, which was characterised by their deeply cynical outlook, morally compromised antiheroes and unflinching depictions of savage violence. This specially curated selection gathers together four outstanding examples of the genre from the height of its popularity, all centred around the theme of blood money: Romolo Guerrieri’s $10,000 Blood Money (1967; a.k.a. $10,000 for a Massacre); Giovanni Fago’s Vengeance is Mine (1967; a.k.a. $100,000 for a Killing); Giuliano Carnimeo’s Find a Place to Die (1968); and Cesare Canevari’s psychedelic Matalo! (Kill Him) (1970). The four-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray set includes a sumptuous limited edition packaging and reversible sleeves, illustrated collector’s booklet, and fold-out double-sided poster.
In Romolo Guerrieri’s $10,000 Blood Money (1967; a.k.a. $10,000 for a Massacre), Gianni Garko – best known for his portrayal of supernatural gunslinger Sartana – takes on the part of another beloved western antihero, Django, who is on the trail of bandit Manuel Vasquez (Claudio Camaso, A Bay of Blood). But what started as a job for hire soon turns personal, with Django swearing vengeance against the unscrupulous outlaw. Then, in the film’s spiritual successor, Giovanni Fago’s Vengeance is Mine (1967; a.k.a. $100,000 for a Killing), Garko and Camaso once again lead the cast, this time as estranged half-brothers – one a Confederate soldier now riding with renegade outlaws, the other a bounty hunter tasked with bringing him in alive.
Next, in Giuliano Carnimeo’s Find a Place to Die (1968), Jeffrey Hunter (The Searchers) plays Joe Collins, a disgraced former soldier who assembles a ragtag band of scoundrels. They are lured into helping a woman (Pascale Petit, A Queen for Caesar) to rescue her prospector husband, who is trapped at their gold mine cave-in – though in reality, they have designs on the gold strike themselves. Finally, in Cesare Canevari’s psychedelic Matalo! (Kill Him) (1970), double- and triple-crosses abound as a band of outlaws, having holed up in an isolated ghost town, set about terrorising travellers Ray (Lou Castel, Orgasmo) and Bridget (Ana María Mendoza, 7 Women for the MacGregors) – only to get more than they bargained for when Ray fights back, armed only with his weapon of choice: a bag full of boomerangs.