10 Suggestions for Arrow Video

Sixteen Candles, The Day of the Jackal, American Gigolo, A Fish Called Wanda, Dune, The Hills Have Eyes, El Mariachi, Robocop, Donnie Darko, Mallrats, C.H.U.D., Hugo, Twelve Monkeys, Weird Science, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Inglourious Basterds, The Andromeda Strain, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Wild Things, New Fist of Fury, Cinema Paradiso, Gosford Park, Ringu, Crimson Peak, Flowers in the Attic, Snakes on a Plane, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key.

What commonality links these disparate films? They, and hundreds more, have all been releases from Arrow Video.

For quite a while now, Arrow has been among the top DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K companies around, even commanding its own section at some stores. The discs they release come with the movie (sometimes multiple versions of it) and a plethora of extras. Deleted scenes and trailers, yes, but also feature-length documentaries, original interviews, new commentary tracks, critic analyses, and more that dive into the material. Additionally, they’re equipped with great tactile bonuses like books, booklets, posters, coasters, artcards, postcards, and stickers.

I’ve tried to select films that have not already had a special edition Blu Ray release (in Region A, at least) and that span a variety of genres. I also won’t mention films that the company has released in other territories since there’s always a chance that they could be brought over. And while I would not be averse to a different specialty label putting out these titles, I do think that the selections fit well with the Arrow brand. 

Cruel Intentions (1999)

While Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. faced the Fisherman once more in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, their co-stars from the prior installment Ryan Philippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar re-teamed for Sony’s lurid follow-up to Wild Things (which, as said right in the first paragraph, is part of the Arrow collection). The eclectic cast also includes Reese Witherspoon, Louise Fletcher, Tara Reid, and Fred Norris.

Most wanted extra: The 2016 TV pilot sequel with Gellar reprising her role.

I Was a Teenage Werewolf 

and

Invasion of the Saucer Men (both 1957)

These two American International Pictures were paired theatrically for the ultimate summer drive-in experience. Quintessential examples of their kind, they have been plenty inspirational to genre writers and artists over the years. A set containing both films with the option to view as a double feature and in 2D or 3D would be ideal.

Most wanted extra: Attack of the Eye Creatures, the remake of Saucer Men.

Killer Shark (1950)

A quarter of a century prior to Jaws and long before its title was co-opted to label the subgenre as a whole, Killer Shark taught viewers to stay out of the water. Starring Roddy McDowell, this movie was actually spotlighted by Alison Willmore of BuzzFeed in her 2014 article “26 Hard-To-Find Movies That Remind Us Why VHS, DVD, And LaserDisc Still Matter.” Over a decade later and still MIA.

Most wanted extra: Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That documentary about the film’s director.

Pacific Heights (1990)

Over the past dozen years, Michael Keaton has been on a comeback streak. We’ve revisited Batman and Beetlejuice, but one of his darker roles might be due for a reappraisal. Keaton memorably embodied the nightmare tenant in Carter Hayes, a terror to his landlords (Matthew Modine and Melanie Griffith) and able to get away with it because the laws were on his side.

Most wanted extra: Interviews with and/or commentary from lawyers who can explain the legal elements. 

The Program (1993)

James Caan and Halle Berry headline this hard-edged college football drama where the question of the climax is not so much “Will the team win the big game?” as it is “Will the team make it to the big game in one piece?” Because, between alcohol, steroids, and academic violations, the players are dangerously close to ending up kicked out of school, in jail, or dead.

Most wanted extra: The full original theatrical version with the infamous traffic scene back where it should be.

Ritual (2002)

Tales from the Crypt returned from the grave for one last scare with a remake of the 1943 RKO picture I Walked with a Zombie. Starring Jennifer Grey, Craig Sheffer (also in The Program), and Tim Curry (who had received an Emmy nomination for his episode on the show), this terror tale focuses on an American nurse working in Jamaica who discovers that her latest patient will need some stronger-than-average dead-icine (insert cackling laugh).

Most wanted extra: Virtual comics of EC stories.

Summer’s Moon (2009)

Tailslate’s own Christine Conradt was a writer on this grisly chiller that’s more Texas Chainsaw than Lifetime. In her first leading role, Ashley Greene sets out to find the father she never knew, only to discover that she was probably better off never knowing. Rather overlooked in its day (a DVD box evoking Twilight may not have helped), the movie also features strong supporting performances from Barbara Niven and Stephen McHattie.

Most wanted extra: Commentary track from cast/crew.

Super Size Me (2004)

This Oscar nominee asks the greatest “what if” question of all time: What if somebody were to eat all three of their daily meals at McDonald’s for a whole month? Director Morgan Spurlock subjected himself to the experiment and, in doing so, landed on the map as one of the leading voices in 21st-century documentary filmmaking. 

Most wanted extra: Educational version of the film.

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

The first effort to bring the classic b&w fantasy/sci-fi show into the colorized era. Directors Steven Spielberg, George Miller, Joe Dante, and John Landis each helmed a segment remaking or heavily inspired by an episode of the series, with actors including John Lithgow, Kathleen Quinlan, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers, Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Nancy Cartwright, Priscilla Pointer, and Burgess Meredith. Its very tragic production notwithstanding, the film holds a special place with fans.

Most wanted extra: Rod Serling’s Lost Classics.

Wheels on Meals (1984)

Jackie Chan at his best in what has been called his greatest collaboration with director/co-star Sammo Hung. Taking place in Barcelona and centering around two brothers who operate a food truck, the film has plenty of bad guys for Chan to fight his way through, including fellow martial arts masters Keith Vitali and Benny “The Jet” Urquidez.

Most wanted extra: An exploration of its video game adaptation Kung Fu, hailed in its own right as a classic of the early NES era.