Arrow Academy June Slate Sees A Film Noir And Forgotten Crime Caper

Arrow Academy’s June releases are two superb couple-on-the-run thrillers; a film-noir from Hollywood’s golden age of crime films; and the world home video premiere of a neglected British crime classic – both restored to their pristine glory and supplemented with a wealth of extras.

First up in June is Nightfall, a masterful film noir from Cat People director Jacques Tourneur, based on the crime novel by legendary pulp author David Goodis, and scripted by Oscar winner Stirling Silliphant (In The Heat of the Night). Aldo Ray stars alongside Anne Bancroft in this gripping and inventive late-period noir, on a release that features a new commentary and artwork, and comes with an illustrated collector’s booklet.

June also sees the release of The Running Man, from The Third Man director Carol Reed, starring Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate) as a man who fakes his own death and find himself on the run from insurance investigators. Also starring Alan Bates, Lee Remick and Fernando Rey, scripted by John Mortimer (Rumpole of the Bailey), and beautifully filmed by cinematographer Robert Krasker (who won as Oscar for his work on The Third Man with Reed), the special edition features a 2K restoration, vintage interviews and a fascinating new featurette.

Nightfall | Blu-ray |3 June 2019

Adapted from the novel by prolific crime fiction author David Goodis (Dark age), Nightfall is the story of Jim Vanning (Aldo Ray, The Violent Ones; The Naked and the Dead), an innocent man wrongly accused of murder. On the same night he has a chance encounter in a bar with glamorous model Marie (Anne Bancroft, The Graduate), the hoods he’s spent the past year running from catch up with him, determined to recover the money they believe he stole from them. Pursued by both the hoods and law enforcement, Vanning and Marie go on the lam, leading to a desperate chase that takes them from the streets of Los Angeles to the snowy peaks of Wyoming.

SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation, restored from original film elements
• Original lossless mono soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• New audio commentary by author and critic Bryan Reesman
• White and Black, a new video appreciation of Nightfall by film historian Philip Kemp
• Do I Look Like a Married Man?, a new video essay on the themes of Nightfall by author and critic Kat Ellinger
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jennifer Dionisio

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Amy Simmons

USA | 1956 | PG | 79 Mins | 1.85:1 | Film Noir | English

The Running Man | Blu-ray | 17 June 2019

Rex Black (Laurence Harvey, Walk On The Wild Side) has successfully faked his death in a plane crash and escaped to sunny Málaga under a new identity, waiting for his wife Stella (Lee Remick, Anatomy Of A Murder) to arrive with £50,000 of life insurance money. It’s the start of a blissful, trouble-free new life for the couple – until Stephen (Alan Bates, Gosford Park), the insurance agent in charge of investigating Rex’s death, suddenly arrives in town. Is he just holidaying in Spain, as he claims, or is he on assignment to foil Rex’s scheme?

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• 2K restoration of the film by Sony Pictures
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-Ray presentation
• Original uncompressed mono audio
• Isolated music and effects track
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by Peter William Evans, author of British Film-Makers: Carol Reed
• On The Trail Of The Running Man, all-new featurette with crew such as script supervisor Angela Allen and assistant director Kits Browning
• Lee Remick at the National Film Theatre, an audio-only recording of the actor’s appearance at the NFT in 1970
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original artwork