Arrow Academy September Is All About Classic Noir And Ginger Rogers Comedy

As we wait for any sign of the hot Summer, Arrow Academy are getting into gear for the Autumn with September Blu-ray releases. The last month for any potential nice weather will bring a brace of classic debuts. First Hollywood starring role for a legendary actor, and the US debut of a celebrated auteur.

Both discs are presented in stunning high definition, crammed with extras and accompanied with lavishly illustrated booklets featuring penetrating writing on the films.

First in September is Dark City, a gripping revenge noir originally developed as a star vehicle for Burt Lancaster. The lead role , however, ultimately became the Hollywood debut of 26-year-old Charlton Heston, already confidently wielding the intense, rugged charisma that would define his career. Expertly directed by William Dieterle (The Devil and Daniel Webster) and featuring a terrific ing cast (including future Dragnet stars Jack Webb and Harry Morgan), Dark City is a nail-biting suspense classic that heralded a future screen icon.

Also in September is The Major and the Minor, a charming comedy classic starring legendary actress and dancer Ginger Rogers (Monkey Business) and the great Ray Milland (The Big Clock, The Pyjama Girl Case). From one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed auteurs, Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard), and co-written by Wilder and Charles Brackett (Hold Back the Dawn), the film assumes the guise of a light romance narrative in order to cleverly explore themes of identity and deception. Wilder’s American debut is presented here for the first time in stunning High Definition, with a selection of illuminating extras.

Dark City | Blu-Ray | 2 September 2019

Once a decorated war hero, Danny Haley (Charlton Heston) now leads a group of small-time card sharks who know a sucker when they see one. They cheat their latest mark, Arthur (Don DeFore) out of $5000 at the poker table; but when Arthur hangs himself in despair, his unstable, hulking older brother (Mike Mazurki) seeks violent revenge on the grifters responsible. As the bodies pile up, Danny and his lover, nightclub singer Fran (Lizabeth Scott), flee to Las Vegas… but Danny is about to learn he can’t hide from the consequences of his actions.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation
• Original uncompressed mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by writer, historian and film programmer Alan K. Rode
• Newly filmed appreciation by critic Philip Kemp
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tonci Zonjic

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw

USA | 1950 | PG | 98 Mins | 1.37:1 | B&W | Film Noir, Crime | English

The Major and the Minor | Blu-ray| 23 September 2019

Legendary actress and dancer Ginger Rogers stars as Susan Applegate, a struggling young woman who pretends to be an 11-year old girl in order to buy a half-price train ticket. Fleeing the conductors, she hides in the compartment of Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland). The Major believes Susan is a child and takes her under his wing, but when they arrive at the military academy where Kirby teaches, his fiancée (Rita Johnson) grows suspicious of Susan’s ruse.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation transferred from original film elements
• Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• New audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin
• Half Fare Please!, a newly filmed video appreciation by film critic Neil Sinyard
• Archival interview with Ray Milland
• Rare hour-long radio adaptation from 1943 starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland
• Image gallery
• Original trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork