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Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s ‘Kairo’ (‘Pulse’) Getting the Arrow Video Treatment!

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8 years ago

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Brad and I have some strange similarities when it comes to horror movies in that we share a passion for titles that don’t get a lot of recognition. For example, we’re both huge fans of Clive Barker’s Lord of Illusions (when I told him there was a director’s cut, he sent me a message about 30 seconds later saying he ordered a copy), we both think John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness ranks as one of the director’s best works, and, when it comes to J-horror, we both adore Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Kairo (aka Pulse).

The film is an allegory for how technology and social media, while bringing us together online, ultimately cause us to drift apart in the real world, creating a sense of isolation. It’s absolutely fantastic and is one of the few J-horror films that manages to still terrify me with each viewing. There’s something about the atmosphere of the film that is incredibly dour and unsettling, which I relish.

Now, Arrow Video has announced that they will be releasing a Blu-ray home video edition for both US and UK audiences that will include some phenomenal extras, such as new interviews with Kurosawa and cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi as well as a new “appreciation” video featuring Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett (You’re Next, Blair Witch, V/H/S), and a reversible sleeve, plus more. The full list of specials can be found below.

“A group of young people in Tokyo begin to experience strange phenomena involving missing co-workers and friends, technological breakdown, and a mysterious website which asks the compelling question, “Do you want to meet a ghost?” After the unexpected suicides of several friends, three strangers set out to explore a city which is growing more empty by the day, and to solve the mystery of what lies within a forbidden room in an abandoned construction site, mysteriously sealed shut with red packing tape.”

The UK version is coming out in early December (pre-order here) while the US version doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet.

•High Definition digital transfer
•High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
•Original 5.1 audio (DTS-HD on the Blu-ray)
•New optional English subtitle translation
•New interview with writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
•New interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi
•The Horror of Isolation: a new video appreciation featuring Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett (Blair Witch, You’re Next)
•Archive ‘Making of’ documentary, plus four archive behind-the-scenes featurettes
•Premiere footage from the Cannes Film Festival
•Cast and crew introductions from opening day screenings in Tokyo
•Trailers and TV Spots
•Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tommy Pocket

kairopulsearrowcover

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Home Video

‘Mute Witness’ – Watch the Trailer for Arrow Video’s 4K Restoration of the 1995 Horror Movie [Exclusive]

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4 days ago

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April 12, 2024

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The 1995 horror movie Mute Witness has found a whole new audience here in 2024, with Shudder finally bringing the cat-and-mouse thriller to streaming earlier this month.

Additionally, Arrow Video is bringing Mute Witness to 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray for the very first time on June 11, and we’ve scored the trailer for their brand new restoration.

Watch the trailer below and read on for everything you need to know!

Director Anthony Waller (The Piper, An American Werewolf in Paris) combines cat-and-mouse suspense with classic intrigue in Mute Witness, an updated take on the Hitchcockian thriller in which the only witness to a brutal crime can neither speak nor cry out in terror.

Limited Edition Bonus Features include:

  • 4K restoration approved by director Anthony Waller
  • 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in HDR10
  • Restored original lossless stereo soundtrack
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Brand new audio commentary by writer/director Anthony Waller
  • Brand new audio commentary with production designer Matthias Kammermeier and composer Wilbert Hirsch, moderated by critic Lee Gambin
  • The Silent Death, brand new visual essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, examining Mute Witness and its relationship with snuff films
  • The Wizard Behind the Curtain, brand new visual essay by author and critic Chris Alexander, exploring the phenomenon of the film-within-a-film
  • Original “Snuff Movie” presentation, produced to generate interest from investors and distributors, featuring interviews with Anthony Waller and members of the creative team
  • Original location scouting footage
  • Original footage with Alec Guinness, filmed a decade prior to the rest of Mute Witness
  • Teaser trailer
  • Trailer
  • Image gallery
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais
  • Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais
  • Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michelle Kisner

In the film, Billy Hughes (Marina Zudina) is a mute special effects artist working on a low budget American slasher movie being shot in Russia. Accidentally locked in the studio late one night, she stumbles upon two men shooting what appears to be a snuff film. Having borne witness to their victim’s final moments, Billy desperately flees – but this is only the start of a protracted night of terror, drawing her and her friends into a tangled web of intrigue, involving the KGB, the Moscow police… and a mysterious crime kingpin known as “The Reaper.”

Arrow Video previews the new release, “Filmed on location in Moscow and co-starring Fay Ripley (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein) and Evan Richards (Society), Mute Witness is an unpredictable, nerve-shreddingly tense viewing experience. Now fully restored in 4K and presented alongside a host of new and recently unearthed bonus materials, there has never been a better opportunity to discover – or rediscover – this gem of 90s thriller cinema.”

You can pre-order your copy from Diabolik today.

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