Arrow Films

History

Arrow Films was established in 1991.

After the release of Zombie Flesh-Eaters in 2012, film restorer James White stated that the label would try and revamp their brand to "focus on high-quality presentations of classic and cult cinema". White has stated that prior to Zombie Flesh Eaters, the label had a less favorable reception and that "a lot of those criticisms were valid. But people should understand that Arrow weren't personally responsible for those masters. They sub-licensed those titles from the rightsholders and it was either put them out with the masters they'd been supplied with or not release them at all. It's an unfortunate position that a lot of independent labels find themselves in."

In 2015, Daniel Graham left Arrow to head distribution at CinemaLive.

Arrow Films

Arrow Films is one of the UK's leading independent distributors of world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. For over 15 years Arrow Films has pioneered the best directors from Europe and around the world, such as Denys Arcand, Tinto Brass, Luis Buñuel, Claude Chabrol, Jules Dassin, Vittorio De Sica, Abel Ferrara, Lasse Hallström, Eric Rohmer, Roberto Rossellini, Giuseppe Tornatore, Andrzej Wajda, and Wim Wenders.

On 4 December 2009 Arrow Films released Departures in the United Kingdom theatrically; it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars.

Arrow Video

Arrow Video is a specialist label that encapsulates the spirit of the video nasties of the 1980s, including retro-style artwork and posters. This label includes films by renowned horror directors George A. Romero, Lucio Fulci, Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento. Each title is released completely uncut, and usually with new transfers, and with a choice between the original audio track and usually a lossless 5.1. Brand new, specially commissioned artwork alongside the original release artwork are included on each release. Newly made and exclusive booklets are often accompanied with the Blu-ray/DVD. Also included are new extra features for each Blu-ray/DVD with of new interviews and documentaries.

In August 2011 the Sony/PIAS warehouse fire in Enfield, North London during the 2011 England riots affected the release schedule and led to a substantial loss of stock.

ArrowDrome

In September 2011, Arrow Films launched a new sublabel, ArrowDrome, which includes brand new releases and several titles from the Arrow Video label being re-released. These new editions include reversible DVD sleeves, collectable booklet and extra features. The aim of ArrowDrome is to release DVD titles only at budget prices.

The collection include these categories:

Arrow Video USA

In 2014, Arrow Films launched a successful Indiegogo campaign to begin releasing Blu-Ray and DVDs in North America. Intended to begin with Blood and Black Lace, unspecified issues shelved this release until July 2016. Arrow Video USA launched with the release of Mark of the Devil on March 17, 2014. They have, as of November of 2016, released over 90 films collected across 70 releases, including several films that have never seen Blu-Ray release. There have been no exclusive North American releases. All films available in North America have been released by Arrow Films in the UK.

Arrow began releasing films in the North American market in 2015. Francesco Simeoni, Arrow’s head of production and acquisition stated that he described Arrows desire to move in the North American market as "indicative of the transforming landscape of physical home entertainment distribution" noting that it was "not dying; it’s evolving."

Reception

Arrow has been listed by The Guardian twice as their home video distributor of the year. In 2011, they listed Arrow as the Label of the Year noting their release of Bicycle Thieves, Rififi and Les Diaboliques and specifically praising their releases of horror films where they "truly excel". The second time was in 2013 when they awarded the Arrow Films as "Label of the Year", noting their releases of Lifeforce and releases of television shows such as Borgen and The Killing as highlights.

Camera Obscura: The Walerian Borowczyk Collection was voted the best home video release of 2014 by several publications, including Sight and Sound and Little White Lies, and won the Focal International Award for Best Archival Restoration Project and the Cinema Ritrovato Award for Best DVD Series/Best Box.