Arrow Video issued the following:
Start 2021 with Exciting New Releases from Arrow Video!
Arrow kicks off the New Year by helping ease film lovers into things with just two new releases for the first month of 2021. A lack of quantity, however, does not mean a lack of quality. These January releases are sure to check off your New Year’s resolution to watch more great cinema.
On January 26, Arrow is proud to release Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales. This ambitious story about a conspiracy involving an action film star stricken with amnesia, a porn star with reality TV dreams, and a police officer was panned during its 2006 release. Critics, and some of those involved in the film, weren’t entirely sure what to make of its long, sprawling nature. Yet, over the years, the film has maintained a strong, loyal fanbase that continues to grow, with many admiring the film’s attempt at doing something grand. To this day, Kelly insists it’s the work he’s most proud of, comparing it to “the misunderstood child.” Arrow gives this child a new lease on life with new 2K presentations of the film, approved by Kelly, in both the 145-minute theatrical cut and the 160-minute “Cannes cut.” The release also comes with a wide range of special features, including a brand-new documentary on the film’s making.
In 2001, writer/director Richard Kelly achieved cult status with Donnie Darko, an assured debut feature exploring deep existential questions through the lens of 80s nostalgia. Five years later, he followed up with a more ambitious and even more beguiling sophomore effort, in which forces of totalitarianism and anarchism collide against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic, near-future world – the beguiling and baffling Southland Tales. Los Angeles, 2008. As the city stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental chaos, the fates of an eclectic set of characters – including an amnesia-stricken action star (Dwayne Johnson, the Fast & Furious series), an adult film star developing her own reality TV project (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Cruel Intentions) and a police officer whose identity has split in two (Seann William Scott, TV’s Lethal Weapon) – intertwine with each other and with the whole of humanity. A darkly comic futuristic epic that speaks as presciently to our turbulent times as it did to the American socio-political climate in 2006, Southland Tales receives a fresh – and timely – lease of life with this new, director-approved restoration.
Bonus Materials
New 2K restoration by Arrow Films, approved by director Richard Kelly and director of photography Steven Poster
High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentations of both versions of the film: the 145-minute theatrical cut and the 160-minute “Cannes cut”, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006
Original lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and PCM 2.0 stereo soundtracks
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary on the theatrical cut by Richard Kelly
It’s a Madcap World: The Making of an Unfinished Film, a new in-depth retrospective documentary on the film, featuring contributions by Richard Kelly and members of the original crew
USIDent TV: Surveilling the Southland, an archival featurette on the making of the film, featuring interviews with the cast and crew
This is the Way the World Ends, an archival animated short set in the Southland Tales universe
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacey
Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Peter Tonguette and Simon War
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