2025 HAUL - SEPTEMBER v1.2
#02: Il Posto + I Fidanzati & The Inquisitor + Deadly Circuit
#03: Tetris Forever
#04: Gradius Origins Collection
#05: The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, Sailor Suit & Machine Girl & Versus
#06: The Invisible Swordsman
#07: HMV 4K Ultra HD Haul
#02: Il Posto + I Fidanzati & The Inquisitor + Deadly Circuit
Next up from Radiance Films are two double film pack releases, one of which also features a film on the 4K Ultra HD format.
Starting off with Ermanno Olmi's Il posto + I fidanzati collection, featuring his 1961 film Il posto (The Job) and also his 1963 film I fidanzati (The Fiances). The former is considered a classic in Italian cinema and since the limited edition was almost sold out I ordered one sooner than later.
Next we have Claude Miller's The Inquisitor + Deadly Circuit, featuring his 1981 film The Inquisitor (Garde à Vue) in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray and also his 1983 film Deadly Circuit (Mortelle Randonnée) on Blu-ray. These are two French thrillers and I'm looking forward to checking them out. I got this sooner than usual because Amazon priced the 4K set the same as the Blu-ray version.
Both limited edition releases feature scanavo packaging, reversible artwork, and a booklet.
Starting off with Ermanno Olmi's Il posto + I fidanzati collection, featuring his 1961 film Il posto (The Job) and also his 1963 film I fidanzati (The Fiances). The former is considered a classic in Italian cinema and since the limited edition was almost sold out I ordered one sooner than later.
Next we have Claude Miller's The Inquisitor + Deadly Circuit, featuring his 1981 film The Inquisitor (Garde à Vue) in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray and also his 1983 film Deadly Circuit (Mortelle Randonnée) on Blu-ray. These are two French thrillers and I'm looking forward to checking them out. I got this sooner than usual because Amazon priced the 4K set the same as the Blu-ray version.
Both limited edition releases feature scanavo packaging, reversible artwork, and a booklet.
#03: Tetris Forever
I've been meaning to pick up this game collection for a while and eventually out of a whim I just wanted to order it. This is Tetris Forever on Nintendo Switch from distributor Clear River Games and developer Digital Eclipse, which is a collection & documentary of the Tetris games.
The collection features 1 Electronika 60 version, 5 MS-DOS versions, 1 Apple II version, 4 Famicom versions, 1 NES version, 2 Game Boy versions, 5 Super Famicom versions, 1 Game Boy Color version and a new version made for this collection. This collection doesn't include any of the more commonly known Nintendo developed ones, though their NES version was added to Nintendo Switch Online.
The collection features 1 Electronika 60 version, 5 MS-DOS versions, 1 Apple II version, 4 Famicom versions, 1 NES version, 2 Game Boy versions, 5 Super Famicom versions, 1 Game Boy Color version and a new version made for this collection. This collection doesn't include any of the more commonly known Nintendo developed ones, though their NES version was added to Nintendo Switch Online.
#04: Gradius Origins Collection
Another collection of retro goodies this time from Konami and it's Gradius Origins, their latest collection in the same format as Castlevania and Contra with various versions and games included in one set. The Nintendo Switch physical release I have is from Limited Run Games.
The collection features Gradius with 5 versions (JP ROM, JP Bubble, North American Nemesis, European Nemesis, North American Prototype Nemesis), Salamander with 2 versions (Japanese, North American version known as Life Force), Life Force (Japanese version), Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou with 4 versions (JP Early Version, JP Mid Version, JP Late Version, North American version known as Vulcan Venture), Gradius III: Densetsu kara Shinwa e with 4 versions (JP Old Version, JP New Version, Asian Version, JP AM Show Version), Salamander 2 (Japanese version) and a brand new game Salamander III.
The collection features Gradius with 5 versions (JP ROM, JP Bubble, North American Nemesis, European Nemesis, North American Prototype Nemesis), Salamander with 2 versions (Japanese, North American version known as Life Force), Life Force (Japanese version), Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou with 4 versions (JP Early Version, JP Mid Version, JP Late Version, North American version known as Vulcan Venture), Gradius III: Densetsu kara Shinwa e with 4 versions (JP Old Version, JP New Version, Asian Version, JP AM Show Version), Salamander 2 (Japanese version) and a brand new game Salamander III.
#05: The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, Sailor Suit & Machine Girl & Versus
One of the interesting approaches I have done as of late is revisit the older Arrow Video catalogue for the Japanese films and ones that I would have gotten back in the day but never did. So on eBay I found various editions and ordered them to the price that I was happy with and they arrived across different days.
The first one to arrive is The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, featuring three Japanese films by director Michio Yamamoto with 1970's The Vampire Doll (幽霊屋敷の恐怖 血を吸う人形) starring Kayo Matsuo (Outlaw: Gangster VIP) and Akira Nakao (Godzilla film series), 1971's Lake of Dracula (呪いの館 血を吸う眼) starring Midori Fujita and Chōei Takahashi (Casting Blossoms to the Sky) and 1974's Evil of Dracula (血を吸う薔薇) starring Toshio Kurosawa (Lady Snowblood) and Mariko Mochizuki. Sadly despite having the slipcase, the booklet is not with my copy so I wonder if others had a similar case but I just got unlucky.
The next day the other two films arrived. Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (セーラー服と機関銃), Shinji Sōmai's 1981 film starring Hiroko Yakushimaru (School in the Crosshairs) and Yuki Kazamatsuri (Ichi the Killer), and Versus (ヴァーサス), Ryûhei Kitamura's 2000 film starring Tak Sakaguchi (Tokyo Gore Police) and Hideo Sakaki (Ju-on: The Grudge). Both of these have their slipcases and booklets. The former I almost had an opportunity but I wasn't a fan of the price but am very happy with my copy as it was treated really well. The latter does have an issue with its case but the rest is not harmed at all.
The first one to arrive is The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, featuring three Japanese films by director Michio Yamamoto with 1970's The Vampire Doll (幽霊屋敷の恐怖 血を吸う人形) starring Kayo Matsuo (Outlaw: Gangster VIP) and Akira Nakao (Godzilla film series), 1971's Lake of Dracula (呪いの館 血を吸う眼) starring Midori Fujita and Chōei Takahashi (Casting Blossoms to the Sky) and 1974's Evil of Dracula (血を吸う薔薇) starring Toshio Kurosawa (Lady Snowblood) and Mariko Mochizuki. Sadly despite having the slipcase, the booklet is not with my copy so I wonder if others had a similar case but I just got unlucky.
The next day the other two films arrived. Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (セーラー服と機関銃), Shinji Sōmai's 1981 film starring Hiroko Yakushimaru (School in the Crosshairs) and Yuki Kazamatsuri (Ichi the Killer), and Versus (ヴァーサス), Ryûhei Kitamura's 2000 film starring Tak Sakaguchi (Tokyo Gore Police) and Hideo Sakaki (Ju-on: The Grudge). Both of these have their slipcases and booklets. The former I almost had an opportunity but I wasn't a fan of the price but am very happy with my copy as it was treated really well. The latter does have an issue with its case but the rest is not harmed at all.
#06: The Invisible Swordsman
At the same time that I was sorting out some older Arrow Video orders, I also went back and ordered one of the newer releases with Yoshiyuki Kuroda's 1970 film The Invisible Swordsman (透明剣士) starring Osamu Sakai (Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman series) and Yōko Atsuta (Haunted Castle). Initially was going to order this through the Terracotta store but it was a bit cheaper to order it directly from Amazon UK.
#07: HMV 4K Ultra HD Haul
On my day off from work I took a trip to York to visit the HMV store and picked up some more films for the 4K Ultra HD format as part of their 3 for £50 deal.
The one that caught my interest the most was The Substance, Coralie Fargeat's 2024 body horror film starring Demi Moore (Ghost), Margaret Qualley (Death Stranding) and Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow) which I did see at the cinema and going in blind (mostly as I did see the first trailer which is spoiler free) was one of the best choices I did because it was such a good experience from start to finish. That final act was something else.
Also picked up was BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee's 2018 crime drama film that I also did see at the cinema and it was really interesting. I had been wanting to revisit this film for a while and I'm glad to own it on 4K. John David Washington (Tenet) and Adam Driver (Star Wars) were both really good in their roles too.
And a film that I haven't seen but had been meaning to watch ever since it was first released is The Suicide Squad, James Gunn's 2021 superhero film starring Margot Robbie (Barbie), Idris Elba (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 & 3) and John Cena (Bumblebee) and one of the very few DCEU titles that I had yet to watch. Considering the DCU's direction, I think watching this film is worthwhile especially considering it was one of the better received films in the franchise.
The one that caught my interest the most was The Substance, Coralie Fargeat's 2024 body horror film starring Demi Moore (Ghost), Margaret Qualley (Death Stranding) and Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow) which I did see at the cinema and going in blind (mostly as I did see the first trailer which is spoiler free) was one of the best choices I did because it was such a good experience from start to finish. That final act was something else.
Also picked up was BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee's 2018 crime drama film that I also did see at the cinema and it was really interesting. I had been wanting to revisit this film for a while and I'm glad to own it on 4K. John David Washington (Tenet) and Adam Driver (Star Wars) were both really good in their roles too.
And a film that I haven't seen but had been meaning to watch ever since it was first released is The Suicide Squad, James Gunn's 2021 superhero film starring Margot Robbie (Barbie), Idris Elba (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 & 3) and John Cena (Bumblebee) and one of the very few DCEU titles that I had yet to watch. Considering the DCU's direction, I think watching this film is worthwhile especially considering it was one of the better received films in the franchise.
