Black Sunday (1977) coming from Arrow!

[MifuneFan]

Arrow will be releasing Black Sunday (1977) on Blu-ray on March 28th!

Reverse cover art

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original restored lossless mono audio, presented for the first time on Blu-ray
- Optional restored lossless 5.1 and 2.0 stereo audio options
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by film scholar Josh Nelson
- It Could Be Tomorrow – brand new visual essay by critic Sergio Angelini, exploring the film’s adaptation and production, and its place within the pantheon of 70s terrorism thrillers
- The Directors: John Frankenheimer – an hour-long portrait of the director from 2003, including interviews with Frankenheimer, Kirk Douglas, Samuel L. Jackson, Roy Scheider, Rod Steiger and others
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw

IT COULD BE TOMORROW!

Throughout the 1970s, a wave of daring disaster movies gripped cinemagoers with their combination of bravura spectacle and “ripped from the headlines” plotlines. Among these, John Frankenheimer’s (The Manchurian Candidate, Ronin) Black Sunday endures to this day as among the cream of the crop.

Robert Shaw (Jaws, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) stars as Major Kabakov, an Israeli agent attempting to avert a terrorist atrocity on US soil. The weapon: a blimp laced with explosives and piloted by Michael Lander (Bruce Dern, Silent Running), a troubled Vietnam vet driven to strike back against the nation he believes has betrayed him. The target: the Orange Bowl stadium, Miami. What follows is a nail-biting race against time culminating in a spectacular aerial climax that will determine the fate of 80,000 spectators.

Adapted from the best-selling debut novel by Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs) and featuring virtuoso performances by a cast headlined by Dern, Shaw and Marthe Keller (Marathon Man), Black Sunday is a nerve-shredding, best-in-class suspense thriller from a filmmaker at the top of his game.

[SeanJoyce]

Some of the best news in a while...one of Frankie's masterpieces.

[harry o]

If only 4k !

[koberulz]

Sounds like it's the same shitty transfer Imprint used?

[Dvd Aficionado]

No mention of the video transfer? 2K? 4K?

[koberulz]

That's why it sounds like it's the same old shitty Imprint transfer.

[MifuneFan]

I'm sure it's the best available. I'm not sure why Paramount didn't do any major restoration for it like they've done for lesser known films. It will include the original lossless mono track unlike the Imprint release.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Sounds like it's the same shitty transfer Imprint used?

Should at least have a lot better compression

[movieeddie]

This film has a special place in my life.When I was young I lived close to the old Orange Bowl in Miami and I was part of the crowd in the movie as an exra.Was cool to see Robert Shaw running around and John Frankenheimer directing.Went to see it day one back in the day.Very exciting movie at the time.I own the Imprint but will pick this one up allso.Highly recommended.P.S.I do see myself briefly as the camera pans across the screen.Goes quick.

[DukeTogo84]

Also, even if it is the SAME transfer from Imprint, that one got a lot of high marks with reviewers as being very organic and film like. This should even have better compression, so I would say the picture quality will be nothing to worry about. Would have been nice to have a new transfer, but the one being used is still a good one.

[McCrutchy]

Very disappointing if this is not a brand new transfer. I believe the current one was made for the 2003 DVD release and If I recall correctly, the credits are windowboxed. The master looks good for its age, but I feel like the US Blu-ray release was the one chance to get something better.

However, I must admit that I'm not surprised, as there seems to be a sense of indifference or even dislike from the studio about this film. I guess that's because of the subject matter and what could be perceived as anti-Americanism.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Very disappointing if this is not a brand new transfer. I believe the current one was made for the 2003 DVD release and If I recall correctly, the credits are windowboxed. The master looks good for its age, but I feel like the US Blu-ray release was the one chance to get something better.

Yep, the existing HD transfer used on the Aussie BD is the same transfer used on the 2003 DVD.

And yep, the opening credits are windowboxed.

From the description here, it sounds like we'll be getting the same trnsfer again.

Honestly, it looks pretty good.

This is in my top five favorite films ever, and I'm pretty picky about image quality, but the Aussie BD looked nice and film-like on my OLED.

I'd obviously prefer a new 4K transfer, and it's a bit odd that a film as obscure as The Counterfeit Traitor, which I watched last night, got one from Paramount while this didn't.

That said, I'll be grateful to have the original mono back as an option. I have no idea why the Aussie BD only included the 5.1 remix, as respectful as it is.

[James Luckard]

I'm grateful to Arrow for finally bringing this to BD in the US.

That said, I'm also grateful they do reversible art. The new art is... interesting... it looks like Miami is on fire.

The original artwork is pretty great though:

[RFK]

Arrow's cover looks like The Hindenburg Football Giallo

[tangerinewolf]

Damn! I had hoped Kino had this in their Paramount deal. They've done several Paramount titles in 4K. But I guess it was ruled out.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by tangerinewolf

Damn! I had hoped Kino had this in their Paramount deal. They've done several Paramount titles in 4K. But I guess it was ruled out.

It looks like Arrow got their deal with Paramount first and got dibs on this first. I wonder if Kino had it if they would have done a new scan?

[ij72]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

However, I must admit that I'm not surprised, as there seems to be a sense of indifference or even dislike from the studio about this film.

I got the DVD when it finally came out (even a bit before street date) - it debuted in the Walmart $5 DVD dump bin.

FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL got a similar fate around that time; I may have even picked both up at the same time.

[Eschenpod]

Love the actual footage of the Super Bowl game between the Steelers and Cowboys inside the Orange Bowl, feels almost like you're watching a home movie it's so up close and personal.

[Rayjg]

I'd bet that Paramount is saving the 4K for a UHD. I'd wait on this title.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Eschenpod

Love the actual footage of the Super Bowl game between the Steelers and Cowboys inside the Orange Bowl, feels almost like you're watching a home movie it's so up close and personal.

Yes, this is also one of my favorite parts of the film. I'm not a huge fan of American football, but it's incredible that Frankenheimer was able to get camera crews and actors into Super Bowl X, along with filming everyone who was actually there, like Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach, or Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier, who were calling the game for CBS, whose cameras are shown in the stadium! Obviously, it's highly unlikely that any production unrelated to the NFL will ever be allowed to film like that during any of their games (let alone the Super Bowl) ever again, so the film is rare (unique?) in having such a sequence.

Then there's the use of actual Goodyear blimps not just during filming, but in the story itself, which came about again because of Frankenheimer's connections, but would never happen today in the same context. Hell, that's the reason the blimp on the poster says "SUPER BOWL", which was a concession that ended up making the poster better, anyway.