Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams Blu-ray

Remember the shelves of your local video store? Those days aren’t gone! Reject reality and substitute your own with Arrow Video! In 1983, entrepreneurial producer and director Charles Band founded Empire International Pictures, which would go on to make some of the most memorable and beloved genre movies of the 1980s. Empire became a mainstay of video stores across the world with their catchy titles, outlandish art, and Band’s wholehearted belief in giving audiences a good time.

In The Dungeonmaster (AKA Ragewar), computer programmer Paul Bradford is sucked into a fantasy world by Mestema, a demonic sorcerer in search of a worthy opponent. Meanwhile, fresh from the one-two punch of Re-Animator and From Beyond, director Stuart Gordon takes a turn toward fairytale gothic in Dolls, in which a group of strangers find themselves forced to seek shelter at the isolated home of an old toymaker and his wife, only to find that the puppets and dolls have a vicious life of their own. In Cellar Dweller, a comic book artist (Jeffrey Combs) with a penchant for the macabre takes inspiration from an ancient tome and unleashes an ancient evil. Arena presents the ultimate fight night event: man vs monster! In the far future of 4038, a short order cook becomes the first human in fifty years to compete in an intergalactic boxing event on the far side of the universe. Finally in Robot Jox, Stuart Gordon directs Empire Pictures’ most ambitious movie yet, as men and women pilot giant machines in gladiatorial battle to settle international disputes over territory.

Restored for the digital era with a wealth of extras, these films have never looked better. No need for a time machine, these golden age video classics will send you back to the 80s!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

2K restorations by Arrow Films from the best available materials
High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentations of all five films
Original lossless mono/stereo/5.1 audio options
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Slipcase packaging featuring original artwork by Laurie Greasley
Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady
DISC ONE – THE DUNGEONMASTER
2K restoration from the original camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of three different versions of the film: the US theatrical version (The Dungeonmaster), the pre-release version (Ragewar), and the international version (Ragewar) available via seamless branching
Original lossless mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with star Jeffrey Byron, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own, an interview with star Jeffrey Byron
Theatrical trailer
Alternate trailer
Image gallery
DISC TWO – DOLLS
2K restoration from a 35mm interpositive
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless stereo and 5.1 audio options
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by David DeCoteau, Empire alumnus and friend of Stuart Gordon, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
Archive audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon and writer Ed Naha
Archive audio commentary with cast members Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Stephen Lee, Carrie Lorraine, and Ian Patrick Williams
Assembling Dolls, an interview with Lee Percy, editor of Dolls, Re-Animator, and From Beyond
Toys of Terror: The Making of Dolls
Film-to-storyboard comparison
Theatrical trailer
Alternate trailer
UK home video trailer
Image gallery
DISC THREE – CELLAR DWELLER
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation featuring additional grading and picture restoration by Arrow Films
Original lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by special make-up effects artist Michael Deak who inhabited the Cellar Dweller creature suit, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
Grabbed by the Ghoulies, an appreciation of John Carl Buechler, special make-up effects artist of many Empire Pictures films and director of Cellar Dweller by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
Inside the Cellar, an interview with special make-up effects artist Michael Deak about his work on Cellar Dweller
Original sales sheet
Original production notes
VHS trailer
Empire Pictures trailer reel
Image galleries, including behind the scenes photos courtesy of special make-up effects artist Michael Deak
DISC FOUR – ARENA
2K restoration from a 35mm print
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Peter Manoogian moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
Not His Arena, an interview with Danny Bilson, co-screenwriter of Arena, Trancers, Zone Troopers, and The Rocketeer
Empire of Monsters, an interview with special make-up effects artist Michael Deak
Theatrical trailer
Image galleries
DISC FIVE – ROBOT JOX
2K restoration from the original camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Archive audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon
Archive audio commentary with associate effects director Paul Gentry, mechanical effects artist Mark Rappaport, and stop motion animator Paul Jessel
Crash and Burn, an interview with actor Gary Graham
Her Name is Athena, an interview with actress Anne-Marie Johnson
The Scale of Battle: David Allen and the FX of Robot Jox, a documentary appreciation of stop motion animator David Allen by those who knew him, featuring contributions from fellow visual effects practitioners Dennis Muren (Star Wars, Jurassic Park), Yancy Calzada (Evil Dead 2, Starship Troopers), Paul Gentry (Robot Jox, The Fifth Element), and John Vincent (Freaked, Prehysteria)
Looking Back, an archival interview with actor Paul Koslo
Salvaged from the Wreckage, an archive of behind the scenes photos courtesy of associate effects director Paul Gentry
Original sales sheet
Original production notes
Theatrical trailer
Image galleries

SKU:

B08R5LH9HC

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