Poll: Which Blu-rays Will You Buy in the August 2016 Arrow Video Sale?

Already famous in Blu-ray collector circles for its twice-annual Criterion Collection sale, Barnes & Noble is holding a similar event right now for titles from cult label Arrow Video. If you’re into schlocky horror, Spaghetti Westerns, foreign exploitation cinema and the like, now is a great time to stock up.

Arrow Video first started in the UK and recently expanded into the American market. Amongst fans, the company is known as the Criterion of genre movies. Its Blu-ray editions are sourced from the best available video masters (which is not always an easy task when dealing with such obscurities) and are often packed with insightful bonus features. Unfortunately, Arrow Blu-rays are also priced at Criterion levels. Regardless of how much care is put into its presentation, pricing any movie that stars Billy Warlock (such as the campy 1989 splatter flick ‘Society’) at $39.95 is a really tough sell.

For the sale, Barnes & Noble is offering select Arrow Video Blu-rays and DVDs at 50% off MSRP. I was not able to find any details on when the sale ends. This may be a matter of the retailer trying to clear out stock. If you’re interested in any of these, you may have better luck ordering online than finding them in stores. I doubt that many of these were ever actually carried in brick-and-mortar locations.

The poll below contains all of the Blu-ray titles listed on the sale page. This is not necessarily a comprehensive list of all Arrow Blu-rays. For instance, I notice that the first ‘Battles without Honor and Humanity’ movie is missing even though all four sequels are present. [I take that back. B&N does carry the first ‘Battles’ movie, but it’s listed under the alternate title ‘The Yakuza Papers’ for some reason even though the sequels aren’t.]

Some of these may already be sold out, and I don’t know whether Barnes & Noble plans to restock.

The types of movies that Arrow sells are not always my cup of tea. However, I’m very eager to pick up the arty thriller ‘Suture’ at the sale price, with perhaps Mario Bava’s famed giallo ‘Blood and Black Lace’ to go with it. I have a passing interest in ‘Return of the Killer Tomatoes’ and the original ‘The Hills Have Eyes’, but will probably not buy them now.

[Shop the Arrow Video sale at Barnes & Noble.]

Which Blu-rays Will You Buy in the August 2016 Arrow Video Sale?

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14 comments

  1. Chris B

    Oh man OH MAN! There’s a bunch of Arrow stuff I’ve wanted to buy forever! Those three spaghetti westerns are calling my name! (especially Day of Anger). I’m on vacation at the moment and was gonna go clothes shopping today but DAMN! Now to explain to the wife why buying Arrow Blu-Rays is more important than a new wardrobe….

    • LOL! I would totally do the same! Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve bought myself an article of clothing in about 10 years. Any extra $$$ I have goes to movies and or equipment. Where are you guys vacationing or are you staycationing?

      • Chris B

        Hey CSM101: We went to the Okanagan valley in British Columbia for a wedding. As nice as it was, I kinda missed my movie room!

        Speaking of movie-related stuff, during the drive I stumbled across this sweet baby:

        http://www.starlightdrivein.ca/

        It’s just off the highway in a really sparsely populated area. The screen size is absolutley massive. The night we passed through they were showing a double feature of Star Trek: Beyond and Jason Bourne. Didn’t have the chance to take in a show as our schedule was really tight but I’ve vowed next summer it’s going to be a priority on our roadtrip!

      • William Henley

        I think this is most guys, though. Other than new socks and underwear, and ocasisonally new jeans if I outgrow a pair or tear a pair up, I haven’t really bought myself anything. Well, unless you count the tshirts that come in Loot Crate. For the most part, I let my mom do the shopping – her taste isn’t that bad, and she is such a good coupon shopper, that she will get my clothes at places like Penny’s but usually pay under $5 for an article of clothing. I honestly don’t know how she does it.

  2. Al

    Josh,

    Did you see that Twilight Time is offering 7 titles (out of a pre-selected list) for $70?

    If anyone can find 7 TT titles that they’ve been wanting, the deal is unbeatable!

    • ScoobySnack

      Yeah, but just like this Arrow sale – it looks like they are tring to get rid of lesser/non selling titles.
      That TT selection is weak.

  3. I alrrady own a few of these titles, but there’s a ton of stuff I want here. I’m wondering if B&N stocks this at their brick & mortar stores or if its only an online thing. I feel like I would of noticed these when browsing for Criterions a while back. I’m going to have to call them. Arrow have really stepped up their game when it comes to cult movies and picture presentation. I feel like they’ve lit a fire under Shout Factory’s ass and that’s why there starting to step up they’re pq game.

  4. Chris B

    That B & N website is a real piece of shit. I’ve been trying to place an order all day and keep getting error messages. At this rate the sale will be over before I can even buy anything! GODDAMN IT!!!

    • Chris B

      Holy shit, finally! Ordered Suture, Requiescant and Cemetary Without Crosses. Would have grabbed a few more but Day of Anger, Dillinger and Eaten Alive were all sold out. Maybe next time…

      Thanks a ton for the heads up Josh, I woulda had no idea about the sale otherwise.

      • Chris B

        Ended up grabbing Day of Anger after all! Now if only Arrow could get around to releasing The Great Silence and The Hellbenders on Blu Ray…

  5. William Henley

    I haven’t heard of anything on this list, so no buys for me, plus, as I’ve stated before, my number of unopened discs are just too high to justify buying anything more at the moment

  6. Chris B

    Hey Josh, did you manage to get a copy of Suture from this sale? A few days after I placed my order I got an email stating that Suture had been “delayed” and would be shipped out in the next 1-5 business days. Then this morning I received another order stating that B&N were “out of stock” and are unable to fill my order, and they’d be canceling it. Never had this happen before but needless to say I’m kinda choked. Did your copy ever show up?

    • Josh Zyber
      Author

      At the time I ordered, B&N only had the disc available from 3rd party sellers for higher than the sale price, so I wound up buying from Amazon instead. I have the disc in hand and have watched it.

      The B&N page currently claims that the disc is back in stock, but things must be a mess behind-the-scenes if they don’t actually have it and canceled your order. That sucks. Sorry to hear it.

      Amazon’s current price is $23.69, which is only a few dollars more than the B&N sale price. It might be worth paying the difference, especially if you’re a Prime member and get free shipping.

      http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01CO5QK02/panandscathed-20

      For what it’s worth, I ordered a couple of other sale discs from B&N (Blood and Black Lace, and the first Battles Without Honor and Humanity/Yakuza Papers) and received them with no issue.

      • Chris B

        Yeah I got the other two I ordered this week with no issue. I wish B&N had offered some kind of a conciliatory coupon or rebate of some kind…..

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