HAVE A HAPPY HORROR-DAY IN DECEMBER

Key highlights this December on the essential, alternative streaming service ARROW include a quartet of classic Italian westerns, high-kicking action from JCVD, and a documentary on chess champion Magnus Carlsen and much more.

In December, ARROW presents four Italian westerns featuring maniacal outlaws thirsting for blood, corrupt capitalists profiting from the suffering of the common folk, and desperate people pushed to violent revenge! The Italian western has never been grittier than in this quartet of later-period cult classics: Paolo Bianchini's I Want Him Dead, starring Craig Hill (The Bloodstained Shadow); Edoardo Mulargia's El Puro ( a.k.a. The Reward's Yours... The Man's Mine), with western icon Robert Woods (My Name is Pecos); Mario Camus' Wrath of the Wind with genre superstar Terence Hill (They Call Me Trinity); and Fabio Testi (What Have You Done to Solange?) and Tomas Milian (Don't Torture a Duckling) in Lucio Fulci's Four of the Apocalypse. With dazzling High Definition restorations this quartet blast from the screen with both barrels!

Then there is a selection of martial arts classics including Jean Claude Van Damme in Once Upon a Chinese Hero Kickboxer, fast-paced action adventure Ninja Hunter, Wu-Tang extravaganza Five Fighters from Shaolin, and old school kung-fu in The Leg Fighters.

Also showing in December is a thought-provoking and moving documentary Magnus, the inspirational story of the Norwegian boy who, in his early twenties, managed to achieve and maintain the highest rating in chess history, going on to become the greatest chess champion of modern times.

Seasons include Happy Horror-days!, a collection of cult films that are set around the holidays or are up to their knees in snow, including Holiday Fear, The Leech, and Chill Factor; The Seijun Suzuki Collection, a director who made indelible impressions on filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino, with titles including Eight Hours of Terror, The Boy Who Came Back, The Sleeping Beast Within.

This month’s Selects come from producer and host Gala Avary (The Video Archives Podcast), who hand-picks 20 ARROW titles, and producer Travis Stevens (Cheap Thrills, Jodorowsky's Dune, We Are Still Here, Buster's Mal Heart).

Also showing: Acclaimed religious drama Stations of the Cross; Colin Firth and Ellen Burstyn in Main Street, and more…

DECEMBER RELEASE CALENDAR

From December 1:

Once Upon a Chinese Hero Kickboxer - 1993
Ninja Hunter - 1984
Stations of the Cross - 2014

From December 15:

I Want Him Dead - 1968
The Four of the Apocalypse - 1974
El Puro - 1969
Wrath of the Wind - 1970

From December 22:

Magnus -2016
Main Street - 2010

From December 29:

Five Fighters from Shaolin - 1984
The Leg Fighters - 1980
New Seasons this December

December 1: Happy Horror-days!

Celebrate trying to survive the festive season with a collection of Cult films that are set around the holidays or are up to their knees in snow. Either way, there will be chills galore. From everyone at ARROW, we wish you Happy Horror-days!

Titles Include: Holiday Fear, The Leech, Chill Factor

December 4: Gala Avary Selects Vol. II

Gala Avary (producer of The Video Archives Podcast and host of The Gala Show) invites you into the scene...

POV: It’s December 4th. You know what that means. It’s my birthday and you’re invited to my party! We’ve already been out to Finney’s Crafthouse for dinner and enjoyed cauliflower tacos and a Bavarian pretzel. Don’t forget the sweet potato fries! I’ve blown out 28 candles, plus one for good luck, and made my wish. Oh, you want to know what I wished for? It's bad luck to share so I’m keeping it to myself. Now that dinner’s over, it’s time for gifts — but wait! Just because it’s my birthday doesn’t mean you don’t get something too. Come on, unwrap it. It’s just what you wanted: 20 new ARROW Selects hand-picked by myself. Which one are you going to watch first?

★not all movies are available in all territories

Titles include: Bloody Birthday, Lady Morgan’s Vengeance, The Initiation

December 15: Savage Guns: Four Classic Westerns

Four Italian westerns featuring maniacal outlaws thirsting for blood, corrupt capitalists profiting from the suffering of the common folk, and desperate people pushed to violent revenge! The Italian western has never been grittier than in this quartet of later-period cult classics, starring Criag Hill, Robbery Woods, Terence Hill, Fabio Testi and Tomas Milian.

Titles include: I Want Him Dead, El Puro, Wrath of the Wind, Four of the Apocalypse.

December 15: No Sense and No Money: The Seijun Suzuki Collection

“I make movies that make no sense and no money”, Seijun Suzuki said of his own work, but what fun is ‘sense’ compared to surreal, unforgettable and influential Yakuza movies? Although unappreciated at the time, especially by Nikkatsu, the studio that fired him after calling his masterpiece Branded To Kill “nonsense”, Suzuki left behind a legacy of work unlike any other. His films made indelible impressions on filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino and ARROW are proud to present a curated selection of them in No Sense and No Money: The Seijun Suzuki Collection.

Titles Include: Eight Hours of Terror, The Boy Who Came Back, The Sleeping Beast Within

December 18: Travis Stevens Selects

The producer of Cheap Thrills, Jodorowsky's Dune, We Are Still Here, Buster's Mal Heart and more, says about his picks: "It was a pleasure diving into the ARROW catalogue to pull together a selection of international films that cover everything from sex & violence, to haunted relationships, to tactile science fiction, to alt vampires, to how the hell did that movie ever get made? Basically, everything that makes cinema great, now streaming only on ARROW."

Titles Include: No, The Case Is Happy Resolved, Inferno of Torture, Shock

FROM DECEMBER 3: ONCE UPON A CHINESE HERO KICKBOXER

While master Wong Fei Hung is away travelling, the impulsive Lau Zhai (Yuen Biao), an initiate into Wong's kung fu school, begins wandering the town. He soon allies with police chief Panther in order to offer assistance in toppling an opium distribution ring.

NINJA HUNTER

The plot centres around Wu Tang villain, Abbot White, who wants to destroy the Shaolin monks and become supreme martial artist. In order to do so, he teams up with a clan of Ninjas, led by three masters – gold lamé ninja, white moustachioed ninja and black ninja – and succeeds in destroying the Shaolin temple and most of its inhabitants. However, there are some survivors. It is their job to pass on the knowledge of the Shaolin finger jab to a new generation, who must defeat the ninjas and Abbott White if peace and order is to be restored.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

Maria finds herself caught between two worlds. At school this 14-year-old girl has all the typical teenage interests, but when she’s at home with her family she follows the teachings of the Society of St. Paul and their traditionalist interpretation of Catholicism. Everything that Maria thinks and does must be examined before God. And since the Lord is a strict shepherd, she lives in constant fear of committing some misconduct...

FROM DECEMBER 15: I WANT HIM DEAD

After his sister is kidnapped and murdered, a gunslinger's plans for vengeance involve assassinating two generals to prolong the Civil War.

THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE

After his sister is kidnapped and murdered, a gunslinger's plans for vengeance involve assassinating two generals to prolong the Civil War.

EL PURO

An alcoholic gunman, hunted down by five pitiless bounty hunters, is sheltered by a saloon dancer. When his enemies kill the girl the outlaw pulls himself together and faces his adversaries and takes his revenge in a final showdown. An interesting take on the reluctant gunfighter theme contains some truly surprising twists.

WRATH OF THE WIND

This western is set in Valencia, Spain at the end of the 19th century, and stars Terence Hill as a close-mouthed gunslinger. The bad guy is the local landlord and aristocrat, who horribly abuses the labourers in his community.

FROM DECEMBER 22: MAGNUS

Magnus is the moving and inspirational true story of the Norwegian boy who, in his early twenties, managed to achieve and maintain the highest rating in chess history, going on to become the greatest chess champion of modern times.

Through the glare of flashbulbs and the jostling of officials, we go deep inside the world of a uniquely gifted child-prodigy, applying a hitherto unseen instinctive playfulness to the serious mental sport of chess.

Director Benjamin Ree's thought-provoking documentary takes us on a ten-year journey, tracing the earliest developments of Magnus’ life, as he rises to the pinnacle of his career. Through unprecedented access to home movies and Magnus’ inner circle we are permitted a look at the dramatic highs and lows of the emergence of a modern genius known widely as The Mozart of chess.

MAIN STREET

From the once thriving tobacco warehouses, to the current run-down and closed shops of Five Points, a diverse group of residents and their respective life changes when outsider Gus Leroy brings something new and potentially dangerous into their quiet town.

FROM DECEMBER 29: FIVE FIGHTERS FROM SHAOLIN

When a monk decides to leave his temple in order to defeat the Chinese Imperial Guards who brutally murdered is fellow monk, he collects five men and trains them to help him fight the guards and an old friend of his - a white-haired wizard.

THE LEG FIGHTERS

When Pan, a South China martial artist is defeated and killed by Tan, a North China challenger in a legfighter duel, Pan's younger brother Pak vows to crush Tan with his own unique style of ferocious footwork.

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About ARROW

From Arrow Films, a recognised world-leader in curation and creation, ARROW is a premium platform giving you an unparalleled viewing experience across multiple devices, so you can explore the films and TV shows that the Arrow brand is famous for.

Specially curated by members of the ARROW team, ARROW will be home to premium film and TV entertainment, exclusive new premieres, cutting edge cinema, international classics and cult favourites - such as the works of Lars Von Trier, Brian De Palma, Dario Argento, David Cronenberg and Park Chan-wook - plus the very best in acclaimed TV series, including The Bridge and Italian crime series Gomorrah, and brand-new short films from both new and established filmmakers. In the coming months, ARROW will be adding Oscar-winning hits, European classics, Asian cinema masterworks, rediscovered Westerns, offbeat gems and much more, along with such festival favourites The Sacred Spirit and Dinner in America as part of ARROW’s international strategy to support and celebrate the medium of film.

ARROW will also be home to ARROW Stories - an ever-growing collection of interviews, trailers, documentaries and additional extras, newly created just for the service and from its extensive archives. The service will be updated regularly with fresh content, new curation focuses and never-before-seen content, all selected by the ARROW team as well as the filmmakers themselves. With a slickly designed and user-friendly interface ARROW is the new alternative place to go for the very best in On-Demand entertainment.