Independent British distributors Arrow Films are set to release on Blu-ray acclaimed Polish director Andrzej Wajda's Popiól i diament a.k.a Ashes and Diamonds. In 1959, the film won FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Street date is September 12th.

The entire film takes place on 8 May 1945, when the war in Europe ended with Germany's formal surrender – but while other countries celebrated, Poland's postwar power struggle was only just beginning. In depicting the various factions jockeying for position, including ambitious Communists, aristocratic patriots, cynical journalists and anti-Nazi rebels recently emerged from the Warsaw sewers, Wajda brilliantly anatomises a riven country desperately trying to find its identity at a time when a fifth of its population had recently been killed and many more driven into exile. Maciek Chelmicki (Zbigniew Cybulski) embodies this conflict: outwardly a calculating assassin, his ultra-cool façade begins to crack when he badly botches a mission, falls in love with the barmaid Krystyna (Ewa Krzyzewska) and dares to dream of a life outside the armed resistance that's characterised his entire adult life. His all too human indecision makes him Polish culture's Hamlet, and Cybulski's performance remains iconic to this day.

* Region-Free
* High Definition Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film
* New 2K resolution restoration of the film (image and sound transferred from 35mm)
* Interview with director Andrzej Wajda
* Comprehensive booklet by writer and film historian Michael Brooke, including new writing on the film, a re-print of Marek Hendrykowsk's monograph on 'Ashes & Diamonds', Andrzej Wajda's lecture on 'Cinema Past and Present' and more!
* Artwork presentation packaging including three original posters and a newly commissioned artwork cover

Scorching the streets clean...

Flamethrowers ready as the alleyways of skid row are set ablaze with the brutal vengeance of one man... The Exterminator!

John Eastland has been to ‘Nam and he’s seen things... Things you wouldn’t believe. Surviving torture and witnessing the brutal deaths of his friends, John returns home to a tough neighbourhood in New York and his loving family. But when some local thugs take a crippling dislike to his best friend Mike, leaving him paralysed, something snaps in John. Did he fight the Vietcong for this?

Taking the law into his own hands, Eastland sets out to clean the streets of every low life, good for nothing gang banger, mobster and ghetto ghoul across the city in director James Glickenhaus’ (McBain) brutally violent vigilante classic.

THIS EDITION CONTAINS
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by critic David Hayles

BLU-RAY CONTAINS:
- Introduction to the film by director James Glickenhaus
- Fire and Slice: Making The Exterminator - An interview with James Glickenhaus
- 42nd Street Then and Now: A tour of New York's former sleaze circuit from director Frank Henenlotter
- Audio commentary with Mark Buntzman, producer of The Exterminator and writer/director of The Exterminator II, moderated by Calum Waddell.

Original Art by The Dude Designs

In original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
Original Uncompressed LPCM Mono Audio
Feature and extras 1080/24p Region ABC playable worldwide

RRP £24.99
Released 7th November

- UK exclusive audio commentary with director Frank Henenlotter and star James Lorinz
- UK exclusive introduction to the film by actor James Lorinz (1080p)
- Your Date’s on a Plate: The Making of Frankenhooker: UK exclusive 'making of' documentary featuring director Frank Henenlotter, star James Lorinz and special effects artist Gabe Bartalos (1080p)
- A personal UK exclusive tour of the Gabe Bartalos effects lab in Los Angeles, California (1080p)
- A Salad That Was Once Named Elizabeth: Patty Mullen Remembers Frankenhooker
- A Stitch In Time: The Make-Up Effects Of Frankenhooker
- Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker
- Original theatrical trailer

After five months we brought The Beyond replacement programme to a close, happy in the knowledge that all stock had long been corrected and customers could now surely purchase new copies without the need for a replacement, thus rendering any future replacement service redundant. When we discovered recently that customers newly purchasing copies of The Beyond were finding old discs we became alarmed and investigated the stock being held at our distribution centre, Sony DADC, Enfield with a view to discovering what had happened with the replacement of discs.

As most of you will be aware, the rioting in London spread to Enfield last night and the distribution centre was looted and set on fire. Thankfully no staff were harmed in this atrocious attack, but it does mean all Arrow stock, and the stock of many other distributors, is now no more. We are working with Sony DADC and our partners to find a solution for getting stock back in stores very soon. Stock that is currently with retailers is all that will be available for the moment and new releases such as Midnight and the forthcoming ArrowDrome titles will surely be affected.

In light of recent discs of The Beyond being sold uncorrected following our brief and incomplete investigation we have decided that as soon as our distribution centre is up and running again a supply of replacement discs will be made and of course new stock replenishment will be manufactured with the corrected disc. We thank you for your understanding through this difficult time and will update with news of the availability of Arrow stock as it is available.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- High Definition and Standard Definition presentation of the original theatrical version [1080p]
- High Definition presentation of the Director’s Cut [Blu-ray only 1080p]
- New restoration of both the theatrical version and the brand new Director’s Cut approved by director Volker Schlöndorff
- 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Audio commentary with director/co-screenwriter Volker Schlöndorff
- Brand new interview with Volker Schlöndorff
- Original Trailer [Blu-ray only]
- Comprehensive booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by George Lellis and Hans-Bernhard Moeller, authors of Volker Schlondorff's Cinema: Adaptation, Politics and the Movie-appropriate, as well as extracts from Volker Schlöndorff’s diary, writing by Jean Claude Carrière and Günter Grass, illustrated with archival stills.
- Artwork presentation packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork and three original posters

Grab your Region ABC Blu-rays of The Funhouse while you can. All future stock going to retailers will be Region B only.

To ensure you get a Region ABC copy with extras in 1080p, see these instructions that I have posted previously:

I've had a word with Arrow about this and it was only the early copies of The Funhouse (and Tenebrae as we know) that were affected due to a technical error. Any remaining stock of this was destroyed in the fire at Sony a while back so all new stock going to retailers should be in 1080p.

Arrow suggest to ensure you definitely get a 1080p copy you order direct from them and also email them after you've placed your order to let them know you require a copy with 1080p encoded extras.