I believe Synapse has the rights to Maniac Cop, not Blue Underground. I've also been told that there is some "sweet" news coming very soon regarding this Arrow release, but no details yet.

That's Maniac Cop II. This was posted on AV Maniacs:

10/3 according to DVDAf.

For those that don't already have it, Vamp is currently only £10.49 (before VAT) on Amazon UK. It's stacked with a second disc of extras, and transfer-wise, it's the best Arrow Blu-ray I've seen so far, with the reviews being quite positive. It seems unlikely that the upcoming U.S. release will be anything other than a bare-bones disc with an average transfer, similar to the HandMade titles Image released at the same price-point.

Several other Arrow Blu-rays are also £10.49 on Amazon, including Phenomena, Inferno, Deep Red, City of the Living Dead, and A Bay of Blood.

Spirits of the Dead is £8.99 on Amazon as well.

DVD Beaver on Tenebrae

I don't need detailed explanations (good, bad, average), but what was the overall assessment of Arrow's Argentos, and were they better or worse than Blue Underground's? I seem to recall Inferno getting underwhelmed reviews.

Blue Underground's BD releases of Argento's are highly superior to that of Arrow. There have been a lot of arguments about Deep Red and Inferno and which is better, but I believe that Blue Underground's transfers are better. The Bird With Thie Crystal Plumage is a night-and-day winner over that of Arrow's due to Arrow's cropping from 2.40:1 down to 2.1:1 and their "color correction."

While DVD Beaver only compared the Arrow DVD (not BD) of Tenebre, it does look like the best release of the film so far... but, um, if I'm noticing the edge enhancement in those screenshots while looking at the website on my iPad, we may be in trouble.

That's weird, I could have sworn the Arrow Blu was included. From the AVForums review: Strangely enough, all of this apparently doesn't result in a lack of detail, and the stacked disc is unlikely to get a stateside release from AB, so the Arrow looks the way to go, warts and all. Honestly, they're the most maddening company around.

Agreed here.


Looks like a pass on Tenebrae for me. I just can't justify spending $25 to import it when it just doesn't look good to me at all

As noted above, several of the other Arrow titles have dropped to £10.49, which would work out to $13.98 after VAT, not including shipping. (It makes sense to order several items at once, as shipping from Amazon is £3 for the first item and £1 for each additional item.) You might want to monitor Tenebrae in case it also eventually drops to a similar price.

i'll wait for the inevitable BU release...

It's an AB property, so I doubt we'll get a US release. That's why I'm settling for the Arrow disc.

ah fuck thats right....damnit i'll have to import this one i guess - probably my second favorite argento flick

If you're looking for other order ideas to save on shipping, you might want to pre-order Arrow's region-free Funhouse disc, though you'd have to wait until it ships next month to receive Tenebrae.

Twitch review of Tenebrae

Thanks for the links NoirFan!

I'll stick to my A-Film DVD of the film.

I haven't bought any Arrow Argentos, and I already own Crystal Plumage (I bought it before I knew it was going OOP -- a rare lucky occurrence) and Stendhal, so I should get Deep Red and Inferno from BU, and Tenebrae from Arrow, which you guys are saying probably won't get a stateside release, yes? Is Phenomena coming from Blue Underground, or should I get that too?

Phenomena, like Tenebrae, is an AB property, so a US Blu-ray release seems unlikely. Plus, it's only £10.49 before VAT, which is pretty cheap. It doesn't include the AB commentary or featurette, but has it's own documentary. The image is, as always with Arrow, a mixed bag, but the DVD Beaver review is pretty positive overall.

Phenomena is a pretty solid upgrade imo. It looks good, certainly better than what I've seen and read about Tenebrae.

Phenomena is the best of Arrow's Argentos so far.

dvdbeaver on OBSESSION

Looks like they refrained from their usual DNR meddling - nice job!

This went through a different facility. Obsession was done by the same house that did the Arrow Academy Blu-rays