British film distributor
Arrow Films
is a British independent
film distributor
and
restorer
specialising in
world cinema
,
arthouse
,
horror
and classic films. As
Arrow Video
, it sells
Ultra HD Blu-rays
,
Blu-rays
and
DVDs
online; it also operates its own
subscription video on-demand
service,
Arrow Player
.
[1]
Since 2017 Arrow have had a dedicated podcast
[2]
hosted by film-makers Sam Ashurst and Dan Martin. Arrow Video is considered a
boutique Blu-ray label
.
[3]
[4]
History
[
edit
]
Arrow Films was established in 1991 as a family firm in
Shenley
,
Hertfordshire
.
[5]
Whilst Arrow Films was the company's primary brand for theatrical releases, the Arrow Video label was created in 2009 specialising in cult and horror
home video
.
[6]
In September 2011, the ArrowDrome brand was created for budget DVDs.
[7]
The Arrow Academy and Arrow TV labels specialised in the world cinema and
Nordic noir
genres respectively, but since 2021, each has been merged into Arrow Video.
[6]
[8]
In the same year, the company launched Arrow Player, a
subscription video on-demand
service in the UK, US and Canada.
[1]
Arrow began releasing films in the North American market in 2015.
[9]
As of 2022, it operated in the UK, Ireland, US and Canada.
[10]
In 2021, Arrow Films was sold to
THG plc
for £18.5 million.
[11]
Reception
[
edit
]
Arrow has been listed by
The Guardian
twice as their home video distributor of the year.
[12]
[13]
In 2011, they listed Arrow as the Label of the Year noting their release of
Bicycle Thieves
,
Rififi
and
Les Diaboliques
and specifically praising their releases of
horror films
, where they "truly excel".
[12]
The second time was in 2013 when they awarded Arrow Films "Label of the Year", noting their releases of
Lifeforce
and releases of television shows such as
Borgen
and
The Killing
as highlights.
[13]
Camera Obscura: The
Walerian Borowczyk
Collection
was voted the best home video release of 2014 by several publications, including
Sight and Sound
[14]
and
Little White Lies
,
[15]
and won the Focal International Award for Best Archival Restoration Project
[16]
and the Cinema Ritrovato Award for Best DVD Series/Best Box.
[17]
References
[
edit
]