Source: Arrow Video US, MVD Entertainment Group press release Special Thanks to Clint Weiler

Image courtesy of MVD Entertainment. © Nikkatsu Corporation

Available for home-viewing for the very first time ever outside of Japan, this collection of bleak crime thrillers, brash mob dramas and exuberant action movies, made across the first five years of Seijun Suzuki`s career within Nikkatsu`s Borderless Action (mukokuseki akushon) line, presents a heady mix that laid the ground for what was to come. THE SLEEPING BEAST WITHIN (??????, Kemono no Nemuri, 1960) is a gripping crime thriller that sees a newspaper reporter`s search for his girlfriend`s missing father lead him into heart of the criminal underworld of Yokohama`s Chinatown. Its companion piece, SMASHING THE O-LINE (??????, Mikko Zero Rain, 1960), follows two reporters` descent into a scabrous demimonde of drug and human trafficking. In EIGHT HOURS OF TERROR (??????, Hachijikan no Kyofu, 1957), a bus making its precarious way across a winding mountain road picks up some unwelcome passengers. In TOKYO KNIGHTS (?????, Tokyo Naito, 1961), a college student takes over the family business in the field of organized crime. THE MAN WITH A SHOTGUN (?????, Shottogan no Otoko, 1961) marks Suzuki`s first entry into the territory of the "borderless" Japanese Western. Product Details Format: Blu-ray + DVD SKU: AV141 UPC: 760137121688 Street Date: 04/17/18 Label: Arrow Video Genre: Cult Production Year: 1957-1961 Run Time: 323 Minutes Number of Discs: 4 Audio: STEREO Territory: US Language: Japanese Subtitles: English Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 SRP: $69.95 Features • Limited Edition Dual Format Collection [1500 copies] • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation and Standard Definition DVD presentation • Newly translated optional English Subtitles • Audio commentary by critic and author Jasper Sharp on SMASHING THE 0-LINE • Tony Rayns on the Crime and Action Movies – the critic and historian discusses the background to the films, their place within Suzuki’s career and the talent involved with them • Trailers • Stills gallery • Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys • 60-page illustrated collector`s book featuring new writing by Jasper Sharp

About MVD Entertainment Group

MVD Entertainment Group is a full service music and movie distribution firm, exclusively representing thousands of audio and visual products for DVD, Bluray, CD, vinyl, and digital rights, worldwide. MVD also exclusively distributes a growing line of merchandise including limited edition collectibles, tee shirts, and more. “Serving Artists and Audiences” is MVD’s purpose statement; it represents a commitment to the interests of the musicians, filmmakers, record labels, producers, managers, and every link in the supply chain. The customers are the Audience, from wholesalers, sub-distributors, major retail chains, online retailers, specialists, and independent mom and pop stores, all the way to the consumer. MVD Entertainment Group was founded in 1986 by Tom Seaman, an industry veteran with prior experience with The Record Hunter, Sam Goody, CBS Retail, and JEM Distribution. Tom, along with his family Elinor, Eve and Ed, initially focused on music videotapes. At the turn of the century, with the advent of DVD, MVD built a large catalog of exclusively distributed audiovisual content on DVD’s, with special strength in music concert films, horror movies, documentaries, comedy, cult classics, and much more.