Schlock-Wire: Specs And Order Info For Shout! Factory's DVD and Blu-Ray Releases of DEATH RACE 2000
Your Humble Reviewer is thrilled at the deluxe treatment Shout! Factory is giving to its line of Roger Corman/New World DVD releases. This goes double for their upcoming release of Death Race 2000 (which happens to be his all-time favorite science fiction film). This drive-in classic is packed to the gills with action, black humor, great exploitation flick stars, endlessly quotable dialogue and even a bit of subversive political commentary. Shout! Factory has answered the prayers of this fan by giving it a digital treatment that is just as jam-packed. Read on for all the car-carnage details...
No rules. All road. All rage.
An Action-Packed Roger Corman classic filled with thrills, spills … and kills!
Digitally Remastered and Presented in Widescreen, Jam-Packed With All-New Bonus Content
DEATH RACE 2000 SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY™ & DVD
Turbo-Racing Into Stores Nationwide June 22, 2010
From Shout! Factory
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It’s time for full-throttle, full-tilt, fast and furious fun this summer, as Shout! Factory, in association with New Horizons Picture Corporation, unleash one of Roger Corman classics that give new meaning to the term “road rage.” June 22, 2010 will see the release of the Death Race 2000 Special Edition Blu-ray™ and DVD, earmarking the latest installment from Roger Corman’s Cult Classics home entertainment series.Death Race 2000 Special Edition boasts a high-octane selection of extensive bonus content including all-new interviews and commentary with cast and crew, rare behind-the-scenes footage and much more, making this definitive home entertainment release from Shout! Factory’s much-anticipated Roger Corman’s Cult Classics line a must-have for Roger Corman fans and film aficionados as well as anyone who remains young at heart. Death Race 2000 Special Edition Blu-ray is priced to own at $ 26.97 SRP, and the DVD is available at $19.93 SRP.Widely revered as perhaps the greatest B-movie of all time, Death Race 2000 is one of the most enduring of all Roger Corman films - as well as his biggest box-office success up to that point.Welcome to the year 2000, a bleak and politically oppressive world plagued by immorality and political unrest. The only thing that appeases the population is the three-day Transcontinental Death Race, a high-speed, coast-to-coast competition which is won by the driver who racks up the most points by killing spectators, pedestrians and other unlucky passers-by.
This year, however, the Death Race drivers have something more to worry about than getting killed by the other contestants: A covert faction of Anti-Race revolutionaries bent on putting the brakes on Death Race for good. When they say “Speed kills” - they’re not kidding!Executive produced by Corman and directed by Paul Bartel (Eating Raoul), Death Race 2000 is one of the quintessential cult classics of all time and marks the only pairing of box-office superstars David Carradine (Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2, Bound for Glory, TV’s Kung Fu) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Rambo, Cliffhanger), as well as featuring a cult-friendly supporting cast that includes Simone Griffeth (Hot Target), Mary Woronov (Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, Eating Raoul), Roberta Collins (Hardbodies and Hardbodies II), Martin Kove (The Karate Kid, TV’s Cagney & Lacey), Louisa Mortiz (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, New Year’s Evil), legendary Los Angeles disc jockey “The Real” Don Steele (Grand Theft Auto, Rock ‘N’ Roll High School), Joyce Jameson (The Comedy of Terrors, Tales of Terror) and Fred Grandy (TV’s The Love Boat), who was later elected to the U.S. Congress!This new special edition DVD and first-ever Blu-ray release of Death Race 2000 is loaded with high-octane special features. DEATH RACE 2000 SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY & DVDEXTENSIVE SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:
- New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.85:1) in high definition from the inter-positive film element
- David on Death Race: A brief look back from star David Carradine recorded in 2008
- Audio commentary with Roger Corman and Mary Woronov
- New audio commentary with assistant director Lewis Teague and editor Tina Hirsch
- Playing the Game: Looking Back at “Death Race 2000”
- Ready to Wear: In-depth interview costume designer Jane Ruhm on her inventive work for this film and other Roger Corman classics
- Designing Dystopia!: A detailed look at the film’s futuristic landscapes and now-classic race cars with co-art director B.B. Neel, car designer James Powers and car constructor Dean Jeffries.
- Start Your Engine!: How the world of Death Race 2000 came to life, interview with original story creator Ib Melchior
- Killer Score: An all-new interview with composer Paul Chihara on the creation of the film’s eclectic score, which was also his first feature film composition.
- Leonard Maltin interviews Roger Corman about Death Race 2000
- Original theatrical trailer
- Original theatrical trailer with commentary by filmmaker John Landis, courtesy of trailersfromhell.com
- Collectible 12-page booklet
- New World trailers
Following the release of Death Race 2000 Special Edition Blu-ray & DVD, Shout! Factory will continue to present Roger Corman’s Cult Classics home entertainment releases on a monthly basis. Upcoming highlights include Forbidden World (DVD), Galaxy Of Terror (DVD), Piranha (Blu-ray & DVD) Attack Of The Crab Monster/ Not of This Earth (DVD), Humanoids from Deep (DVD), Starcrash (Blu-ray & DVD) and Battle Beyond The Stars (Blu-ray & DVD), among others.
Click on the Shout! Factory button below for more info on their Roger Corman Cult Classics Series