Cult-classic Reefer Madness on Blu-ray February
– commissions earned –
The 1936 cult-classic film “Reefer Madness“ will finally officially be getting a Blu-ray Disc release on February 25th via Kino Classics in collaboration with Something Weird. This release will be “Volume 2” in what is dubbed the “Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of The Exploitation Picture“ collection that includes a total of three individual volumes, and a total of six cult-classics. There’s more on those other volumes in that set later in this post. It’s first worth noting that this will included a bonus film, yet another propaganda piece called “Sex Madness” from 1938. Both of these two films included on this volume have been “meticulously restored from 35mm elements.” The exact tech specs for the release have yet to be detailed. You can now find the Blu-ray listed for preorder over at Amazon. Bonus materials set to be included in the release (for the two films) are listed below.
- Audio commentary for Reefer Madness by Eric Schaefer, author of Bold! Daring! Shocking True! A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959
- Assassin of Youth (abridged version)
- High on the Range (1924, excerpt)
- Gallery of exploitation trailers, including Reefer Madness, Cocaine
- Fiends, Marihuana: Weed With Roots in Hell, Narcotic, and more
- Radio spots: The Narcotic Story, Reefer Ruin, Metamorphosis and the Weed
Below, after the break, you can find more information about this volume and the other two volumes of this edgy collection.
PRESS RELEASE:
|
Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture
Mom and Dad Label: Kino Classics In the 75 years since its initial release, Kroger Babb’s Mom and Dad has achieved mythical cinematic status. It was a film that, during the height of the Production Code, not only dared to address issues of venereal disease and unexpected pregnancy but presented graphic footage of bodies scarred by syphilis and multiple unobstructed views of childbirth. So sensational was the film (and so different were the audiences’ motivations for seeing it) that screenings were commonly segregated by gender. Furthermore, screenings were presented with a live sex hygiene lecturer, who underscored the film’s educational value and sold informational pamphlets. It became one of the highest-grossing films of the 1940s, yet for decades has been unavailable for screening. The original negative has succumbed to nitrate decomposition, but this authorized presentation has been mastered from three separate 35mm elements. It is presented with a wealth of supplemental material to illuminate why Mom and Dad became such a phenomenon, and continues to fascinate audiences even now. SPECIAL FEATURES |
| Reefer Madness / Sex Madness (Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture: Volume 2) Prebook Date: 1/28/20 Street Date: 2/25/20BD SRP: 29.95 BD Item #: K24339 BD UPC: 738329243395Label: Kino Classics Reefer Madness Genre: Drama Year: 1938 Rating: R Runtime: 65 Director: William Beaudine Actors: June Carlson, Hardie Albright, Lois Austin, Jimmy Clark, George Elderedge Language: English Black & WhiteLabel: Kino Classics Sex Madness Genre: Drama Year: 1938 Rating: R Runtime: 59 Director: Joseph Seiden Actors: Charles Olcott, Vivian McGill, Rose Tapley, Stanley Barton Language: English Black & White No films better represent the 1970s midnight movie phenomenon as Reefer Madness and Sex Madness: two finger-wagging camp classics that hysterically warned the public of the horrors of marijuana and syphilis. But the more we discover about the exploitation genre, the more we learn the true hep cats were the ones who made the films: ruthless opportunists who produced raunchy, ribald melodramas loaded with sex, drugs, and violence, and enabled them to be shown by wrapping them in a tissue-thin pseudo-educational message. These two essential cult favorites are presented in definitive editions, meticulously restored from 35mm elements. SPECIAL FEATURES |
| Unashamed: A Romance/ Elysia (Valley of the Nude) (Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture: Volume 3)Prebook Date: 1/28/20 Street Date: 2/25/20BD SRP: 29.95 BD Item #: K24340 BD UPC: 738329243401Label: Kino Classics Unashamed: A Romance Genre: Drama Year: 1938 Rating: R Runtime: 66 Director: Allen Stuart Actors: Rae Kidd, Robert Stanley, Lucille Shearer, Joseph W. Girard Language: English Black & White Label: Kino Classics In an unusual reversal of the usual exploitation formula-in which scenes of sex, violence, and drug abuse were wrapped in a dire warning of moral degradation-the nudist film took a more positive approach to its subject matter. Arguing for the health benefits of sunlight and the detrimental effects of constrictive clothing, films such as Unashamed: A Romance and Elysia (Valley of the Nude) presented nudism as a positive lifestyle choice, and proved their point with only slightly unobstructed views of naked flesh. But more surprising than the nudity is that Unashamed reveals itself to be a remarkably poignant drama about the unrequited love between a mixed-race woman (Rae Kidd) and her employer (Robert Stanley). SPECIAL FEATURES |
