Shout Acquires Rights to Corman Library, Announces Blu-ray Plans

Posted January 14, 2010 04:12 AM by Juan Calonge


Shout! Factory and New Horizons Picture Corporation have entered into an extensive multiyear alliance to release films from the library of legendary producer-director Roger Corman, comprising over 50 film properties. The first titles to be released on Blu-ray will be 'Piranha' and 'Rock 'N' Roll High School'. “Roger holds an incredibly rich legacy in Hollywood. His cinematic works, spanning decades, continue to influence filmmakers worldwide. Many of his iconic films have been unavailable or long out-of-print in the home entertainment marketplace. There's a lot of consumer interest in these films,” state Shout! Factory's founding partners. “We're thrilled and honored with this opportunity to work with Roger and New Horizons to bring his cinematic treasures back to their original luster and share them with movie fans.” “We're delighted to collaborate with Shout! Factory to make New Horizons' historic library of films available for home entertainment,” said Corman. “We look forward to working closely with the entire Shout team for great DVD and Blu-ray releases ahead.” Shout! Factory and New Horizons Pictures are working closely to remaster a number of great Corman titles that have been long out of print, some never-before-available on DVD and Blu-ray. Moreover, Shout! Factory is currently producing a wide range of bonus content for special editions and double features for the launch of Shout! Factory's Roger Corman's Cult Classics home entertainment series. The first titles to be made available on Blu-ray from Roger Corman's Cult Classics presented by Shout! Factory are 'Piranha: Special Edition' (see blu-ray.com, December 31, 2009) and the 1979 classic 'Rock 'N' Roll High School'. Other Corman classics slated for 2010 release include 'Death Race 2000', 'Warlords of the 21st Century', 'Deathsport', 'Forbidden World' and 'Galaxy of Terror', although not all of them may be released in high definition. The saga of independent filmmaker-producer Roger Corman ranks as one of the most amazing motion picture success stories. Having produced more than 350 films and directed 50 others, his influence on American film goes far beyond his own energetic, creative low-budget movies. He is arguably one of Hollywood's most gifted and masterful filmmakers. Noted for his keen ability to spot young talent, Corman's most lasting legacy will undoubtedly be the legion of producers, directors, writers and actors he has fostered, among them: Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Ron Howard, Peter Fonda, Jonathan Demme, Gale Anne Hurd, Diane Ladd, Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Talia Shire, Charles Bronson, Joe Dante, Peter Bogdanovich and Sally Kirkland.
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News comments (22 comments)

HDDVD(RIP)

Jan 14, 2010

Oh thank the heavens! This is the best news this year so far!

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Rob71

Jan 14, 2010

I'll be taking both of these. Also Galaxy of Terror and Death Race 2000 possibly being relased this year also? Bring em on.

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JMDiaz718

Jan 14, 2010

I'll get Piranha 1st day. Bring on Humanoids From The Deep and Galaxy of Terror.

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davidthenikonuser

Jan 14, 2010

I'm glad to hear this news, because Disney did pretty much nothing with these films when they had the rights.

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I would love to see Corman's "Battle Beyond the Stars" released on Blu-ray.

Taking the saying that "Star Wars" was simply a western in outer space Corman took "The Magnificent Seven" story and formed a science fiction classic.

One of the young talents working on the movie was James Cameron.

I've saw it in the movie theater when it was released, many times on TV and it was a Day 1 buy for me when it came out on DVD in the late 1990s.

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TheManInBlu

Jan 14, 2010

Hopefully this also means they'll release a lot of the Roger Corman-Vincent Price movies like the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations!!

essinger

Jan 14, 2010

Great news. We can finally watch "Deathstalker II" in HD, the way it was meant to be!

Dwigt

Jan 14, 2010

The Edgar Allan Poe adaptations were produced by American International Pictures, when Corman was a director, not a producer. The rights currently belong to MGM. The deal concerns the "New World Pictures" productions from the '70s and '80s, that still belong to Corman, after the dead-end licensing deal to Disney.

I'm waiting for a region free release of Rock n' Roll High School, one of my favorite B-movies of all time. Ramones! Mary Woronov! Paul Bartel! Dick Miller! A young Joe Dante as a screenwriter! The Zucker brothers as gag writers! Exploding mice!

essinger

Jan 14, 2010

They are also releasing the early masterpiece "Attack of the Crab Monster" with "Not of This Earth" on DVD. We need to start a petition to make sure they get released on Blu-ray as well!

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neo_reloaded

Jan 14, 2010

Crazy excited for Death Race 2000. Not as familiar with the other titles, but will certainly Netflix them and check em out.

thegline

Jan 14, 2010

I'm hoping for "Gas-s-s-s-s" personally!

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Imrahil2001

Jan 14, 2010

Yeah, the only one of these worth having on Blu (and even that's stretching it) is Battle Beyond the Stars.

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jlynn33

Jan 14, 2010

GALAXY OF TERROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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dobyblue

Jan 14, 2010

Awesome news on Piranha - definitely a day one purchase for me.

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Brad1963

Jan 14, 2010

Count me in for Piranha and Rock N Roll High School. About time the classics get released! :-)

kevlar_pso

Jan 14, 2010

I will have Fantastic Four day 1 when it's announced.

EddieBee

Jan 14, 2010

I am so excited that Rock N Roll High School is going to get a Blu-ray release. I am a huge Ramones fan and can't wait. Just like Corman, the Ramones were underground innovators. I will have that the moment it is available.

Death Race 2000 and Piranha are two films that I will add as soon as they are available. Great News!!

EddieBee

Jan 14, 2010

I just found this information on the Shout! Factory website:

The first titles to be made available from Roger Corman’s Cult Classics presented by Shout! Factory are the much anticipated cult thrillers Piranha Special Edition DVD, Humanoids From The Deep, Up From The Depths and Demon Of Paradise in April 2010; Piranha Special Edition Blu-ray, the memorable 1979 classic Rock ’N’ Roll High School Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray and the punk rock drama Suburbia in May 2010. Other Corman classics slated for 2010 release include Death Race 2000, Warlords Of The 21st Century, Deathsport, Forbidden World and Galaxy Of Terror, among others.

cjamescook

Jan 14, 2010

Thinking about this, I have to say that pairing Shout! and Corman together appears to be a real good pairing. Kudos!

mongojr

Jan 14, 2010

Deathstalker series, Galaxy of Terror(James Cameron: Production Designer!) and Humanoids from the Deep all on Blu-ray please!! When they released the Corman DVD series, almost nothing was in its original aspect ratio. Thank you Shout!

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