Drafthouse Films and MVD Entertainment have announced the upcoming home video release of “Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made” on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack August 16th.
After Steven Spielberg’s classic “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was released 35 years ago, three 11-year-old boys from Mississippi set out on what would become a 7-year-long labor of love and tribute to their favorite film: a faithful, shot-for-shot adaptation of the action adventure film, which the New York Times calls “a testament to the transporting power of movie love.” They finished every scene…except one; the film’s explosive airplane set piece.
Over two decades later, the trio reunited with the original cast members from their childhood in order to complete their masterpiece in what IGN has dubbed “the Boyhood of fan movies.” Featuring interviews with John Rhys Davies, Eli Roth and more, “Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made” is just that: the story of this long-gestating project’s culmination, chronicling the friends’ dedication to their artistic vision-mixed in with some movie magic-to create a personal, epic love letter to a true modern classic, in “a triumphant, feel-good documentary of the highest caliber that dares you to dream” (Cut Print Film).
Tim Skousen & Jeremy Coon’s critically-acclaimed documentary (Certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes with a 93% rating and an Audience Score of 92%) premiered at SXSW in 2015 and enjoyed a healthy festival campaign before it’s debut in theaters and On Demand. At the same time, film subjects Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala embarked on the multi-city Follow Your Dreams Tour (co-sponsored by Drafthouse Films, Fatboy, Roadtrippers and Last Exit to Nowhere), presenting Skousen and Coon’s film alongside their rarely-screened Adaptation, which will continue into September.
Special features include more than four hours on bonus content such as dual audio commentary tracks (with Skousen & Coon as well as Strompolos & Zala), deleted scenes from the documentary, outtakes from the Adaptation, Q&A footage from the Adaptation’s 2003 premiere at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX, a photo booklet featuring storyboard art from the Adaptation and a free HD digital copy of the film.
Available on Blu-ray & DVD August 16th
Raiders! Shot for Shot, Side by Side Comparison from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.
