“Cruising” Deluxe Edition DVD From Warner Home Video

(June 18, 2007 - Burbank, CA) — "Cruising" – the murder thriller that is set against the gay S & M subculture of the late ‘70s and prompted widespread community protests when it opened in 1980 – makes its long-awaited DVD debut September 18 as a Deluxe Edition DVD from Warner Home Video (WHV). Acknowledging years of consumer requests, "Cruising" will receive a limited theatrical release in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco the first week of September, prior to its DVD release at $19.97 SRP. Order due date is August 14. Directed by Academy Award® winner William Friedkin ("The French Connection") from his own screenplay adaptation of Gerald Walker’s novel, the film has as its magnetic centerpiece Academy Award®-winner Al Pacino’s ("Scent of a Woman") performance as an undercover cop who infiltrates New York City’s leather bar scene, and whose identity and relationships are hauntingly affected by his assignment. Pacino, no stranger to tough cop roles ("Heat," "Serpico" and "Sea of Love"), currently can be seen in Warner Bros.’ "Oceans 13" and recently received an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. "Cruising" incited New York's gay community like nothing had since the rioting after the 1969 police raid on Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn. The incident became a watershed event for the gay civil rights movement. The clashes during "Cruising" production centered around objections to the stereotyping of all gays. Friedkin never intended any lifestyle generalizations. “But that world did exist and I tried to portray it objectively without any moral comment,” the director says today. “Those murders happened [in real life], and it was always my intention to make a film, set in that milieu, that would be an unsettling experience and to ask the question when you look at someone, “Do you really know who they are?” Notes Drew Fitzpatrick of fringeunderground.com, “Maybe now, with gay-themed movies and television shows permeating pop culture with a more or less even balance of characterizations, the time might finally be right for 'Cruising' to wipe away 25 years of bad cultural karma and take its proper place in the oeuvre of one of America's most consistently challenging filmmakers.” Perhaps so. Audiences were visibly stunned recently -- and gave the film two standing ovations -- at the end of a screening at this year’s Cannes Film Festival where Mr. Friedkin was part of the Directors’ Fortnight program. Traditionally, such reactions are only bestowed on first-time Festival screenings. Mr. Friedkin has personally supervised the creation of an all new high-definition master and new 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track for the release with new director commentary. Also included are eminent documentarian Laurent Bouzerou’s two new featurettes containing interviews with actors and filmmakers who provide thorough perspective on the incidents surrounding the production. In addition to Friedkin and producer Jerry Weintraub ("Oceans 11" series, "Diner," "The Firm"), participants include editor Bud Smith ("The Exorcist," "Flashdance," "Ladder 49") , actors Don Scardino (now a top TV director) and James Remar ("48 Hours," TV’s "Sex in the City") and real-life cops Randy Jurgensen and Sonny Grosso. Said George Feltenstein, WHV’s Senior Vice President Theatrical Catalog Marketing, “'Cruising' remains an ‘edge-of-your seat’ thriller in the tradition of Friedkin’s best - 'The Exorcist,' 'The French Connection,' 'To Live and Die in LA' and others. Over the last several years, WHV has been barraged with requests for 'Cruising' to arrive on DVD. We are certain the film’s fans will be extremely pleased with our new deluxe edition release, and we hope that a new generation of DVD consumers will newly discover this eternally-powerful film.” Special Features • Commentary by Director William Friedkin
• Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
• 2 New Featurettes: "The History of Cruising" and "Exorcising Cruising"
• Original Theatrical trailer
• Languages: English & Español
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only) With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.# # #

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