In January it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the wordwide dvd and digital distribution rights to MST3K, but it was only till yesterday that the full details of what we’re in store for was announced. Fans of the show can have no complaints with Kino, who’s done an amazing job of putting out 4-movie sets for years now, but Shout!’s already shown over and over that they know what they’re doing in regards to dvd sets. For evidence just check out that amazing Freaks and Geeks set, the inexplicably fun Swamp Thing and Sam and Max tv show sets, and of course, the Film Crew discs (Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett’s project before stepping into Rifftrax).
Now here comes the 20th Anniversary Box Set.
The 4 episodes included are-
FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS
In the 1960 sci-fi thriller First Spaceship On Venus, a mysterious magnetic spool found during a construction project is discovered to have originated from Venus. A rocket expedition to the mysterious cloudy planet is launched to discover the origin of the spool and the alien race that created it.
LASERBLAST
In 1978’s Laserblast, young actor Kim Milford plays an ostracized teenager who stumbles upon the remains of murdered mutated alien in the California desert. Along with the alien’s remains, a high-tech laser gun and power source are accidentally left behind by the extraterrestrial murderers. While examining the equipment, the teen inadvertently mutates himself with a laserblast, and embarks upon a murderous rampage.
WEREWOLF
1996 horror flick Werewolf begins with an archeological dig in an Arizona quarry. The Native Americans at the dig site recognize an unearthed skeleton as the remains of a werewolf, yet the team of archeologists are skeptical. When a dig assistant becomes infected and transforms into a werewolf, the ambitious team leader begins a horrific experiment, infecting the oblivious townspeople with the werewolf virus.
FUTURE WAR
In 1997’s action-packed Future War, a race of evil cyborgs kidnap humans from Earth’s future to use as slaves, and take dinosaurs from the past to use as trackers. A determined slave, the “Runaway”, escapes and makes his way to present-day Los Angeles. There he must fend off the cyborgs and their trackers, the police, and the government, befriended by a prostitute-turned-nun who runs a halfway house.
As you can see, the episodes aren’t the big names you’d expect with a title on the box set like that, but they’re all incredible. Laserblast in particular is a ton of fun. That’s one Joel and 3 Mike episodes, for those playing (favorites) at home.
The one thing that separates this from the Kino releases? Extras! (Alright, although some of them did include blooper reels) The discs will come with all new interviews with practically everyone involved with MST3K– including Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Trace Beaulieu, Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, J. Elvis Weinstein, and some footage from the 20th Anniversary Reunion panel and much more.
The dvd will hit on October 28th. Packaged in that sexy metal tin along with the 4 discs will be a Crow T. Robot figurine and Lobby Cards. Nice. The price is a little steeper than we’re used to with a $69.99 MSRP, but you can get it from us at Amazon for 50 bucks. Still not a bad deal, but hopefully not every set in the future will have crazy packaging to keep down on prices.
Regardless, this is a must-buy for any fan of bad movies. Check out some of what you’re in store for!
Laser Blast–
Werewolf–
First Spaceship on Venus Trailer-
Cut scenes from Future War-