Olive Films to Release Roger Corman's Controversial and Censored Drug Film The Trip (1967)

Olive Films to Release Roger Corman's Controversial and Censored Drug Film The Trip (1967) Olive Films, a small company dedicated to bringing independent, foreign, and classic films to life, is excited to announce the titles that are slated for a Blu-ray/DVD release on March 22, 2016. These titles include 1967's controversial drug film The Trip, which is surrounded by fascinating stories of filmmaking and censorship. "The Trip functions today as an importnat relic of countercultural thought and the rise of The New American Cinema," said MArketing Director Bradley Powell. "Its themes surrounding drug use, free love, and spirituality, while existing in new iterations, most certainly linger on today. Seeing as the film debuted the same year as Jimi Hendrix's first LP, a fitting question to ask yourself when discussing this cult classic is: Are You Experienced?"

In The Trip, director Roger Corman brings us on a psychedelic, acid-fueled odyssey, written by Jack Nicholson and starring Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, and Susan Strasberg. To prepare for the film, the entire cast and crew (excluding Bruce Dern) drove to Big Sur and took LSD together. The film brilliantly shows us the characters' hallucinations through in-camera techniques rather than in post-production. Some of these techniques include strobe lights altered to synchronize with the cameras' frame rates, lights shone through dishes of dye and watch-crystals, and leftover props reused from Corman's earlier films. Studio censorship inflicted significant anti-drug changes upon The Trip, a film that the artists intended to be a non-judgemtnal tale of drug exploration. At the film's beginning, American International Pictures added scrolling text that branded the film as a warning about the dangers of experimental drug use. In an additional change, they added a black crack over Fonda's face in the final image, leaving the impression of LSD "shattering" his psyche. With these alterations, they hijacked the film's theme of a tolerant exploration and turned it into a judgmental warning. Still, its depiction of drugs proved so sensational that it received further trouble from the censors, especially in the UK, where it was banned until 2003. The Olive Films Blu-ray and DVD will not feature the beginning advisory text nor the cracked screen. In that way, it will be closer to the artists' original intentions.

Frankenstein Takes the Wheel with Malcolm McDowell in ROGER CORMAN’S DEATH RACE 2050

LEGENDARY FILMMAKING ICON, ROGER CORMAN RETURNS
TO PRODUCE THE MOST EPIC DEATH RACE EVER
AS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY BEGINS IN PERU

ROGER CORMAN’S
DEATH RACE 2050
 
MALCOLM MCDOWELL STARS IN THE SENSATIONAL ACTION-PACKED FILM 
DEBUTING ON BLU-RAY^™, DVD AND DIGITAL HD
IN 2016 FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

An outrageous action-packed film and reboot of the original Death Race 2000, Roger Corman’s Death Race 2050 began filming February 8 in Peru. Filled with the full-throttle mayhem and black-hearted humor, this all-new film drops the flag on a phalanx of automotive gladiators who earn points for killing pedestrians — and their fellow drivers.Roger Corman’s Death Race 2050 is an original release from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The film will be available exclusively on Blu-ray^™, DVD and Digital HD in 2016.

In the decades since well-known independent film pioneer and Academy Award^® winner Roger Corman first put the iconic anti-hero Frankenstein into the driver’s seat in Death Race 2000, this over-the-top cult classic has hurtled headlong toward cinematic immortality. Among the most enduring of the prolific producer’s legion of memorable films, Death Race 2000 has inspired a growing fan base that continues to propel the popular franchise as it marks the 40th anniversary of its original release.

“This is an amazing opportunity for me and millions of Death Race 2000 fans to experience the intensity, thrills and dark humor of the original, fueled by a terrific young cast, spectacular vehicles and side-splitting action, literally” said Corman, the trailblazing writer, director and producer. “Roger Corman’s Death Race 2050 puts the pedal to the metal to bring this enduring franchise to a whole new level.”

Roger Corman’s Death Race 2050 stars Manu Bennett (The Hobbit franchise) as Frankenstein, as well as Malcolm
McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) as the Chairman, Burt Grinstead (“NCIS”), Marci Miller (Viper), Folake Olowofoyeku (The Beaver), Anessa Ramsey (Footloose), Yancy Butler (Hard Target) and Charlie Farrell (Cantar).

The film is directed by G.J. Echternkamp (Hard Candy) directs from a script by Matt Yamashita (Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda) and G.J. Echternkamp, and produced by Roger Corman (Death Race 2000) and Luis Llosa (Anaconda).

SYNOPSIS
In the not-too-distant future, America is controlled by an all-powerful corporate government that keeps the masses placated with violent virtual-reality entertainment. The event of the year is the Death Race, where a motley assortment of drivers compete in a cross-country road race, scoring points for running down pedestrians and killing each other. The reigning champion and popular favorite is half-man, half-machine Frankenstein — but little does he know he’s taken on a rebel spy as his co-pilot.