The early days of punk were colorful, dangerous and out of control and that was from the performers to the audience. D.O.A.: A Right of Passage captures the time as filmmaker Lech Kowalski hit the road with the Sex Pistols on their only US tour which turned out to be their final days as they broke up on the final date in San Francisco. The documentary received a major restoration and now fans can get a chance to see it on the big screen before it comes out on home video. This is great if you want to see the film with your old punk friends, but don’t want them to mess up your living room. Here’s a press release from MVD about the theaters locations and dates along with information about the Blu-ray release:
D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage
coming to Theaters in November and Blu-ray + DVD December 8
Brand-new HD transfer of classic punk rockumentary following the
Sex Pistols 1978 tour… Available for the first time.
“D.O.A. is as much of a Woodstock as punk may ever inspire.”
– The New York Times
“D.O.A. features state-of-the-art performances…
Still, it’s the eerie Spungen-Vicious dialogue that will probably haunt most viewers.”
– Rolling Stone
D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage is the ground-breaking classic rockumentary about the origin of punk rock. The film will be coming to select theaters in mid-November, and will also be available in a collector’s edition Blu-ray + DVD package.
“High Times is pleased to finally uncover and restore this extraordinary, vintage film – D.O.A.,” said High Times owner and CEO Adam Levin.
The vision for the film can be attributed to two people: Tom Forcade (the founder of High Times magazine) and filmmaker Lech Kowalski (East of Paradise). The production centered around the Sex Pistols 1978 tour of the US, which ended with the group breaking up. Forcade and Kowalski followed the band with handheld cameras through the clubs and bars during their seven-city U.S. tour.
Mixing this with footage of other contemporary bands, trends in the fashion capitals and punks of all shapes and colors, the film makers captured a grainy, stained snapshot of the punk movement at its peak (which includes the now famous footage of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen in bed) along with rare interview and concert footage of the late seventies punk rock music scene.
As John Holmstrom, Founding Editor of PUNK Magazine, writes in his liner notes:
“D.O.A., the original 1950 film noir and A Rite of Passage’s namesake, was about a dead man walking who wanted to get revenge on his killers. This aptly describes D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage, which was made by a man who killed himself a few months later, who wanted to get revenge on his tormentors: corporate and government control of rock music and youth culture.”
With live performances by the Sex Pistols, The Dead Boys, Generation X (with Billy Idol), The Rich Kids, the X-Ray Spex, and Sham 69, along with additional music from The Clash, Iggy Pop, this iconic documentary is now available for the first time ever on disc!
Screenings:
11/15-11/16 – Phoenix, AZ – FilmBar
11/16 – Pittsburgh, PA – Hollywood Theater
11/17 – Dallas, TX – Texas Theater
11/21 – Baltimore, MD – Parkway Theater
11/29 – Iowa City, IA – FilmScene
12/1 + 12/3 – Boston, MA – Brattle (Cambridge, MA)
12/4 – Durham, NC – Carolina Theater
12/11 – Nashville, TN – Belcourt
12/18 – Maitland, FL – Enzian
1/3 – Yonkers, NY – Alamo Drafthouse
1/12 – Tulsa, OK – Circle Cinema
1/12-1/14 – Seattle, WA – Northwest Film Forum
1/15 – San Francisco, CA – Alamo Drafthouse
1/15 – Denver, CO – Alamo Sloans Lake
1/18 – Louisville, KY – Speed Museum
Bonus Materials:
– High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the main feature
– Original 2.0 Mono Audio (Uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
– 12 page booklet with liner notes written by John Holmstrom, founding editor of PUNK Magazine
– ‘Dead On Arrival: The Punk Documentary That Almost Never Was’ – A feature length documentary about the making of D.O.A. A Rite of Passage produced by award-winning filmmaker (and former MTV Senior Producer) Richard Schenkman (HD)
– Reversible artwork
– 2-Sided Poster included
– Original Theatrical Trailer
– Limited Edition Retro ‘Video Store Style’ Slipcover / O-Card (First Pressing Only)
– Rare Sex Pistols photo gallery
Pre-order at MVDshop.com
