By Christmas of 1989, Nintendo had brought back home video games. People had finally felt the need to upgrade from their dusty Atari 2600 unit. And in order to stress how much this new gaming system mattered, The Wizard arrived in movie theater. Fred Savage was in the middle of his Wonder Years stardom so it made sense that he’d being that sense of wonder to the game that brought Super Mario home. While the film wasn’t a huge hit at the box office, it became a big time renter at Videorama for people who rented their games and VHS tapes. It felt like people watched to get extra tips on how to tackle Super Mario 3. Now the film is getting a serious upgrade itself with The Wizard: Collector’s Edition coming out on Blu-ray in March. Even Fred Savage sits down to talk about the film. Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory:
SHOUT SELECT PRESENTS
THE WIZARD (COLLECTOR’S EDITION)
ON BLU-RAY™ MARCH 24, 2020
“Great acting, a touching story, and a bona fide look at how Nintendo ruled the world … The Wizard is still a solid and entertaining road film that is never cloying or abundantly sweet.” – Cinema Crazed
Los Angeles, CA – Shout Select will release retro classic The Wizard in a 2-disc collector’s edition Blu-ray set on March 24, 2020. This release is mastered from a new 4K scan of the film and comes loaded with all-new bonus features including never-before-released deleted scenes, audio commentary with director Todd Holland, and interviews with cast and crew including actors Fred Savage and Luke Edwards. Fans can preorder this Collector’s Edition set now at shoutfactory.com.
Haunted by a family tragedy, and desperate to get to California for some unknown reason, young Jimmy Woods (Luke Edwards, Newsies) flees with his conniving brother, Corey (Fred Savage, The Wonder Years). Along the way, they encounter Haley (recording artist and actress Jenny Lewis), a street-smart teen on her way to Reno. Together, they make their way to California, pursued by a sinister bounty hunter, as well as the boys’ father (Beau Bridges, The Fabulous Baker Boys) and brother (Christian Slater, Kuffs). Meanwhile, their ticket to California just might be found in Jimmy’s hidden talent: video games!
All New Special Features:
Disc 1:
· 4K Transfer
· Audio Commentary with Director Todd Holland
· Never-Before-Released Deleted Scenes
· Trailers
Disc 2:
· “The Road to Cali-forn-ia” – A Look Back At The Wizard Including Brand-New Interviews With Todd Holland, Stars Fred Savage And Luke Edwards, Writer/Producer David Chisholm; Producer Ken Topolsky; And More!
· “How Can I Help You? Confessions of a Game Play Counselor”
· “A Clinical Analysis of The Wizard”
· Post Screening Q&A From Let’s Play Gaming Expo 2019 With Luke Edwards, David Chisholm And Ken Topolsky
· Photo Gallery
About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory, LLC is a diversified multi-platform media company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their entire careers sharing their music, television and film favorites with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s entertainment offerings serve up feature films, classic and contemporary TV series, animation, live music and comedy specials. In addition, Shout! Factory maintains a vast entertainment distribution network which delivers culturally relevant programming, movie and audio content to all the leading digital service providers in North America and across multiple platforms. Shout! Factory owns and operates Shout! Studios, Scream Factory, Shout! Factory Kids, Shout! Factory Films, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory TV. These riches are the result of a creative acquisition mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com.
