Here’s a news-flash that will end the week with an inter­stel­lar bang: Shout! Factory’s forth­com­ing spe­cial edi­tion of Starcrash will be a double-disc set!  This film is eas­ily the most beloved of all Star Wars ripoffs amongst schlock fanat­ics and it will be get­ting a truly heroic treat­ment on disc, includ­ing deleted scenes, doc­u­men­taries, com­men­tary tracks and much, much more.  Shout Factory has really out­done them­selves with this com­pre­hen­sive pack­age.  Read on for all the Stella Star-riffic details…

The ulti­mate ROGER CORMAN science-fiction clas­sic makes

its long-awaited debut FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIGH-DEFINITION

BLU-RAY™ AND ON DVD

SHOUT! FACTORY PRESENTS

STARCRASH

Starring Caroline Munro, David Hasselhoff, Christopher Plummer,

Joe Spinell and Marjoe Gortner

2-DISC SPECIAL-EDITION BLU-RAY™ and DVD

Digitally Remastered and Presented in Widescreen for the First Time

with a Galaxy’s Worth of Special Features!

Crashing Home Entertainment Shelves Nationwide September 14, 2010 From Shout! Factory

One of the most eagerly awaited inter-galactic science-fiction adven­tures, released by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, will finally be made avail­able for the first time to the home enter­tain­ment shelves as StarCrash, directed by Luigi Cozzi, will debut September 14, 2010 on 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray and DVD from Shout! Factory, in asso­ci­a­tion with New Horizons Picture Corporation. An adven­ture like no other, the StarCrash 2-Disc Special Edition con­tains anamor­phic widescreen pre­sen­ta­tion of the movie with DTS HD 5.1 sur­round sound (Blu-ray), a reversible cover fea­tur­ing vin­tage art for orig­i­nal movie posters and a pay­load of bonus con­tent includ­ing all-new inter­views and com­men­taries with cast and crew, rare behind-the-scenes footage and much more!  A must-have for loyal fans of Roger Corman and Luigi Cozzi, sci­ence fic­tion enthu­si­asts and col­lec­tors, StarCrash 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray and DVD mark the lat­est install­ments from the pop­u­lar ROGER CORMAN’S CULT CLASSICS home enter­tain­ment series from Shout! Factory.  Each Special Edition Blu-ray and DVD is sold sep­a­rately. Blu-ray is priced to own at $26.97; and DVD is avail­able at $19.93.

Produced in Italy in the wake of Star Wars’ phe­nom­e­nal suc­cess, StarCrash (also known as The Adventures of Stella Star in over­seas ter­ri­to­ries) became an inter­na­tional block­buster in its own right. This 1979 film became one of New World Pictures’ biggest box-office hits. Critics might have laughed, by so did audi­ences, who grooved to its campy humor, wildly imag­i­na­tive spe­cial effects (some of them quite good!) and non-stop adven­ture. Where Star Wars dared not go, StarCrash went — at warp speed!

The last­ing peace of the galaxy is threat­ened by the dia­bol­i­cal and relent­less Count Zarth Arn (cult icon Joe Spinell, Rocky, The Godfather and The Godfather — Part II), who is deter­mined to take the uni­verse for him­self and make each planet his play­thing, each inhab­i­tant his slave. There is no ques­tion that the Count is evil, given his propen­sity for cack­ling at every opportunity.

Can any­one save the uni­verse from this mega­lo­ma­ni­a­cal mad­man? Indeed there is, and she’s quite a beauty.

Brave, bikini-clad star war­rior Stella Star (Caroline Munro, The Spy Who Loved Me, At the Earth’s Core) and her co-pilot Akton (child evangelist-turned-actor Marjoe Gortner, Food of the Gods, Mausoleum) are pressed into ser­vice to thwart the evil Zarth Arn’s plot. If they suc­ceed, galac­tic peace will be achieved. If they fail, the uni­verse will fall into decay and destruc­tion at the hands of its sadis­tic new overlord.

Have no fear, because Stella Star is here!

The film’s zesty, star-studded cast also includes People’s Choice Award win­ner David Hasselhoff (Knight Rider, Baywatch) in one of his first big-screen roles, noted screen tough guy Robert Tessier (The Longest Yard, The Cannonball Run) and leg­endary two-time Emmy^® and Tony^® Award win­ner, and Academy Award^® nom­i­nee Christopher Plummer (The Last Station, Murder by Decree, The Sound of Music) as The Emperor.

StarCrash was writ­ten and directed by fan favorite Luigi Cozzi (AKA Lewis Coates), whose other cult mas­ter­works include Alien Contamination (an “homage” to Alien) and the unfor­get­table Lou Ferrigno vehi­cle Hercules (an “homage” to Conan the Barbarian). The film also boasts a rous­ing score by five-time Academy Award^® win­ner John Barry (Dances With Wolves, Out of Africa , 10 James Bond films).

Alas, StarCrash would prove to be the only big-screen Stella Star adven­ture … but as its world­wide legion of fans will attest, it was one to remember!

STARCRASH 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY and DVD BONUS CONTENT

New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.85:1) and DTS HD 5.1 Surround Sound (Blu-ray), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (DVD)

Disc One:

· Interview with writer/director Luigi Cozzi

· StarCrash: the music of John Barry, a detailed analy­sis of the score by

Mars of Deadhouse Music

· 2 feature-length com­men­taries by StarCrash his­to­rian Stephen Romano:

Commentary 1: the his­tory of StarCrash, the mak­ing of the film and its impor­tance in 1970s fan­tas­tic cinema.

Commentary 2: StarCrash scene-by-scene: pro­duc­tion trivia, anec­dotes and crit­i­cal analysis.

· Behind-the-scenes image gallery, fea­tur­ing sto­ry­boards, art, and rare, never-before-seen photos!

· Promotional art gallery, fea­tur­ing pho­tos, posters, lobby cards and early poster designs by Drew Struzan

· Fan art gallery, fea­tur­ing an exclu­sive look at the all-new, sexy Stella Star art from fan­tasy illus­tra­tor Robin Greenville Evans

· Theatrical trailer with com­men­tary by Eli Roth from Trailersfromhell.com and an all-new exclu­sive trailer com­men­tary by filmmaker/editor Joe Dante!

· TV spots and radio Spots

DISC TWO

· Interview with actress Caroline Munro (60 min.)

· 17 Deleted and alter­nate scenes

· The com­plete, orig­i­nal StarCrash screen­play, illus­trated with orig­i­nal sto­ry­boards and early, full-color con­cept art

· Exclusive 20-minute behind-the-scenes footage reel, with commentary

· The mak­ing of the spe­cial effects of StarCrash by Armando Valcauda with exclu­sive, never-before-seen special-effects footage

Shout! Factory will con­tinue to present ROGER CORMAN’S CULT CLASSICS home enter­tain­ment releases on a monthly basis. Upcoming high­lights include The Slumber Party Massacre col­lec­tion, The Evil, Twice Dead, The Warrior and The Sorceress, Barbarian Queen, Not of This Earth, Terror Within, Streets, Angel in Red, Lady in Red, Crazy Mama, Big Bad Mama, among others.