Search - Detroit Rock City on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Not For Children, Adult Language, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations, Watch With Your Teen, Youth Substance Use Movie Release: 1999 DVD Release: 12/21/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 35 mins Studio: New Line Home Video Total Copies: 3 Genres: Comedy, Teen Movie

Are you ready for the hottest band in the land? It's 1978 in Detroit, and pretty much any teenager who isn't a total wimp is totally stoked for the upcoming Kiss concert (as anyone who ever listened to Kiss Alive! knows, Detroit has always loved this band). But four proud members of the Kiss Army find themselves without tickets to the show, and one has to deal with a mother who is convinced that Kiss and their music are evil incarnate. Will they be able to foil scalpers, security, and paranoid parents to witness the fire-spitting, blood-puking, hard rock frenzy that is Kiss on stage? Detroit Rock City stars Edward Furlong, Sam Huntington, Natasha Lyonne, Giuseppe Andrews, and James DeBello as the representative members of the Teenage Nation; the original four members of Kiss (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss) play themselves, and Simmons also co-produced. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Edward Furlong - Hawk
Giuseppe Andrews - Lex
James DeBello - Trip
Sam Huntington - Jam
Lin Shaye - Mrs. Bruce

It seems amazing that a studio would do so much for an underachieving film like Detroit Rock City, but New Line has. The image quality on this disc is wonderful, with strong use of color and excellent definition. The film is framed at 2.35:1 and uses an anamorphic transfer. The sound is very good. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is mostly centered in the front speakers, though there are brief moments of surround sound.
The picture and sound alone would make this a great disc, but the extra material takes it to another level. The menus are most unique. You have a choice between text-based menus, like those found on the majority of discs, or audio commands (which have been tried on a few other discs in the past such as =The Grifters and =Rambo). On first try they can be rather confusing; first-time DVD users may find them too complicated. New Line is proudly claiming that this is the first big "Hollywood" film to feature multiple angles. The angles are used in the supplemental section, separate from the film. It's impressive, but it would have been more so if it were integrated into the main film. Three audio commentary tracks are included. Director Adam Rifkin deals with the making of the film, though his comments are not always scene-specific. Numerous cast and crew members can be heard on a second track. Though interesting, it becomes impossible to tell one person from another. The final commentary is from the band members of KISS. Each is interviewed separately by associate producer -- and KISS superfan -- Tim Sullivan. Simmons is by far the most articulate, and the most fervent about what KISS represents. The rest of the band members sound like they just woke up, but they do offer some insight into their professional lives. Add in 15 minutes of deleted scenes, a half hour of behind-the-scenes footage (including interviews), a couple of music videos from Everclear and The Donnas, some DVD-ROM content, and a guide to playing "Rock 'n' Roll All Nite" and you have a disc that continues New Line's stellar tradition. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide