Search - Piranha on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1978 DVD Release: 10/26/1999 Format: DVD Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 32 mins Studio: New Concorde Members Wishing: 14 Genres: Comedy, Horror, Parody/Spoof, Horror Comedy, Natural Horror

The sophomore effort for director Joe Dante, a future protégé of Steven Spielberg, this low-budget, high-camp horror spoof of Jaws (1977) features several chiller stars of yesteryear. Insurance investigator Maggie McKeown (Heather Menzies) is dispatched to find two missing teenage hikers near Lost River Lake. She hires surly backwoods drunkard Paul Grogan (Bradford Dillman) to serve as her guide. Searching the area, they find an abandoned military facility. The only resident is Dr. Robert Hoak (Kevin McCarthy), former head of a top-secret project to breed piranha for use in the Vietnam War. The project was closed down years ago, but Hoak has continued raising a deadly strain of the flesh-eating fish. When Hoak is knocked unconscious, Maggie and Paul accidentally release the piranha into a local river, which leads to the lake where a children's summer camp and a newly opened tourist resort will provide plenty of fish food for the hungry predators. Maggie and Paul race to warn the locals, but their pleas fall on skeptical ears, such as those of resort owner Buck Gardner (Dick Miller) -- until the piranha reach the swimmers. Piranha (1978) was co-written by John Sayles, making his motion picture debut. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Bradford Dillman - Paul Grogan
Heather Menzies - Maggie McKeown
Kevin McCarthy - Dr. Robert Joak
Keenan Wynn - Jack
Dick Miller - Buck Gardner

New Concorde's DVD of Piranha is a true labor of love guaranteed to please the fans of this cult favorite. The video transfer is full-screen (the way the film was shot), but benefits from a dazzling remastering job that results in a picture full of sharp detail and vivid color. It is a major improvement over the murky, faded previous video editions of this film. The audio sticks to the film original mono soundtrack; a stereo remix would have been nice, but the mono audio is clear and nicely mixed. This solid transfer would be enough for most fans, but the Piranha DVD also offers a jaw-dropping amount of extras, including a trailer, outtakes, home movie footage from the film's shoot, and a booklet that reproduces the film's original pressbook. However, the best bonus features is an informative and witty commentary by director Joe Dante and producer Jon Davison. The two offer tons of interesting tidbits about the production, including how the film was almost canceled after its first day's shooting and a funny tale about the frantic last-minute search to find a body double for the lead actress. Special note should be also made of the film's clever animated menus, which feature piranhas that "chomp" on the viewer's selection when a choice is made. All in all, New Concorde's DVD of Piranha offers a generous package of gruesome goodies that makes it a must for fans. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide