"Rad" coming to UHD/Blu-ray!

One of the holy grails of 80s sleepover cinema is FINALLY coming to Blu-ray!

I've been a fan and customer of Vinegar Syndrome since their very first releases. Any company demonstrating a love of film is bound to grab my attention. But VS has really set a high bar for the industry with their releases of classic erotica, exploitation, and otherwise overlooked movies. These aren't bare bones releases either. VS has countless examples of bringing movies to Blu-ray or DVD for the first time, working hand in hand with restorers and museums to release 2K and 4K versions of cinema that has previously looked and sounded like 3rd generation VHS dubs. And the packaging: initial pressings get a handsome-looking slipcover, and most releases get a reversible cover.

They've broadened their scope over the past 12 months, first with an amazing UHD/Blu-ray issue in January of 1993's Tammy and the T-Rex. I was a junior in high school when Tammy originally came out, so I wasn't exactly looking for a weirdly cut horror comedy. But over time, I'd heard that the uncut version was a bizarre, gory masterpiece. When I learned last year that it was being restored for an eventual DVD release, it didn't surprise me that Vinegar Syndrome was behind it. The end release is fantastic: both the uncut, unrated version and the theatrical PG-13 version on a single disc, interviews galore, and fantastic cover art. I had to ask what was next; now I know.

Rad came out in 1986, the height of the BMX craze. I remember it well; my mom worked at a video store in suburban Atlanta, and, knowing that my friends and I had been building dirt tracks in the woods behind our house all summer long, brought it home thinking I'd like it. I watched it three times that weekend, the third time at my neighbor's house during an impromptu slumber party. It was the shit. From the opening trick montage to the final backflip, we were all enthralled. Such a cool cast: Adrian, the villain from Gator, an Olympic gymnast, Aunt Becky, Mr. Hand! And it's directed by Hal Needham, an amazing stuntman who directed all of Burt Reynolds' best movies. As I got older, a Rad reference became a secret handshake; if you knew about it, you were probably someone I wanted to be buds with. But, for all the cult status, I could never figure out why it never came out on DVD.

I don't have to think about it anymore. Rad is coming out this month as a UHD/Blu-ray combo. Like Tammy, it'll release with a 4K scan and restoration from the original negative. While the final details have yet to be confirmed, it appears there will be interviews from the original EPK, a new interview with writer Sam Bernard, as well as commentaries from cast and crew. If you snag a copy direct from Vinegar Syndrome, you'll get the special lenticular/holographic slipcover. I'm a dork that way, so I definitely pre-ordered mine.

Vinegar Syndrome holds an amazing Halfway to Black Friday online sale every May that includes deep discounts on a lot of their catalog, two special edition releases, and lots of other cool stuff. This year's takes place May 22 through 25. VS is currently promoting that the limited edition Rad release will be in stock at that time. That's a little over a week from this post. So that'd be a good time to get in on this really awesome release...and maybe snag a little smut or a weird gore flick to boot!

To tide you over until it ships, here's one of my all-time favorite movie sequences: the Rad bike dance scene. L'chaim!