By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The sci-fi/horror thriller is making its long-awaited hi-def debut, fully loaded with special features.
MVD Entertainment has announced that SPLIT SECOND, the 1992 film directed by Tony Maylam (THE BURNING) from a script by Gary Scott Thompson (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS), will arrive on Blu-ray as part of the Rewind Collection August 11. It stars Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, Alastair Duncan and Michael J. Pollard, with creature effects by Stephen Norrington (who went on to direct DEATH MACHINE and BLADE). The movie will be presented in 1080p 1.85:1 widescreen, newly scanned, restored and color-graded in 4K from the 35mm internegative, with 2.0 LPCM stereo sound. Special features are:
- New audio Commentary by action-film historian Mike Leeder and filmmaker Arne Venema
- New “Great Big Bloody Guns!”: Producer Laura Gregory and actor Alastair (Neil) Duncan on SPLIT SECOND (HD, 27:25)
- New “Call Me Mr. Snips!”: An interview with composer Stephen W. Parsons (HD, 22:21)
- New “Stay In Line!”: An interview with line producer Laurie Borg (HD, 23:02)
- New “More Blood!”: An interview with creature effects designer Cliff Wallace (HD, 32:03)
- New “Shoot Everything!”: An interview with cinematographer Clive Tickner (HD, 18:57)
- Original 1992 SPLIT SECOND making-of featurette that includes interviews with stars Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, Alastair (Neil) Duncan, Michael J. Pollard, writer Gary Scott Thompson and more! (SD, 6:26)
- Original 1992 behind-the-scenes featurette with effects creator Stephen Norrington, cast and crew (SD, 3:41)
- SPLIT SECOND Japanese cut, full-frame with burnt-in Japanese subtitles (SD, 95:00)
- Deleted scenes from the Japanese cut (English, burnt-in Japanese subtitles) (SD, 4:42)
- Seven promotional TV clips (SD)
- U.S. VHS home video promo (SD, 2:34)
- Theatrical trailer (SD, 2:15)
- MVD EXCLUSIVE: Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Dude Designs created exclusively for this release
- New collectible mini-Poster featuring original VHS-style artwork
“Collectors have been waiting for this release for a long time,” says MVD’s Eric D. Wilkinson. “While MVD licensed this film almost two years ago, as a fellow collector, it was important to me to get this release right. At the time of the acquisition, MVD was originally provided with an older HD master, but I felt we could do better. With the help of Joe Rubin, we began a search for the best materials to scan. Once we had a beautiful new master, I then reached out to 101 Films, who control the rights to SPLIT SECOND in the UK, and we worked together creating new bonus materials and locating classic material in order to make this truly the definitive release of SPLIT SECOND in both North America and the UK. I want to thank the 101 Films team for all of their hard work and thank the fans for their continued support of our collectors’ label. I promise it was worth the wait!”
Retail price is $39.95; a standard edition will also be available on DVD, VOD and HD digital.
