Also Available on DVD and DIGITAL HD
Burbank, Calif., July 15, 2014 -- Roger & Me, the highly acclaimed and groundbreaking hit film that launched Michael Moore’s career as a documentary filmmaker and a leading nationwide activist, debuts in a new 25th Anniversary Blu-ray™ edition, DVD and Digital HD on October 7 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
Roger & Me is a highly original, personal and satire account of one of America’s greatest urban disasters told against the background of the tough times in Flint, Michigan, Moore's hometown. The birthplace of General Motors, Flint had been economically decimated by, among other things, plant closings and the elimination of 30,000 GM jobs. In Roger & Me, Moore gives cinematic voice to his razor-sharp, compassionate and often wryly humorous perceptions of what went wrong in Flint, and chronicles his much-thwarted efforts to meet face-to-face with then-GM Chairman Roger Smith. Blending humor with scathing indictment, Roger & Me ignited a national discussion about the cruelties of corporate America and inspired other filmmakers to make films that would be seen by wider audiences.
Roger & Me, which has a ‘100% Fresh’ critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, was inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress and the National Film Preservation Board in 2013. The film won a number of critics’ awards including Best Documentary from the New York, Los Angeles and National Film Critics and the National Board of Review. It was also the hit of the New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Telluride Film Festivals.
In September, the Toronto International Film Festival will host a special anniversary screening of Roger & Me. Twenty-five years ago the Festival premiered the documentary and then awarded it its major prize – the People's Choice Award, which is given to a feature-length film with the highest ratings as voted by the Festival-going populace. These days, General Motors is once again surrounded by controversy.
Moore commented, “I'm proud of the impact of Roger & Me over the years – both in terms of public awareness of the behavior of Corporate America, and in helping to ignite a now-thriving documentary movement. I’m also honored that Warner Bros. is celebrating the film’s 25th anniversary with the same kind of unflinching support they gave me back in 1989.”
"But I must state that there is nothing to cheer about these days when it comes to cities like Flint and Detroit, not to mention witnessing the continuing nationwide elimination of our middle class. My hope is that with the film's re-release, both on Blu-ray™ and in theaters[1], people throughout the country will not only see their own struggles but also be inspired to do something about it."
Moore added that Warner Bros., by re-mastering his film and creating a newly-restored print, “has guaranteed that future generations will be able to watch Roger & Me for a long time to come.”
In addition to Roger & Me, Moore is best known for three other films: Bowling for Columbine, the 2002 documentary dealing with guns and violence in this country, which won the 2002 Academy Award® for Best Feature Documentary and at the time became the highest-grossing documentary domestically; Fahrenheit 9/11, which followed in 2004, won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and has since become the highest-grossing documentary of all time; and lastly, 2007’sSicko, about the U.S. health care system, which was also Oscar®-nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
Moore’s other films include the short Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint, a 1992 follow up to Roger & Me; Canadian Bacon, a satirical feature starring Alan Alda, John Candy and Rip Torn; Slacker Uprising, a hilarious journey through the 2004 presidential campaign; Capitalism: A Love Story, which examines the financial crisis of the late 2000s and the country’s economy during that time; and The Big One, documenting Moore’s first “author tour” for his best-selling book Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American. Moore wrote seven other New York Times best-selling books includingStupid White Men and Dude, Where's My Country? In 1995, his series TV Nation won the Primetime Emmy Award® for Outstanding Informational Series.
Moore was born in 1954 in Flint. He later attended the seminary for the Catholic priesthood, became an Eagle Scout, and at age 18 became the youngest elected official in the country. At 22, he co-founded the Flint Voice, a nationally-recognized alternative newspaper, before becoming a filmmaker. Moore now lives in Traverse City, Michigan, where he founded the Traverse City Film Festival and two art house movie theaters, the State Theatre and the Bijou by the Bay.
Special Features:
· Commentary by Michael MooreNEW!
· Trailer
Roger & Me 25th Anniversary Blu-ray and DVD
Street Date: October 7, 2014
Order Due Date: September 2, 2014
Rating: R
Run Time: 91 mins
