In the early 90s, aspiring filmmaker (and General Hospital co-star) Ryan Sexton lugged a giant camcorder into some of the seediest clubs and the filthiest apartments in Hollywood. There he filmed hour upon hour of VHS footage of the jaw-droppingly offensive Shock Rock band The Mentors, focusing on their infamous lead singer, “El Duce.”
30 years later, the team behind The Nightmare and Room 237 and the editor of Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist uncover this dusty stockpile of long-forgotten – and unseen – footage. They begin to piece together a picture of the man under the black executioner’s hood and what his wilfully offensive act and controversial views might tell us about 21st century America.
An incendiary, tragicomic documentary (midway between The Decline of Western Civilization and Crumb) which has been hailed as “Essential Viewing” by CineVue and called “Dark and Irresistible” by director John Carpenter, The El Duce Tapes will chew you up, spit you out, and leave you floored.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
– High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
– Brand new audio commentary with The El Duce Tapes crew
– The Ryan Sexton Tapes – 34-minute illustrated audio conversation between Ryan Sexton and producer Tim Kirk about the shooting of the original VHS footage
– The Nilbog Tapes – Video of the band recording the original score for the film
– More El Duce Tapes – A free-standing alternate assembly of unused material, sort of a sideways sequel
– Tape 2: Hollywood Reservoir – A piece of raw tape providing a peek behind the scenes of the process of shooting the footage and a candid document of El Duce and Ryan’s rapport
– El Duce Stories – A humorous cut-up of a few of El Duce’s famously long aimless stories into one completely incomprehensible and endless word salad
– Return to Rape Rock Mountain – A brand new interview with Steve Broy, aka Dr. Heathen Scum of The Mentors
– Reality Check presents the all-female El Duce tribute band The Womentors
– Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by John Pearson and reverse art by Benjamin Marra
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Manish Agarwal