Artwork and NSFW Trailer for Drafthouse Films’ Exploitation Compilation Trailer War

Steve Barton |

Sep 29, 2012

Post Thumb:

/sep12/trailerwars.jpg

Drafthouse Films has partnered with the American Genre Film Archive to release Trailer War, an exploitation compilation that should be right up the alleys of most of our readers. Check out the flick’s NSFW trailer and extremely cool artwork.

From the Press Release:
Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, has partnered with the American Genre Film Archive to release Trailer War, a meticulously curated feature-length program of vintage, rare 35mm coming attraction trailers. Each of the selections is presented for the first time in high-definition, and most have been previously unavailable on any home video format. A theatrical tour presented in 35mm is planned for December 2012, and pre-order is available now for DVD/Blu-ray fan packs which will be available December 18th exclusively on DrafthouseFilms.com. Animal Protector and Amuck, both featured on the compilation, are available now as free digital downloads in HD by clicking here.

The American Genre Film Archive is the largest “exploitation film” archive of its kind, housing more than 3,500 rare 35mm film prints and trailers. Many of the trailers sourced for this compilation were rescued from impending destruction and donated by Alamo Drafthouse founder/CEO Tim League. In one instance rumors of a hidden cache of trailers located deep within a South African warehouse led League to investigate. After a series of fruitless negotiations, a distant relative brokered an illicit cash exchange in a hotel lobby and smuggled 200 pounds of celluloid from Johannesburg back to Austin. In another excursion to a decrepit, partially-flooded storage facility in southern Missouri, League agreed to the take-all-or-none stipulation and loaded a truck rated for 13,000 pounds with 26,000 pounds of celluloid. “It was during this shaky, 30-mph drive back to Austin while jettisoning soggy, damaged prints at rest stop dumpsters along the way where I conceived of the idea of the Genre Film Archive,” says League, “I had to have some rationale for buying 500, 35mm prints and countless trailers.”

Legendary filmmaker and Trailers from Hell creator Joe Dante (Gremlins, The ‘Burbs, The Howling), lends an extensive interview on the Trailer War disc chronicling his early years as a trailer cutter at Roger Corman’s legendary New World Pictures. Also included on the compilation is an audio commentary track from long-time Alamo Drafthouse Programmers and Trailer War curators Lars Nilsen and Zack Carlson. “From the high flying, explosive metal mayhem of Stunt Rock to Thunder Cops’ disembodied flying head chaos, each three-minute masterpiece is like a beckoning portal to another, more exciting dimension,” says Nilsen.

It’s a crippling overdose of towering flames, mechanized destruction, lurking fear, poor sexual choices, and spiritual devastation on an apocalyptic scale. You might want to have a cornea donor standing by just in case…because THIS IS GOING TO BURN!