LA Plays Itself: The Fred Halsted Collection

Details

This listing is for the standard edition Blu-ray. The limited edition slipcover was limited to 2,000 units and is sold out. The two versions are identical, aside from the slipcover.

Altered Innocence has been dedicated to releasing LGBTQ & Coming-of-Age films with an artistic edge since their inception in 2015. With a library of features and shorts from around the world, mixing genre with art-house and everything in between - Altered Innocence is committed to curating an esoteric library that is without peer in the current marketplace. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line!

Fred Halsted was a legend in his own time. His self-created public persona—that of the leather-clad sadist—instantly made him both feared and revered as one of the first openly gay sex symbols. And his taboo-shattering films broke new ground in the gay erotic cinema for their portrayal of sadomasochism and other forms of polymorphous perversity. These works sent a shockwave throughout the fledgling gay liberation movement and the art establishment alike, leading to their eventual acquisition by the Museum of Modern Art. But despite their significant cultural importance, these films have long been available only in neutered form, if at all. Altered Innocence and Anus Films are proud to present the first-ever uncut disc release of these groundbreaking and fiercely controversial films, beautifully restored by MoMA and with a host of new bonus features, including Halsted’s formerly-lost second feature, Truck It. 

directed by: Fred Halsted
starring: Fred Halsted, Joseph Yale, Gus Harvey, Charmaine Lee Anderson, Jim Frost, Bob Madison, Val Martin, Sunny Boyd
1972 & 1975 / 151 min (combined) / 1.33:1 / English Mono

Additional info:

• Region Free Blu-ray
• Audio commentaries on L.A. Plays Itself and Sextool by Elizabeth Purchell, K.J. Shepherd, and Tyler Thomas of Ask Any Buddy
• Audio commentary on The Sex Garage by Elizabeth Purchell of Ask Any Buddy
• Bonus film: Truck It: 8mm Loops & VHS rip
• Video interview with Halsted Plays Himself author William E. Jones
• Sanitizing Halsted - a video essay by Whitney Strub
• Crossing Over: Sextool - a video essay by Caden Mark Gardner
• L.A. Plays Itself original ending
• Sextool original opening
• Gallery of promotional art and ephemera
• Trailers: Sextool, The Fred Halsted Collection, Double Feature Roadshow, & Other Trailers
• 20 page booklet with essays by William E. Jones and Bradford Nordeen
• English SDH, Spanish, & French Subtitles