Animal Factory (Special Edition): Blu-Ray Review
Arriving this week on Limited Edition Blu-ray is the 2000 prison-drama, “Animal Factory”, directed by Steve Buscemi. I love prison-set films and I am not sure why. It could be a prison-action film “Lock Up” or a prison-comedy “Stir Crazy”. There is just something about prison films that have always stood out to me. “Animal Factory” was never a “break out” hit (pun intended), but it’s actually a great film.
The film centers on two characters, Ron Decker (Edward Furlong), a young man who is serving time for drug possession. The other is Earl Copen (Willem Dafoe), a long-time convict who has the entire prison in the palm of his hand. When Copen notices that Decker has been targeted, he takes the new fish under his wing.
“Animal Factory” is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name,by Eddie Bunker, who also happens to play Buzzard in the film. “Animal Factory” has a great cast which includes Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke, and Seymour Cassel. As much as I loved the film, I completely forgot that I had seen it before. This one actually slipped my mind. Thankfully Arrow Video has given it a great new release with a cool Collector’s Booklet written by Glenn Kenny. If you are a fan of prison films, this one should be added to your collection.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- High Definition digital transfer
- Lossless original 2.0 stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Interview with critic Barry Forshaw covering Eddie Bunker’s varied career
- Audio commentary by novelist/co-writer/actor Eddie Bunker and co-producer/actor Danny Trejo
- New bonus features TBC
- Theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacob Phillips
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Glenn Kenny
By: Marc Ferman