The Who – The Kids Are Alright-DVD

40th ANNIVERSARY OF KEY EVENTS IN THE EVOLUTION
OF THE WHO CELEBRATED WITH MAJOR DVD RELEASE

PIONEER ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE
LONG-AWAITED DVD OF ACCLAIMED ROCK FILM

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

Digitally Restored And Re-Mastered – The Ultimate Celluloid Celebration Of The Who
Blasts Onto Special Edition DVD For The First Time – September 30th 2003

Double-Disc DVD includes bonus disc of a brand-new production

WON’T GET FILMED AGAIN!
The Definitive Companion To The Definitive Who Film

Includes Rare Interviews, Never-Before-Seen Footage, Multiple Camera Angles And Much More

LONG BEACH, CA. – On September 30, 2003 Pioneer Entertainment will release the long-awaited DVD Edition of one of the most acclaimed rock films of all-time – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT – the celluloid celebration of The Who that received its theatrical premiere nearly 25 years ago.

The timing of the release of Pioneer Entertainment’s Special Edition DVD has been carefully chosen to commemorate a major anniversary in the history of the legendary band. October 2003 sees the 40th anniversary of two key events in the evolution of The Who – one of the most acclaimed and influential rock bands of all time.

It was in October 1963 that the members of the fledgling band made their first-ever recording – beginning the recording career that propelled the band to the highest echelon of rock music alongside their contemporaries The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

It was also the month when the band first performed songs composed by band member, Pete Townshend – the key factor that distinguished the group from the plethora of other aspiring groups on the British music scene. Up till this point the musicians who became The Who had been covering songs by other artists. Once they started performing original material by Pete Townshend – their destiny was assured.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of these crucial turning-points in the evolution of the band – Pioneer Entertainment will release the first-ever DVD Edition of the acclaimed 1979 film which Who fans regard as the definitive celebration of their heroes – and which film critics and rock mavens of all stripes have long hailed as one of the best rock ‘n’ roll films of all time.

RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL FILM

As befits such a momentous release – the DVD is a state-of-the-art presentation. Over a two-year period – and sparing no expense – extensive efforts were undertaken to carefully restore the film to match the director’s original theatrical version of the film – including its full length and its original theatrical aspect ratio. (Sequences deleted from earlier VHS versions of the film have been fully restored.) The film was digitally re-mastered in Hi-Definition and an intensive color correction, re-framing, dirt and scratch-removal process was utilized to make the original film look as good, if not better, than during its original theatrical release in 1979.

Certain to exhilarate Who fans – the film has been re-mixed to Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS – with the band’s full approval. In addition, for the first time-ever, the original multi-track recordings specially created for the original film were used to re-mix three of The Who’s most iconic songs – “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Who Are You.” Other tracks were re-mixed using the best existing sources to ensure that the DVD presents the Who’s music at maximum fidelity. These new re-mixes were specially engineered in London by long-time Who associates Jon Astley and Andy McPherson.

The DVD also features a brand-new, specially-recorded, full-length commentary track with the film’s director Jeff Stein – moderated by rock historian Martin Lewis. Other features include English-language subtitles – enabling fans to decipher all the dialogue and song lyrics! – and optional on-screen background notes offering historical facts about The Who and their music.

Pioneer worked closely with The Who to ensure that the restoration met with the band’s full approval and consulted extensively with original director Jeff Stein.

KEY SEGMENTS ON THE BONUS DISC – WON’T GET FILMED AGAIN!

Complementing the original film – the Special Edition DVD release of The Kids Are Alright features a second disc – presenting a specially-created, brand-new production titled Won’t Get Filmed Again! – an expansive companion to the original film. It features nearly five hours of rare material that will be a joy for Who fans of all ages and levels of fandom.

The material presented in Won’t Get Filmed Again! ranges from exclusive brand-new, in-depth interviews with key participants such as Roger Daltrey and director Jeff Stein – to interactive features offering a virtual tour of The Who’s London and trivia games – to ultra-rare features which allow the hardcore Who fan to focus on over 100 minutes of audio and video live performance footage of the individual band members. There are also features that document the renovation of the film and allow viewers to literally see and hear the ‘miracle cure’ of the restoration process. All the titles of the segments are playfully drawn from Who song titles.

PACKAGING AND BOOKLET

Both the Single-Disc Deluxe Edition and the Double-Disc Special Edition DVD come complete with a 30-page collectible booklet featuring a new in-depth introduction by director Jeff Stein and new notes by leading
‘Who-ologist’ – Brian Cady. Included are numerous photographs of the band – including many previously unpublished images. The cover and booklet design is by Richard Evans – who created the artwork for the original film soundtrack album. The cover features the iconic 1968 image of The Who sleeping under the British flag atop Grant’s Tomb. (The group had been expelled from its New York hotel the previous night after one of Keith Moon’s destruction sprees – and allegedly fell asleep during the photo-session!)