U.S. label Severin Films has confirmed that it will release on Blu-ray director Sheldon Renan's documentary
The Killing of America (1981). The release will be available for purchase this October.
The upcoming release will also feature the Japanese version of the film,
Violence USA, which has previously unseen footage.
Synopsis:
The Killing of America focuses on what the director feels is the decline of the United States. It features interviews from Ed Dorris, a retired sergeant of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, as well as Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas Noguchi. The documentary also shows several interviews with convicted killers such as Sirhan Sirhan as well as footage of murders and news broadcasts.
The Killing of America was initially shown in New York City in 1982 at The Public Theater, but did not receive a commercial release in the United States, although it did receive a home video release in Britain. The film received a wide release in Japan, where financial backers reportedly pressured Renan to add footage of peace vigils for John Lennon as a way to make the documentary less depressing. Years later the documentary would receive a 2013 North American release at Fantasia Festival in Canada.
The film uses music by Robert Houston, Buffalo Springfield, John Lennon, Nick Cash, and others.