Cinematogreaphe will release on Blu-ray Jim Kouf's Gang Related (1997), starring Jim Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Lela Rochon, Dennis Quaid, and James Earl Jones. The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on September 30.
Description: Los Angeles vice squad detectives, and partners, Jake Rodriguez (Tupac Shakur, Juice) and Frank Divinci (James Belushi, Red Heat), stage a faux drug deal with a drug trafficker that they end up murdering and robbing, taking his cash and drugs in the process. Upon turning in the stolen cocaine at their precinct, Rodriguez and Divinci are notified that the person they murdered wasn't a lowly street criminal but, in fact, a DEA agent in deep cover, igniting a citywide search for those responsible for his murder. Now Rodriguez and Divinci have to find someone else to pin the murder on, before it's too late.
Written and directed by genre cinema stalwart Jim Kouf (Stakeout, The Hidden), GANG RELATED is an oft-overlooked entry in mid-90s crime cinema, anchored by an outstanding, would-be star-making, performance from hip hop star Tupac Shakur who would die only days after production wrapped, never able to see the final film. Shot on location on the streets of Los Angeles and featuring an eclectic ensemble cast that includes James Earl Jones, Dennis Quad, Lela Rochon, David Paymer, Gary Cole and rapper Kool Moe Dee, GANG RELATED is a vital time capsule of Los Angeles in the mid-90s as well as a potent swan song for Shakur. Cinématographe is proud to present Jim Kouf's gritty, star-studded, police procedural in a new 4K restoration from its original negative, accompanied by hours of new extras.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
NEW Audio commentary with writer/director Jim Kouf and executive producer Lynn Bigelow-Kouf
NEW Sounds of a City - video interview with Jim Kouf and Lynn Bigelow-Kouf
NEW Dream Opportunity - video interview with producer and co-president of Orion Pictures, Brad Krevoy
NEW Staying In Business - video interview with producer Steven Stabler
NEW Shelf Life - video interview with executive in charge of music at Orion Pictures, Marcus Barone
NEW Dynamic In His Range - video conference with Jonathan Abrams, author of The Come-Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop, on the legacy of Tupac Shakur
Archival Making Of Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
New text essays by film critics Quatoyiah Murry, Brandon Streussnig and Travis Woods
Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature