“Hilarious and horrifying.” – LA Weekly
Liberation Hall is proud to announce the long-awaited release of Paul Bartel’s Shelf Life, making its global debut
on Blu-ray and DVD on January 21st, 2025. The dark comedy starring O-Lan Jones (Edward Scissorhands), Andrea Stein (Hard to Kill), and Jim Turner (Arli$$, Randee of the Redwoods/MTV) was initially released in 1993.
In a strange bit of appropriateness, the movie about three children stuck in a bomb shelter for thirty years was lost for three decades. The film never received a theatrical release after playing a few festivals. This status changed when a 35mm print was discovered, and at long last, viewers can the experience the final feature film from director Paul Bartel.
In the aftermath of the shocking assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, a couple grabbed their three kids and moved into their nuclear fallout shelter, fearing the world would be ripped apart by World War III. While nothing of the sort happened, the family never resurfaced. The parents passed away early on, and the children raised each other deep underground without any outside contact beyond a stray TV signal. Pam (Andrea Stein, Trouble in Mind), Scotty (Jim Turner, Bewitched), and Tina (O-Lan Jones, The Right Stuff) have developed into strange child-like adults with a warped sense of play. They exist in a mutated version of 1963 even though the calendar reads 1993. The brother and his sisters entertain each other in their imprisoned life with twisted role-playing games. Will the siblings survive the fallout from each other’s imaginations?
Shelf Life was originally a play, directed by Maryedith Burrell (Fridays), that ran at the Lex Theatre in Hollywood. Paul Bartel saw the play and arranged to shoot it as a movie with the original cast (who jointly wrote the script). Bartel used the camera to go beyond capturing the play and dug deeper into the bonds between the subterranean siblings.
Paul Bartel was one of the great indie filmmakers. He directed Secret Cinema, Private Parts, Death Race 2000, Eating Raoul, Lust In the Dust and Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills. He also acted in numerous films including Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Escape From L.A., Gremlins 2: The New Batch, The Usual Suspects, and Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird. Shelf Life was his final directorial effort.
Jim Turner starred in St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, Joe’s Apartment, and the HBO series Arli$$. Turner played the spaced-out hippie Randee of the Redwoods in numerous MTV promos during the ‘80s. O-Lan Jones appeared in Married To the Mob, Edward Scissorhands, Natural Born Killers, Mars Attacks, and “The Bubble Boy” episode of Seinfeld.
Andrea Stein appeared in Hard to Kill and Trouble in Mind.
Andrea Stein appeared in Hard to Kill and Trouble in Mind.
The bonus features include an audio commentary with O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein, Jim Turner, Philip Holahan, and 2024 Oscar nominee Alex Mechanik, an American Cinematheque Q&A with O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein, Jim Turner, and Alex Mechanik, a Q&A with Tina, Pam, and Scotty (2023), trailers, and a 'Chain Reaction' clip. The soundtrack includes “In My Moondream,” performed by Andy Paley and Brian Wilson.
Oder Here: https://customers.mvdb2b.com/b2b/s/LIB-4055
