MANOS: THE SOUNDTRACK OF FATE

What if one of the worst movies ever made was treated as if it was one of the greatest?

That's what appears to be happening with 1966's MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE, which is witnessing a merchandising renaissance worthy of STAR WARS. Not only is the film getting a digital restoration on Blu-ray and DVD in October, but the movie's soundtrack will be released on vinyl in September.

The soundtrack features liner notes from Videoscope columnist Tim Ferrante and artwork from Garrett T. McDonald. A "Master Variant" edition in red and black vinyl will also be available. You can listen to a sample HERE.

You can add these products to a heap that already includes both MST3K and RiffTrax versions of the film, the puppet-show "re-imagining" MANOS: THE HANDS OF FELT, a documentary titled MANOS: THE LOCATIONS OF FATE, and at least one video game adaption. All of which begs the question, "Dude? What the fuck?" (Note: That might actually be two questions.)

At heart, I'm an anarchist, so I adore watching things turn to shit. But I think we might actually have hit some sort of post-ironic wall with our collective obsession with the tragically terrible. I never imaged, way back in 1993 when MANOS first aired on MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, that we'd still be talking about the film more than 20 years later. And I'm not sure this fascination is a healthy thing.

That being said, I'm totally ordering the soundtrack.

Don't be like me, kids!

Via: Amazon

MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE coming to Blu-ray in October

MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE is coming to Blu-ray later this year, further proof that God is real (and that he really, really hates us).

Synapse Films shared the the cover art on Facebook yesterday for the upcoming restoration of the 1966 camp favorite. Targeted for an October release, the HD edition features cover art by Joel Robinson. The disc's extras are expected to be announced sometime next week. UPDATE: Here are dic's specs:

• New 2K restoration
• Audio commentary featuring Tom “The Master” Neyman and Jackey Raye “Debbie” Neyman-Jones
• HANDS: THE FATE OF “MANOS” featurette
• RESTORING THE HANDS OF FATE featurette
• FELT: THE PUPPET HANDS OF FATE featurette
• MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE: “Grindhouse Unrestored Version” (BLU-RAY ONLY BONUS)

Release date: Oct. 13, 2015

MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE entered the public consciousness thanks to MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, which skewered the previously forgotten film back in 1993. It was the worst kind of revelation, a movie so grotesquely incompetent that it almost defies description. It's also one of the most beloved episodes of MST3K ever, and some of that television show's cult status gradually rubbed off on MANOS.

The production of the film is probably more interesting than its actual plot. MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE is the work of quadruple threat Harold P. Warren, who wrote, directed, produced and stars in the film. To give you an idea of how incompetent this movie is, Warren shot is using a 16 mm Bell & Howell camera capable of capturing only 32 seconds of film at the time. It's a lurching, unwatchable mess that's also irresistible to fans of "disasterpiece cinema." I happen to be one of those people and look forward to seeing what Synapse delivers.

In 2011, an original 16 mm workprint of the film was discovered by Ben Solovey, a Florida State film school grad, who quickly launched a Kickstarter campaign to restore the film in HD. He managed to raise $48,000 for the project ... almost five times the amount of the campaign's goal.

According to the distributor's Facebook page, Synapse is "fast-tracking" MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE for an October release, and promises that crowdfunding backers will receive copies sometime ahead of the street date.

Over at Solovey's official MANOS IN HD website, though, the tone is a little less uncertain about that release date. While it's mentioned that the disc will include audio commentary and a pair of documentaries, there's also a reminder that the production process for this kind of project is more involved that it might appear. "The retail release of the disc is determined not only by the length of this quality control process, but by when the company’s resources will best support the mass duplication and distribution of the final product," someone (presumably Solovey) explains at MANOS IN HD.

At the moment, the most fun (and painless) way to watch MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE is the "live" Rifftrax version from 2013. Not coincidentally, the Rifftrax crew is made up of actors and writers from MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, who are still atoning for the sin of releasing this movie back into the wild.

It's currently streaming on Hulu and you can watch it below. If this is your first time with MANOS, you can thank me for the introduction in the comments section.