‘Detroit Rock City’ Director Talks New Blu-ray Release, Says the Movie ‘Keeps Growing in Popularity’

A little over 15 years after it flopped in theaters, Detroit Rock City has made its Blu-ray debut, and director Adam Rifkin couldn't be happier.

Rifkin looked back on the movie during a recent interview with Journey of a Frontman, discussing various elements and decisions that went into the making of his Kiss-inspired comedy, and firmly stood behind the flop that turned into a cult classic. "I’m very proud of this film," said Rifkin. "To me, one of the things that I wanted to create when we made it was a real sense of teenage rebellion. I wanted to somehow capture the spirit of teenage rebellion, that time in your life when you’re not a kid anymore, but you’re not an adult. It’s your last hurrah to be a genuine teenage rebel. I really wanted to capture that. I felt we did it when we made the movie."

Saying he believes Detroit Rock City speaks to the rebellious teenager in all of us, Rifkin argued that's the source of the film's main appeal and the reason it keeps being "rediscovered and rediscovered" on the home video market. "I think it’s why it’s had all these legs for all these many years," he suggested. "There are many movies that came out the same year as Detroit Rock City and made a lot of money at the box office, yet nobody’s talking about those movies anymore. But Detroit Rock City is one of those movies that just keeps on growing in popularity. I thank the fans because that is just such an amazing compliment, it means so much to me. It speaks to that teenage rebellion that is universal."

The proof of its popularity, as Rifkin went on to point out, is the fact that it's getting released on the hi-def format at all. "You have no idea how long of a list of movies, of classic films that Warner Bros. has that will never be Blu-ray," he insisted. "There’s just such a big list and it costs so much money to properly transfer these movies to Blu-ray. The fact that our movie is one of the ones that they did pick to put out on Blu-ray, it’s just fantastic."

The new Blu-ray edition of Detroit Rock City, which includes deleted scenes and a behind-the-scenes featurette as well as commentary tracks from Rifkin and members of Kiss, is available now.

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