May 2024 Update to follow:
Almost a year ago, I wrote the depressing paragraphs you can read below expressing my doubt we’ll ever get the Blood In Blood Out five-hour cut. I’ve ended that update by saying that all we can hope for now is for the movie to be picked up by a streaming platform. And that’s exactly what happened not two days ago! Yes, it’s true, for the first time ever, you can stream Blood In Blood Out unedited director’s cut in HD on Hulu. The runtime is 3 hours and 10 minutes, just like the DVD version but in much higher quality. To illustrate just how big of a deal this is I have to tell you that the version I’ve been watching so far is the custom AI upscale from the 480p DVD source to the 2160p final video.
If you poke around the Internet, khm 1333x khm, you shall find it. The guy who did the upscale says that the upscale process took more than three weeks. The end result was the best quality of the movie I have seen until right about two days ago. The Hulu version features a lofty 5 660 kb/s bitrate quality, native 1920 x 1080 resolution, and a 23.976 framerate. So, I’m hoping someone will step up and do the AI upscale resulting in an even higher quality of footage. Sadly no AI process could generate the missing two hours we need so badly. However, at least Hulu had to find the original film, scan, enhance, and upload it for the whole thing to work.
This makes total sense since Disney owns Hulu and the rights to the movie as well. So, after more than thirty years this masterpiece is getting the recognition it deserves. And needs. Just to be perfectly clear, the version you can stream is not the five-hour cut but it shows a path forward. If people start streaming a thirty-year-old movie, it means there’s a chance that Disney can make even more money by releasing it on physical media. And if that release happens to be the cut we all want it to be, you simply know the sales will go through the roof. And Disney knows this as well. This is perhaps why we’re not seeing any official anniversary releases.
The last year was the perfect opportunity for that cash-grab but they missed it. I dare not to speculate further, let’s just all enjoy the fact we can stream this movie now and hope for the best. Since that last update, there’s been another development I want to cover. There’s a new Blood In Blood Out book edited by Jimmy Santiago Baca, Taylor Hackford, and Merrick Morton. It features not just new, never-seen-before pictures by Morton but also all kinds of interesting goodies about the movie and its themes. I consider it a must-buy for all fans of the movie and those interested in all things Chicano. Until the next update carnalitos, Vatos Locos forever!
April 2023 Update to follow:
Below these sad lines you’ll find my original and very enthusiastic text regarding the coveted Blood In Blood Out five-hour cut. It’s been almost two years since I first published it and nothing much has changed since then. Although I want to set a couple of things straight. Firstly, Merrick Morton apparently did not find the actual footage but around 8000 stills documenting the shoot. However, this does mean that there’s a chance the footage is still there, it just needs to be found. Secondly, Disney owns the rights and all the material related to the movie. And that material is stored in their vaults.
Since they’re very careful about stuff they own, it’s likely that if there’s any footage there it’s going to be usable. Thirdly, the director Taylor Hackford is still alive and making movies, with his latest one, Signal Hill currently in post-production. Both he and Merrick Morton have expressed a desire to publish a photobook with those above-mentioned stills. However, they’ve said nothing about anything else. As much as it pains me to say it, it would appear that we’re no closer to getting that five-hour cut. Finally, we should not lose hope as everything can change in an instant. I will keep updating this page regardless.
Our biggest hope is the fact that Blood In Blood Out is not available for streaming anywhere. Once it’s available on Netflix or any other streaming platform, the higher-ups will be able to see the numbers it’s generating. And once they see they can make money off a Blood In Blood Out five-hour-cut, they will try to release it. Until that happens, Vatos Locos forever!
The original news
Almost thirty years after the release of the immensely underrated sprawling crime epic Blood In Blood Out, we’re finally getting closer to seeing the whole movie! This is one of those movies you simply fall in love with on the first viewing. It’s raw, honest, and above all intelligent featuring all kinds of memorable characters and lines. Since its release in 1993, it developed a cult following all over the world. Following a group of childhood friends and their lives in the seventies, it’s not just hood, gang, and a prison movie. It’s so much more than that, detailed in this Rabbit Reviews movie recommendation.
What we’re talking about here is the Blood In Blood Out five hour cut that was supposed to be originally released. As you might have guessed the powers that be didn’t like this. They told the director to focus more on the prison footage and trim the fat. This is how we ended up with the three hour version that hit the theaters and VHS stores. We got ten more minutes of additional footage in the DVD version of the movie. The original idea was to create a trilogy, a pretty bold move for this type of production in the nineties. The first part would end with the Paco shooting, the second would focus on the prison while the third and final one would wrap things up nicely. I do not want to say in what way because that would be a spoiler.
This is just a part of the production issues for this movie. After the change of the title into Bound by Honor, moviegoers didn’t know this was the same movie. This translated into poor box office earnings. All because of the LA Riots and the rise of gangster rap. Shit, they would probably go all out if the movie was coming out in this day and age of marketing stunts. Also, the release of the American Me and the string of deaths that followed it. I know, I know, and I assure you we will get to it eventually.
So, for thirty fucking years this footage was just laying there in Disney studios when Merrick Morton, who worked as a photographer on a movie found the motherload. The footage is in good condition and usable. Now, all this is happening in August of 2021, so pretty fucking recently. This means that there are a lot of unknowns and a lot of work ahead of the crew. But the director Taylor Hackford confirmed that they are working on something. Hopefully, we will get to see Blood In Blood Out five hour cut in the next few years. I will update this article with new developments but you might wanna check ChasedByHounds first. Vatos Locos forever!
