The landmark documentary was released theatrically last summer with a new 4K restoration to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and gets a new home video release next month packed with extra bonus features.
The disc is slated for release on June 2. The 68-minute doc can currently be seen on Netflix, and this disc will add more content. Here’s the trailer for the re-release from last year:
As noted by Kino: “More than 40 years before RuPaul’s Drag Race, this ground-breaking documentary about the 1967 Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant introduced audiences to the world of competitive drag. The film takes us backstage to kiki with the contestants as they rehearse, throw shade and transform into their drag personas in the lead-up to the big event. Organized by LGBTQ icon and activist Flawless Sabrina, the competition boasted a star-studded panel of judges including Andy Warhol, Larry Rivers and Terry Southern.. But perhaps most memorable is an epic diatribe calling out the pageant’s bias delivered by Crystal LaBeija, who would go on to form the influential House of LaBeija, heavily featured in Paris Is Burning. A vibrant piece of queer history, The Queen can now be seen in full resplendence thanks to a new restoration from the original camera negative.”
The 1990 documentary Paris is Burning was also released earlier this year on home media through the Criterion Collection, also packed with bonus features. Here is the list of of special features for The Queen from Kino:
- Audio commentary by artist and producer Zackary Drucker and journalist and author Diana Tourjée
- Outtake footage
- Theatrical trailers (original and re-release)
- Interview with producer Si Litvinoff (by Shade Rupe)
- The Queen: After Party Outtakes with Jack Doroshow (by Joe E. Jeffreys)
- Flawless Sabrina: Icon/Muse, a short documentary by Michelle Handelman
- Irma Vep: The Last Breath, a short film by Michelle Handelman featuring Flawless Sabrina
- Queens at Heart, a 1967 short documentary on drag culture
- Post-screening Q&A footage with Flawless Sabrina and Zackary Drucker
- Booklet essay by Joe E. Jeffreys
The disc is available for pre-order at Kino Lorber, and should be available for purchase at most major online outlets that sell physical media.
