More than 30 years after burying it, Disney is digging it up “Blood in, blood out.”
The 1993 crime drama will be available to stream on Hulu starting May 1, a company spokesperson confirmed to The Times.
Directed by Oscar winner Taylor Hackford, “Blood In Blood Out” follows the lives of three Mexican-American cousins as they navigate life in East Los Angeles. The film's depiction of gang and prison violence worried Disney executives (it was released by Hollywood Pictures, a now-defunct label owned by the media giant) who opted to limit its theatrical release and give it a new name, “Bound by Honor.”
The film was largely criticized and bombed.
Despite its failure at the box office, “Blood In Blood Out” found a second life thanks to home video and word of mouth. The film would become a cult classic, embraced in particular by Latin audiences; Currently, an unauthorized upload of the film has garnered over 6 million views on YouTube.
“The powers that be did not support the film, but it was the people who gave it longevity. It was the people who made it popular. It was the people who constantly said, 'We love this movie, it speaks to us,'” screenwriter Jimmy Santiago Baca told The Times in 2023.
“There is no greater satisfaction when you are a writer than when you touch someone's heart in a way that validates their life experience.”
Interest in the film has not waned. In January, hundreds of fans packed the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA for a screening of the film, the first time it had been shown in a theater since its release. The screening was part of a release party celebrating the publication of “Blood In Blood Out,” a companion book explaining the making of the film.
“This 30th anniversary of 'Blood In Blood Out' (both the screening at Cal State LA and the publication of our book by Hat & Beard Press) has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the entire cast and crew.” Hackford said.
“Now, Hulu’s decision to stream the original unedited version is the icing on the cake, both for us and for the Latino community across the United States that has made this film the classic it is.”
De Los contributing writer Carlos Aguilar contributed to this report.
