'Earthlings' Special Extended DVD Edition Released Today

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nation Earth, a film production company dedicated to socially urgent issues, today released a new special edition DVD of its award-winning film Earthlings, a feature-length documentary about the suffering of animals used for food, fashion, pets, entertainment and medical research. Considered one of the most persuasive documentaries ever made, Earthlings is nicknamed “the Vegan maker” by fans for its frank, straightforward presentation of the day-to-day practices in some of the largest industries in the world.

“We hope this new edition provides viewers with some additional experiences that will make showing the film to friends and in viewing parties even more effective and enlightening.”

“Of all the films I have ever made, this is the one that gets people talking the most,” said Academy Award® nominee Joaquin Phoenix, who narrates the film. “For every one person who sees Earthlings, they will tell three.” Earthlings includes never-before-seen footage from animal shelters, pet stores, puppy mills, factory farms, slaughterhouses, the leather and fur trades, sporting events, circuses and other entertainment industries, as well as medical research facilities – all of whom exploit animals for profit.

Earthlings has earned awards from film festivals both nationwide and internationally. The Humane Society of the United States uses Earthlings as a training film in their orientation for new volunteers and employees, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals calls it “the most comprehensive documentary film ever produced about the correlation between humankind, nature, animals, and the economy.” The new edition includes extra commentary by writer/director Shaun Monson, and more than 25 minutes of deleted scenes with additional narration by Joaquin Phoenix and two featurettes. Subtitles now are offered in 10 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Russian, Arabic and Hindi.

“The response and support from fans around the world who have been empowered to make a difference in the lives of animals, and in their own lives, has been extremely gratifying,” said Monson. “We hope this new edition provides viewers with some additional experiences that will make showing the film to friends and in viewing parties even more effective and enlightening.”

Along with this reissue, Nation Earth has upgraded the Earthlings DVD package to the most eco-friendly available on the market today. Instead of plastic cases, the DVD packaging is 100 percent recycled paper – 80 percent of it post-consumer – and printed with soy ink.

About Earthlings

In 1999, writer/director Shaun Monson began work on a series of PSAs about spaying and neutering pets. The footage he shot at animal shelters around Los Angeles affected him so profoundly that the project soon evolved into Earthlings, a feature-length documentary about how dependent human beings are on animals, primarily in five key areas: pets, food, clothing, entertainment and science. The film, which is narrated by Academy Award® nominee Joaquin Phoenix and features music by platinum-selling recording artist Moby, would take another six years to complete because of the difficulty in obtaining footage within these industries.

Though the film was initially ignored by distributors, who told Monson that the film would “never see the light of day and should be swept under the rug,” today Earthlings is considered “the definitive animal rights film of all time” by animal welfare organizations around the world. It has been in the top 50 most downloaded films on Google Video for more than a year, with bloggers heralding it as “one of the most persuasive documentaries ever made.” The Earthlings trailer can be viewed at http://www.earthlings.com/earthlings/trailer-streaming-3.php.

About Nation Earth

Nation Earth was established to produce documentary films on socially urgent issues. Earthlings, released in 2005, was the company's first feature film and is the first of a documentary trilogy. The company is currently at work on the second installment, Unity, which will explore the unifying force of consciousness found in nature, animals and humankind, to be released in 2009. For more information please see www.earthlings.com.