For the 40th Anniversary, the film was rescued from director Richard Taylor's garage and restored for a one night special screening at the Wildey Theater, located in the city most of the movie was shot - Edwardsville Illinois. Some cast and crew were in attendance, and the sold out audience all received a free limited Blu Ray of the film created especially for the event. Dubbed the "Garage Edition," every single copy was personally autographed by film villain Sherry Jackson. The HD restoration, Q&A from the event, new interviews, and other unique extras were later collected in an official Blu Ray release in 2021 from Dark Force Entertainment.
Credited as "MAN IN ELEVATOR," Craig Leitner worked for years as the Wildey Theater project consultant. The Edwardsville, Illinois theater was driven by twice in the film, and later hosted the 40th Anniversary Director's Cut screening event. Craig passed away in February 2021.
In 2019, the long-lost director's cut of the movie was unearthed in Richard Taylor's garage. The original cut consisted of the unedited death scenes and additional dialogue not found in the edited PG-rated version.
Hick characters Alvin and Leroy attempt to hit the Stingray for fun, then block Lonigan and Tony from passing them on the road, only to end up with a grenade blowing up their pickup as their comeuppance. They clearly ended up unharmed because they can be seen hanging around at the Ronnie B's bar later in the film.
Villain actor Bert Hinchman was dealing with health issues leading up to the 40th Anniversary screening at the Wildey Theater in 2019. He later said the night was very special to him because it was one of his biggest roles and he very much enjoyed watching it with a packed house of fans followed by signing autographs with them as well as the live Q&A. That Q&A is featured on the Dark Force Entertainment 2021 Blu Ray release. Sadly, Bert passed away a year after the screening.