RONNIE JAMES DIO Documentary 'Dreamers Never Die' To Receive DVD And Blu-Ray Release In September

During an appearance on this past Wednesday's (April 26) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Wendy Dio was asked if "Dio: Dreamers Never Die", the first-ever career-spanning documentary on the life and times of legendary metal icon Ronnie James Dio, will get a DVD and Blu-Ray release in the near future. Ronnie's widow and longtime manager responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, yes, absolutely. That's in the works. In fact, I was just singing off on the credits today. And that will be out on Mercury through Universal in September. It comes out on Blu-ray and on DVD, and there's so much bonus stuff on it too; there's a whole bunch of bonus stuff that never made it to the film that will be in there. So I'm excited about that. Of course it's still on Showtime, but a lot of the people in Europe and stuff didn't get it at all unless they saw it when it was in theaters. So now it will go worldwide."

Elaborating on the bonus footage that will be available with the DVD and Blu-ray, Wendy said: "The thing was there was so much material that we had, it would have been a five-hour movie. So a lot of the stuff, unfortunately, had to [be] cut out. But there's different stories — Simon [Wright, former DIO drummer] talking about Ronnie, there's some Jack Black content, there's some content about me saying some different things. There's some content with Wyn Davis, who was Ronnie's engineer that's revealing different things about stuff. There's lots of interesting stuff that was in there, but we had to cut a lot of stuff out because it just would have been way too long. But now they're getting to have the bonus stuff, extra stuff that would have been included if we had time."

Speaking about the response to "Dio: Dreamers Never Die", Wendy said: "I went to the premiere in London, and Tony Iommi [BLACK SABBATH] was there and a bunch of other guests were there, lots of other musicians. And around the world everybody can't wait, because they only saw it in theaters for two days, and then it was gone. And so now they've all been waiting with bated breath for the DVD to come out. So everybody's very, very excited about it. We got 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes [the online review aggregation service that allows both critics and the public to rate movies], which is unheard of."

Wendy went on to say that making "Dio: Dreamers Never Die" was "a bittersweet journey, but I wanted the fans to see certain things that even the diehard fans didn't know about Ronnie, which were in there — the accident [1968 car crash that killed guitarist Nick Pantas], the doo-wop days — things that even the really, really hardcore fans didn't know about certain things that we wanted to put in there," she explained. "It's a journey through life, and, as I said, it's a bittersweet journey, but I think Ronnie would be happy and proud of it… I'm very, very happy with it."

"Dio: Dreamers Never Die" had its television premiere last December on Showtime. It is also available to stream via the Showtime app.

Executive-produced by Wendy and fully authorized by the artist's estate, "Dio: Dreamers Never Die" delves deep into the singer's incredible rise from a '50s doo-wop crooner to his early rock days in ELF and Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW, to replacing Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH, and finally cementing his rock star status with his own band, DIO. The film incorporates never-before-seen footage and personal photos, as well as offering intimate scenes with his closest peers, family, and friends, among them Wendy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, Lita Ford, Rob Halford, Sebastian Bach, Eddie Trunk and Jack Black, as they bring viewers inside the life of one of rock and roll's true heroes and one of the most beloved figures in rock.

Asked in an interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio about her previous comment that her mission in life now is to carry on Ronnie's legacy, Wendy said: "I just think that Ronnie was always overlooked during the time that he was alive. And after his passing, I just felt that his music was something that he wrote for the fans, he performed for the fans. He loved his fans and that should continue on and carry on. That's one of the reasons why we did the documentary, was so that people could understand him, understand his life and where he came from and the trials and tribulations he had. He wasn't an overnight success. He paid his dues, for sure. And also to get his message out there. Ronnie's message was always, like, follow your heart, follow your dreams [and] don't give up."

Wendy also talked about her first reaction to seeing "Dio: Dreamers Never Die", saying: "When they put the film together and we had a private screening for me, it was my first chance to see all the little bits put together, and it was very bittersweet. I broke down and cried. And it was just exactly how I wanted Ronnie to be portrayed. They had done such a magnificent job. And that was just really, really — after all the hard work we all put into it, it was, like, 'Woah.' I think the fans are absolutely gonna love it."

Ronnie James Dio, who died of gastric cancer in 2010, reigns as one of the most influential rock artists of all time and one of the greatest vocalists ever. With an illustrious recording career spanning from the 1950's through to the 2000s, the documentary follows his trajectory from sideman into singer, songwriter and frontman of not one, but three of rock's internationally renowned, multi-platinum-selling arena attractions: RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH and DIO. Famous for popularizing the 'devil horns' hand gesture that is now synonymous with hard rock and heavy metal music, Dio was known for not wavering in his pursuit of his rock and roll dreams and continues to influence a new generation of music artists. His fans the world over remember him not only for his massive talent, but for his kindness, resulting in millions of dollars raised for cancer research in his memory.

"Dio: Dreamers Never Die" was financed solely by BMG and was directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton ("Framing John DeLorean", "Believer", "Last Days Here"),produced by Don Argott and Sheena Joyce for 9.14 Pictures, and executive-produced by Wendy Dio for Niji Productions and Kathy Rivkin Daum for BMG.

Ronnie James Dio passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with BLACK SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

Dio's autobiography, titled "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released in July 2021 via Permuted Press.