NEWS ! - Criterion affected - Home Vision bought by Image Entertainment (1 Viewer)

[Gary Tooze]

As of August 1st, circa 3 pm, Home Vision as we all knew it ceased to exist. Home Vision will now be a "specialty label" owned and operated by Image Entertainment. Image will be closing the Chicago location to "consolidate" Home Vision's label to their corporate offices in California.

As to what this means besides a lot of unemployed cinephiles and heartbreaks remains to be seen. Image is contractually obligated to release any future Home Vision titles that where already in the works or which had already been contracted. Image's "lenient" quality control will certainly play a part in any future "Home Vision" release so beware.

Criterion remains an independently owned company. This deal formalizes a 100% distribution deal between Image and Criterion lasting through the end of 2010. More to follow as we find out.

Will post more here updates:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/

Best,
Gary

 

[Ike]

This sounds pretty bad for the HVE label which seemed like it was coming into it's own. Do we know how this will effect Criterion? The distribution line makes it sound as if they won't be involved in development.

 

[Gary Tooze]

The family behind Home Vision cashed out instead of trudging forward in a "difficult and consolidating" market. They referenced the fairly recent buyouts of Koch Lorber and Wellspring as part of a trend intensifying in the DVD market as the threat of HD-DVD/Bly-Ray looms.

Here is another article

http://www.dvdexclusive.com/article.asp?articleID=2298

Best,
Gary

 

[Ruz-El]

WAs it Criterion or home vision that were talking of doing a cult speciality label? I was looking forward to that, I wonder if that is now toast with this sale?

 

[oscar_merkx]

http://videostoremag.com/news/html/b...rticle_ID=7843

 

[Brian PB]

All I can say is that Image Entertainment must have one heckuva versatile marketing department to be able to promote films like The Rules of the Game, Tokyo Story, and Au hasard Balthazar alongside Midnight Plowboy, Wham! Bam! Thank You, Spaceman, and Curious Dr. Humpp.

Talk about a diverse catalog! Eden meets Sodom and Gomorrah...

 

[ChristianB]

Image and Criterion are both distributed/handled by the same company here in Canada so it'll be hard to gauge whether there will be any changes (if any).

Christian

 

[Scott Temple]

I wonder if there's any chance of getting a 16x9 SE of Picnic at Hanging Rock?

 

[Gary Tooze]

There are 3 editions here...

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCom...nging-rock.htm

Unless you are region locked.

Best,
Gary

 

[Damin J Toell]

Each year, Image usually releases the largest number of titles out of any label/distributor/studio. They have been handling a diverse catalog for a very long time.

DJ

 

[ChristopherDAC]

If anybody cares, the very first Image releases were pornographic in nature. For reference, look up "I0002": it's a LaserDisc, "Marilyn Chambers: Up & Coming". It wasn't long after that that they began picking up horror, independents, older films, and other things the main-line LD priducers [Pioneer Entertainment and the studio labels] weren't handling. To put it bluntly, "diverse catalogue" is their whole business, consolidating a lot of product lines which would otherwise just squeak by, or maybe just miss squeaking by.

 

[Ike]

The problem isn't their diversity, but their quality.

 

[Lord Dalek]

If it's from a distribution standpoint (like the previous HVE relationship), then I'm ok with it. If Image is going to actually handle the authoring of Criterion's discs, then I'm gonna protest.

 

[Mark_TS]

Scott, by all means, get the German edition of PICKNICK AM VALENTINSTAG
(PAHR) if you can-It is a remarkable 16:9 transfer, plus the scenes deleted from the original version,

 

[Robert Harris]

This event would seem to have minimal, if any affect on HV's quality ( and none on Criterion's). This is a cost-cutting measure, and positive for Image, the stock price of which has been sagging of late.

Image is a large, well run independant, in a studio world. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the major's (News Corp., etc.) going after Image's ownership in the near future.

 

[Jon Martin]

I don't think there is anything to really worry about here. Image was one of the biggest laserdisc distributors so, while some of their DVDs may not have been the greatest, they have been around for quite a while, working with the major studios in the LD days.

 

[Mike_Richardson]

What's the big deal? Criterion released LDs for years and years, and Home Vision had nothing to do with them back in those days.

Didn't Home Vision merely DISTRIBUTE Criterion titles? Quite honestly it's not going to have much of an effect, if any, on Criterion's upcoming discs.

 

[Mike_Richardson]

Have you seen Image's outstanding TWILIGHT ZONE remastered box sets? Those look fantastic..and the box sets have comprehensive supplements every bit as good as you'd expect from a Criterion title, too.

 

[Amy Mormino]

Image's Dick Van Dyke Show set is also extremely impressive from all the reports its gotten on the TV forum. Actually, in a way their releases of that and The Twilight Show are the equivalent of Criterion TV releases, given their high quality and higher than usual price.

 

[Frank*C]

I also believe that there will be no artistic involvement on the part of Image with the Criterion line and this news seems to go hand in hand with the long proposed new 'cult line' that Criterion is branching out into (ECLIPSEDVD.COM). HVE has done a great job with titles that haven't quite made the grade to be released as Criterion, some (Blackmail Is My Life, A Brief Vacation, La Cérémonie, Cure, Mr. Klein, Louisiana Story, Pale Flower, Time Without Pity, and The Yakuza Papers among others)that should have been released by Criterion. I feel sorry for those who lost their jobs and hope that this will strenghten Criterion's position in a market that surely needs the contribution that they provide. As most of us know, Criterion has singlehandly elevated the standards for quality transfers and extras for the entire industry.