Eyes On The Prize / rights update (1 Viewer)

[TimJS]

Last December, after many efforts, I was able to make contact with representatives from Blackside Inc., the production company of the acclaimed civil rights doc, Eyes on The Prize . They told me that they were in the process of re-acquiring the rights so that the series could be re-broadcast and released on DVD.

A few weeks after I contacted Blackside, several stories broke in the press illustrating the scope of the rights acquisition minefield which would have crossed in order to make this possible. I have provided links below for your reading pleasure.

Recent announcements of donations & grants mean that the series will probably be televised in the fall of next year (tho there may be differences in the soundtrack). The DVDs, "...for educational distribution, may be ready by next summer." I assume that means that the DVDs will be priced for institutions, probably several hundred bucks. Don't know what it means for release date/pricing of commercial distribution for the Home Video Market.

In chronological order:

Bleary Days for Eyes on the Prize

'Eyes on the Prize,' off the shelf

Cash Rescues Eyes on the Prize

Tim

 

[Ravi K]

NPR ran a story about this last week. I hope they clear the rights for commercial sales soon. They've only cleared educational rights so far. Maybe prominent African-Americans will contribute to this, like they did with the costs of Spike Lee's Malcolm X that WB would not pay for?

 

[TimJS]

A brief update, PRNnewswire has posted a story announcing that EOTP will be rebroadcast on the American Experience this fall. Hopefully, this means that a DVD will be available soon thereafter.

Tim

 

[oscar_merkx]

Thanks for an update on this

 

[Ronald G]

Both series? If I remember correctly there were basically 2 series, are both being redone and broadcast i wonder?

 

[TimJS]

Part 1 (1987) = 6 hrs
Part 2 (1990) = 8 hrs

Tim

 

[Phil_L]

These programs were fantastic. My father has had VHS copies for years that he uses in his classes, and I have had the privilege of watching them. This series deserves a release on DVD, and I am sure it would find lots of eager buyers.