Irvin Shapiro
Encyclopedia
Irvin Shapiro was an American
producer, film importer and distributor
who was responsible for introducing a number of influential foreign films to the United States, as well as handling the early work of some noted directors.
In the early 1920s, while still a teenager, he developed an interest in cinema, writing film reviews for the Washington Herald
and later managing the Wardman Park Hotel Theatre, a local cinema. Moving to New York
, he became involved in the distribution of foreign films in America and independent films overseas, as well as working for a year at the publicity office of RKO Pictures
. In 1932, he set up World Pictures (later renamed to Films Around The World) a film distribution company which also worked on the development of specialist cinemas. He headed the company until 1985, when he was forced to sell due to health problems (he was suffering from Parkinson's disease
).
Shapiro founded another company in 1943, Film Classics, which dealt with film reissues
and American releases of British Gaumont Films. In the 1950s, obtaining the rights to some 1940s films produced by MGM (among others), he became a pioneer in the release of films to television through his Unity Television that he co-founded in 1949.
In over five decades as a distributor, Shapiro introduced American cinema-goers to many European films, including The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
(d. Robert Wiene
, 1920
), The Battleship Potemkin
(d. Sergei Eisenstein
, 1925
), The Grand Illusion
(d. Jean Renoir
, 1937
), Les Cousins
(d. Claude Chabrol
, 1959
) and Breathless (d. Jean-Luc Godard
, 1960
), and he was instrumental in helping end the American boycott of German films after World War II
. He was also the first to handle films by American directors such as Martin Scorsese
, Stanley Kubrick
, George A. Romero
, Sidney J. Furie
and Sam Raimi
(whose first film, The Evil Dead
(1981
), had its title suggested by Shapiro), and was one of the founders of the Cannes Film Festival
(which The Evil Dead was later shown at). In many interviews and public comments, Sam Raimi
and Bruce Campbell
(the chief creative forces behind The Evil Dead) have described Shapiro as an eccentric but extremely talented film producer, and frequently perform an impression of Shapiro, with a thick, raspy voice, explaining how to market their film. Raimi has credited Shapiro with his early success.
Irvin Shapiro died at his home in New York on 1 January 1989, due to complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 82.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
producer, film importer and distributor
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
who was responsible for introducing a number of influential foreign films to the United States, as well as handling the early work of some noted directors.
Biography
Shapiro was born on 6 August 1906 in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In the early 1920s, while still a teenager, he developed an interest in cinema, writing film reviews for the Washington Herald
Washington Herald
The Washington Herald was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939. The Herald merged with the Washington Times on February 1, 1939, to become the Washington Times-Herald, which was purchased and merged with The Washington Post in 1954....
and later managing the Wardman Park Hotel Theatre, a local cinema. Moving to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he became involved in the distribution of foreign films in America and independent films overseas, as well as working for a year at the publicity office of RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
. In 1932, he set up World Pictures (later renamed to Films Around The World) a film distribution company which also worked on the development of specialist cinemas. He headed the company until 1985, when he was forced to sell due to health problems (he was suffering from Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
).
Shapiro founded another company in 1943, Film Classics, which dealt with film reissues
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
and American releases of British Gaumont Films. In the 1950s, obtaining the rights to some 1940s films produced by MGM (among others), he became a pioneer in the release of films to television through his Unity Television that he co-founded in 1949.
In over five decades as a distributor, Shapiro introduced American cinema-goers to many European films, including The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 1920 silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the most influential of German Expressionist films and is often considered one of the greatest horror movies of the silent era. This movie is cited as...
(d. Robert Wiene
Robert Wiene
Robert Wiene was an important film director of the German silent cinema.Robert Wiene was born in Breslau, as the elder son of the successful theatre actor Carl Wiene. His younger brother Conrad also became an actor, but Robert Wiene at first studied law at the University of Berlin. In 1908 he also...
, 1920
1920 in film
The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 27 - The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks opens.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1920:U.S.A. unless stated*The $1,000,000 Reward...
), The Battleship Potemkin
The Battleship Potemkin
The Battleship Potemkin , sometimes rendered as The Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm...
(d. Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
, 1925
1925 in film
-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
), The Grand Illusion
Grand Illusion (film)
Grand Illusion is a 1937 French war film directed by Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak. The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape.The title of the film comes from a...
(d. Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
, 1937
1937 in film
The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
), Les Cousins
Les Cousins (film)
Les Cousins is a 1959 French New Wave drama film directed by Claude Chabrol. It tells the story of two cousins, the decadent Paul and the naive Charles. Charles falls in love with Florence, one of Paul's friends...
(d. Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol was a French film director, a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s...
, 1959
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) and Breathless (d. Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, 1960
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
), and he was instrumental in helping end the American boycott of German films after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was also the first to handle films by American directors such as Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
, George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
, Sidney J. Furie
Sidney J. Furie
Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing American Soldiers, The IPCRESS File, The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues, The Boys, Gable and Lombard, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York and the Iron Eagle films.Also...
and Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
(whose first film, The Evil Dead
The Evil Dead
The Evil Dead is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Betsy Baker. The film is a story of five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a wooded area...
(1981
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
), had its title suggested by Shapiro), and was one of the founders of the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
(which The Evil Dead was later shown at). In many interviews and public comments, Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
and Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
(the chief creative forces behind The Evil Dead) have described Shapiro as an eccentric but extremely talented film producer, and frequently perform an impression of Shapiro, with a thick, raspy voice, explaining how to market their film. Raimi has credited Shapiro with his early success.
Irvin Shapiro died at his home in New York on 1 January 1989, due to complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 82.