Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video
distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment
, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes
, Bell, Book and Candle
, Born Free
, Breakout, Buck and the Preacher
, The Deep
, Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
, Emmanuelle
, Eyes of Laura Mars
, Fun with Dick and Jane
, The Harder They Fall
, Here Comes Mr. Jordan
, A Man for All Seasons
, Midnight Express
, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
, Mysterious Island
, The New Centurions
, Shamus
, The Taming of the Shrew
, and You Light Up My Life.
It is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures library for home entertainment, mainly releases from Columbia Pictures
and TriStar Pictures
, but also releases product from Sony Pictures Classics
, Screen Gems
, Triumph Films
, Destination Films
, Revolution Studios
, Stage 6 Films
, and Affirm Films
. Since June 21, 2007, SPHE now handles its former Sony BMG kids label, Sony Wonder
.
They are also responsible for their television shows from the Sony Pictures Television library from Screen Gems
, Columbia Pictures Television
, TriStar Television
, Tandem Productions
, ELP Communications
(shows include from T.A.T. Communications to ELP Communications), Four D Productions
, Columbia TriStar Television
and Sony Pictures Television
.
In Canada, Columbia TriStar Home Video helped distribute tapes from Astral Video in the 1990s.
It also has an Australian deal with Hoyts
.
with RCA
, 1982–1991), Columbia TriStar Home Video (1991–2001), and finally Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2001–2004), before taking on its current name in fall 2004. In some territories, it still goes by its previous identity, however this may not be the case for much longer. In the United Kingdom
(and other foreign countries, mainly in Europe
), it was known as RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video during the 1980s and early '90s.
As RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and as Columbia TriStar Home Video, the company distributed many films from New Line Cinema
and a number from CineTel Films
as well as films from Miramax Films
on VHS. On May 29, 1991, General Electric
, the parent of RCA
sold its 50% share of RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video to Sony Corporation.
Columbia TriStar Home Video also distributed tapes from Turner Home Entertainment in the UK from 1994 to 1997.
SPHE has a three-year deal with Starz Media
's Anchor Bay Entertainment
for worldwide DVD releases, with the exceptions of North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
In New Zealand, Roadshow Home Video
had distributed the titles by Anchor Bay.
On February 21, 2010, The Weinstein Company
made a DVD distribution deal with SPHE through Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group
.
n operations was a joint venture between RCA/Columbia Pictures Video and local cinema company Hoyts
. It was known as RCA-Columbia Pictures-Hoyts Video, and released many local films (mainly those distributed by Hoyts, as well as Cannon Films) in addition to Columbia Pictures titles. Prior to this, some releases were handled through CEL
. In the early 1990s, the company was renamed Columbia TriStar Hoyts Home Video, before Hoyts dropped out of the partnership.
During the time that Consolidated Press Holdings, and later Publishing and Broadcasting Limited
and West Australian Newspapers owned Hoyts, they re-established the Hoyts Distribution arm of the company. SPHE Australia releases Hoyts titles, including the recent hit, Twilight
. They also released the handful of films from the Nine Network
's film arm, Nine Films and Television
.
SPHE also handles the Australian DVD distribution of Lionsgate
titles (via Hoyts), after that company was unsuccessful in purchasing Magna Pacific
, and the subsequent collapse of the successful bidder, Destra Entertainment.
The international operations are a joint venture with Universal Studios Home Entertainment
, a carry-over from the days that Universal's original international operations were as part of CIC Video
, and the current international arm of USHE was known as PolyGram Video
.
from Kirk Kerkorian
, SPHE held the domestic home entertainment rights to MGM's 4,000 film and 10,400 TV episode library, although those releases are still being distributed under the MGM DVD label. On May 31, 2006, MGM ended distribution deal with SPHE and transferred most of its output to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
, excluding Columbia TriStar MGM/UA co-releases, which will continue to be distributed by SPHE (excluding The latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace and The Pink Panther 2 however). Sony still owns 20% of MGM, but 20th has no controlling interest in MGM. In 2006, long time SPHE president Ben Feingold left the company and was replaced by MGM Home Entertainment executive Dave Bishop, who brought along numerous MGM employees to replace Sony staffers.
However in February 2011, Sony regains full distribution rights to MGM Home Entertainment
library under a deal that pays SPHE 8% in distribution fees (industry norm is 10%). Fox's deal distributing the MGM library worldwide was set to expire in September 2011, but it was extended for five more years on April 14, 2011.
SPHE also distributes Blood and Chocolate
on DVD despite the fact that MGM distributed the film on its own in selected theaters. This is because MGM had the distribution rights for it before MGM was bought.
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes
The Anderson Tapes
The Anderson Tapes is a 1971 crime film. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and stars Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, and comedian Alan King. The screenplay was written by Frank Pierson, based upon a best-selling 1970 novel of the same name by Lawrence Sanders...
, Bell, Book and Candle
Bell, Book and Candle
Bell, Book and Candle is a romantic comedy directed by Richard Quine based on the hit Broadway play by John Van Druten. It starred James Stewart and Kim Novak in their second on-screen pairing . The film, adapted by Daniel Taradash, was Stewart's last film as a romantic lead...
, Born Free
Born Free
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
, Breakout, Buck and the Preacher
Buck and the Preacher
Buck and the Preacher is a 1972 American Western film starring Sidney Poitier as Buck and Harry Belafonte as the Preacher. Buck is a trail guide leading groups of former slaves trying to homestead in the West, immediately after the American Civil War. The Preacher is a swindling minister of the...
, The Deep
The Deep (film)
The Deep is a 1977 adventure film directed by Peter Yates and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. The film stars Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset, and Nick Nolte.-Plot:...
, Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River is a British made comedy film produced by Walter Shenson starring Jerry Lewis and was released on July 12, 1968 by Columbia Pictures. It was based on Max Wilk's novel of the same name with the original Connecticut locale moved to Swinging London and...
, Emmanuelle
Emmanuelle (film)
Emmanuelle is a 1974 French softcore erotic film, directed by Just Jaeckin, and starring Sylvia Kristel. The screenplay was written by Jean-Louis Richard, based on the novel Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman by Emmanuelle Arsan. The music score is by Pierre Bachelet. The film was highly successful in...
, Eyes of Laura Mars
Eyes of Laura Mars
Eyes of Laura Mars is a 1978 thriller film starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones and directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, adapted from a spec script titled Eyes, written by John Carpenter, was Carpenter's first major studio film...
, Fun with Dick and Jane
Fun with Dick and Jane
Fun with Dick and Jane may refer to*Fun with Dick and Jane, a 1946 children's book, part of the Dick and Jane series*Fun with Dick and Jane *Fun with Dick and Jane , remake of the 1977 film...
, The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall is a film noir directed by Mark Robson, featuring Humphrey Bogart in his last film before his death in 1957. The film was written by Philip Yordan and based on the 1947 novel by Budd Schulberg....
, Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a comedy film in which a boxer, mistakenly taken to Heaven before his time, is given a second chance back on Earth. It stars Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains and Evelyn Keyes. The movie was adapted by Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller from the play Heaven Can Wait by Harry...
, A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)
A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 film based on Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More. It was released on December 12, 1966. Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who had...
, Midnight Express
Midnight Express (film)
Released on October 6, 1978, the soundtrack to Midnight Express was composed by Italian synth-pioneer Giorgio Moroder. The score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score of 1978.Side A:#Chase – Giorgio Moroder...
, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
, Mysterious Island
Mysterious Island (1961 film)
Mysterious Island is a 1961 film released by Morningside Productions. Based very loosely upon the novel The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, the film was produced by Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen. Directed by Cy Endfield, it was released through Columbia Pictures...
, The New Centurions
The New Centurions
The New Centurions is a 1972 crime drama film based on the novel by policeman turned author Joseph Wambaugh.It stars George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson, Jane Alexander, Erik Estrada and James Sikking and was directed by Richard Fleischer....
, Shamus
Shamus
Shamus may refer to:* a slang term for a private investigator** Shamus , a 1980s computer game** Shamus , a 1973 film starring Burt Reynolds** Shamus Award, for best detective fiction...
, The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew (1967 film)
The Taming of the Shrew is a 1967 film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare about a courtship between two strong-willed people...
, and You Light Up My Life.
It is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures library for home entertainment, mainly releases from Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
and TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
, but also releases product from Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics is an art-house film division of Sony Pictures Entertainment founded in December 1991 that distributes, produces and acquires specialty films from the United States and around the world. Its co-presidents are Michael Barker and Tom Bernard...
, Screen Gems
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
, Triumph Films
Triumph Films
Triumph Films is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment geared towards theatre and direct-to-video film production and distribution....
, Destination Films
Destination Films
Destination Films is Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions' independent film division. The company was originally founded and established by Brent Baum and Steve Stabler in 1999. The logo is two halves of a ring formed at the top and the bottom with a line with a crescent on one end and a star on...
, Revolution Studios
Revolution Studios
Revolution Studios is an American production company founded in 2000 by Joe Roth, a former chairman of Walt Disney Studios and 20th Century Fox. Revolution was formerly a strategic partner of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which distributed and marketed Revolution's films. The company's film division...
, Stage 6 Films
Stage 6 Films
Stage 6 Films is a label created by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions in fall 2007 that acquires, produces and distributes 10-15 low budget films and direct-to-DVD releases per year. It is Columbia TriStar's fifth specialty label. Overall, it's the 7th theatrical label by Sony Pictures...
, and Affirm Films
Affirm Films
Affirm Films is a label of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, dedicated to producing, acquiring and marketing films that are mainly aimed at evangelical Christians. The label also maintains titles such as: Fireproof, Facing the Giants, Faith Like Potatoes, Soul Surfer, and films of biblical...
. Since June 21, 2007, SPHE now handles its former Sony BMG kids label, Sony Wonder
Sony Wonder
Sony Wonder is a children and family's music and home video arm of Sony Music Entertainment, founded in 1991. The division once distributed material from Sesame Workshop and Classic Media...
.
They are also responsible for their television shows from the Sony Pictures Television library from Screen Gems
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
, Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
, TriStar Television
TriStar Television
TriStar Television was an American television production company that was launched in 1986 by TriStar Pictures . The same year, Tri-Star Television joined forces with Stephen J...
, Tandem Productions
Tandem Productions
Tandem Productions, Inc. was a film and television production company that was founded in 1958 by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear.-Tandem Productions:...
, ELP Communications
Embassy Television
...
(shows include from T.A.T. Communications to ELP Communications), Four D Productions
Danny Arnold
Danny Arnold was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing Barney Miller, That Girl and Bewitched.-Life and career:...
, Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television was the third name of the television studio Screen Gems, named after its then-current 1991 home video division....
and Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
.
In Canada, Columbia TriStar Home Video helped distribute tapes from Astral Video in the 1990s.
It also has an Australian deal with Hoyts
Hoyts
The Hoyts Group is an Australian company consisting of Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Distribution and Val Morgan.Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand cinema complexes; making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the...
.
History
The company was formerly known as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment (1979–1982), RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (a joint ventureJoint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, 1982–1991), Columbia TriStar Home Video (1991–2001), and finally Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2001–2004), before taking on its current name in fall 2004. In some territories, it still goes by its previous identity, however this may not be the case for much longer. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(and other foreign countries, mainly in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
), it was known as RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video during the 1980s and early '90s.
As RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and as Columbia TriStar Home Video, the company distributed many films from New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
and a number from CineTel Films
CineTel Films
CineTel Films Inc. is an independent film production company and distributor based in West Hollywood, California.-History:Chicago Teleproductions was a forerunner to CineTel Films. Paul Hertzberg founded CineTel Films....
as well as films from Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
on VHS. On May 29, 1991, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, the parent of RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
sold its 50% share of RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video to Sony Corporation.
Columbia TriStar Home Video also distributed tapes from Turner Home Entertainment in the UK from 1994 to 1997.
SPHE has a three-year deal with Starz Media
Starz Media
Starz Media is the motion picture, animation, television, and home video subsidiary of Liberty Media.-Subsidiaries:Starz Media's subsidiaries include:*Anchor Bay Entertainment - distribution division for DVDs and videos....
's Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
for worldwide DVD releases, with the exceptions of North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
In New Zealand, Roadshow Home Video
Roadshow Home Video
Roadshow Entertainment is a division of the Australian media company Village Roadshow . Notable releases include First Blood, Mad Max, Gallipoli, and The Terminator. Their first release was Scanners...
had distributed the titles by Anchor Bay.
On February 21, 2010, The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
made a DVD distribution deal with SPHE through Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. The company specializes in acquiring and producing films for a wide variety of distribution platforms, but the group's main focus is non-theatrical markets .SPWA was formerly a division of Sony Pictures Home...
.
Australian subsidiary
The AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n operations was a joint venture between RCA/Columbia Pictures Video and local cinema company Hoyts
Hoyts
The Hoyts Group is an Australian company consisting of Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Distribution and Val Morgan.Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand cinema complexes; making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the...
. It was known as RCA-Columbia Pictures-Hoyts Video, and released many local films (mainly those distributed by Hoyts, as well as Cannon Films) in addition to Columbia Pictures titles. Prior to this, some releases were handled through CEL
Communications and Entertainment Limited
Communications and Entertainment Limited was an Australian home video cassette distributor in the 1980s. They were originally known as Publishing and Broadcasting Video .-History:...
. In the early 1990s, the company was renamed Columbia TriStar Hoyts Home Video, before Hoyts dropped out of the partnership.
Sub-labels
During this time, the company also has and had some sub-labels, including:- First Release Home Entertainment - A mixture of B-movie, TriStar and some mainstream releases in Australia
- Video Box Office - a mixture of B-movies and some mainstream releases in Australia
- Magic Window - Children's titles
- RCA-Columbia Pictures International Video - International movies (some of these were released by CEL).
- Triumph Video (formerly SVS-Triumph) - Titles from Triumph Films, and some lesser-known Columbia and TriStar releases (It was originally founded in 1979 as Sony Video Services and was renamed after the formation of Sony Pictures.)
- Musicvision - A short-lived music video division of RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video.
- Columbia Classics - A label releasing classic films on DVD by Columbia Pictures.
- Screen Classics by Request
- SuperbitSuperbitSuperbit was a brand of premium DVD-Video versions of motion pictures from Columbia TriStar Home Video, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Superbit DVDs aimed to improve picture quality over a standard DVD edition of a feature by increasing the bit rate of the encoded video...
International sub-labels
- Gaumont-Columbia-RCA Video - A French home video label that released movies by GaumontGaumont Film CompanyGaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
, Columbia Pictures, TriStar, and Triumph Films originally formed in 1982. It was later renamed as Gaumont-Columbia TriStar Home Video in 1991.
During the time that Consolidated Press Holdings, and later Publishing and Broadcasting Limited
Publishing and Broadcasting Limited
Publishing and Broadcasting Limited was one of Australia's largest companies, with interests primarily in media and gaming. The company demerged in late 2007, spinning out its gaming interests into Crown Limited...
and West Australian Newspapers owned Hoyts, they re-established the Hoyts Distribution arm of the company. SPHE Australia releases Hoyts titles, including the recent hit, Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
. They also released the handful of films from the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's film arm, Nine Films and Television
Nine Films and Television
Nine Films and Television is the film and television production arm of the Nine Network.It produces content primarily for the network and its affiliates NBN and WIN, but also produces feature films for release in cinemas.-Television:...
.
SPHE also handles the Australian DVD distribution of Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
titles (via Hoyts), after that company was unsuccessful in purchasing Magna Pacific
Magna Pacific
Magna Pacific is a leading independent film and home entertainment distributor headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, operating within Australia and New Zealand...
, and the subsequent collapse of the successful bidder, Destra Entertainment.
Australian video distribution (with CEL Home Video)
- Thorn EMI Video Australia
- Embassy Home Entertainment
- RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video
- Thames Video (1980s) (until ABC Video replaced distribution in 1990s)
- CannonCannonA cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
(until MGM Home EntertainmentMGM Home EntertainmentMGM Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-History:The home video division of MGM started in 1979 as MGM Home Video, releasing all the movies and TV shows by MGM. In 1980, MGM joined forces with CBS Video Enterprises, the home video division of the CBS television...
replaced distribution in 2000s) - Star Video
- Australian Video
- MGM/UA Home Video (until Roadshow Home VideoRoadshow Home VideoRoadshow Entertainment is a division of the Australian media company Village Roadshow . Notable releases include First Blood, Mad Max, Gallipoli, and The Terminator. Their first release was Scanners...
replaced distribution in 1990s)
The international operations are a joint venture with Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
, a carry-over from the days that Universal's original international operations were as part of CIC Video
CIC Video
CIC Video was a home video distributor, owned by Cinema International Corporation , and operated in some countries by local operators...
, and the current international arm of USHE was known as PolyGram Video
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment was a film studio, founded in 1979 as a European competitor to Hollywood, but eventually sold and merged with Universal Pictures in 1999....
.
SPHE and MGM
Since 2005, when Sony and four partners acquired MGMMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
from Kirk Kerkorian
Kirk Kerkorian
Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian is an American businessman who is the president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian is known as one of the important figures in shaping Las Vegas and, with architect Martin Stern, Jr...
, SPHE held the domestic home entertainment rights to MGM's 4,000 film and 10,400 TV episode library, although those releases are still being distributed under the MGM DVD label. On May 31, 2006, MGM ended distribution deal with SPHE and transferred most of its output to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
, excluding Columbia TriStar MGM/UA co-releases, which will continue to be distributed by SPHE (excluding The latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace and The Pink Panther 2 however). Sony still owns 20% of MGM, but 20th has no controlling interest in MGM. In 2006, long time SPHE president Ben Feingold left the company and was replaced by MGM Home Entertainment executive Dave Bishop, who brought along numerous MGM employees to replace Sony staffers.
However in February 2011, Sony regains full distribution rights to MGM Home Entertainment
MGM Home Entertainment
MGM Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-History:The home video division of MGM started in 1979 as MGM Home Video, releasing all the movies and TV shows by MGM. In 1980, MGM joined forces with CBS Video Enterprises, the home video division of the CBS television...
library under a deal that pays SPHE 8% in distribution fees (industry norm is 10%). Fox's deal distributing the MGM library worldwide was set to expire in September 2011, but it was extended for five more years on April 14, 2011.
SPHE also distributes Blood and Chocolate
Blood and Chocolate (film)
Blood & Chocolate is a 2007 film directed by Katja von Garnier, produced by Lakeshore Entertainment and distributed by MGM. It is very loosely based on the young-adult novel of the same name by Annette Curtis Klause, which was adapted into a screenplay by Ehren Kruger. The movie was released on DVD...
on DVD despite the fact that MGM distributed the film on its own in selected theaters. This is because MGM had the distribution rights for it before MGM was bought.
Criticism
- Sony has been criticized by many DVD consumers for business practices they find bothersome; for instance, several movies (ranging from Guess Who's Coming to DinnerGuess Who's Coming to DinnerGuess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
to Moscow on the HudsonMoscow on the HudsonMoscow on the Hudson is a 1984 comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams, and directed by Paul Mazursky. Williams plays a Soviet circus musician who defects from the Soviet Union while on a visit to the United States...
) that were made available with a widescreen and pan-and-scan version on either side were reissued as pan-and-scan only titles. There was also discontent over their decision to release pan-and-scan only versions of AnnieAnnie (film)Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...
, MatildaMatilda-People:* Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England* Matilda , list of people named Matilda* Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror* Matilda of Tuscany-Media and entertainment:* Matilda , by Roald Dahl...
, and Castle KeepCastle KeepCastle Keep is a 'firmly pro- and anti-war' 1969 American war film directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Bruce Dern, and Peter Falk...
, but only in the case of the final film did the director, Sydney PollackSydney PollackSydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
, intervene and get a widescreen version issued. John HustonJohn HustonJohn Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
, director of Annie, died in 1987, and Danny DeVitoDanny DeVitoDaniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
did not comment on the DVD of his film Matilda. Annie in particular has a strange DVD history; the original 2000 DVD featured both widescreen and pan-and-scan versions of this 1982 PanavisionPanavisionPanavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...
musical, but the widescreen version was misframed, but later repressed.http://www.dvdfile.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2598&Itemid=3 However, the corrected version was pulled and replaced with a pan-and-scan only "Special Anniversary Edition" (with a DTS soundtrack) in 2004, while other countries received widescreen versions of the reissue. Similarly, Ghostbusters IIGhostbusters IIGhostbusters II is a 1989 science fiction comedy film produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. It is the sequel to the 1984 film Ghostbusters and follows the further adventures of a group of parapsychologists and their organization which combats paranormal activities...
and White Nights were released on Laserdisc letterboxed to an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, even though both titles were shot in anamorphic 2.35:1. The DVD of Ghostbusters II corrects this problem, but White Nights is still incorrectly displayed at 1.85:1.
- In another incident, the third season DVD set of Married with Children did not feature the Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
theme song Love and Marriage due to a licensing dispute between SPHE and the publishers of the song. Many fans were upset that the theme had to be replaced, and has been replaced on all subsequent sets.http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2400
- Also, some episodes of TV series the studio has released on DVD have been edited syndication versions, though most episodes are the unedited versions. One recent offense is a whole story point missing from volume 1 of Norman LearNorman LearNorman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
's satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary HartmanMary Hartman, Mary HartmanMary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
).http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=27168
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is also known to release older TV shows very slowly and then go into hiatus, e.g. All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, Diff'rent StrokesDiff'rent StrokesDiff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, One Day at a TimeOne Day at a TimeOne Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
, Mad About YouMad About YouMad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City. Reiser played Paul Buchman, a documentary film maker. Hunt played Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist...
, Fantasy IslandFantasy IslandFantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, Silver SpoonsSilver SpoonsSilver Spoons is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987...
, The JeffersonsThe JeffersonsThe Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
, MaudeMaude (TV series)Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
, Hart to HartHart to HartHart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg...
, Who's The Boss?Who's the Boss?Who's the Boss? is an American sitcom created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, which aired on ABC from September 20, 1984 to April 25, 1992...
, 227227 (TV series)227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
, and others, either because of poor sales or difficulties securing music rights. However, some shows went into release limbo but have since reappeared such as The Partridge FamilyThe Partridge FamilyThe Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
, Barney MillerBarney MillerBarney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
, Charlie's AngelsCharlie's AngelsCharlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
, and The NannyThe Nanny (TV series)The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
. Plus, for other shows such as Designing WomenDesigning WomenDesigning Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
, The Facts of LifeThe Facts of Life (TV series)The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious...
and Mad About YouMad About YouMad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City. Reiser played Paul Buchman, a documentary film maker. Hunt played Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist...
the rights have been acquired by Shout! FactoryShout! FactoryShout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
, under SPHE's license, for further DVD releases.