New Line Home Entertainment
Encyclopedia
New Line Home Entertainment (formerly known as New Line Home Video) is the home entertainment distribution arm of New Line Cinema
, founded in 1990. According to New Line's website, Misery
was the first New Line Home Video release.
It is responsible for the distribution of all New Line Cinema theatrical films for release on DVD
and Blu-ray Disc
. The company also distributes some feature films from the specialty studio Picturehouse (a New Line/HBO joint venture), as well as films or non theatrical programs produced or acquired by New Line Home Entertainment and New Line Television
.
In the early years of the video division, New Line acquired some holdings of Nelson Entertainment (whose library included films inherited from Embassy Pictures
) and released some Nelson-owned films on video, including The Graduate
and Escape From New York
, as well as Castle Rock Entertainment
films such as City Slickers
, Mr. Saturday Night
, Honeymoon in Vegas
, and the aforementioned Misery. All of these films have passed on to other companies, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and StudioCanal
.
Before New Line formed its own video division, many of the company's films were released on video by various distributors. Initial offerings of New Line product came from MGM/CBS Home Video (for The Street Fighter
and Return of the Street Fighter
) and Wizard Video
(for Pink Flamingos
, Female Trouble
, Sister Street Fighter
, and The Street Fighter's Last Revenge
). Later offerings came from RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and its successor, Columbia/TriStar Home Video
, Media Home Entertainment
(for the first five Nightmare on Elm Street
films, among others), and Live Entertainment (for the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
film, through Family Home Entertainment
). When New Line formed the video division, RCA/Columbia and Columbia/TriStar distributed VHS
releases, while Image Entertainment
releasd the films on Laserdisc
. The New Line-Columbia partnership stopped in early 1995, when Ted Turner
bought New Line and its next videos from 1994 to 1996 were distributed by Turner's video division. One New Line film the company merely distributed, The Swan Princess
, was distributed solely on video in 1995 by Turner Home Entertainment. From 1996 onward, New Line releases have been distributed by Warner Home Video
, although still under the New Line banner.
On January 5, 2008, New Line Cinema announced, as did its parent company's own film studio, Warner Bros.
, they would exclusively support Blu-ray Disc
for their films and drop support of HD DVD
. The only New Line Home Entertainment HD DVD ever released was Pan's Labyrinth
. However while New Line had its own independence from its parent company, it pursued a policy of regional lockout
with its Blu-ray titles. This was in direct contrast to its corporate sibling Warner Home Video
which left its Blu-ray titles region-free. However with the studio being folded into Warner Bros. Warner has decided to discontinue this lockout policy with future titles.
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...
, founded in 1990. According to New Line's website, Misery
Misery (film)
Misery is a 1990 American Psychological Horror Film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes...
was the first New Line Home Video release.
It is responsible for the distribution of all New Line Cinema theatrical films for release on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
. The company also distributes some feature films from the specialty studio Picturehouse (a New Line/HBO joint venture), as well as films or non theatrical programs produced or acquired by New Line Home Entertainment and New Line Television
New Line Television
New Line Television was the television arm of the company of the same name, in turn a subsidiary of Time Warner.The company was founded in 1988 in order to produce Freddy's Nightmares, a television series based on the studio's popular Nightmare on Elm Street film series...
.
In the early years of the video division, New Line acquired some holdings of Nelson Entertainment (whose library included films inherited from Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as The Graduate, The Lion in Winter, This Is Spinal Tap and Escape from New York.-Founding:The company was founded in 1942 by producer Joseph E...
) and released some Nelson-owned films on video, including The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
and Escape From New York
Escape from New York
Escape from New York is a 1981 American science fiction action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. He co-wrote the screenplay with Nick Castle. The film is set in the near future in a crime-ridden United States that has converted Manhattan Island in New York City into a maximum security...
, as well as Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment
Castle Rock Entertainment is a film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a subsidiary of Warner Bros...
films such as City Slickers
City Slickers
City Slickers is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Helen Slater and Jack Palance. Palance won an Academy Award for his performance....
, Mr. Saturday Night
Mr. Saturday Night
Mr. Saturday Night is a 1992 film that marks the directorial debut of its star, Billy Crystal.It focuses on the rise and fall of Buddy Young Jr., a fictional stand-up comedian. Crystal produced and co-wrote the screenplay with the writing duo Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz...
, Honeymoon in Vegas
Honeymoon in Vegas
Honeymoon in Vegas is a 1992 comedy film directed by Andrew Bergman and starring Nicolas Cage, James Caan and Sarah Jessica Parker.-Plot:...
, and the aforementioned Misery. All of these films have passed on to other companies, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-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...
and StudioCanal
StudioCanal
StudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...
.
Before New Line formed its own video division, many of the company's films were released on video by various distributors. Initial offerings of New Line product came from MGM/CBS Home Video (for The Street Fighter
The Street Fighter
, literally Clash, Killer Fist!, is a Japanese martial arts film released in 1974 and produced by Toei Company Ltd. It was released in the US by New Line Cinema and became one of the first films to be a commercial success for the distributor....
and Return of the Street Fighter
Return of the Street Fighter
is a 1974 martial arts film and the second in a series starting with The Street Fighter starring Sonny Chiba. In this sequel, Martial artist Takuma Tsurugi returns to take on a Yakuza family that may be embezzling money from charities to finance their own operations...
) and Wizard Video
Wizard Video
Wizard Video was a motion picture distribution company created by B movie veteran Charles Band, who would later go on to found Full Moon Features. They were best known for their VHS releases of Zombie 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and I Spit on Your Grave...
(for Pink Flamingos
Pink Flamingos
Pink Flamingos is a 1972 transgressive black comedy film written, produced, composed, shot, edited, and directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star...
, Female Trouble
Female Trouble
Female Trouble is a 1974 dark comedy film co-composed, filmed, co-edited, written, produced, and directed by John Waters starring Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, Michael Potter, Cookie Mueller, and Susan Walsh....
, Sister Street Fighter
Sister Street Fighter
is a spin off of The Street Fighter . The plot revolves around Lǐ Hóng-Lóng , the female martial artist of the title. When her brother Lǐ Wàn-Qīng is kidnapped by drug lords, she seeks revenge. The drug lord's colorful collection of "killers" includes a toga-clad group of Thai Boxers called the...
, and The Street Fighter's Last Revenge
The Street Fighter's Last Revenge
is a 1974 martial arts film and the third in a series starting with The Street Fighter starring Sonny Chiba. The film is currently in public domain.-Synopsis:...
). Later offerings came from RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and its successor, Columbia/TriStar Home Video
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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,...
, Media Home Entertainment
Media Home Entertainment
Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band....
(for the first five Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)
A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror franchise that consists of nine slasher films, a television show, novels, and comic books. The franchise began with the film series created by Wes Craven. The franchise is based on the fictional character Freddy Krueger, introduced in A Nightmare on...
films, among others), and Live Entertainment (for the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...
film, through Family Home Entertainment
Family Home Entertainment
Family Home Entertainment was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California.-General information:...
). When New Line formed the video division, RCA/Columbia and Columbia/TriStar distributed VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
releases, while Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
releasd the films on Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
. The New Line-Columbia partnership stopped in early 1995, when Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
bought New Line and its next videos from 1994 to 1996 were distributed by Turner's video division. One New Line film the company merely distributed, The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess is a 1994 American animated film based on the ballet "Swan Lake". Starring the voice talents of Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, and Sandy Duncan, the film is directed by a former Disney animation director, Richard Rich, with a music score by Lex de Azevedo...
, was distributed solely on video in 1995 by Turner Home Entertainment. From 1996 onward, New Line releases have been distributed by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
, although still under the New Line banner.
On January 5, 2008, New Line Cinema announced, as did its parent company's own film studio, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, they would exclusively support Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
for their films and drop support of HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
. The only New Line Home Entertainment HD DVD ever released was Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish Spanish-language dark fantasy film, written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company Esperanto Films...
. However while New Line had its own independence from its parent company, it pursued a policy of regional lockout
Regional lockout
Regional lockout is the programming practice, code, chip, or physical barrier used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the version of the same device marketed in another country.-Video games:...
with its Blu-ray titles. This was in direct contrast to its corporate sibling Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
which left its Blu-ray titles region-free. However with the studio being folded into Warner Bros. Warner has decided to discontinue this lockout policy with future titles.