NATIONAL FILM PRESERVATION FOUNDATION RELEASES GROUNDBREAKING "TREASURES FROM AMERICAN FILM ARCHIVES: 50 PRESERVED FILMS"
San Francisco, CA (October 3, 2000) The National Film Preservation Foundation, the nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to save America's film heritage, today announced the release of a groundbreaking 4-DVD box set, Treasures from American Film Archives: 50 Preserved Films.
Distributed by Image Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISK), a leading licensee and distributor of DVDs in North America, Treasures marks the first time ever that America's archives have joined forces to share their films with home video audiences. The project is made possible through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Net proceeds from the sale of this set will support further film preservation.
The unprecedented 11-hour collection shows the amazing range of American films that survive today thanks to the efforts of participating archives: Academy Film Archive, Alaska Film Archives, Anthology Film Archives, George Eastman House, Japanese American National Museum, Library of Congress, Minnesota Historical Society, Museum of Modern Art, National Archives and Records Administration, National Center for Jewish Film, New York Public Library, Northeast Historic Film, Pacific Film Archive, Smithsonian Institution, UCLA Film and Television Archive, and West Virginia State Archives.
From the first publicly exhibited movie to cutting-edge, avant garde works, Treasures presents silent-era features, pioneering special effects, landmark independent productions, documentaries, newsreels, animation, political ads, and home movies made from coast to coast.
The overwhelming majority of the films in Treasures have never been available on home video. Mastered from the finest archival sources, the selections include the first feature-length Snow White (1916), Western star William S. Hart in Hell's Hinges (1916), The Toll of the Sea (1922) in two-strip Technicolor, The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) by Webber & Watson, Rose Hobart (1936) by Joseph Cornell, and footage of Orson Welles's 1936 "Voodoo" Macbeth. All films without original soundtracks are accompanied by newly recorded scores.
The Treasures DVD set features numerous bonus supplements. Over 300 interactive screens discuss the films and music, illustrated essays introduce each of the participating archives, and a fully illustrated 150-page book provides an in-depth look at each film and its context.
"Treasures from American Film Archives will change how we think about film history and the people who have made movies," said National Film Preservation Foundation board member Laurence Fishburne, who provided narration for the supplemental material.
The National Film Preservation Foundation is the nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to save America's film heritage. Since opening its doors in 1997, the NFPF has supported film preservation in archives in 22 states and the District of Columbia, preserving over 275 films and collections. The NFPF will announce its 2001 grant program this fall. It depends entirely on private contributions to support operations.
Image Entertainment, Inc. is a leading aggregator of content for DVD with nearly 1,200 Image-exclusive DVD titles in release. The Company maintains its distribution facility in Las Vegas, Nevada and is one of the largest distributors of DVD programming in North America. Additionally, the Company owns and operates an e-commerce subsidiary, DVDPlanet.com.
Treasures from American Film Archives: 50 Preserved Films
Image Catalog #: NATD9706DVD
UPC: 014381970623
DVD S.R.P.: $99.99
Not Rated
642 minutes
Streetdate: October 3, 2000
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