Elite Entertainment was an American home media distribution company, founded by Vincent Bancalari and Don May, Jr. in 1993.[1] The company specialized in LaserDisc and later, DVD releases of horror, science fiction, and cult films, many of which were public domain titles. Their first release was George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), which they distributed on LaserDisc in 1994.
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Industry | Home video |
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Founded | 1993[1] |
Defunct | 2003 |
Headquarters | Rockaway, New Jersey, U.S. |
Products | DVD, LaserDisc |
Owner |
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History
editElite Entertainment formed between Vincent Bancalari and Don May, Jr. in April 1993.[1] Both were working in the video distribution industry, and in conversation lamented the poor transfer of a recent home video release of Night of the Living Dead (1968).[1] In January 1994, they managed to secure a distribution rights deal with the filmmakers,[2] and subsequently crafted a series of special features for the release, including audio commentaries recorded in the ensuing months.[3] Elite Entertainment released Night of the Living Dead on LaserDisc in November 1994 in a 2-disc set.[4]
The company continued to release a series of cult horror films on LaserDisc throughout the 1990s, including The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, God Told Me To, Invaders from Mars, Maniac, and I Spit on Your Grave, among others.[4] Several unrealized releases included Eaten Alive (originally due for a September 1998 LaserDisc release),[4] as well as a LaserDisc double feature of The Boogeyman and The Devonsville Terror, originally due for a December 1998 release; the latter two films were subsequently released as a double-feature DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment.[4]
In the late-1990s, the company transitioned to releasing titles on DVD, including re-releases of several titles they previously released on LaserDisc, including I Spit on Your Grave in 2002.[5] In 2000, the company released The House on Sorority Row for the first time on DVD.[6] By 2000, the company had a total of 15 DVD releases in their catalogue, approximately one-third of which were public domain titles.[7]
Select releases
edit- Note: Films listed in order of first release by Elite Entertainment.
Title | Format(s) | Released | Letterboxed | No. discs |
Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Night of the Living Dead | LaserDisc | November 1994 | No | 3 | 25th anniversary collector's edition | [8] |
November 23, 1996 | No | 1 | Standard edition | [4] | ||
DVD | July 10, 1997 | No | 1 | Collector's edition | ||
March 12, 2002 | No | 1 | Millennium Edition | |||
Horror Hotel | LaserDisc | December 28, 1994 | Yes | 1 | [9] | |
Maniac | LaserDisc | March 28, 1995 | Yes | 1 | Director's cut | |
DVD | December 9, 1998 | Yes | 1 | Director's cut | [10] | |
A Nightmare on Elm Street | LaserDisc | March 4, 1996 | Yes | 2 | Collector's edition | [11] |
Yes | 1 | Standard edition | [4] | |||
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge | LaserDisc | June 18, 1996 | Yes | 1 | [4] | |
Lisa and the Devil | LaserDisc | August 1996 | Yes | 2 | Double feature | [12] |
Baron Blood | Yes | |||||
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 | LaserDisc | September 11, 1996 | Yes | 1 | [4] | |
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | LaserDisc | September 25, 1996 | Yes | 1 | [4] | |
Dawn of the Dead | LaserDisc | October 1996 | Yes | 2 | Director's cut | [4] |
December 1996 | Yes | 3 | Collector's edition / director's cut | [4] | ||
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | LaserDisc | December 4, 1996 | Yes | 2 | Collector's edition | [13] |
The Stepford Wives | LaserDisc | April 30, 1997 | Yes | 1 | [4] | |
Lady in White | LaserDisc | July 18, 1997 | Yes | 2 | Director's cut | [14] |
DVD | March 24, 1998 | Yes | 1 | [15] | ||
Prom Night | LaserDisc | October 1, 1997 | Yes | 1 | [4] | |
Evil Dead 2 | LaserDisc | October 28, 1997 | Yes | 1 | Special edition | [16] |
I Spit on Your Grave | LaserDisc | August 1998 | Yes | 1 | ||
DVD | December 8, 1998 | Yes | 1 | |||
The Evil Dead | LaserDisc | November 3, 1998 | No | 1 | [4] | |
DVD | March 30, 1999 | No | 1 | Collector's edition | [17] | |
LaserDisc | April 6, 1999 | No | 2 | Collector's edition | [4] | |
Tower of Evil | DVD | November 2, 1999 | Yes | 1 | [18] | |
The House on Sorority Row | DVD | November 21, 2000 | Yes | 1 | [6] | |
Popcorn | DVD | September 4, 2001 | Yes | 1 | [19] | |
The Incubus | DVD | August 27, 2002 | Yes | 1 | [20] | |
A Night to Dismember | DVD | October 29, 2002 | Yes | 1 | ||
Horror | DVD | May 27, 2003 | Yes | 1 | [21] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d May 1997, p. 24.
- ^ May 1997, p. 25.
- ^ May 1997, pp. 25–27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Elite Entertainment LaserDisc Guide". Pulsing Cinema. January 6, 2019. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ Hayt, Anthony (2016). "Moving past the trauma". The Routledge Companion to Cinema & Gender. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-40805-5.
- ^ a b "The House on Sorority Row: Releases". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ Olson, Catherine Applefield (March 11, 2000). "Elite DVD's Fright Flicks Get Royal Treatment". Billboard. p. 68.
- ^ May 1997, pp. 26–27.
- ^ "Release Dates". Orange County Register. Santa Ana, California. December 16, 1994. p. 151 – via Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Maniac [DVD]. ASIN 6305106991.
- ^ "From cowboy hunks to computer punks". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. February 17, 1996. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Widescreen films on laserdisc". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. August 26, 1995. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Have yourself a gory little Christmas". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. December 14, 1996. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Longsdorf, Amy (July 18, 1997). "LASER DISCS ARE STILL THE MOVIE SOURCE WITH THE FORCE". The Morning Call. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ The Lady in White [DVD]. ASIN 6305106959.
- ^ Stephens, Bob (February 14, 1998). "Russ Meyer, Bergman and other Greats". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Evil Dead: Releases". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ "Tower of Evil: Releases". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ "Popcorn: Releases". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ "The Incubus: Releases". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ "Horror: Releases". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
Sources
edit- May, Don (1997). "Night of the Living Disc". Video Watchdog. No. 38. Cincinnati, Ohio: Tim & Donna Lucas. p. 24. ISSN 1070-9991.