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4-17-07 Image
Image Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq:DISK), a leading independent
licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming in North
America, today announced the acquisition of The Last Emperor, Merry Christmas
Mr. Lawrence, The Hit and Insignificance, four Jeremy Thomas-produced films,
through an exclusive North America license agreement with Recorded Picture
Company's sales agent, UK-based dreamachine.
The agreement grants Image home video, digital and broadcast rights to each of
the four titles. For home video, Image will release movie-only versions while
Criterion, also distributed through Image, will release definitive special
editions of the films as part of the renowned Criterion Collection. Criterion
and dreamachine will work together to create new high-definition masters
assuring film aficionados the highest quality possible. Broadcast availability,
home video and digital distribution plans will be announced later in the year.
Director Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor won each of the nine Academy
Awards for which it was nominated. Along with Best Picture, it won Best Art
Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best
Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Original Score, Best Sound and Best
Adapted Screenplay.
The 1987 film chronicles the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, played by
John Lone, with Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong, Dennis
Dun, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Maggie Han, Ric Young, Vivian Wu, and Chen Kaige. It was
the first motion picture filmed inside the walls of China's Forbidden City. The
Last Emperor premiered theatrically on December 18, 1987, thus celebrating its
20th Anniversary at the end of this year.
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, starring David Bowie, deals with the bonds between
four men in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. The
Hit, directed by Stephen Frears, features Terrence Stamp as a former gangster
living under an alias in Spain. Insignificance, a drama/comedy directed by
Nicolas Roeg, is a fictional account of the interactions of four iconic figures;
Marilyn Monroe, Joseph McCarthy, Joe di Maggio and Albert Einstein.
"We are thrilled with this acquisition and look forward to developing and
expanding this relationship. These films certainly enhance our library and
heighten the profile of films Image will acquire and distribute in the future,"
stated David Borshell, Image's Chief Operating Officer.
London-based Wendy Rutland brokered the agreement on behalf of Image
Entertainment.
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