Cohen Media Acquires Merchant Ivory Catalog

Posted October 12, 2015 11:36 PM by


The Cohen Media Group has acquired 30 films -- twenty-one narrative feature films and nine documentaries and shorts -- from the Merchant Ivory Productions library. The U.S. label plans to restore and re-release them theatrically as well as on the home video market via the Cohen Film Collection. The deal does not include big-budget projects such as A Room with a View, Remains of the Day, Jefferson in Paris, and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge. Director James Ivory will work closely with the U.S. label on the restoration and re-releases of the films. ACQUIRED FEATURE FILMS: 1. The Householder 2. Shakespeare Wallah 3. Autobiography of a Princess 4. Bombay Talkie 5. Savages 6. Roseland 7. Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures 8. The Europeans 9. Jane Austen in Manhattan 10. Quartet 11. The Bostonians 12. The Courtesans of Bombay 13. Howards End 14. The Perfect Murder 15. The Ballad of the Sad Café 16. In Custody 1994 17. The Proprietor 18.The Mystic Masseur 19. Heat and Dust 20. Maurice 21. The Deceivers ACQUIRED DOCUMENTARIES AND SHORTS: 1. The Sword and the Flute 2. Venice: Themes & Variations 3. The Creation of Woman 4. The Delhi Way 5. Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization 6. Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls 7. Mahatma and the Mad Boy 8. Sweet Sounds 9. Street Musicians of Bombay 1994
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News comments (18 comments)

starlight michael

Oct 13, 2015

Looking forward to the restored version of "Maurice" in hi-def.

dkelly26666

Oct 13, 2015

Wow! Cohen is on a roll!!!!

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jaredofmo

Oct 13, 2015

Yes! I need "Maurice" in HD!

Welp, there goes Criterion getting 'Howards End' back anytime soon!

Still, good they're getting releases at all. I actually haven't been a fan of the few Merchant-Ivory productions I've seen, but I'm still curious to see more.

Wonderless11

Oct 13, 2015

Really wish Criterion still had the rights to 18 of the feature films that are out of print!

At least they are actually going to be re-released at all!

growler

Oct 13, 2015

Howard's End! Awesome! "Director James Ivory will work closely with the U.S. label on the restoration ..."

Five Inches

Oct 13, 2015

I really don't like the Cohen Media Group BD-covers; I could see myself skipping on titles they release because of this.
Until now I really haven't found their releases compelling enough, but Merchant/Ivory could be an exception.

I hope this means Criterion might get a shot at Remains of the Day.

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ravenus

Oct 13, 2015

^Remains of the Day has been released in the US by Twilight Time and as a region free blu release in the UK by Sony.

Bruce Morrison

Oct 13, 2015

'Heat And Dust' and 'Maurice' will be especially welcome - I hope Cohen will give these top priority! I recall seeing 'The Bostonians' and 'The Europeans' years ago, but have no clear memory of them, so I might revisit these as well.

moverob

Oct 13, 2015

Yes, PLEASE, Cohen, lots of us are waiting, with wallets wide open, for a nice version of 'Maurice' on Blu-ray!

Back in the day, I bought 'Maurice' on LaserDisc, but have not had a quality version since I gave up my LD collection...

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filmmusic

Oct 13, 2015

Looking forward to "MAURICE"!!
Hope it's the first in line to be released.
2017 is the film's 30th anniversary!

Also hope that Cohen is reading this page, to see that most requests are about Maurice! hehe..

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Darth Marcus

Oct 13, 2015

Guess it's time to sell my Criterion of "Howard's End"

bwdowiak

Oct 13, 2015

not sure why people lament the fact that "Criterion didn't get x title" or "'Howard's End' isn't coming back to Criterion." who cares? Cohen has done a great job with their releases and I'd expect nothing less for these titles.

samper

Oct 13, 2015

Heat and Dust, Shakespeare Wallah, Bombay Talkie ... so many great movies here.

Five Inches

Oct 14, 2015

@Ravenus
Thanks, that had totally passed under my radar, since I'm on hold with my Blu-ray purchases now, pending UHDBD. Right now I'm only buying Criterions and TV-shows, and the odd Disney Diamond Edition.

@bwdowiak
For me it's because I buy every release from Criterion, and when they add a favorite movie of mine it's a bonus. I don't own any Cohen releases, and for said reasons, it would have to be a favorite for me to try the waters with them. Of course, a cover isn't the most important factor for me when buying a movie, if at all, but like the "swooshes" of old Buena Vista-releases it can make me steer clear of a release if it's not in my top 250.

That said, this is just my personal strategy for purchases, and is not a critique of Cohen in general; I'm sure they're capable. Also, I don't consider myself a Criterion fanboy, I just decided early on to collect their catalogue, good or bad.

jaaguir

Oct 14, 2015

"Maurice" had a wonderful dvd release, with 45 minutes (or something like that) worth of deleted scenes, among other things. I hope the blu-ray will leave nothing behind.

andy1992

Oct 15, 2015

I hope they can mirror Criterion's original DVD release of "Maurice" - at least including all those extras / deleted scenes. I remember James Ivory saying how hard it was to cut those scenes, and it was wonderful to finally see them on DVD (especially having also read the book). Fingers crossed on this future blu-ray in hopes it has everything we are all praying for! Also, let's hope this is Cohen Media's first release!

I have the Criterion blu-ray of "Howards End" and it is stunning. Does anyone know anything about what could possibly be done with this title to better it for a future release? The picture and sound were flawless by Criterion, so I cannot see a double dip necessary for that reason, and it has good bonus features (they excluded the original featurette on the blu-ray though - never understood why) as well. However, this is my favorite film, so if there is any reason to repurchase, I will.

Criterion's new release of "A Room with a View" is a major upgrade from the original blu-ray. Not only is it in the proper aspect ratio (the 1.78 fullscreen image cut off image on the top and bottom of the original 1.66 negative) in place, but from the first view of the title plates, you can notice the restoration immediately. When Lucy opens the windows to the alley and we see the first shot of Helena and Maggie, the beautifully done restoration is apparent in every frame. However, Criterion did not port over any of the original special features - including the audio commentary, so both releases are needed for Merchant Ivory collectors.