Castle Hill Productions was an independent television and film distribution company handling classic and independent films whose library spans eight decades.

History

Founded in 1978 by

Julian Schlossberg Julian Schlossberg (born January 26, 1942) is an American motion pictures, theatre and television producer. He has been a college lecturer and television host regarding films, as well. Early life and education Schlossberg was born in New York Cit ...

, Castle Hill Productions revived and restored over 200 classic motion pictures, many of which were originally

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

releases and inherited from the family and/or estates of the films' original producers under the Caidin Film Company. As the company grew, Castle Hill acquired the rights to many films by

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...

, such as ''

Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

'' and ''

A Woman Under the Influence ''A Woman Under the Influence'' is a 1974 American drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes. The story follows a woman (Gena Rowlands) whose unusual behavior leads to conflict with her blue-collar husband (Peter Falk) and family. It rec ...

''. Both Schlossberg and

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations ...

(Cassavetes' widow), through their company, ''Faces Distribution'', have worked hard to revive the films for today's audiences in order for them to better appreciate the late director's work. Castle Hill also bought the rights to many of the films of

Elia Kazan Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...

and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. In addition to their classic films, the company also distributed contemporary films (usually up to ten a year), and has been involved in in-house production, creating

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

on filmmakers and news events.

Closure and holdings

In 2009, Castle Hill closed. Most of their holdings sold to another independent company, Westchester Films, managed by Schlossberg. Most distribution rights to the Castle Hill library are handled by either

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, Criterion (via

Janus Films Janus Films is an American film distribution company. The distributor is credited with introducing numerous films, now considered masterpieces of world cinema, to American audiences, including the films of Michelangelo Antonioni, Sergei Eisenstein ...

), or

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

. In 2014, the Westchester/Castle Hill holdings were purchased by entertainment distribution company

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

Key films of Castle Hill

*''

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

'' *''

A Night in Casablanca ''A Night in Casablanca'' is a 1946 film starring the Marx Brothers: (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx and Chico Marx). The picture was directed by Archie Mayo, and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee. ...

'' *'' A Face in the Crowd'' *''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'' *''

What's Up Tiger Lily ''What's Up, Tiger Lily?'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Woody Allen in his feature-length directorial debut. Allen took a Japanese spy film, '' International Secret Police: Key of Keys'' (1965), and overdubbed it with completely or ...

'' *''

Breaker Morant Harry "The Breaker" Harbord Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902), more popularly known as Breaker Morant, was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, bush poet, military officer, and war criminal who was co ...

'' *''

Baby Doll ''Baby Doll'' is a 1956 American dramatic black comedy film directed by Elia Kazan, and starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, and Eli Wallach. It was produced by Kazan and Tennessee Williams, and adapted by Williams from his own one-act play '' ...

'' *'' Followers'' *''

Blue Moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...

'' *''

Finding Home ''Finding Home'' is a 2003 American romantic drama film starring Geneviève Bujold, Lisa Brenner, Louise Fletcher and Johnny Messner. The film marked the last full-length feature film appearance of actor Jason Miller. Plot This is a story ab ...

'' *''

Jersey Guy ''Jersey Guy'' is a 2003 American comedy-drama film directed by Elia Zois and starring Steve Parlavecchio, Arthur J. Nascarella and Stacie Mistysyn. Plot Cast *Steve Parlavecchio as Jack *Arthur J. Nascarella as Father *Ralph Caputo as Merle *S ...

References

External links

Castle Hill Productions
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Film distributors of the United States Entertainment companies based in New York City Mass media companies based in New York City Entertainment companies established in 1978 Companies disestablished in 2009 1978 establishments in New York (state) 2009 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct companies based in New York City American independent film studios {{US-film-company-stub