Weinstein Co. Launch Three New DVD Labels

By Rich Drees

     May 24, 2007- The Weinstein Company used a special screening of a restored print of Dario Argento’s 1977 cult horror classic Suspiria at the Cannes Film Festival to announce that the film would be the premier title for one of three new home video labels the studio will be launching.

     Suspiria will launch the Dimension Extreme line which will focus on horror, comedy, thriller and science-fiction titles.

     The second label - named the Miriam Collection after the company’s co-chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s mother - will focus on restored, foreign and prestige titles in the Weinstein Company library. The first title in the Miriam Collection will be the 1961 Academy Award-nominated epic El Cid starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. Other titles in line for release include Fall Of The Roman Empire (1964), 55 Days At Peking (1963), Circus World (1964), Akira Kurosawa’s Madadayo (1993) and Pedro Almodovar’s Dark Habits (1983).

     Kaleidoscope TWC is slated to release family-friendly fare.

     In a press release, Bob Weinstein stated, "When Harvey and I formed TWC, one of our main priorities was to build a strong, valuable and diverse film library filled with a unique combination of quality theatrical releases and niche direct-to-DVD titles. The launch of The Miriam Collection, Kaleidoscope and Dimension Extreme, enables us to continue doing just that.”

     All three labels will handle both direct-to-DVD titles as well as theatrical films. Kaleidoscope TWC will handle all of the Weinstein Company’s family titles. All three lines will join the Weinstein Company’s Dragon Dynasty line of martial arts movies DVDs in being distributed through Genius Products, The Weinstein Company’s exclusive home video distributor.