Warner Bros. and Fox have both done excellent work producing high quality transfers of even some of the harder to find stuff from their vaults. Specifically Fox’s Murnau/Borzage and John Ford box sets, the two best American DVD releases of the past few years. The Warner archive is also laudable, they’ve recently made a lot of silents and more ephemeral films from the early studio era readily available for streaming and DVD on demand. Great transfers too.
Sony Pictures Classics has always been wonderful.
They’ve only got a few things on their books so far but New Wave Films have an excellent eye for new releases.
Criterion
Sony Classics
Mongrel Media
Kino
Film Movement
Image
Milestone
Masters of Cinema
BFI
Studio Canal
Swedish Film Institute
all release great films
Here in Mexico we have Zima films, eventhough their DVD’s don’t usually have good special features, they have great releases.
Artificial Eye
Second Run
The dude with the stand across the street from my apartment building.
^AND Eureka! and Kino (the quality for the latter is debatable)
BFI for me is an acquired taste, so much to discover there.
following Santropez’s example, we used to have a great company here in Greece, New Star similar to Zima films in their unfortunate packaging quality but the number of generally rare films, local or not was outstanding.
(that is before they were bankrupt and bought by another company)
although stretching the definition of distributor in some cases:
bfi
second run
Narodowy Instytut Audiowizualny previously Polskie Wydawnictwo Audiowizualne
edition filmmuseum
blaq out
ruscico
Slovenský filmový ústav
mondo vision
and facets not so much for releasing a quality product, but just releasing it at all.
same for mr bongo (3 rochas!!!)
ditto polart
koch lorber (Lina Wertmuller boxset!)
Mr Bongo Films
Bluebell Pictures
Network
Axiom
Optimum
Dogwoof
Soda
Peccadillo
Arrow
Second Sight
Janus Films
Faces for bela tarr
Seconding Film Movement. So far I’ve only seen really good films distributed from these guys. Because they release mostly foreign contemporary work I think it’s a reliable way of keeping up with cinema outside the theatre, and the few modern films the more popular distributors put out.
http://www.filmmovement.com/index.asp?
ANCHOR BAY FTW
Criterion & Kino in USA
Filmmuseum
Masters of Cinema & BFI & Second Sight in UK
Carlotta & Wild Side Video & Arte & Editions Montparnasse & Malavida in France
Flicker Alley
Flicker Alley is best for the silent film enthusiast.
Criterion Collection
Kino International
Eureka/Masters of Cinema
Sony Pictures Classics
BFI
Artificial Eye
Flicker Alley
Milestone
Oscilloscope Laboratories
Film Movement
Second Run
Warner
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
BBC America (Although I hate the pricing of Dr. Who)
Most of the ones mentioned above are great. I love that Disney releases their blu-rays with the dvd. I would buy more blu’s if they came with the dvd.
Mondo Macabro – The Wild Side of World Cinema has had many good releases. So has….
Synapse Films – Genre films
Severin Films – More genre films
Casanegra Entertainment – Spanish langauge genre
No Shame – They were one of the best at genre releases. R.I.P.
My new favourite one is the German label Bildstoerung.
You can tell theses guys are passionate about off-beat films!
I have most of their releases, and just looking at their newest (Valerie and Her Week of Wonders) makes me salivate.
patrick
What are some companies that you can count on to release a quality product? Here are the ones I can think of:
Criterion (of course)
Dragon Dynasty
Blue Underground
Grindhouse Releasing
Masters of Cinema
Tartan
and maybe Anchor Bay and Kino too
Any more that you can think of?