Midnite Movies is a line of B movies released first on VHS and later on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment. The line was launched by MGM in March 2001 following its acquisition of Orion Pictures, which bought out Filmways, the owner of American International Pictures. AIP had a library of B movies from the 1950s and 1960s that were primarily science fiction, horror, and exploitation films. The Midnite Movies collection was primarily derived from the AIP library (including most of Roger Corman and Vincent Price's horror films), but also included films from other MGM-owned libraries, namely United Artists, Cannon Films, and Empire International Pictures; films from Hammer Film Productions and Amicus Productions were also licensed and released under the banner. The DVDs were first released as single films, but most later releases would be double features on single double-sided discs.[1] The "Midnite Movies" line continued as MGM Home Entertainment switched distributors twice in the mid-2000s, first to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and then to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; under Fox's tenure, the banner was expanded to include Fox library titles. All double feature titles released during the Fox era were two-disc packages. By 2011, no new titles were forthcoming; the previous catalog titles slowly went out of print and the Midnite Movies website was taken down.[2]
 The three main mastheads for VHS and DVD releases | |
| Industry | Motion picture video production |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction/Horror/Cult |
| Founder | MGM |
| Products | VHS, DVD |
| Owner | MGM |
Beginning in 2013, independent media labels such as Shout! Factory (and sub-label Scream Factory), Kino Lorber Studio Classics, Twilight Time and Olive Films have licensed MGM-owned titles from the former Midnite Movies line for Blu-ray release.
References
edit- ^ Arnold, Thomas K. (April 27, 2003). "Before the A-films arrive, 'psych out' with a good B-movie". USA Today. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ^ Kehr, Dave (September 27, 2005). "Critic's Choice: New DVDs". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2008.