Elite Entertainment
{{short description|American home media distribution company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Elite Entertainment
| logo = Elite_Entertainment_logo.gif
| logo_size = 250px Final logo
| fate =
| former_name =
| type =
| industry = Home video
| successor =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1993}}{{sfn|May|1997|p=24}}
| defunct = 2003
| location = Rockaway, New Jersey, U.S.
| key_people =
| owner = {{plainlist|
- Vincent Bancalari
- Don May, Jr.
}}
| parent =
| homepage =
}}
Elite Entertainment was an American home media distribution company, founded by Vincent Bancalari and Don May, Jr. in 1993.{{sfn|May|1997|p=24}} The company specialized in LaserDisc and later, DVD releases of horror, science fiction, and cult films, many of which were public domain titles. Their first release was George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), which they distributed on LaserDisc in 1994.
History
Elite Entertainment formed between Vincent Bancalari and Don May, Jr. in April 1993.{{sfn|May|1997|p=24}} Both were working in the video distribution industry, and in conversation lamented the poor transfer of a recent home video release of Night of the Living Dead (1968).{{sfn|May|1997|p=24}} In January 1994, they managed to secure a distribution rights deal with the filmmakers,{{sfn|May|1997|p=25}} and subsequently crafted a series of special features for the release, including audio commentaries recorded in the ensuing months.{{sfn|May|1997|pages=25–27}} Elite Entertainment released Night of the Living Dead on LaserDisc in November 1994 in a 2-disc set.
The company continued to release a series of cult horror films on LaserDisc throughout the 1990s, including The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, God Told Me To, Invaders from Mars, Maniac, and I Spit on Your Grave, among others.{{cite web|work=Pulsing Cinema|title=Elite Entertainment LaserDisc Guide|date=January 6, 2019|url=https://www.pulsingcinema.com/2019/01/06/elite-entertainment-laserdisc-guide/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190531075131/http://www.pulsingcinema.com/2019/01/06/elite-entertainment-laserdisc-guide/|archive-date=May 31, 2019|access-date=May 31, 2019|url-status=live}} Several unrealized releases included Eaten Alive (originally due for a September 1998 LaserDisc release), as well as a LaserDisc double feature of The Boogeyman and The Devonsville Terror, originally due for a December 1998 release; the latter two films were subsequently released as a double-feature DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment.
In the late-1990s, the company transitioned to releasing titles on DVD, including re-releases of several titles they previously released on LaserDisc, including I Spit on Your Grave in 2002.{{cite book|title=The Routledge Companion to Cinema & Gender|last=Hayt|first=Anthony|chapter=Moving past the trauma|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|year=2016|isbn=978-1-317-40805-5}} In 2000, the company released The House on Sorority Row for the first time on DVD.{{cite web|work=AllMovie|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-house-on-sorority-row-v23384/releases|title=The House on Sorority Row: Releases|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190531075932/https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-house-on-sorority-row-v23384/releases|archive-date=May 31, 2019|access-date=May 31, 2019|url-status=live}} By 2000, the company had a total of 15 DVD releases in their catalogue, approximately one-third of which were public domain titles.{{cite magazine|title=Elite DVD's Fright Flicks Get Royal Treatment|magazine=Billboard|date=March 11, 2000|page=68|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kA4EAAAAMBAJ|last=Olson|first=Catherine Applefield}}
Select releases
- {{small|Note: Films listed in order of first release by Elite Entertainment.}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite magazine|magazine=Video Watchdog|page=24|issue=38|date=1997|publisher=Tim & Donna Lucas|location=Cincinnati, Ohio|issn=1070-9991|title=Night of the Living Disc|last=May|first=Don}}
Category:Home video companies of the United States
Category:Film distributors of the United States
Category:Mass media companies established in 1993
Category:1993 establishments in New Jersey