New Line Home Entertainment (formerly known as New Line Home Video) was the home entertainment distribution arm of

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

, founded in 1990. According to New Line's website, ''Misery'' was the first New Line Home Video release. It was responsible for the distribution of all New Line Cinema theatrical films for release on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and Blu-ray Disc. The company also distributed some feature films from the specialty studio Picturehouse – formerly a New Line/ HBO joint venture – as well as films or non-theatrical programs produced or acquired by New Line Home Entertainment and

New Line Television New Line Television was the television production arm of the film studio of the same name. It was active for about 20 years from 1988 to 2008. History The company was founded in 1988 to produce ''Freddy's Nightmares'', a television series based ...

. In 2008, once its parent company became a unit of

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 ...

, New Line Home Entertainment was folded into

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

History

In May 1991, New Line purchased the home video and foreign rights to films held by

Nelson Entertainment Nelson Entertainment was a Los Angeles-based film production and home video distribution company, a subsidiary of Nelson Holdings International Ltd., a Vancouver, Canada, holding company formed in 1985 by British film producer Barry Spikings and ...

(whose library included films inherited from Embassy Pictures) for $15 million, and thus obtained roughly 600 films. Shortly afterwards, New Line acquired the home video rights to the ''

Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenk ...

'' franchise from

Media Home Entertainment Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band. Media Home Entertainment also distributed video product under three additional labels — ...

. Before New Line formed its own video division, many of the company's films were released on video by various distributors. Initial offerings of New Line product came from

(for ''Gizmo!'', ''Fighting Black Kings'' and ''

Betty Boop for President ''Betty Boop for President'' is a 1932 Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop. It was released by Paramount Pictures on November 4, 1932, four days before that year's presidential election day. Plot Betty runs for the of ...

''), MGM/CBS Home Video (now MGM Home Entertainment) (for ''

The Street Fighter ''The Street Fighter'' (Japanese: ザ • ストリート • ファイター, Hepburn: Za Sutorīto Faitā) is a 1974 Japanese martial arts film produced by Toei Company Ltd., originally released in Japan as . It was released in the US by New L ...

'' and ''

Return of the Street Fighter is a 1974 martial arts film and the second in a series starting with ''The Street Fighter'' starring Sonny Chiba. In this sequel, Martial artist Takuma Tsurugi, Takuma (Terry) Tsurugi returns to take on a Yakuza family that may be embezzling mone ...

''),

Magnetic Video Magnetic Video Corporation was a home video/home audio duplication service that operated between 1968 and 1982. History Magnetic Video Corporation was established by the co-founder Andre Blay, an American film producer in 1968 with Leon Nichols ...

(for ''

Leonor Leonor or Léonor is a short form of the given name Eleanor. People bearing the name include: *Leonor Beleza (born 1948), Portuguese politician *Leonor Briones (born 1940), Filipino academic and civil servant *Leonor de Cisneros (died 1568), Sp ...

'' and ''

Sympathy for the Devil "Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones and the opening track from the band's 1968 album ''Beggars Banquet''. The song is a product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership. It is consi ...

'', both through

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

Wizard Video Wizard Video was a home video distribution company formed by B movie producer Charles Band in the early 1980s. It was well-known for its detailed (and often lurid) box art, especially during the time that it sold videocassettes in larger indivi ...

(for ''

Pink Flamingos ''Pink Flamingos'' is a 1972 American film directed, written, produced, narrated, filmed, and edited by John Waters. It is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes '' Female Trouble'' (1974) and '' Desperate Liv ...

'', ''

Female Trouble ''Female Trouble'' is a 1974 American dark comedy film co-composed, photographed, co-edited, written, produced, and directed by John Waters and starring Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, Michael Potter, Cook ...

'', ''

Sister Street Fighter is a spin-off of '' The Street Fighter'' (1974). The plot revolves around Lǐ Hóng-Lóng (李紅竜 ''Li Kōryū''), the female martial artist of the title. When her brother Lǐ Wàn-Qīng is kidnapped by drug lords, she seeks revenge. The drug ...

'', and ''

The Street Fighter's Last Revenge is a 1974 martial arts film and the third in a series starting with ''The Street Fighter'' starring Sonny Chiba. Plot Japanese version The film starts as Takuma Tsurugi retrieves Go Owada during a riot. After Tsurugi receives what is believed t ...

''), and HBO/Cannon Video (formerly called Thorn EMI Video and Thorn EMI/HBO Video, later called as HBO Video, finally — HBO Home Entertainment) (for ''

Xtro ''Xtro'' is a 1983 British science fiction horror film directed by Harry Bromley Davenport. Starring Bernice Stegers, Philip Sayer, and Simon Nash, the film focuses on a father who was abducted by aliens and returns to his family three years ...

'', '' The Evil Dead'', '' The First Time'', '' The Exterminators of the Year 3000'', '' Warriors of the Wasteland'', '' Stunts'' and '' Polyester''). Later offerings came from RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and its successor, Columbia TriStar Home Video,

(for the first five ''

'' films, and '' The Hidden'' among others), and

LIVE Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...

(for ''

Drop Dead Fred ''Drop Dead Fred'' is a 1991 black comedy fantasy film directed by Ate de Jong, produced by PolyGram and Working Title Films and released and distributed by New Line Cinema, starring Phoebe Cates as a young woman named Elizabeth Cronin and Rik Ma ...

'', '' Glengarry Glen Ross'' and the first ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'' film, through

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was founde ...

). When New Line formed the video division, RCA/Columbia and Columbia TriStar distributed VHS releases, while

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 34 ...

released the films on Laserdisc. The New Line-Sony partnership stopped in early 1995, when

Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

bought New Line and from 1995 to 1996, New Line's video releases were distributed by Turner's video division. One New Line film the company merely distributed, ''

The Swan Princess ''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...

'', was released solely on video on August 3, 1995, by Turner Home Entertainment. After 1996, during the Time Warner ownership, New Line distributed their own films through New Line Home Entertainment under

. Their Blu-rays and DVDs not only featured advertisement for New Line, but also advertisement for its then sister studio Warner Bros., who advertised special releases from

. The same went for Warner Home Video's Blu-rays and DVDs; New Line Home Entertainment would advertise their special releases on Warner Home Video's Blu-rays and DVDs. On January 5, 2008, New Line Cinema announced, as did

, that it would exclusively support

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

for their films and drop support of

HD DVD HD DVD (short for High Definition Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the ...

. The only New Line Home Entertainment HD DVD ever released was ''

Pan's Labyrinth ''Pan's Labyrinth'' ( es, El laberinto del fauno, lit=The Labyrinth of the Faun, links=no) is a 2006 dark fantasy horror film written, directed and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro. A Spanish-Mexican(78% Spanish production, 22% Mexican productio ...

''. New Line pursued a policy of

regional lockout A regional lockout (or region coding) is a class of digital rights management preventing the use of a certain product or service, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside a certain region or territory. A regional lockout may be enforced ...

with its Blu-ray titles. This was in direct contrast to its corporate sibling

which left its Blu-ray titles region-free. With the studio being folded into Warner Bros., Warner has decided to discontinue this lockout policy with future titles. In 2008, New Line Home Entertainment then folded into Warner Home Video after

acquired New Line. The company parted ways with Canadian film distributor Alliance Films. Warner Home Video, however, continued to use the NLHE logo for some time on Blu-ray and DVD releases of titles prior to ''

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

''. But as of 2019, new releases of the said catalog use the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment logo.

References

{{Authority control Home video companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Los Angeles Entertainment companies established in 1990 Mass media companies disestablished in 2010 1990 establishments in California 2010 disestablishments in California New Line Cinema American companies established in 1990

History

See also

References