Castle Hill Productions was an independent television and film distribution company handling classic and independent films whose library spans eight decades.

History

Founded in 1978 by

Julian Schlossberg Julian Schlossberg (born January 26, 1942) is an American motion pictures, theatre and television producer. He has been a college lecturer and television host regarding films, as well. Early life and education Schlossberg was born in New York Ci ...

, Castle Hill Productions revived and restored over 200 classic motion pictures, many of which were originally

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

releases and inherited from the family and/or estates of the films' original producers under the Caidin Film Company. As the company grew, Castle Hill acquired the rights to many films by

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

, such as ''

Faces The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the ...

'' and ''

A Woman Under the Influence ''A Woman Under the Influence'' is a 1974 American drama film written and directed by John Cassavetes, and starring his wife Gena Rowlands and close friend Peter Falk. Rowlands plays a housewife whose unusual behavior leads to conflict with her ...

''. Both Schlossberg and

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...

(Cassavetes' widow), through their company, ''Faces Distribution'', have worked hard to revive the films for today's audiences in order for them to better appreciate the late director's work. Castle Hill also bought the rights to many of the films of

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

. In addition to their classic films, the company also distributed contemporary films (usually up to ten a year), and has been involved in in-house production, creating

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

on filmmakers and news events. The highest grossing contemporary film distributed by Castle Hill Productions was ''Left Luggage'', bringing in $1,113,208.

Closure and holdings

In 2009, Castle Hill closed. Most of their holdings sold to another independent company, Westchester Films, managed by Schlossberg. Most distribution rights to the Castle Hill library are handled by either

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Criterion Criterion (: criteria) may refer to: General * Criterion, Oregon, a historic unincorporated community in the United States * Criterion Place, a proposed skyscraper in West Yorkshire, England * Criterion Restaurant, in London, England * Criteri ...

(via

Janus Films Janus Films is an American film distribution company. The distributor is credited with introducing numerous films, now considered masterpieces of world cinema, to American audiences, including the films of Michelangelo Antonioni, Sergei Eisenstein ...

), or

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 ...

. In 2014, the Westchester/Castle Hill holdings were purchased by entertainment distribution company

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

Key distributed films of Castle Hill

*''

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

'' *''

A Night in Casablanca ''A Night in Casablanca'' is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Archie Mayo and starring the Marx Brothers ( Groucho, Harpo, and Chico). The screenplay was written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee. It was an independent production relea ...

'' *'' A Face in the Crowd'' *''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' *''

What's Up Tiger Lily ''What's Up, Tiger Lily?'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Woody Allen in his feature-length directorial debut. Allen took footage from a Japanese spy film, '' International Secret Police: Key of Keys'' (1965), and overdubbed it with ...

'' *''

Breaker Morant Harry Harbord "Breaker" Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902) was an English horseman, bush balladist, military officer, and war criminal who was convicted and executed for murdering nine prisoners-of-war ...

'' *''

Baby Doll ''Baby Doll'' is a 1956 American black comedy film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden and Eli Wallach. It was produced by Kazan and Tennessee Williams, and adapted by Williams from two of his own one-act plays: '' 2 ...

'' *'' Followers'' *''

Blue Moon A blue moon refers either to the presence of a second full moon in a calendar month, to the third full moon in a season containing four, or to a moon that appears blue due to atmospheric effects. The calendrical meaning of "blue moon" is unc ...

'' *''

Finding Home ''Finding Home'' is a 2003 American romantic drama film starring Geneviève Bujold, Lisa Brenner, Misha Collins, Louise Fletcher and Johnny Messner (actor), Johnny Messner. The film marked the last full-length feature film appearance of actor Jas ...

'' *''

Jersey Guy ''Jersey Guy'' is a 2003 American comedy-drama film directed by Elia Zois and starring Steve Parlavecchio, Arthur J. Nascarella and Stacie Mistysyn. Plot Cast *Steve Parlavecchio as Jack * Arthur J. Nascarella as Father *Ralph Caputo as Merle ...

'' *'' Left Luggage'' *''

Who Shot Pat? ''Who Shot Pat?'' (promoted as ''Who Shot Patakango?'') is a 1989 American drama film starring Sandra Bullock. It marked the screen debut of Allison Janney. The film highlights the tough streets of New York City in the 1950s and the final realiza ...

References

External links

Castle Hill Productions
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{Authority control Film distributors of the United States Entertainment companies based in New York City Mass media companies based in New York City Entertainment companies established in 1978 Companies disestablished in 2009 1978 establishments in New York (state) 2009 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct companies based in New York City American independent film studios