First Independent Films was a British film distributor and

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming m ...

company that replaced

Vestron Video Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market. The name is now used for a collecto ...

International's UK operations. HTV, the ITV franchise holder for Wales and the West of England, acquired Vestron UK in May 1990 and renamed the company to First Independent Films. Although a small film company, the company distributed a wide selection of genres, but they mainly served as a distributor for

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 ...

, Turner Pictures Worldwide Distribution and

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer t ...

until they were sold to Warner Bros. in 1996. The company also distributed independent films. Some films released by First Independent Films were distributed and marketed by Cinema Club, a home video company that specialises in movies owned by Video Collection International (now 2 Entertain). Following the commercial failure of '' G.I. Jane'' in the UK, First Independent Films' owners ( United News & Media, by this point the parent company of HTV) put the company up for sale. First Independent Films was sold to Columbia TriStar Home Video (now Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) and the label was folded into Columbia TriStar in 1999. However, Columbia TriStar continued to use the First Independent Films label for some years afterwards.

Film releases

Films distributed theatrically by First Independent Films include: 1991: * ''

Catchfire ''Catchfire'' is a 1990 American romantic action thriller film directed by Dennis Hopper and starring Jodie Foster, Hopper, Fred Ward and Vincent Price, with cameo appearances by several notable actors, including Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci, Catheri ...

'' * ''

Eminent Domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

'' * ''

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

'' * ''

Misery Misery may refer to: Fiction * ''Misery'' (novel), by Stephen King * ''Misery'' (film), based on the novel * ''Misery'' (play), based on the novel * "Misery" (short story), by Anton Chekhov * "Misery" (''New Girl''), a television episode * ...

'' * ''

Over Her Dead Body ''Over Her Dead Body'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film starring Eva Longoria, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell, Lindsay Sloane and Jason Biggs. It was written and directed by Jeff Lowell. The film is about Kate (Eva Longoria), who dies on the day ...

'' * ''

Sibling Rivalry Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among siblings, whether blood-related or not. Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced ...

'' * '' Prayer of the Rollerboys'' * ''

Dolly Dearest ''Dolly Dearest'' is a 1991 American supernatural horror slasher film starring Denise Crosby, Rip Torn, Sam Bottoms, Chris Demetral, Candace Hutson and Lupe Ontiveros. The film was initially supposed to be direct-to-video, but it did get a limite ...

'' * '' Let Him Have It'' * ''

City Slickers ''City Slickers'' is a 1991 American comedy film, directed by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, and Jack Palance, with supporting roles by Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater, and Noble Willingham with Ja ...

'' * ''

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

'' * '' Iron Maze'' 1992: * '' Year of the Gun'' * '' Late for Dinner'' * ''

Naked Lunch ''Naked Lunch'' (sometimes ''The Naked Lunch'') is a 1959 novel by American writer William S. Burroughs. The book is structured as a series of loosely connected vignettes, intended by Burroughs to be read in any order. The reader follows the na ...

'' * ''

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

'' * ''

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead ''Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age black comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Neil Landau and Tara Ison, and starring Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, John Getz and Josh ...

'' * ''

The Lawnmower Man "The Lawnmower Man" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the May 1975 issue of ''Cavalier'' and later included in King's 1978 collection '' Night Shift''. Plot summary Harold Parkette is in need of a new lawn mowing service. The ...

'' * ''

House Party 2 ''House Party 2'' is a 1991 American comedy film and the sequel to the 1990 film '' House Party'' released by New Line Cinema. The film returns most of the cast of the first film such as Kid 'n Play and Full Force, along with new cast members su ...

'' 1993: * '' Deep Cover'' * ''

Night and the City ''Night and the City'' is a 1950 film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney and Googie Withers. It is based on the novel of the same name by Gerald Kersh. Shot on location in London and at Shepperton Studios ...

'' * ''

Folks! ''Folks!'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff, written by Robert Klane and starring Tom Selleck as a selfish yuppie who takes in his parents after their house burns down. It was panned by critics, earning Selleck a R ...

'' * '' Honeymoon in Vegas'' * ''

Mr. Saturday Night ''Mr. Saturday Night'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that marked the directorial debut of its star, Billy Crystal. It focuses on the rise and fall of Buddy Young Jr., a stand-up comedian. Crystal produced and co-wrote the screenplay with ...

'' * ''

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

'' * '' Bad Behaviour'' * '' Frauds'' * '' Tom and Jerry: The Movie'' * ''

Menace II Society ''Menace II Society'' (pronounced ''Menace to Society'') is a 1993 American teen drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut. The film is set in Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and follows the life of ...

'' * '' Warlock: The Armageddon'' * ''

Raining Stones ''Raining Stones'' is a 1993 film directed by Ken Loach and starring Bruce Jones, Julie Brown, Ricky Tomlinson, Tom Hickey and Gemma Phoenix. It tells the story of a man who cannot afford to buy his daughter a First Communion dress, and ma ...

'' * ''

Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

'' * '' Sins of Desire'' 1994: * '' Bhaji on the Beach'' * '' A Dangerous Woman'' * '' Sleep with Me'' * '' Above the Rim'' 1995: * ''

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book '' Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection ...

'' * ''

Dumb and Dumber ''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey and ...

'' * '' Bulletproof Heart'' * '' Mortal Kombat'' * '' The Basketball Diaries'' 1996: * '' Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace'' * '' White Squall'' * '' Now and Then'' * ''

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ...

'' * '' Original Gangstas'' * '' Boston Kickout'' * '' Crimetime'' * '' The Last of the High Kings'' 1997: * ''

Normal Life ''Normal Life'' is a 1996 American crime drama film based on the real lives of husband-and-wife bank robbers, Jeffrey and Jill Erickson. The film stars Ashley Judd and Luke Perry and was directed by John McNaughton. The original screenplay ...

'' * '' Eddie'' * '' Killer: A Journal of Murder'' * '' Trigger Happy'' * '' Night Falls on Manhattan'' * '' House of America'' * '' G.I. Jane'' * ''

Keep the Aspidistra Flying ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'', first published in 1936, is a socially critical novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is Gordon Comstock's romantic ambition to defy worship of the money-god and status, and the dism ...

'' * '' The Myth of Fingerprints'' * '' This World, Then the Fireworks'' 1998 * '' Traveller'' * '' Wishmaster'' * '' Savior'' 1999: * '' Orgazmo'' * '' Just the Ticket'' * ''

A Walk on the Moon ''A Walk on the Moon'' is a 1999 drama film starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin. The film, which was set against the backdrop of the Woodstock festival of 1969 and the United States's Moon landing of that year, wa ...

References

Film distributors of the United Kingdom Home video distributors Video production companies Mass media companies established in 1991 Mass media companies disestablished in 1999 Film organisations in the United Kingdom 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group Sony Pictures Entertainment {{UK-film-company-stub