- Orion Classics
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Orion Classics company_logo = Former type Corporation Industry Motion pictures Fate Merged with The Samuel Goldwyn Company Founded 1983 Defunct 1996 Headquarters Los Angeles, California Key people Arthur B. Krim
Eric Pleskow
Mike Medavoy
William Bernstein
Robert S. Benjamin (founders)Owner(s) Financial banking from Warner Bros. (1978–1982)
Independent (1982–1988)
Metromedia (1988–1997)
MGM (1998–present)Parent Orion Pictures Orion Classics was the division of Orion Pictures, headed by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom, that acquired independent and foreign films for North American distribution, in addition to producing some arthouse films of its own. It was launched in 1983 when Barker, Bernard and Donna Gigliotti moved from UA Classics, a United Artists specialty division.
Among its most notable films were Babette's Feast, Pedro Almodóvar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train and Richard Linklater's Slacker.
In late 1991, when Orion Pictures was in serious financial trouble, Barker, Bernard, and Bloom left Orion Classics, taking the rights to the highly anticipated Merchant Ivory Productions adaptation of Howards End with them; at the invite of former Orion president Mike Medavoy, who was now relocated at TriStar Pictures, the three set up Sony Pictures Classics, with Howards End as the company's first release.
In the mid-1990s, Metromedia acquired Orion, and merged the classics division into the Samuel Goldwyn Company. Both Orion and SGC were sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1997, with the latter's function of producing and/or distributing independent films being assumed by MGM's United Artists division.
Films
Title Release Date Heads I Win, Tails You Lose 1982 The Pool Hustlers 1982 Beyond the Door September 5, 1982 Pauline at the Beach July 29, 1983 Carmen October 20, 1983 Scrubbers January 31, 1984 Sugar Cane Alley April 6, 1984 Privates on Parade April 13, 1984 Another Country June 29, 1984 Strangers Kiss August 13, 1984 Old Enough August 24, 1984 Full Moon in Paris September 7, 1984 Swann in Love September 14, 1984 Where the Green Ants Dream February 8, 1985 My New Partner March 8, 1985 MacArthur's Children May 17, 1985 Henry IV June 28, 1985 Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart August 9, 1985 Came a Hot Friday October 4, 1985 Colonel Redl October 4, 1985 Ran December 20, 1985 A.K. January 29, 1986 My Beautiful Laundrette March 7, 1986 A Great Wall May 30, 1986 The Green Ray August 29, 1986 Restless Natives September 12, 1986 The Sacrifice November 1986 El Amor brujo December 23, 1986 One Woman or Two February 20, 1987 Devil in the Flesh May 22, 1987 Jean de Florette June 26, 1987 Rita, Sue and Bob Too July 17, 1987 End of the Line August 28, 1987 Dancing in Water September 18, 1987 Manon of the Spring November 5, 1987 Au Revoir Les Enfants December 1987 A Month in the Country February 19, 1988 Babette's Feast March 4, 1988 Wings of Desire May 6, 1988 Loose Connections July 8, 1988 Boyfriends and Girlfriends July 15, 1988 Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown November 11, 1988 Field of Honor January 20, 1989 Murmur of the Heart February 3, 1989 Chocolat March 10, 1989 The Reader April 21, 1989 The Music Teacher July 7, 1989 Mystery Train November 7, 1989 Camille Claudel December 21, 1989 Too Beautiful for You March 2, 1990 Monsieur Hire April 20, 1990 Jesus of Montreal May 25, 1990 May Fools June 22, 1990 Wait Until Spring, Bandini June 29, 1990 Life and Nothing But September 14, 1990 Leningrad Cowboys Go America November 2, 1990 Cyrano de Bergerac December 1, 1990 Open Doors March 8, 1991 Love Without Pity May 31, 1991 My Father's Glory June 14, 1991 Europa Europa June 28, 1991 Slacker July 5, 1991 My Mother's Castle July 26, 1991 Opera September 6, 1991 The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe September 27, 1991 Rhapsody in August December 20, 1991 Raise the Red Lantern March 13, 1992 A Woman's Tale May 1, 1992 The Adjuster May 29, 1992 A Tale of Springtime July 17, 1992 Rain Without Thunder February 5, 1993 Boxing Helena September 3, 1993 Nostradamus September 16, 1994 Bar Girls April 7, 1995 Jeffrey August 18, 1995 Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey August 24, 1995 Maybe, Maybe Not July 12, 1996 Ed's Next Move September 27, 1996 Trees Lounge October 11, 1996 Prisoner of the Mountains January 31, 1997 This World, Then the Fireworks July 11, 1997 One Man's Hero September 24, 1999 External links
Categories:- Companies established in 1982
- Companies disestablished in 1999
- Film production companies of the United States
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer subsidiaries
- Film company stubs
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