BayView Entertainment LLC is excited to announce that it has entered into a Distribution Agreement with Film Masters to bring restorations of film classics to the masses via streaming video platforms.
The agreement with Film Masters heralds BayView’s further commitment to classic film restorations. BayView’s 2023 release of the 3-D Film Archive’s restoration of Robot Monster (1953) became one of their biggest releases of the year. This year’s Film is Dead. Long Live Film!, Peter Flynn’s documentary about film collecting as preservation, has been a big success on the film festival circuit, and will soon be broadcast on Turner Classic Movies.
Having previously founded the preservation/restoration-minded The Film Detective, producer-archivist Phil Hopkins started Film Masters as a natural offshoot, with a focus on giving niche cinema first-class attention. “We are archivists, committed to storing film elements for future generations and reviving films that have been sitting dormant for decades. By scanning in 2K and 4K, we give these lesser-known films the red-carpet treatment they deserve. We’re very excited to distribute our newly restored classics to modern streaming platforms,” says Hopkins.
The initial slate of Film Masters titles to be distributed by BayView include:
Salt of the Earth (1954) celebrating its 70th anniversary in a newly restored version – controversial in its day for having blacklisting filmmakers, and now lauded for its cultural and political significance as part of the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry
Ginger in the Morning (1974) celebrating its 50th anniversary in a newly restored version from a 4k scan of the original camera negative – an early role for Oscar®-winning actress Sissy Spacek
Door-to-Door Maniac (1961), aka Five Minutes to Live, a newly restored version from a 4k scan of original 35mm archival elements, this neo-noir film features the first movie role for Johnny Cash, who also wrote and sang the theme song
…and more!
“With the success of Robot Monster and Film is Dead. Long Live Film!, we’ve heard the voices of our customers who share our love for bringing back classics in the best possible light,” says BayView Entertainment VP of Acquisitions, Peter Castro. “Now, partnering with Film Masters enables us all to continue to share in cinema’s rich history.” More information about Bayview Entertainment can be found here: https://www.bayviewentertainment.com
About Film Masters
Film Masters is a consortium of historians and enthusiasts who seek to celebrate the preservation and restoration of films that have been sitting dormant in storage lockers, basements, personal collections, estates, and institutions for decades. Film Masters works closely with preservation institutions to donate and deposit one-of-a-kind film masters into locations that will properly preserve and store original masters for posterity.