You may not be aware of this, but for many of us, this week will live in infamy. On Monday, the New Yorker Films company “ceased operations,” bringing the recession to the homes of movie nerds and cinephiles across the nation. Although the number of small production companies and independent distribution branches that have closed this year is quite numerous, the extension of this sad trend to New Yorker Films is a shock. Apparently, New Yorker Films’ parent company, which is now defunct, defaulted on a loan, with New Yorker Films assets as collateral—so, no more NYF.
Dan Talbot founded New Yorker Films in 1964, when he was running a small movie house of the same name. He was immensely interested in foreign cinema, especially movies that were difficult to find and \ did not have distribution in this country. When he was unable to get a print of Bertolucci’s “Before the Revolution,” he decided to take over the distribution of the film himself. Since then, New Yorker Films has been instrumental in bringing a significant number of excellent independent and foreign films to larger audiences. The company has been responsible for releasing works from filmmakers such as Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Jean-Luc Godard, Errol Morris, Louis Malle, Claire Denis, Eric Rohmer, Wayne Wang, Abbas Kiarostami, Krzystof Kieslowski, Ousmane Sembene and Jean-Luc Bresson, to name a few. Their library is like a basic course in important independent and foreign films from the last 45 years. The company has been a vocal advocate for all “difficult cinema,” or cinema that has such a niche audience that there simply aren’t very many prints available. Beyond their roles as distributor for newer releases, they keep an extensive catalogue that is one of the few avenues for smaller venues (such as art house theaters, universities, and THE WESLEYAN FILM SERIES) to rent prints and theatrical rights to older independent and art films that we love so much.
New Yorker Films has an extensive library of art cinema prints from across the globe—prints of films that are not only unappreciated, but also incredibly rare and difficult to find. In total, the company owns the DVD and theatrical rights to over 400 films. As of now, no one knows where this library will go, but we can only hope that someone will step up to the plate and invest in these films for posterity. There’s always a danger when a large collection like this gets displaced, because it is very easy for prints to get lost in the shuffle, and that would be a travesty indeed. So if you know someone who would be interested in buying these assets, tell them that they’re going to be sold off this week for (comparative pennies, and it’s vital that the library go into appreciative and capable hands. (PLEASE TAKE NOTE JOSS WHEDON, SONY PICTURES CLASSICS, MICHAEL BAY, MIGUEL ARTEDA, RICK NICITA, ALEXANDER PAYNE, PAUL WEITZ, MARTIN SCORSESE, JON TURTLETAUB, TOBY EMMERICH, NICK MEYER, MARC SHMUGER, BRAD FULLER, PAUL SCHIFF, and the rest of the Wesleyan Mafia.)
New Yorker Films, we thank you. Your legacy will not be forgotten.
And lucky for you, the reader, there are still lots of great movies to come on the Film Series.
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
2008. Dir: Marc Foster. 106 min.
Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m. Free.
The new Bond! Experimenting again with a Bond that is unlike other Bonds. They’ve gotten rid of Vesper for this one (Thank God. She was hot, but c’mon, her name is Vesper?) Less romance here, but more action, lots of betrayal, confused alliances, and foreign countries. I never got to see this one in the theaters, and I can’t wait to catch all that action (and hear all that action!) in our beautiful cinema.
THE THIN MAN
1934. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke. 93 min.
Saturday, Feb. 28, 8p.m. Free.
One of the sassiest comedy romances, and a rare one about a married couple. Nick and Nora are the classic Hollywood movie couple, and have been the inspiration for innumerable twosomes in our own time. Come see the OG romance: you’ll laugh your little head off and wish you were as sophisticated as this pair.
When we come back from break, stay tuned for some more awesome movies. We’re going to be getting lots of Academy favorites and the grand old movies that made us go nuts for film in the first place. Plus, we’re going to be doing the Israeli Film Series, something that happens every year, as part of the Wesleyan Film Series this year, so there will be plenty of foreign cinema to explore. Have a great break!