DVD
Champion: A Story of America's First Film Town — Two Disc DVD Set!
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Educational & Institutional Licensing
When Mark Dintenfass arrived in Fort Lee in 1910, the sleepy New Jersey town just a ferry ride away from Manhattan was already a favorite location for nickelodeon-era filmmakers. Why not, he reasoned, build a studio and save on the expense and hassle of travel across the Hudson? Purchasing land and a building in nearby Englewood Cliffs, Dintenfass founded the Champion Studios, where he produced silent westerns and Civil War epics.
Others followed, and soon there were movie studios all over Fort Lee. Sadly, the land rush proved to be a bubble that burst when the American film industry moved west to Hollywood. Based on Richard Koszarski’s book, Fort Lee, the Film Town, The Champion tells the story of that brief golden age and of a modern-day fight to save the era’s last remaining studio — reminding us that the preservation of cinema history involves more than just the restoration of the films themselves.
This deluxe 2-disc DVD set includes a new 2K restoration of Ghost Town (1935) an astonishing and haunting amateur documentary about post-cinema Fort Lee. Disc 1 also features five films made at Champion Studios — thanks to the efforts of the Library of Congress and the Fort Lee Film Commission. Disc 2 includes exciting NJ film rediscoveries — a slapstick comedy from director Mack Sennett, a “melodramatic comedy” starring Madge Kennedy, and the earliest surviving film version of Robin Hood!
This DVD of films from America’s first film town is dedicated to the late Gloria Viola Meyers, who worked for Consolidated Film Industries, a division of Republic Studio, and to all the residents of Fort Lee who worked in the studios, film laboratories and film storage facilities in the birthplace of the American film industry.
2015. 35 minutes. Directed by Marc J. Perez. Based on the book Fort Lee, the Film Town by Richard Koszarski. Produced by Tom Meyers and John L. Sikes. Executive producer, Kristian Fraga. Associate producers Richard Koszarski and Nelson Page. Photography by Donna Brennan, Michael Grand, Marc J. Perez, Dylan Russell. Edited by B.B. Enriquez. Music by Ryan Shore. Narrated by Matt Zoller Seitz with Richard Koszarski, Tom Meyers, Nancy O’Mallon, Armand Pohan and Albert H. Wunsch III.
FILMS FROM FORT LEE WITH NEW SCORES:
GHOST TOWN: THE STORY OF FORT LEE* by THEODORE HUFF AND MARK A. BORGATTA, 1935, 17 MINUTES
THE INDIAN LAND GRAB* CHAMPION STUDIOS, 1910, 11 MINUTES
A DAUGHTER OF DIXIE* CHAMPION STUDIOS, 1911, 10 MINUTES
NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS* UNIVERSAL VICTOR, 1912, 9 MINUTES
FLO’S DISCIPLINE* UNIVERSAL VICTOR, 1912, 11 MINUTES
MARKED CARDS* UNIVERSAL CHAMPION, 1913, 10 MINUTES
THE DANGER GAME** by HARRY POLLARD, 1918, 61 MINUTES, starring Madge Kennedy and Tom Moore
ROBIN HOOD*** by ÉTIENNE ARNAUD, 1912, 31 MINUTES
A GROCERY CLERK’S ROMANCE*** by MACK SENNETT, 1912, 8 MINUTES. Courtesy of Paul E. Gierucki.
*Music Composed and Performed by Ben Model.
**Music Composed and Performed by Donald Sosin.
***Music by Rodney Sauer and performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.
An Explanation of Home, Classroom, and Public Performance Rights
Through our distribution partner, Kino Lorber, Milestone provides a variety of licensing to suit all needs. Our standard institutional licensing packages are designed to provide colleges, universities and qualified non-profits with the best value for multiple uses, and our one-time community screening licenses allow any organization to exhibit high-quality films for a reasonable fee. Please note that all licensing carries restrictions on audience numbers and/or geographic range.
STANDARD INSTITUTIONAL LICENSING
- CLASSROOM RIGHTS allow unlimited use in face-to-face classroom situations for the life of the media, restricted to a single campus or location. Please note that this license doesn't include public screenings or digital transmission of any kind.
- PUBLIC PERFORMANCE RIGHTS (PPR) allow educational and nonprofit groups to exhibit our films to groups of 100 or fewer individuals where admission is not charged. The term of the public performance license is for the life of the DVD. However, if you intend to charge admission, expect an audience over 100, or publicly advertise the screening, then we ask that you contact us regarding an exhibition fee. Films purchased without Public Performance Rights are restricted for individual viewing or face-to-face teaching in the classroom only.
- DIGITAL SITE LICENSES (DSL) allow colleges, universities and nonprofits to locally host and stream to their community on a closed, password-protected system for the life of the digital file.
- K-12 PPR comes with limited performance rights so films can be shown in classrooms, at PTA meetings, during after school programs, and transmitted on a closed-circuit system within a K-12 school building or on a single campus.
For all educational licenses and screenings, please Estelle Grosso, Director of Educational and Non-Theatrical Sales & Distribution at Kino Lorber (Milestone’s distribution partner) at: egrosso@kinolorber.com.
The purchase of DVDs, DVD-Rs, and Blu-rays at the institutional rate by anyone outside of a North American non-profit educational institution does not grant rights for public performance or streaming.
Any continuous or loop screenings as part of a museum exhibition must also be licensed separately. Inquiries must be negotiated directly by emailing egrosso@kinolorber.com.
Information for Exhibitors Screening DCPs and Film Prints
All bookings must be made by email correspondence with George Schmalz, Director of Theatrical Sales at Kino Lorber (Milestone’s distribution partner) at: gschmalz@kinolorber.com to negotiate terms and insure a screening copy is available. An order is only finalized when Kino Lorber sends written confirmation.
DCPs are shipped insured for their cost via Federal Express or UPS and must be returned the same way or by an equivalent method. Shipping and handling charges for outgoing DCPs appear on your invoice. The immediate return or transshipment (as directed) of all DCPs is your responsibility.
DCPs should be returned to:
Milestone Film & Video
38 George Street
Harrington Park, New Jersey 07640-0128
United States
35mm and 16mm prints are shipped insured for their cost via Federal Express or UPS and must be returned the same way or by an equivalent method. Please do not ship prints back via US Mail. Exhibitor pays to ship both ways. Shipping and handling charges for outgoing prints appear on your invoice. The immediate return of all prints is your responsibility.
Prints should be returned insured for $1,000 to:
Iron Mountain
Attn: Milestone Account
235 Main Street
Little Falls, NJ 07424
201.944.3700
For public screenings, advertising materials can be requested by contacting jhertzberg@kinolorber.com.
Milestone is the exclusive licensor for all the titles in this catalog, all of which are available from Milestone’s distribution partner Kino Lorber. in their complete versions.