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 1992, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market.

Vestron Video
IndustryHome video company
FateParent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, assets acquired by LIVE Entertainment
Founded1981
Defunct1992
HeadquartersStamford, Connecticut
Key people
Austin Owen Furst, Jr.
ParentVestron, Inc. (1981–1991)
LIVE Entertainment (1991–1992)
DivisionsVestron Pictures

History
Vestron Video logo, used from 1982 to 1986

Vestron was founded in 1981 by Austin Owen Furst, Jr. (born 1943), an executive at HBO, who was hired to dismantle the assets of Time-Life Films. Furst bought the video rights of the film library for himself and decided to form a home entertainment company with these assets. Furst's daughter suggested the moniker "Vestron," a portmanteau combining the name of Roman goddess Vesta and "Tron", which means "instrument" in Greek.[1]

The company held on to its Time-Life Video library, and was also responsible for releases on Video Home System (VHS) videocassette as well as CED Videodisc (CED) of mostly B movies and films from the Cannon Films' library. They also distributed films under The Movie Store banner. The most notable titles Vestron released were Dirty Dancing, Monster Squad, and An American Werewolf in London. In later years, the company began to shift towards mainstream films, including films released through their Vestron Pictures subsidiary, most notably Dirty Dancing. Vestron was the first company to release National Geographic and PBS' Nova videos in the late 1980s, mostly distributed by Image Entertainment, and was the first to market with a pro wrestling video, Pro Wrestling Illustrated Presents Lords of the Ring. They also released a 3-volume series called How to Beat Home Video Games, which contains strategies for video games of the time.

They also handled exclusive US distribution, marketing and sales of VidAmerica releases beginning in 1983.[2] Starting in 1985, they handed these duties to their genre sub-label, Lightning Video.[3][4]

Vestron went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1985 with what was, at the time, a large market cap initial public offering (IPO) of $440 million, which was oversubscribed. The company enjoyed success for several years, at one point exceeding 10% of the US video movie market. At its high point sales approximated $350 million annually, and the company sold video movies in over 30 countries either directly or through sub-licensing agreements. This was a rights business, built by people who saw the value in video (VCR) rights to films before the major studios did. Eventually they recognized the market potential and film products became increasingly harder for Vestron to acquire. Also, independent producers increased the price of what was available.

The company started to make its own films (Dirty Dancing, Earth Girls Are Easy, Blue Steel), but when the market's preferences matured, and shifted from watching almost any film to just watching "A" titles, which was the majors' specialty, Vestron was already committed to about 20 "B" to low-"A" projects.

The company's financing fell through and it eventually filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, and was bought out on January 11, 1991, by Los Angeles-based LIVE Entertainment, a home video and music company, for $27.3 million. LIVE acquired Vestron's extensive (3,000 plus) film library; titles continued to be released under the Vestron name until 1992, with LIVE distributing these releases. The International branches were split up and sold off after the bankruptcy during 1991, the UK branch was sold a year prior to Welsh ITV franchise holder HTV and renamed to First Independent Films.

Their international divisions itself were the second largest after Warner Bros. Vestron had many direct theatrical, video and TV distribution offices around the world in major markets, and owned a video manufacturing plant in the Netherlands to supply European markets. Today, most of Vestron Video's holdings are owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, which acquired LIVE's forerunner company, Artisan Entertainment, in 2003.

Subsidiaries

Vestron, Inc.'s subsidiaries included:

  • Vestron Video (1981–1992)
  • Vestron Pictures (1986–1990)
  • Vestron Music Video (1980s)
  • Vestron International Group
  • Vestron Television, whose most notable production was a television series based on Dirty Dancing.
  • Vestron Video International (1987–1991)
  • Children's Video Library (1983–1987): Children's/family video sub-label.
  • Lightning Video (1985–1990): genre sub-label.
  • Lightning Pictures (1987–1989)
  • Interaccess Film Distribution: Overseas distribution unit, formerly entitled Producers Distribution Organization. Many of its staff were hired from Producers Sales Organization after its bankruptcy.[5][6][7]

Vestron Video Collector's Series

On August 1, 2016, Lionsgate Home Entertainment announced its resurrection of the Vestron Video brand as a Blu-ray and DVD reissue label for Vestron and other Lionsgate-owned horror films, similar to boutique labels like Scream Factory and Blue Underground.[8] This line, dubbed the Vestron Video Collector's Series, is branded with an updated version of the first Vestron Video logo from 1982–1986 and began with Blu-ray releases of the cult films Chopping Mall (an outside theatrical release) and Blood Diner (released by Lightning Pictures) on September 27, 2016.[9][10][11]

Releases
# Title Home Video Release Theatrical Release Original Distributor Format(s) Notes
01 Chopping Mall September 27, 2016 March 21, 1986 Concorde Pictures Blu-ray
02 Blood Diner July 10, 1987 Lightning Pictures Blu-ray
03 Waxwork October 18, 2016 June 17, 1988 Vestron Pictures Blu-ray Double Feature
Waxwork II: Lost in Time June 16, 1992 Electric Pictures
04 Return of the Living Dead 3 November 22, 2016 October 29, 1993 Trimark Pictures Blu-ray
05 C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. September 27, 1989 Vestron Pictures Blu-ray
06 The Lair of the White Worm January 31, 2017 September 14, 1988 Blu-ray
07 Parents January 27, 1989 Blu-ray
08 The Gate February 28, 2017 May 15, 1987 New Century Vista Film Company
Vista Organization		 Blu-ray
09 Wishmaster March 28, 2017 September 19, 1997 LIVE Entertainment Blu-ray 4-Film Set
Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies August 17, 1999 Artisan Entertainment
Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell October 23, 2001
Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled October 22, 2002
10 The Unholy June 27, 2017 April 22, 1988 Vestron Pictures Blu-ray
11 Warlock July 25, 2017 January 11, 1991 Trimark Pictures
New World Pictures		 Blu-ray 3-Film Set
Warlock: The Armageddon September 24, 1993 Trimark Pictures
Tapestry Films
Warlock III: The End of Innocence October 12, 1999 Trimark Pictures
12 Slaughter High October 31, 2017 November 14, 1986 Vestron Pictures Blu-ray
13 Gothic January 30, 2018 April 10, 1987 Vestron Pictures Blu-ray
14 Class of 1999 May 11, 1990 Lightning Pictures Blu-ray
15 Beyond Re-Animator July 24, 2018 April 4, 2003 Lions Gate Entertainment Blu-ray
16 Dagon October 31, 2001 Lions Gate Entertainment Blu-ray
17 Maximum Overdrive October 23, 2018 July 25, 1986 Lions Gate Entertainment Blu-ray
18 Little Monsters September 15, 2020 August 25, 1989 Vestron Pictures Blu-ray
19 Shivers October 10, 1975 Lions Gate Entertainment Blu-ray
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References
  1. Wasser, Frederick (2001). Veni, Vidi, Video: The Hollywood Empire and the VCR (1st ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 107–108. ISBN 9780292791466. Retrieved November 17, 2009. Vestron 1981 founded.
  2. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 25 December 1982. pp. 44–. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017.
  3. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc . 23 February 1985. pp. 25–. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017.
  4. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 13 July 1985. pp. 9–. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017.
  5. "Vestron hired 3 members of PSO's management". Los Angeles Times. 1986-08-26. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  6. LA BRIEFLY. Daily News of Los Angeles (August 26, 1986).
  7. Billboard (November 1, 1986), p. 48
  8. Hutchinson, Sean (October 14, 2016). "Making Horror Schlock Into Collector's Items with Vestron Video: Why Lionsgate is giving movies like 'Chopping Mall' and 'Blood Diner' the VIP Blu-ray treatment". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  9. Alexander, Chris (August 1, 2016). "Exclusive: Vestron Video Returns with Blood Diner Blu-ray". Coming Soon. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  10. Hunt, Bill (August 1, 2016). "Lionsgate bows new Vestron BD series, plus BFI's Napoleon, Peter Gabriel, Da Vinci Code 4K, Phantasm & more". The Digital Bits. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  11. Barton, Steve (August 4, 2016). "Lionsgate Unveils New Vestron Video Logo". Dread Central. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
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