Sony Pictures Classics

As a film distributor, Sony Pictures Classics appears to enjoy distributing eclectic documentaries and narratives. Wikipedia lists Sony Pictures Classics (SPC), previously known as Orion Classics, as the indy/art film subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment (Wikipedia is appropriate as a source here because it is a non-partisan topic). It also reads that SPC distributes as well as produces, but according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), it has produced only a handful of movies in the past few years. Many of the movies distributed by SPC have well-known actors and actresses looking for the next sex, lies, and videotape break-out indy hit. The three movies that stuck out to me are Youth Without Youth, Das Leben Der Anderen, and Die Falscher.

None of the movies went straight to DVD; all were theatrical releases. All involve drama based in Europe. Although Youth Without Youth is a romance, it is still a drama set in a period of crisis and turmoil like The Lives of Others and The Counterfeiters. The films also have a strong political leaning to them. Youth Without Youth is about a man pursued by the Nazis for the secret to his amazing medical recovery. The Counterfeiters is set inside a Nazi concentration camp. The Lives of Others involves East Berlin and spying on your fellow man. These films also enjoyed limited openings in NYC and LA. SPC likes picking up very political movies for distribution. Movies such as a Jimmy Carter documentary, an Iranian Revolution cartoon, and a Palestinian-Israeli confrontation narrative all are steeped heavily in politics. Additionally, SPC likes to distribute subtitled foreign films and a few straight-to-DVD titles.

I recognized many of the indie films listed for SPC on IMDB; SPC must have a large advertising budget. I will now pay more attention to distributors to determine if it will be the kind of movie I want to watch. I enjoy highly political movies, so SPC seems like a sure fit.

In the picture above, an actor in The Counterfeiters is shown in a medium shot. In the picture below (with the snow), an actor is in a full shot from Youth Without Youth. The actor to the right is pictured in a medium shot from The Lives of Others.