Wikipedia

Guild Home Video

Guild Home Video(GHV) orGuild Film Distributionwas one of the firstvideo distributioncompanies to start operating in the UK. Unlike other independent labels such as Intervision or Videoform, GHV not only survived for a very long time, but continued to grow, eventually becoming a video distributor for independent studios such asCarolco,New Line Cinema,Cannon,andLorimar.The videos were released byVideo Collection InternationalandPolyGram Video.[citation needed][2]

Guild Home Video
Formerly
  • Legibus Thirty-Six Limited(1976)
  • Esselte Communications Limited(1976–1982)
  • The Guild Organization Limited(1982–1986)
Company typeFilm distributor,home video
FoundedOctober 1976;48 years ago(1976-10)[1]
Defunct1998;26 years ago(1998)(Label)
17 December 2019;5 years ago(2019)(Company itself)[1]
FateMerged and rebranded intoPathé
HeadquartersOundle Road,Peterborough, England

Origins

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Originally based in Oundle Road,Peterboroughbefore moving to Church Street,Walton-on-Thames,Guild Home Video were one of the biggest of the early video companies, and responsible for distributing a large and varied catalogue of movies. The initial batch of releases came out in mid-1980 and were easily recognisable by the sky blue, stylised 'G' symbol that the company retained throughout its life (with only a colour change to gold in 1987) and the logo was redrawn for an updated, cleaner look in 1984. The original Guild catalogue included a large array of features ranging from creaky and dated British science-fiction/horror fare such asThe Beast in the Cellar,The Body StealersandDoomwatch,to documentary/non-fiction titles such asThe Entertaining ElectronandReardon on Snookeras well as recent box office hits such asDavid Cronenberg'sScannersandJack Nicholson's remake ofThe Postman Always Rings Twice.Many classic Australian movies such asMy Brilliant Career,Breaker MorantandMoney Moverswere also released at that time too.

The original catalogue was uncommonly large by the standards of most labels at that time, with well over 100 titles released within the first two years of trading alone, and Guild became well known for the professionalism of its product. At a time when many of the independent labels were resorting to tacky and often distastefully lurid cover designs to get its products noticed (Go Video'sCannibal Holocaust/SS Experiment Campand Vipco'sThe Driller Killerbeing prime examples), GHV adopted a much more subtle approach. Early Guild covers were colour-coded. Cassettes for "hire only" carried a Pink band round the base of the sleeve, while later Hire/Sale cassettes carried a sky blue band round the top. There were also a number of tapes with a yellow band as well, but these are all but extinct now and desirable when found.

Growth

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Guild Home Video continued to grow steadily throughout the 1980s, notable especially as one of the very few independent labels to survive the1984 Video Recordings Act(1). This ruinous and reactionary response to the "Video Nasties"crisis meant that any movie available on video had to carry aBBFCvideo certificate. As each film would cost hundreds of pounds to classify if re-submitted, many independent labels found it uneconomic to submit their entire back catalogues and several simply went out of business. GHV, by now exclusive distributors to the likes of Cannon,The Samuel Goldwyn Companyand Lorimar were able to continue on the strength on their newer titles and the older back catalogue generally disappeared from view. More successful titles such asStraw DogsandSuppose They Gave a War and Nobody Camewere among the first budget "sell through" titles to appear when Video Collection began retailing cut-price movies in 1986. In 1986, it also saw the launch of Guild's short-lived Frontier brand. It apparently released just seven titles.[3]Between 1991 and 1992, Guild revived a brand but under the name Capital Home Video, which only released indie titles and a few known titles such asHalloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.

In 1986, it entered into an agreement withKarl-Lorimar Home Videoto release titles for the British home video market.[4]Later that year, it inked into an agreement with Medusa Communications in order that Guild Home Video to supply Medusa for Guild two titles a month per year, in effect at the end of January, and marked the first time the company, which had three titles a month, had to distribute titles by other companies, and the company already had a two-year pact withCBS/Fox Video.[5]

In 1987, Guild decided to expand and supply into theatrical distribution via subsidiary Guild Film Distribution (formerly Guild International Distributors), and it was on good terms with film distributorCarolco Picturesin order to acquire all UK rights toExtreme Prejudice,as well as video rights to Carolco's upcoming picturesAngel HeartandRambo III,and decided into a package of three films that were produced by New Century Entertainment, which includedRusskies,Nowhere to HideandKid Gloves,and picked up home video rights to an Australian feature, which wasCoolangatta Gold,and Guild picked up theatrical rights toA Prayer for the Dying,which was produced byThe Samuel Goldwyn Company.[6]

Until the mid-1990s, Guild Film Distribution also operated in theCzech Republic,where it distributedDisneyfilms as well.

Decline

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By the early 1990s, the home video industry was changing drastically as the video trade was being dominated more and more bythe major studios.It was in this climate that GHV had its climax in major success. In 1988, they secured a distribution deal with Hollywood mini-majorCarolco Pictures,which resulted in them gaining exclusive UK video rights for big budget blockbuster movies such asTerminator 2: Judgment Day,Total Recall,Cliffhanger,Rambo IIIandJudge Dredd.

In 1989, Wembley PLC purchased Guild fromEsselte.In August 1992,Chargeurs,the then-parent company of French film companyPathé,acquired Guild Entertainment Limited from Wembley PLC for $36.3 million, Guild would therefore become Pathé's de-facto UK distributor. The purchase was made to extend Chargeurs' realm in the global film market.[7]

In 1992, Guild entered into an agreement with Pioneer LDCE, the European subsidiary of Pioneer LDC to release 140 films to the Laserdisc market in theUnited Kingdom,most notablyTerminator 2: Judgement DayandDances with Wolves.[8]

On 14 March 1995, Guild entered into a 50-50 joint-venture partnership with the UK branch of20th Century Fox.With the announcement, the video rental arms ofFoxVideoand Guild merged into a single business, known asFox Guild Home Entertainment.The retail distribution of Guild products, which at that point was handled byPolyGram Video,also moved to Fox, with Guild also relocating their offices over to Fox's UK offices in Soho. However, both companies would continue to market their own titles and the theatrical arms would be unaffected. The venture was created as part of an expanding partnership Chargeurs had with Fox, which included the existing FPC Video (Fox PathéCanal) venture in France.[9]

The Guild Pathé Cinema logo used in 1996.

On 27 February 1996, Chargeurs announced that they would demerge their entire entertainment division under the Pathé name, including Guild Entertainment.[10]Shortly after the merger, Pathé began the process of retiring the Guild brand, rebranding Guild's theatrical arm as Guild Pathé Cinema Limited. On 10 June 1997, after gaining a six-year lottery franchise to produce movies in the United Kingdom, Pathé announced that they would rename and reincorporate Guild Pathé Cinema as Pathé Distribution.[11]The Pathé brand would soon replace Guild on home video releases that same year, although the Guild brand continued to be used on VHS labels and for the rental joint-venture until 1998. Fox Guild Home Entertainment was renamedFox Pathé Home Entertainmentshortly afterwards.

The Guild Home Video subsidiary remained as an in-name-only dormant business of Pathé until folding on 17 December 2019.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abc"GUILD HOME VIDEO LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)".Beta panieshouse.gov.uk.Retrieved2020-03-20.
  2. ^Additionally, at the time of editing twice, this article has a logo that has the wrong licensing. It should be fixed by the proper authorities on this wiki or on the Wikimedia Commons site.
  3. ^"Home video listing".vivavhs.co.uk.Retrieved2020-03-20.
  4. ^Bierbaum, Tom (1986-03-26). "K/L To Distribute VCL Fare; De Laurentiis Pact Leads Label's Foray Into Rental Mkt".Variety.p. 45.
  5. ^"Guild Home Video To Handle Medusa".Variety.1986-12-10. p. 44.
  6. ^"British Guild Home Video Makes Move Into Theatricals At AFM".Variety.1987-03-11. p. 15.
  7. ^Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1992-08-08.
  8. ^Dean, Peter (March 7, 1992)."Pioneer Laserdisc Europe Filling Film Void"(PDF).Billboard.p. 35.RetrievedOctober 18,2023.
  9. ^Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1995-03-18.
  10. ^"France's Chargeurs to split - UPI Archives".UPI.Retrieved2023-11-29.
  11. ^"Lottery spins U.K. film arm on new Pathe".Variety.1997-06-10.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-05-22.
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