Midnite Movies
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 The three main mastheads for VHS and DVD releases | |
| Industry | Motion picture video production |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction/Horror/Cult |
| Founder | MGM |
| Products | VHS, DVD |
| Owner | MGM |
Midnite Movies is a line of B movies released first on VHS and later on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment. The line was launched by MGM in March 2001 following its acquisition of Orion Pictures,[1] which bought out Filmways,[2] the owner of American International Pictures (AIP). AIP, which was co-founded by James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff,[3] had a library of B movies from the 1950s and 1960s that were primarily science fiction, horror, and exploitation films.[4] The Midnite Movies collection was primarily derived from the AIP library, including most of Roger Corman and Vincent Price's horror films[5] (Corman's first distribution company, The Filmgroup, was acquired by AIP in 1963),[6] but also included films from other MGM-owned libraries, namely United Artists (UA) since 1981,[7] Cannon Films since 1983,[8] and Empire International Pictures since 1989.[9] Films from British horror specialist Hammer Film Productions[10] (the first Hammer production, The Public Life of Henry the Ninth, was initially distributed by MGM in 1935)[11]and British film production company Amicus Productions[12] were also licensed and released under the banner.
The DVDs were first released as single films, but most later releases would be double features on single double-sided discs.[13] Later, box sets would also be released, such as the Midnite Movies Creepy Classics, a four-DVD collection including The Pit and the Pendulum, The Fall of the House of Usher, "X" The Man with the X-ray Eyes, and The Dunwich Horror.[14][15] The "Midnite Movies" line continued as MGM Home Entertainment switched distributors twice in the mid-2000s, first to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and then to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[16] Fox first began managing MGM’s international home video distribution in 1999, and their partnership expanded in 2006 when MGM signed a worldwide Blu-ray Disc and DVD distribution pact with Fox through 2016.[17] Under Fox's tenure, the banner was expanded to include Fox library titles. Moving toward increased exclusive support for Blu-rays over HD DVDs,[18] all double feature titles released during the Fox era were two-disc packages. By 2011, no new titles were forthcoming; the previous catalog titles slowly went out of print and the Midnite Movies website was taken down.[19]
Beginning in 2013, independent media labels such as Shout! Factory (and sub-label Scream Factory), Kino Lorber Studio Classics, Twilight Time and Olive Films have licensed MGM-owned titles from the former Midnite Movies line for Blu-ray release.
References
[edit]- ^ Weiner, Rex (1997-07-11). "MGM ends Orion orbit". Variety. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
- ^ Harmetz, Aljean; Times, Special To the New York (1982-02-10). "Orion Group Gets Filmways". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
- ^ Ahrens, Ronald (2024-02-21). "Assembled in Hollywood: Producer Roger Corman". Hour Detroit Magazine. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ "Category:American International Pictures - The Grindhouse Cinema Database". www.grindhousedatabase.com. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ "Roger Corman | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". www.oscars.org. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ McCormack, Colin (2024-05-13). "RIP Roger Corman, Godfather of Indie Film". SAGindie. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ Durkee, Alison (2022-03-17). "Amazon Closes MGM Deal — But Here's Why You Still Won't Find 'Wizard Of Oz' Or 'Gone With The Wind' On There". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ "How one company turned out dozens of the worst movies ever made | New York Post". 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ "Interview with David Schmoeller (Puppet Master, Tourist Trap)". scream-it-loud.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ Jancovich, Mark (2017-04-18). "Beyond Hammer: the first run market and the prestige horror film in the early 1960s". Palgrave Communications. 3 (1): 17028. doi:10.1057/palcomms.2017.28. ISSN 2055-1045.
- ^ "The Public Life of Henry the Ninth | BFI Most Wanted BFI National Archive | BFI". www.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ Salmons, Tim (2018-03-06). "Land That Time Forgot, The (Blu-ray Review)". The Digital Bits. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ Arnold, Thomas K. (April 27, 2003). "Before the A-films arrive, 'psych out' with a good B-movie". USA Today. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ^ "Midnite Movies Creepy Classics MGM Box Set DVDs New Sealed". MyMovieMonsters.com. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
- ^ Midnite Movies Creepy Classics DVD (The Dunwich Horror / The Fall of the House of Usher / The Pit and the Pendulum /. Retrieved 2026-03-09 – via www.blu-ray.com.
- ^ Eller, Claudia (2006-05-31). "MGM Drops Sony as DVD, TV Distributor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ Thompson, Anne (2011-04-14). "MGM Pacts with Twentieth Century Fox for Homevideo". IndieWire. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ "Fox and MGM expand Blu-ray exclusive offerings". Engadget. 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ Kehr, Dave (September 27, 2005). "Critic's Choice: New DVDs". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2008.