by FilmInk Staff
Imprint is a boutique label from home video player Viavision Entertainment. Launched quietly not quite two years ago and based in Melbourne, Imprint has created a buzz amongst hardcore cinephiles and achieved recognition amongst collectors internationally for a classy product strong enough to compete with famed labels like Criterion.
How did Imprint begin?
“Well, it was discussed at Via Vision internally for a long time. It really was about answering the question: ‘if you were going to stay in the physical market, then how do you stay relevant?’”
The inevitable conclusion seems to be the boutique package, for want of a better phrase, ‘the collector’s market’. Streaming vs. physical is a disruption story, like Vinyl vs. CD in the ‘90s.
“Absolutely. It’s no different. But how did the big labels like Sony and Universal counter the decline in music sales? The Deluxe release!”
It seems inevitable that DVD will disappear. Though that claim was made for vinyl and look what happened! Blu-ray and 4K seem to be where the market is.
“There’s no question about the decline in the physical non-specialist market. It’s perhaps half what it was ten years ago. We always knew there would be a decline. But there’s still a lot of money to be made. And a lot of product.”
Imprint is part of a growing specialist market. If anything, it’s boutique labels that indicate there is still a major appetite for physical product. Every month we see a selection of titles released from specialist brands like Criterion and Kino Lorber in the USA, Eureka, Arrow and Powerhouse in the UK. That’s close to twenty films a month and that’s just the really well-known players! Who is buying them?
“Before we launched almost two years ago now, I would have thought we were playing to the over-forty cinephile. Surprisingly, we have a big audience with twenty-to-thirty somethings.”
What’s going on there?
“Well, that’s a growing group of collectors, just getting into it, re-discovering these films and of course that’s part of why we are doing it.”
Certain brands have their own philosophy about selecting titles for their catalogue. Criterion has diversity, but it tends to skew to specialty/art cinema; Arrow has an emphasis on Cult/Genre; KL the un-loved, over-looked. How do you position Imprint?
“Everything is hand-picked. There is no single factor in the selection. The vision is about delivering an ongoing series of cinema releases that have never had a premium treatment and never been on Blu-ray. I think we see it as an opportunity to get films out there so they can be re-appraised. We have good relationships with the studios.”
Imprint have delivered some excellent discs that have never had a lot of love, films in bad need of a home video upgrade. We’re thinking of things like Black Sunday (John Frankenheimer, 1977), The Day of the Locust (John Schlesinger, 1976) and Breakdown (Jonathan Mostow, 1997). Those last two sold out!
“If pressed, the ‘70s American Hollywood Renaissance is my favourite period. We did The Gambler (Karel Reisz, 1974), recently, which meant a lot to me.”
Of course, what attracts collectors and cinephiles to premium releases are the supplements; commentaries, archive interviews, etc. It’s an opportunity to take a deep dive into the story of the film; its origins and legacy. Tell us about how you approach producing your features?
“Well, we like to produce our own content. We have a lot of guys around the world on the ground who can shoot and edit for us. But as for production… After the rights are secured, I sit down and start to think about [supporting material] that will give the film its best context. I identify key critics and genre authorities. We do an archive search and find stuff in TV networks from all over the world. Sometimes we sub-license that. Time hampers the process.”
Imprint has already been recognised for their excellent production; some of your original supplements have been licensed to Arrow for their deluxe Major Dundee (Sam Peckinpah, 1965). Meanwhile Imprint has sold out that title! What’s the timeline in producing?
“Typically, once the rights are secured – which can take a very long time – from acquisition to street date, it’s about six months.”
Most boutique labels restrict titles to 2,000-3,000 units. Why is that the magic number?
“We weren’t sure at first what that magic number was! We did 1,000 and now we do 2,000. It’s a key indicator of the finite market we play in. Going higher than that would be too risky. We release about six titles a month plus the box sets. We’ve sold out about eight titles.”
Cinephiles have issues with streaming. From the pic quality to the available selection. Is this another reason to see the rise in market interest around premium labels?
“Certainly. Streaming presents very clear lines for cinephiles. For starters, what’s on is temporary. Fans want the physical. They want to know the film is there. Streamers determine when and how you watch it.”
People get furious when a Scope film is screened to fill the standard 16×9 image. It ruins the composition.
“We see it all the time. The films were scanned that way and it’s all the studio has!
“Streaming, in terms of quality, is inconsistent. Online, you are not going to get a picture that is as clear and as crisp as a Blu-ray. I think there is still a powerful desire amongst fans to want to own the film, have it on the shelf.”
I agree with the points raised in this interview and commend Imprint for their carefully selected repertoire. I am enjoying their recent box set ‘Silver Screams Cinema’ at the moment. A bonus in the programme is ‘Lady and the Monster’ which I had wanted to see since childhood. Well done Imprint