Weinsteins Set New Standard for DVD Oblivion [Weinstein
Watch]

post from Defamer on 28 February 2008 03:11:08 PM. © Defamer

With interests including Halston, A Small World and, well, the Weinstein Company, the post-Miramax Weinstein brothers have proven their uncanny ability to diversify, crash and burn as well as any moguls this side of Charles Keating. No reversal of fortune is complete, however, without a boutique DVD label and a few classics freshly extracted from Harvey Weinstein's TiVo:

The Miriam Collection, named after the brothers' mother, launched in late January with the release of one of the last great epics not previously available on DVD, Anthony Mann's El Cid.

Weinstein clearly relishes being able to play kingmaker and give deserving films the true DVD VIP treatment, a la the fabled Criterion Collection.
The Fall of the Roman Empire, for example, is fully loaded," Harvey Weinstein said. "It looks and sounds astonishing, and the bonus materials fully explore the sheer magnitude and grandeur of making a film of this scale in a time long before the advent of CGI."

The Weinsteins say they plan around 12-15 Miriam Collection releases per year, keeping right on pace with the rumored "Harvey Collection" of overpaid-for fest acquisitions (Dedication, Grace is Gone, Control, My Blueberry Nights) and misbegotten in-house efforts (Grindhouse, The Nanny Diaries, Breaking and Entering), all remastered in three-disc special editions for optimal shelf-sitting and maximum obscurity. Look for special bonus materials here as well, fully exploring the sheer magnitude and grandeur of mishandling films on this scale in a time long before the advent of a revolt by TWC's board of directors. Yessir, those were the days.