Burbank, Calif., April 27, 2010 – Warner Home Video has announced a moratorium initiative in North America for Ben-Hur and Citizen Kane, two best-selling titles. Citizen Kane will start May 10, 2010 and Ben-Hur will start July 12, 2010. The two titles will then be re-introduced late 2011 in new editions celebrating a confluence of events: anniversaries, stunning remasterings, and spectacular new Blu-ray debuts.
• CITIZEN KANE — Orson Welles’ Academy-Award®-winning masterwork that expanded filmmaking frontiers like no other movie in history and has been hailed repeatedly by critics and filmmakers as the greatest film ever made was last released in 2001 as a 60th Anniversary DVD.
• BEN-HUR — Winner of 11 Academy Awards®, and starring Charlton Heston as Judah, this spectacular biblical epic film will be placed on moratorium in anticipation of its upcoming 50th Anniversary. Ben-Hur was last released in 2005 as a Four-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD.
Jeff Baker, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog stated, “As in the past, Warner Home Video is, once again, placing two of our ‘event’ titles on moratorium 12-18 months in advance of major re-releases. Two seminal films will go on moratorium this year: Citizen Kane starting May 10 and Ben-Hur starting July 12. Both films are undergoing comprehensive restorations in preparation for their return in 2011 in both DVD and for the first time ever in Blu-ray. We know that it will be worth the wait, as significant content additions are being developed, and Ben-Hur, in particular, has been selected to receive the Ultimate Collectors Edition treatment, reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind and Woodstock , which celebrated anniversaries in 2009.”
About Warner Home Video With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, a division of the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video’s film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.
About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s home video, digital distribution, interactive entertainment/videogames, direct-to-DVD production, technical operations and anti-piracy businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. WBHEG is responsible for the global distribution of content through DVD, electronic sell-through and VOD, and delivery of theatrical content to wireless and online channels, and is also a significant worldwide publisher for both internal and third party videogame titles.
