Warner Home Video’s “Casablanca” & “Gone With The Wind” Take Top Honors In AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Passions
(June 12, 2002 – Burbank, CA) - Warner Home Video (WHV) is celebrating today after the American Film Institute (AFI) awarded “Casablanca” and “Gone With the Wind” the top two spots on its “AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Passions” list, which named America’s 100 greatest love stories. Special honors also went to “Doctor Zhivago” (#7 ), “My Fair Lady” (#12), “Singin’ in the Rain” (#16) and 28 other Warner titles during yesterday’s June 11th CBS broadcast.
This nationally televised network event the fifth in this highly successful series, honored the greatest cinematic tales of the heart that have become an abiding part of American film history. Previous top 100 lists presented in television specials include “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies,” “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Stars,” “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs” and “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Thrills.” Each special has been watched by an average of 11 million people, driving impassioned debates and renewing interest in Hollywood classics.
To select the greatest love stories, AFI ballots listing 400 nominated films were distributed to a jury of 1,800 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors and cinematographers), critics and historians. The jurors were asked to consider the following criteria: full-length, English-language American films which, regardless of genre, feature “a romantic bond between two or more characters whose actions and/or intentions provide the heart of the film’s narrative.” Also, jurors were asked to consider how the legacy of each title has “enriched America’s film and cultural heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences.”
“WHV is thrilled to have ‘Casablanca’ and ‘Gone With the Wind’ join ‘Citizen Kane’ at the top of the AFI best 100 lists. We’re proud we have these highly revered films available on VHS and DVD,” said Mike Saksa, WHV’s vice-president of U.S. marketing. “It has been one of our top priorities to restore and remaster these classic films, making them available with the special features of the DVD format, so that home viewers will be able to enjoy these American treasures for years and years to come.”
“Casablanca Special Edition” – Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman co-star in the wartime romance which won three Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Special features on the DVD include the documentary “You Must Remember This” and an introduction by Lauren Bacall.
“Gone With the Wind” – Vivien Leigh is Scarlett to Clark Gable's Rhett in this great Academy Award-winning epic of passion and adventure. With its immortal cast, magnificent cinematography and sweeping score, “Gone With the Wind” took eight Oscars® including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. The DVD edition includes interactive menus and theatrical trailer.
“Doctor Zhivago” – This stirring saga of love and war from master filmmaker David Lean is based on Boris Pasternak’s epic novel of the same name. The film starred Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, captured 10 Academy Award nominations and received five Oscars, including Best Screenplay. The DVD two-disc special edition includes a commentary by Omar Sharif, Rod Steiger and Sandra Lean; an introduction by Omar Sharif; the 30th-anniversary documentary “Doctor Zhivago: The Making of a Russian Epic”; 10 vintage documentaries and December 1965 New York premiere coverage; a music-only audio track and more.
“My Fair Lady” – Based on George Bernard Shaw's play “Pygmalion,” “My Fair Lady” stars Rex Harrison as linguist Henry Higgins, a snobby phonetics professor who wagers he can take a flower girl (Audrey Hepburn) and turn her into a high society woman. George Cukor (“The Women,” “The Philadelphia Story”) directed the film, which won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. The DVD edition’s extra features include audio commentary by the restoration team, a behind-the-scenes documentary and Audrey Hepburn’s vocal performances for “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “Show Me” reintegrated back into the musical numbers.
The Full List of WHV Titles Included in “AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Passions”
“American In Paris, An”
“American President, The”
“Anna Karenina” (1935)
“Body Heat”
“Bonnie And Clyde”
“Bridges Of Madison County, The”
“Bringing Up Baby”
“Camille”
“Casablanca”
“Dark Victory”
“Doctor Zhivago”
“Gigi”
“Gone With The Wind”
“Goodbye Girl, The”
“Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The”
“Jezebel”
“King Kong”
“My Fair Lady”
“Ninotchka”
“Now, Voyager”
“Philadelphia Story, The”
“Postman Always Rings Twice, The” (1946)
“Random Harvest”
“Shop Around The Corner, The”
“Singin' In The Rain”
“Splendor In The Grass”
“Star Is Born, A”
“Streetcar Named Desire, A”
“Swing Time”
“To Have And Have Not”
“What's Up, Doc?”
“Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?”
“Woman Of The Year” With operations in 78 international territories -- more than the video division of any other studio -- Warner Home Video 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 Company, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Video.# # #
“American President, The”
“Anna Karenina” (1935)
“Body Heat”
“Bonnie And Clyde”
“Bridges Of Madison County, The”
“Bringing Up Baby”
“Camille”
“Casablanca”
“Dark Victory”
“Doctor Zhivago”
“Gigi”
“Gone With The Wind”
“Goodbye Girl, The”
“Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The”
“Jezebel”
“King Kong”
“My Fair Lady”
“Ninotchka”
“Now, Voyager”
“Philadelphia Story, The”
“Postman Always Rings Twice, The” (1946)
“Random Harvest”
“Shop Around The Corner, The”
“Singin' In The Rain”
“Splendor In The Grass”
“Star Is Born, A”
“Streetcar Named Desire, A”
“Swing Time”
“To Have And Have Not”
“What's Up, Doc?”
“Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?”
“Woman Of The Year” With operations in 78 international territories -- more than the video division of any other studio -- Warner Home Video 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 Company, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Video.