Warner Home Video Celebrates Black History Month “Listen Up! The Lives Of Quincy Jones” & “Sidney Poitier Film Collection” New To DVD January 27 From Warner Home Video
(October 27, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – On January 27, Warner Home Video will celebrate Black History Month by honoring the achievements of two iconic African American artists – Quincy Jones and Sidney Poitier.
“Listen Up! The Lives of Quincy Jones” explores the unique, multi-faceted man who shaped four generations of American sound. The new to DVD documentary is a revealing portrait of the Grammy® and Academy Award® winning musician, composer, and producer, tracing his roots from Chicago’s South Side to his formative years in Seattle, from historical musical collaborations to his relationships and personal health issues. Family, colleagues and friends -- including Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Flavor Flav, Oprah Winfrey, Reverend Jesse Jackson and more -- come together to create a stirring portrait of Jones as father, husband, musician, producer, philanthropist and publisher. The single disc DVD will include insightful special features, with new featurettes and interviews, as well as an offer for 50 free song downloads from eMusic.com. “Listen Up! The Lives of Quincy Jones” will be available for $24.98 SRP.
The “Sidney Poitier Film Collection” ($39.92 SRP) features three of the premier actor’s films never seen on DVD – “Edge of the City” (never on home video), “A Warm December” and “Something of Value” -- along with the newly packaged “A Patch of Blue.” These four titles are available only as a collection. Orders for all are due December 23, 2009.
Quincy Jones
Composer, record producer, multi-talented jazz and pop artist, Quincy Jones grew up in the Pacific Northwest and in 1951 at the age of 18, was playing with and arranging for, Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie. He later moved to New York and by the early ‘60s, was working with some of the greatest singers in the business, including Peggy Lee, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and (later) Michael Jackson.
In fact, one of his best-known accomplishments was as the producer of Jackson’s album “Thriller” which has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. In the span of his five decade music career, Jones has produced dozens of platinum albums and earned a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, winning 27, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991.
In film, Jones has composed 33 motion picture scores including “In the Heat of the Night,” “The Pawnbroker,” “The Getaway” and “The Italian Job.” His six Academy Award® nominations include “In Cold Blood,” “The Wiz” and “The Color Purple,” which he also produced. His work in television includes executive producing (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Mad-TV”) and composing (“Roots,” for which he won an Emmy®. Jones is also the owner of Qwest Records and publisher of Vibe Magazine.
In 1985, Jones used his influence with major music artists to create the acclaimed song, “We Are the World,” which raised funds for famine victims in Ethiopia. Jones has worked with other artists, including U2’s Bono, on numerous philanthropic projects around the world. In 1994, to honor these contributions, Jones received a special Oscar® -- the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
DVD Special Features:
• “Q The Man” – Quincy Jones in the years since “Listen Up!,” including segments on his influence on younger musicians, his charity work and his family
• “Quincy Remembers” – Follow Quincy on a walk-through of his house as he reminisces about projects and collaborators through the years
• “Hangin’ with Quincy and Gilberto Gil” – Famed Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil hangs with Quincy at his home for a discussion of music and friends Sidney Poitier Actor/director/producer Sidney Poitier -- who broke the motion picture color barrier, changed America’s racial perceptions, and became the first African American to receive a Best Actor Oscar® -- was born February 20, 1927 and grew up in the Bahamas and Miami, Florida. He came to New York when he was 16, and after serving a short stint in the U.S. Army (lying about his age), he appeared in plays for the American Negro Theatre. He was 22 when he made his first film, “No Way Out,” which launched his illustrious career. His pioneering impact on American culture soared in the early '50s, as he became the first African-American movie hero to both black and white audiences. Additionally, he was the first to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar (“The Defiant Ones”); the first to star as a romantic lead (“Paris Blues”), the first to win the Oscar (“Lilies of the Fields”); and the first to become the country’s number one box-office star (1968). In addition to the titles in this collection, his other most noted roles are “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,” the Oscar® -winner “In the Heat of the Night,” “Blackboard Jungle,” “Shoot To Kill,” “Cry the Beloved Country,” “A Raisin in the Sun” (repeating his Tony-nominated Broadway performance), “To Sir, With Love” and “Porgy and Bess.” His directorial career included a number of popular comedy hits like “Stir Crazy,” 1980’s highest grossing film and “Uptown Saturday Night.” Poitier’s many awards include a 1992 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award and a 2002 Honorary Oscar (“for extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence.”). In 1995, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. honored Poitier “for his lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents [as one of the] nation's most prestigious artists.” In 1974, the British Empire appointed the actor a Knight Commander, which entitles him to use the title "Sir," though he chooses not to. Poitier Collection Films “Edge of the City” – Making its Home Video Debut (1957) Martin Ritt’s (“Hud,” “Norma Rae”) directorial debut, “Edge of the City” stars Poitier and John Cassavetes as two New York longshoremen who develop an unlikely friendship and do battle with a corrupt and racist boss (Jack Warden). “A Warm December” – New to DVD (1973) With Paul Newman, Barbra Streisand, and Steve McQueen, Poitier formed the independent First Artists Production Company. Its first release was “A Warm December,” directed by Poitier, and starring the actor as a recently widowed doctor who feels he may have found love again while on holiday in London with his daughter. “Something of Value” - New to DVD (1957) Based on Robert Ruark’s popular novel about the violent Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, the film stars Poitier along with Rock Hudson as boys raised like brothers until cruelty and intolerance drive them apart. “A Patch of Blue” (1965) This touching drama was nominated for 5 Academy Awards®, with one win for Shelley Winters as Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The film tells the story of a sheltered and unloved blind girl (Elizabeth Hartman) who develops a friendship with a black man (Poitier), complicated by her racist controlling mother (Winters). With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, 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.# # #
• “Quincy Remembers” – Follow Quincy on a walk-through of his house as he reminisces about projects and collaborators through the years
• “Hangin’ with Quincy and Gilberto Gil” – Famed Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil hangs with Quincy at his home for a discussion of music and friends Sidney Poitier Actor/director/producer Sidney Poitier -- who broke the motion picture color barrier, changed America’s racial perceptions, and became the first African American to receive a Best Actor Oscar® -- was born February 20, 1927 and grew up in the Bahamas and Miami, Florida. He came to New York when he was 16, and after serving a short stint in the U.S. Army (lying about his age), he appeared in plays for the American Negro Theatre. He was 22 when he made his first film, “No Way Out,” which launched his illustrious career. His pioneering impact on American culture soared in the early '50s, as he became the first African-American movie hero to both black and white audiences. Additionally, he was the first to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar (“The Defiant Ones”); the first to star as a romantic lead (“Paris Blues”), the first to win the Oscar (“Lilies of the Fields”); and the first to become the country’s number one box-office star (1968). In addition to the titles in this collection, his other most noted roles are “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,” the Oscar® -winner “In the Heat of the Night,” “Blackboard Jungle,” “Shoot To Kill,” “Cry the Beloved Country,” “A Raisin in the Sun” (repeating his Tony-nominated Broadway performance), “To Sir, With Love” and “Porgy and Bess.” His directorial career included a number of popular comedy hits like “Stir Crazy,” 1980’s highest grossing film and “Uptown Saturday Night.” Poitier’s many awards include a 1992 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award and a 2002 Honorary Oscar (“for extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence.”). In 1995, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. honored Poitier “for his lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents [as one of the] nation's most prestigious artists.” In 1974, the British Empire appointed the actor a Knight Commander, which entitles him to use the title "Sir," though he chooses not to. Poitier Collection Films “Edge of the City” – Making its Home Video Debut (1957) Martin Ritt’s (“Hud,” “Norma Rae”) directorial debut, “Edge of the City” stars Poitier and John Cassavetes as two New York longshoremen who develop an unlikely friendship and do battle with a corrupt and racist boss (Jack Warden). “A Warm December” – New to DVD (1973) With Paul Newman, Barbra Streisand, and Steve McQueen, Poitier formed the independent First Artists Production Company. Its first release was “A Warm December,” directed by Poitier, and starring the actor as a recently widowed doctor who feels he may have found love again while on holiday in London with his daughter. “Something of Value” - New to DVD (1957) Based on Robert Ruark’s popular novel about the violent Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, the film stars Poitier along with Rock Hudson as boys raised like brothers until cruelty and intolerance drive them apart. “A Patch of Blue” (1965) This touching drama was nominated for 5 Academy Awards®, with one win for Shelley Winters as Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The film tells the story of a sheltered and unloved blind girl (Elizabeth Hartman) who develops a friendship with a black man (Poitier), complicated by her racist controlling mother (Winters). With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, 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.