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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video and MCA Home Video) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures. The company is owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment division of Comcast.
The company was founded in 1978 as MCA DiscoVision with the Beta and VHS label MCA Videocassette, Inc. in 1980, with the release of films on Beta and VHS, including Jaws, Jaws 2, and 1941. In late 1983, both the Laserdisc sister label MCA Videodisc and the VHS/Beta label MCA Videocassette were consolidated into a single entity, MCA Home Video, alternating with the MCA Videocassette name until December 1983. In 1990, with the 75th anniversary of Universal Studios, it became MCA/Universal Home Video, alternating with the MCA Home Video name from 1990 until 1997. The company later went by various company names, including Universal Studios Home Video (1998–2005), and Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2005–2014).
In 1980, they released two '50s 3-D motion pictures, Creature From the Black Lagoon and It Came From Outer Space, in anaglyphic format on Beta and VHS.
This company was the video distributor for DreamWorks titles until DreamWorks was sold to Paramount Pictures' parent company, Viacom, in 2006, at which point Paramount took over distribution. After Viacom spun off DreamWorks in 2008, Universal Studios Home Entertainment was planned to resume distributing DreamWorks' movies, but this deal fell through.
In addition to DVDs, Universal was a major supporter of the HD DVD format until March 2008, when Toshiba discontinued manufacturing of HD DVD players. Since July 22, 2008, Universal released Blu-ray discs; it was the last major Hollywood movie studio to do so. The label's first Blu-ray releases were The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and The Scorpion King.
Universal is the US video distributor for Summit Entertainment releases (but instead shows Summit logo on all releases) and Open Road Films releases and the Canadian video distributor for Elevation Pictures releases.
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(2012)Filmography of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (118 films)
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, 1h17Origin USA
Genres Drama, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, Films about children, La préhistoire, Animaux préhistoriques, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Children's films
Actors Thomas Dekker, Anndi McAfee, Alexis Pivot, Donald Reignoux, Aria Curzon, Kelly Marot
Littlefoot's grandfather one night tells the children a story about "The Lone Dinosaur" (a pun on The Lone Ranger), a legendary longneck who once protected the Great Valley from the most ferocious sharptooth ever to live. A fight ensued, which led to the Sharptooth's death. However, the sharptooth left "The Lone Dinosaur" with a scar slashed across his right eye. Soon after the battle, a huge monolith that resembled a proud sauropod, having life-sized Sharptooth teeth arranged around his neck, came out of the ground during an earthshake. The dinosaurs called it "Saurus Rock". The legend also states that if anyone damages the monolith, bad luck would descend upon the valley.
, 1h14Origin USA
Genres Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, Films about children, La préhistoire, Animaux préhistoriques, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Children's films
Actors Donald Reignoux, Anndi McAfee, Aria Curzon, Jeff Bennett, Roger Carel, Rob Paulsen
After a swarm of "leaf-gobblers" descends upon Great Valley, devouring all plants and leaving it a barren wasteland, the inhabitants must seek another place where they can survive until the plants in Great Valley have grown back. However, the Leaf Gobblers have left a path of devastation behind them, leaving no food for the dinosaurs to find. After searching for many days, tension enters the group as Cera's father and Littlefoot's grandfather argue over changing their course, which sparks a fight between Littlefoot and Cera. The fight soon breaks up when Cera's father announces that each herd will go its own way the next morning. Not wishing to be separated, Littlefoot leads his friends off in the night, in the hope they can find food before they are caught. They leave a trail for the grownups to follow, and eventually reach the "Big Water". Although they are disheartened by the undrinkable water, they spy a verdant island connected to the mainland by a thin land bridge. On their way, a tsunami occurs, which they narrowly escape. They quickly tuck in to the plentiful bounty of the island, but are then horrified to discover the tsunami has destroyed the land bridge.
Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)
, 1h40Directed by S. S. Wilson
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Comedy, Action, Horror
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Comedy science fiction films, Giant monster films, Comedy horror films
Actors Fred Ward, Christopher Gartin, Helen Shaver, Michael Gross, Marcelo Tubert, Thomas Rosales Jr.
Some years have passed since the events of the first film. Val has moved away and married Rhonda, while Earl has squandered his fortune on a failing ostrich ranch. He is approached by Carlos Ortega, who informs him that graboids are killing his workers at his oil field in Sonora, Mexico. Earl initially refuses his assistance, but Ortega's taxi driver, Grady Hoover, convinces Earl to change his mind and joins Earl in the hunt, with the oil company paying Grady full fees for his services, as well. Upon arrival in Sonora, Earl meets geologist Kate Reilly, and her assistant Julio, who are scientifically investigating the graboids.
, 1h14Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, Films about children, La préhistoire, Animaux préhistoriques, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Children's films
Actors Scott McAfee, Candace Hutson, Heather Hogan, John Ingle, Rob Paulsen, Jeff Bennett
Littlefoot notices a longneck herd entering Great Valley, and informs his grandparents. They tell him that the longnecks are their cousins, and that they must go and greet them. As the Old One, the leader of the herd, tells the residents of the great valley that her herd has been migratory since a heavy rain period turned their old home into a marshland called "The Land of Mists", and became the home of many dangerous creatures, Littlefoot meets a longneck girl named Ali, and invites her to play. He introduces her to his friends, but as she is not used to associating with diverse species, she is afraid of them.
Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996)
, 1h27Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Action, Horror
Themes Superhero films
Actors Arnold Vosloo, Jeff Fahey, Roxann Dawson, Darlanne Fluegel, Nigel Bennett, Shawn Doyle
Peyton Westlake (Arnold Vosloo), still searching for the key to creating a permanent liquid-skin formula to repair his burned face and hands, is approached by Dr. Bridget Thorne (Darlanne Fluegel), one of the physicians who saved Westlake's life following his brutal attack at the hands of Robert G. Durant. Thorne claims that she wants to help Westlake discover the key to his liquid skin, and also repair his nervous system, allowing him to regain some of his sensory loss. Using a laboratory set-up Thorne has, Westlake is finally able to devise a small amount of permanent liquid skin, which does not break down in sunlight as his other samples have.
, 1h11Directed by Frederik Du Chau
Origin USA
Genres Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, Films about children, La préhistoire, Animaux préhistoriques, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Children's films
Actors Scott McAfee, Donald Reignoux, Candace Hutson, Heather Hogan, Roger Carel, Rob Paulsen
One day, a shower of flying rocks impacts near the Great Valley and causes a rock slide in the Mysterious Beyond, which blocks the water supply of the Great Valley. The increasing lack of water causes conflicts between the inhabitants of the Great Valley, who have lived in relative peace and harmony until this event.
, 1h33Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Horror
Themes Superhero films
Actors Larry Drake, Arnold Vosloo, Kim Delaney, Renée O'Connor, Jesse Collins, Lawrence Dane
Scientist Peyton Westlake (Arnold Vosloo) has re-located to an abandoned building connected to an abandoned subway track, and continues to work on his synthetic skin, funding himself by stealing from gangsters. His synthetic skin still has a 99 minute timeframe before light cells cause it to break down, and he continues to search for a way to solve the problem.
, 1h13Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, Films about children, La préhistoire, Animaux préhistoriques, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Children's films
Actors Scott McAfee, Candace Hutson, Heather Hogan, Rob Paulsen, Linda Gary, Kenneth Mars
Littlefoot and his friends have recently arrived in the Great Valley. The children are living happily in their new home, under their families' watchful eyes. When the gang tries to get to the sheltering grass to play, but land in the sinking sand surrounding it, the grownups come and save them and chastise them for disobeying the rules: "don't cross the sinking sand without help." Cera then tells the others that they need to prove they are independent by running away for a while into the Mysterious Beyond, a location just outside the valley. Before they leave, they notice two egg nappers stealing an egg from Ducky's nest. They chase them into the Beyond, during which a landslide occurs. The egg rolls safely back to the nest, but the five are under the impression that it was destroyed in the landslide. This upsets Ducky until she notices what looks like the egg, only slightly larger.
Chain of Desire (1992)
, 1h47Directed by Temístocles López
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about sexuality, HIV/AIDS in film
Actors Malcolm McDowell, Linda Fiorentino, Elias Koteas, Patrick Bauchau, Grace Zabriskie, Tim Guinee
A series of unrelated amorous lovers are connected by a chain of desire. It begins when a woman named Alma flees from a would-be lover. She runs into a church, where she meets a man named Jesus and they eventually make love.
The Little Engine That Could (1991)
, 30minutesOrigin United-kingdom
Genres Action, Adventure, Animation
Themes Transport films, Rail transport films, Children's films
Actors Kath Soucie, Frank Welker, Jim Cummings, Betty Jean Ward, Neil Ross, Peter Cullen
Eric, a young boy, is excited about his birthday after reading a book and believes that a train will come for him, despite his teenage sister Jill's disbelief. A few hours later, the train station's control tower wakes up and in the roundhouse, Tillie, a young little blue switcher engine, along with her best bird friend, Chip, wakes up four other trains: Georgia, a kind all-purpose engine, Farnsworth, a stuck-up, shiny, new passenger engine, Jebediah, a worn-out, rusty, old engine, and Pete, a gruff, burly, big, strong freight engine. After the tower assigns Farnsworth and Pete their jobs, he declines Tillie's offer to help with the milk train assigned to Jebediah due to her small stature. Georgia is assigned to pull the birthday train. A clown named Rollo leads the toys into the train, including Jeepers, a monkey, Stretch, a basketball player, Missy, a ballerina, Handy Pandy, a panda, Perky, an elephant, and Grumpella, a stuffed bird.
Scene of the Crime (1986)
, 1h30Directed by André Téchiné
Origin France
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Victor Lanoux, Wadeck Stanczak, Claire Nebout, Jean-Claude Adelin
Thomas, a troubled thirteen-year-old boy, picking flowers in a cemetery, is surprised by Martin, an escaped convict who demands that the boy bring him some money for train fare later that day. The boy does not know where to get money; the criminal tells him to ask his parents. "My parents are dead," the boy says. In fact, his parents, Maurice and Lili, are alive. They are separated but they both live near the boy's grandparents' house. Thomas, disaffected by his parents divorce, goes to a boarding catholic school but is spending the weekend with his family and is going to have first communion. His grandmother is arranging to celebrate that special day and hopes her daughter and son in law would reconcile.
Coming Soon (1982)
, 55minutesDirected by John Landis
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Documentary, Horror
Themes Films about films, Documentary films about business, Documentary films about the film industry, Documentary films about films
Actors Jamie Lee Curtis
Dr. Strange (1978)
, 1h33Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Animation
Themes Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Clyde Kusatsu, Anne-Marie Martin, Peter Hooten, Jessica Walter, John Mills, Bob Delegall
The film opens in Hell, where The Nameless One (David Hooks) discusses with Morgan le Fay (Jessica Walter) her failure five hundred years ago to overcome a wizard to allow the demon access to our world. The demon tells le Fay that the wizard is now old and weak, and must transfer his position and powers to his successor. Le Fay has three days either to defeat the wizard or kill his successor.