14 DAY TRIAL // Miramax Films, which has given fans such gems like “Pulp Fiction,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “The English Patient,” to name just three of its biggest releases throughout time, has faded to black. Acquired by Disney, the artsy movie studio made less and less films in recent months, all leading up to its slow but equally painful “death” of yesterday, as TheWrap informs.
Over 80 people will lose their jobs as studios in both Los Angeles and New York City will be closed down, and six completed movies waiting distribution will either be shelved or will get a hurried release, in the final hour. For those who see the kind of productions Hollywood is birthing these days as nothing short of a poor excuse to make money off gullible audiences, Miramax was the last provider of real artistry, the aforementioned publication says, right before embarking on a short journey of the genuine masterpieces made by the studio ever since it was founded.
“Over 31 years, the movie company that for most of its existence was led by founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein brought the public enduring stories that plumbed the depths of human emotion (‘My Left Foot’) and pushed the boundaries of cultural barriers (‘Reservoir Dogs’). When we think of the movies that defined the latter part of the 20th century – the movies that mattered, that stories that hit pop culture like a hammer and left a dent – more often than not they came from Miramax,” TheWrap writes.
News of the closure does not come as a complete shock, though, since it’s been months that specialized publications have been speculating on it. At the same time, these past couple of years, Disney has been gradually downsizing the role Miramax played on the market for purely financial reasons. Some say this was because of the too ambitious films that flopped the hardest at the box office, others believe the movie studio had simply gone out of fashion, since audiences for the kind of movies it made were increasingly smaller.
Still, a chapter in the history of cinematography has been closed for good. “If there was any company that contributed more to the shaping of a generation and a sensibility – I don’t know it,” veteran publicist Fredell Pogodin tells the publication. Harvey Weinstein is equally sorry about the closure, saying, “I’m feeling very nostalgic right now. I know the movies made on my and my brother Bob’s watch will live on as well as the fantastic films made under the direction of Daniel Battsek. Miramax has some brilliant people working within the organization and I know they will go on to do great things in the industry.”