Film Forum

Founded in 1997 by Bruce Goldstein, who was joined a year later by partner Adrienne Halpern, New York–based Rialto Pictures has become a leading theatrical distributor of classic foreign and American films in the US, with a catalog that ranges from Alfred Hitchcock’s silent THE RING (1927) to John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981)—including generous selections of French New Wave and poetic realism, British and French film noir, Ealing comedies, British social realism, American cult classics, and commedia all’italiana in between. Rialto specializes in relaunching venerable classics in new 35mm prints or 4K digital restorations—after decades of being circulated only in inferior copies—with updated subtitles and fresh new posters and trailers. But it’s also known for rediscovering overlooked, undistributed, and underappreciated films like Jean-Pierre Melville’s ARMY OF SHADOWS, Claude Sautet’s CLASSE TOUS RISQUES, Robert Hamer’s IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY, Jean Renoir’s THE CRIME OF MONSIEUR LANGE, and Dino Risi’s UNA VITA DIFFICILE. And, as the US theatrical representative of the vast Studiocanal library, the company now handles such unexpected titles as Ted Kotcheff’s FIRST BLOOD, Joe Dante’s THE HOWLING, James Cameron’s TERMINATOR 2, and Mel Brooks’ THE PRODUCERS. 

Photo: Grant Delin.