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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion picture distribution |
| Founded | 1956; 69 years ago (1956) Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Founder | Bryant Haliday Cyrus Harvey Jr. |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Saul J. Turell William J. Becker |
| Revenue | US$6.1 million(2007) |
| Owner | Steven Rales |
| Website | www |
Janus Films is an Americanfilm distribution company. The distributor is credited with introducing numerous films, now considered masterpieces of world cinema, to American audiences, including the films ofMichelangelo Antonioni,Sergei Eisenstein,Ingmar Bergman,Federico Fellini,Akira Kurosawa,Satyajit Ray,François Truffaut,Yasujirō Ozu,Andrei Tarkovsky, and many other well-regarded directors. Ingmar Bergman'sThe Seventh Seal was the film responsible for the company's initial growth.[1]
Janus has a close business relationship withThe Criterion Collection regarding the release of its films onDVD andBlu-ray and is still an active theatrical distributor.
The company's name andlogo come fromJanus, the two-facedRoman god of transitions, passages, beginnings, and endings.
Janus Films was founded in 1956 byBryant Haliday andCyrus Harvey, Jr., in the historicBrattle Theater, aHarvard Square landmark inCambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to the conception of Janus, Haliday and Harvey began screening both foreign and American films at the Brattle Theater and proceeded to regularly fill the 300-seat venue. Having purchased the theater, Haliday, together with Harvey, converted the Brattle into a popularmovie house for the showing ofart films.[2]
Perceiving potential success in the film business, Haliday and Harvey moved into theNew York City market and began running the55th Street Playhouse. Janus Films was subsequently launched in March 1956 and the Playhouse was used as the primary location for exhibiting Janus-distributed films. The two owners eventually sold Janus Films in 1965 following a decline in the American art film market,[3] and in 1966 Haliday also sold the Brattle, while Harvey continued to manage the theater into the 1970s.
In 1977, Kino International (nowKino Lorber) acquired rights to the company's film collection, which became the foundation for Kino's international library of films.[4]
Janus was later acquired bySaul J. Turell andWilliam J. Becker.[3] Janus Films, alongsideThe Criterion Collection, was sold toSteven Rales in May 2024 in a private acquisition.[5]
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On October 24, 2006, in celebration of 50 years of business, the Criterion Collection released 50 of the films that Janus distributed in a large boxset containing 50 DVDs and a 200-page essay on the history ofart house films. The package was calledEssential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films.A.O. Scott chose the set as his DVD pick when he co-hostedAt the Movies with Ebert & Roeper. As part of its 44th Festival in 2006, theNew York Film Festival presented a series called50 Years of Janus Films, a tribute to the company.
In 2009, Janus Films releasedRevanche, its first first-run theatrical release in 30 years. Since then, with their distribution partner, Sideshow, Janus Films had released more recent films such asDrive My Car andEO.
Then, in 2010, Janus acquired domestic theatrical and home video rights to theCharlie Chaplin library under license from the Chaplin estate and worldwide distribution agentMK2. The Criterion division handles the Chaplin library for re-issue on DVD and Blu-ray, in addition to theatrical release.
In 2024, Janus and Sideshow distributed the Latvian animated film,Flow, by directorGints Zilbalodis. Having no dialogue and only using animal noises and environmental sounds, the film follows a cat and other animals in a flooded, post-apocalyptic world.Flow has become the all-time highest-grossing release for Janus and earned multiple awards including theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature.[6]
Janus also currently manages part of the Caidin Film Company library for Westchester Films, and the Faces Distribution/John Cassavetes library for Jumer Productions, both companies' successors-in-interest toCastle Hill Productions.
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