HBO Reintroduces 'The March of Time' Series of Legendary Newsreels

October 02, 2007 -- HBO ArchivesSM, which launched in 2002, announces the availability of newly restored footage from The March of Time® newsreel collections. "We are thrilled to have this first-class collection back at HBO," says Rick Bernstein, senior vice president, HBO Sports®. "Unlike the traditional news-style featurettes of the Hollywood newsreels, the long-form documentary style of The March of Time® stood out from its competitors. This series is priceless for all of today's storytellers."

The March of Time®, a newsreel and documentary series produced by Time Inc., contains historic film shot from 1935 to 1967, as well as footage dating back to 1913 that was acquired from other sources. This trademark series, known for its "pictorial journalism," is an invaluable source of archival material and is now available to producers in all fields. Each episode, produced in long-form documentary style and captured on 35mm, covers culture, news and locales from around the world.

Article continues below...

Rising production costs and the popularity of television led to the end of this Academy Award®-winning newsreel series in 1951. However, The March of Time® continued its legacy by producing dramatic documentaries and entertainment programming for TV through 1967. These single-topic programs from both the newsreel and TV series presented now-timely essays on Iran, Palestine, Pakistan and the Vatican, plus local U.S. stories on cities such as New Orleans, and lighter pieces on teenage girls, the fashion world and the laugh industry.

"HBO Archives is reaching beyond the traditional newsreel series to showcase the depth of these fascinating documentaries," says Bernstein. Other productions include coverage of the Democratic and Republican conventions of the 1940s and 1950s, corporate-sponsored commercial films dating back to the 1930s, government programs and public service announcements.

With online partner Thought Equity Motion, HBO Archives is accessing the 35mm films to make this legendary footage available in high definition video.

Honored with more than 150 major awards, HBO has long been known for its uncompromising commitment to quality and innovation in live event programming, journalism and long-form storytelling. HBO Archives is a full-service stock footage library for commercial/professional use; in addition to The March of Time® collection, it offers sports, contemporary stock and royalty-free wildlife footage. The footage available is wide-ranging, culled from images shot around the globe by HBO's producers for more than three decades. These impressive collections, as well as production outtakes, are available for licensing directly through HBO Archives.

High-speed searching, the ability to view and download, and access to tens of thousands of clips can be found through the stock footage portal at www.hboarchives.com/marchoftime.

About HBO
Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., providing two 24-hour pay television services - HBO and Cinemax - to over 40 million U.S. subscribers. The services offer the most popular subscription video on demand products, HBO On Demand and Cinemax On Demand, as well as multiplex channels and HD feeds. Internationally the subscription video on demand products HBO On Demand and HBO Mobile, along with branded joint ventures, bring HBO services to over 50 countries. HBO programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide. Learn more at homeboxoffice.com.

Source: HBO