Time-Life Video

Background

Time-Life Video was the home video division of Time-Life Films, established in 1977 to distribute content from Time-Life Films, Time-Life Television, BBC, Masterpiece Productions, PBS, WGBH Educational Foundation, HBO, and a few other studios on the VHS, Betamax, and 16mm formats. Their most notable releases are Stagecoach (which, according to film review site Rotten Tomatoes, is their highest-rated title, at a 100% "fresh" critic rating), a western film released in 1939 that was directed by John Ford and starred John Wayne and Claire Trevor, and The Kinks: One for the Road, a live concert music video album by the rock and roll band, The Kinks. In 1982, the assets of the original Time-Life Video were rearranged to form Vestron Video, which reissued many of Time-Life's titles (including the aforementioned Stagecoach).

The rights to the company's library as of now are as follows:

• Time-Life Films, Time-Life Television, HBO, and Masterpiece Productions in general: Home Box Office Inc.
• British Broadcasting Corporation: BBC Worldwide
• Public Broadcasting Service and WGBH Educational Foundation: PBS

Individual releases:

• The Private Eyes: Hen's Tooth Video
• My Brilliant Career: The Criterion Collection
• The Kinks: One for the Road: BMG Rights Management (Sony Music Entertainment)
• Rust Never Sleeps: BMG Rights Management (Sony Music Entertainment)

After Time-Life was absorbed into Vestron, Time-Life Video continues to exist as a mail-order service, similar to Avon and Columbia House. Time-Life distributed videos from a mail order service, such as collections, as well as PBS shows, namely Nature, Barney & Friends and Nova. Most of Time-Life's VHS tapes do not contain any opening or closing previews, rather they just use their own openings and closings, and sometimes reuse print masters.

Distributed libraries

• Time-Life
  • Time-Life Films
  • Time-Life Television
  • Masterpiece Productions
  • Home Box Office (HBO) (see also HBO Home Entertainment)
• Cinema 5
• Cannon Films (see also Cannon Video)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (see also PBS Distribution)
  • WGBH Educational Foundation (see also WGBH Boston Video)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (see also BBC Video)
• Media Home Entertainment
  • The Nostalgia Merchant

Released under the Time-Life Video label

1979

Catalog number	Title	Country of origin	Original year	Length	Version	MPAA rating	Film format	Tape count	Tape break placement (if applicable)	Color	Released	Note(s)
1000	Stagecoach From Masterpiece Productions	USA	1939	96 min	Masterpiece Productions version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Black and white	June 1979	TBD
1001	Foreign Correspondent From Masterpiece Productions	USA	1940	120 min	Standard version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Black and white	June 1979	TBD
1002	The Woman of the Town From Masterpiece Productions	USA	1943	90 min	Standard version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Black and white	June 1979	TBD
1003	And God Created Woman	France/Italy	1956	90 min	Uncut English language version	NR	CinemaScope	1	N/A	TBD	June 1979	TBD
1005	Go Tell the Spartans From Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation	USA	1977	114 min	Standard version	R	Matted 1.85	1	N/A	Color	June 1979	The original Avco Embassy logo that started the picture is intact.
1006	Slightly Honorable From Masterpiece Productions	USA	1939	86 min	Standard version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Black and white	June 1979	TBD
1007	Sundown From Masterpiece Productions	USA	1941	90 min	Standard version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Black and white	June 1979	TBD
1011	Trade Winds From Masterpiece Productions	USA	1938	94 min	Standard version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Black and white	June 1979	TBD
1013	Slumber Party '57 From The Cannon Group, Inc.	USA	1976	89 min	Standard version	R	TBD	1	N/A	Color	June 1979	TBD
1014	52nd Street From Masterpiece Productions	USA	1937	80 min	Standard version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Black and white	June 1979	TBD
1017	Pepper: Agent OOX	USA	1973	88 min	Standard version	R	TBD	1	N/A	Color	June 1979	TBD
3000	The Lenny Bruce Performance Film/Thank You, Mr. Mask Man	USA	1967	72 min	Standard version	NR	Matted 1.66	1	N/A	Black and white/Color	June 1979	TBD
3001	HBO On Location: Young Comedians Jamboree From Home Box Office	USA	1977	76 min	Standard version	NR	Video (NTSC-M)	1	N/A	Color	June 1979	Originally titled "The Second Annual Young Comedians Jamboree".
3003	HBO On Location: An Evening with Redd Foxx From Home Box Office	USA	1978	60 min	Standard version	NR	Video (NTSC-M)	1	N/A	Color	June 1979	TBD

1980

Catalog number	Title	Country of origin	Original year	Length	Version	MPAA rating	Film format	Tape count	Tape break placement (if applicable)	Color	Released	Note(s)
1004	Good Guys Wear Black From Mar Vista Productions	USA	1978	96 min	Standard version	PG	Matted 1.85	1	N/A	Color	January 12, 1980	TBD
1010	Picnic at Hanging Rock	Australia	1975	115 min	Standard version	PG	Matted 1.66	1	N/A	Color	January 12, 1980	TBD
3002	HBO On Location: An Evening with Billy Crystal From Home Box Office	USA	1979	60 min	Standard version	NR	Video (NTSC-M)	1	N/A	Color	January 12, 1980	TBD
4001	Rust Never Sleeps	USA	1979	111 min	TBD	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Color	January 12, 1980	TBD

June 1980

This point is where Time-Life would retire their brown clamshells for any new release in favor of the slightly more common gatefold boxes with a neon Time-Life marquee inside the box and a rainbow colored banner on the front of the cover, which would become their standard packaging for future releases. At the time, the company also introduced a new catalog numbering system: TLV XXXX (XXXX indicates a four-digit numbering system; 4000 from The Kinks: One for the Road was given as an example of this).

Catalog numbering systems (all start with "TLV"):
1000 series: Feature films
2000 series: Short subjects (up to 60 min. in length)
3000 series: Stand-up comedy material
4000 series: Music material
5000 series: Standing Room Only specials
6000 series: Public Broadcasting Service and/or WGBH Educational Foundation programs
7000 series: British Broadcasting Corporation programs
8000 series: Media Home Entertainment and/or The Nostalgia Merchant releases

Catalog number	Title	Country of origin	Original year	Length	Version	MPAA rating	Film format	Tape count	Tape break placement (if applicable)	Color	Released	Note(s)
1008	My Brilliant Career	Australia	1979	101 min	Standard version	G	Matted 1.85	1	N/A	Color	June 25, 1980	Released on home media in the United States only a few months after being screened at the New York Film Festival on October 6, 1979, and being given a limited theatrical release in the United States on February 1, 1980.
1016	Hawmps! From Mulberry Square Productions	USA	1976	120 min	Standard version	G	Matted 1.85	1	N/A	Color	June 25, 1980	TBD
2003	The Greatest Adventure: The Story of Man's Voyage Narrated by Orson Welles with official NASA films	USA	1979	54 min	Standard version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Color	June 25, 1980	TBD
3004	Richard Pryor Filmed Live in Concert From Home Box Office	USA	1979	79 min	Standard version	NR	Matted 1.85	1	N/A	Color	June 25, 1980	TBD
4000	The Kinks: One for the Road	USA	1980	54 min	Standard version	NR	Video (NTSC-M)	1	N/A	Color	June 25, 1980	The sticker label incorrectly states the program runs for 60 minutes.

1981

Catalog number	Title	Country of origin	Original year	Length	Version	MPAA rating	Film format	Tape count	Tape break placement (if applicable)	Color	Released	Note(s)
1024	The Private Eyes From New World Pictures	USA	1980	?? min	TBD	PG	Matted 1.85	1	N/A	Color	1981	TBD
1030	Tribute From Pan-Canadian Films	Canada	1980	125 min	TBD	PG	TBD	1	N/A	Color	1981	TBD
1033	Blonde Ambition	USA	1981	84 min	Standard version	NR	Academy	1	N/A	Color	1981	Two packaging styles were released for this title: the standard gatefold packaging and the older brown clamshell packaging.
1036	The Changeling From Associated Film Distribution	Canada	1980	107 min	Standard version	R	Matted 1.85	1	N/A	Color	1981	The original Associated Film Distribution (AFD) logo that started the picture is intact. Original 1970 MPAA rating card intact at the end.