The Savoy Pictures Story

Savoy Pictures, a small independent motion picture distribution company, may not have existed for very long but it still left a cultural impact. Chances are any fan or enthusiast of 90's cinema has seen at least one of their just over two dozen movies. Savoy was founded in 1992 by Victor Kaufman, the same man who had founded Tri-Star Pictures a decade earlier. Naturally, he had hoped to repeat the success he had with Tri-Star with this new company. Unfortunately, Savoy tried to do too much too soon by attempting to branch out and invest into other forms of media. Since their slate of films tended to score either modest critical/box office success or flop entirely, Savoy did not have the funds that were needed to truly grow and become a major competitor in the independent film market. Less than three years after being founded, Savoy was already facing bankruptcy and had to sell off several in production or already completed movies to other studios (mostly New Line Cinema). In 1997, businessman Barry Diller acquired Savoy through his company Silver King Communications (now IAC) and allowed Kaufman to sit on that company's board of directors (where he reportedly remains to this very day). The Savoy Pictures name, brand and "buffalos roaming" logo were quietly retired.

Even though Savoy only officially released two dozen movies, the rights to them are all over the place now. Universal Pictures, through its art house subsidiary Focus Features, owns several of the films but the New Line Cinema co-productions are owned by Warner Bros. while Paramount Pictures owns "A Simple Plan" in addition to the Rysher Entertainment co-productions. Just a simple quick list (especially when compared to the 15 part MGM series I just compiled), all of Savoy's theatrical releases are included here.

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