Joseph Burstyn
Joseph Burstyn (1900–1953) was a U.S. film distributor who specialized in the commercial release of foreign-language and American independent film productions.
Life and career
Born in Poland, he arrived in the U.S. in 1921 and initially worked as a public relations representative for the Yiddish theater circuit in New York City before becoming active in film distribution with business partner Arthur Mayer from the late 1930s to the late 1940s.
His most famous releases include The Forgotten Village (1941) written by John Steinbeck, the Roberto Rosselini classics Rome, Open City (1945) and Paisà (1946), The Quiet One (1948), the Academy Award-nominated Little Fugitive (1953), and Fear and Desire (1953), the first feature film directed by Stanley Kubrick.[1]
Joseph Burstyn Inc. vs. Wilson
From 1951-53, Burstyn was at the center of Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495 (1952), which resulted in a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court which helped end film censorship in New York.[2]
The court decision determined that certain provisions of the New York State Education Law allowing a censor to forbid the commercial showing of any non-licensed motion picture film, or revoke or deny the license of a film deemed to be "sacrilegious", was a "restraint on freedom of speech" and thereby a violation of the First Amendment; in this case, the film in question was "The Miracle", directed by Roberto Rossellini, an Italian short film that was part of the anthology film Ways of Love (1950).[1]
Death
Burstyn died in November 1953 of a coronary thrombosis during a trans-Atlantic flight.[1][3]
List of films distributed by Mayer and Burstyn (1933-48)
- Bicycle Thieves (1948)
- The Quiet One (1948)
- Lo Tafhidenu/The Illegals (1948) documentary in Hebrew directed by Meyer Levin
- Paris 1900 (1947)
- Shakuntala (1947)
- Paisan (1946)
- The Battle of the Rails (1946)
- Rome, Open City (1945)
- Marie-Louise (1944)
- Portrait of a Woman (1944)
- Hymn of the Nations (1944)
- The Forgotten Village (1941)
- Lights Out in Europe (1940)
- Louise (1939)
- Crisis (1939)
- Katia (1938)
- Ballerina (1937) English title of Le morte du cygne
- La guerre des gosses (1937) French version of War of the Buttons directed by Jacques Daroy
- Pépé le Moko (1937)
- The Lower Depths (1936)
- Club de femmes (1936)
- Die ewige Maske (1935)
- Whirlpool of Desire (1935), French film Remous directed by Edmond T. Gréville
- Song of the Streets (1933)
List of films distributed by Joseph Burstyn Inc. (1950-55)
- Stella (1955)
- Romantic Youth (1954)
- Tanga-Tika (1953)
- Little Fugitive (1953)
- Fear and Desire (1953)
- Umberto D. (1952)
- Savage Triangle (1951) English version of Le garcon sauvage
- Miracle in Milan (1951)
- Ways of Love (1950)
- The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
- Side Street Story (1950)
- Tomorrow Is Too Late (1950)
- Justice Is Done (1950)
- The Berliner (1948)
- A Day in the Country (1936) 1950 US release
- Jofroi (1934) 1950 US re-release
- À Nous la Liberté (1931) 1954 US re-release
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “Burstyn, Film Man, Dies on Sea Flight”, New York Times, November 30, 1953 (fee access required)
- ↑ Jowett, G. (1996). "A significant medium for the communication of ideas": The Miracle decision and the decline of motion picture censorship, 1952-1968. Movie censorship and American culture, pgs. 258-276. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press
- ↑ "Obituaries", Time Magazine, December 7, 1953
External links
- Joseph Burstyn at IMDB
- List of films distributed by Burstyn and Arthur Mayer at IMDB
- List of films distributed by Joseph Burstyn Inc. at IMDB