HandMade Films

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HandMade Films was an English film production and distribution company based in London, active between 1978 and 2013. Notable films from the studio include Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), The Long Good Friday (1980), Time Bandits (1981) and Withnail and I (1987).<ref name="grdn">Template:Cite news</ref>

History

Foundation

HandMade Films was formed by former Beatle George Harrison and business partner Denis O'Brien in 1978 to finance the controversial Monty Python film Life of Brian.<ref name="grdn"/> Harrison had been introduced to O'Brien by actor Peter Sellers in 1973. Soon afterward the two went into business together.Template:Sfn The HandMade logo was drawn by Python's animator Terry Gilliam.<ref>An Accidental Studio (2019)</ref>

When the original financiers of Brian, EMI Films, pulled out of the project less than a week before filming was to commence, the creators had to find other financing.<ref name="screenonline">Template:Screenonline title</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb.</ref> Harrison, a friend and fan of the Pythons, mortgaged his home in order to finance the feature.<ref name="grdn"/> Eric Idle of the Pythons later called it "the most anybody's ever paid for a cinema ticket in history".Template:Sfn Life of Brian grossed $21 million at the box office in the US.Template:Sfn

Harrison explained: "The name of the company came about as a bit of a joke. I'd been to Wookey Hole in Somerset ... [near] an old paper mill where they show you how to make old underpants into paper. So I bought a few rolls, and they had this watermark 'British Handmade Paper' ... So we said ... we'll call it Handmade Films."Template:Sfn

First film and growth of productions

The first film distributed by HandMade Films was The Long Good Friday (1980), and the first it produced was Time Bandits (1981), a co-scripted project by Monty PythonTemplate:'s Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin.Template:Sfn The film featured a new song by Harrison, "Dream Away", in the closing credits.Template:Sfn Time Bandits became one of HandMade's most successful and acclaimed efforts; with a budget of $5 million, it earned $35 million in the US within ten weeks of its release.Template:Sfn

Harrison served as executive producer for 23 films with HandMade, including the Oscar-nominated Mona Lisa, Shanghai Surprise and Withnail and I. He made several cameo appearances in these films, including a role as a nightclub singer in Shanghai Surprise,<ref>Control Nathan Rabin 4.0 #73 Shanghai Surprise —— Nathan Rabin's Happy Place</ref> for which he recorded five new songs.Template:Sfn According to Ian Inglis, Harrison's "executive role in HandMade Films helped to sustain British cinema at a time of crisis, producing some of the country's most memorable movies of the 1980s."Template:Sfn In 1987, HandMade Films made an agreement with independent motion picture distributor Island Pictures to distribute four films for limited theatrical release from 1987 to mid-1988: The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Track 29, The Raggedy Rawney and Bellman and True.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Changes of ownership and recent history

Following a series of box office bombs in the late 1980s and excessive debt incurred by O'Brien, which was guaranteed by Harrison, HandMade's financial situation became precarious.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn The company ceased operations in 1991<ref name="grdn"/> and was sold three years later to Paragon Entertainment Corporation of Toronto, Canada.Template:Sfn Afterward, Harrison sued O'Brien for $25 million for fraud and negligence, resulting in an $11.6 million judgment in 1996.<ref>Morris, Chris. "George Harrison Wins $11.6 Mill. In Suit Vs. Ex-Partner", Billboard, 3 February 1996: 13</ref><ref name="grdn"/> Following this event, the company was completely taken over by the Canadian investors.

New owner Paragon Entertainment Corporation restarted production under the HandMade name in 1996–1997.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The company's most notable release of that era was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). In 1999, Patrick Meehan and Cartier Investments acquired HandMade from Paragon.<ref name=variety>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=ftblackwell>Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 1999, The Equator Group plc became the exclusive distributor and manager of the HandMade Films library,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and attempted to purchase the company from Cartier outright, but negotiations were unsuccessful until a reverse takeover agreement with Hand Made Holdings Ltd<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> announced on 15 May 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Equator Group reincorporated as HandMade Plc on 8 June 2006<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the new company was traded on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) stock exchange (changing its ticker symbol from EQG to HMF). Trading of HandMade plc shares was suspended several times, notably June to October 2009, after the company failed to provide 2008 audit results to shareholders.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 29 April 2010, Almorah Services Ltd tendered a takeover bid, priced at £0.01 per share in cash<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and HMF was delisted from the AIM on 29 June 2010.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> HandMade plc was re-registered as HandMade Limited, a private company, on 2 February 2011.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Handmade Limited entered administration on 11 July 2012, liquidation on 24 April 2013,<ref name="Insolvency">Template:Cite press release</ref> and was dissolved on 22 February 2018.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2016, Park Circus purchased distribution rights to the HandMade film library.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2017, following an investigation by the Insolvency Service, three HandMade Limited directors were disqualified from acting as a director of a company: Patrick Anthony Meehan for 13 years, David Bernard Ravden for five-and-a-half years, and Peter William Parkinson for four years. The directors misused funds to "pay off relatives" and "on matters undisclosed to advisers, shareholder or potential investors".<ref name="Insolvency"/>

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
1970s
1979	Monty Python's Life of Brian	Terry Jones	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	A Sense of Freedom	John Mackenzie	colspan="2" Template:N/A
1980s
1980	The Long Good Friday	John Mackenzie	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
1981	Time Bandits	Terry Gilliam	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Tattoo	Bob Brooks	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
	Venom	Piers Haggard	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
	The Burning	Tony Maylam	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
1982	Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl	Terry Hughes (live segments) Ian MacNaughton (film segments)	colspan="2" Template:N/A
	Scrubbers	Mai Zetterling	colspan="2" Template:N/A
	The Missionary	Richard Loncraine	colspan="2" Template:N/A
	Privates on Parade	Michael Blakemore	colspan="2" Template:N/A
1983	Bullshot	Dick Clement	colspan="2" Template:N/A
1984	A Private Function	Malcolm Mowbray	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
1985	Water	Dick Clement	colspan="2" Template:N/A
1986	Mona Lisa	Neil Jordan	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
	Shanghai Surprise	Jim Goddard	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
1987	Withnail and I	Bruce Robinson	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
	Bellman and True	Richard Loncraine	colspan="2" Template:N/A
	The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne	Jack Clayton	colspan="2" Template:N/A
1988	Track 29	Nicolas Roeg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
	Five Corners	Tony Bill	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
	The Raggedy Rawney	Bob Hoskins	colspan="2" Template:N/A
1989	Checking Out	David Leland	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
	How to Get Ahead in Advertising	Bruce Robinson	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
	Powwow Highway	Jonathan Wacks	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
1990s
1990	Cold Dog Soup	Alan Metter	colspan="2" Template:N/A
	Nuns on the Run	Jonathan Lynn	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:N/A
1996	Intimate Relations	Philip Goodhew	colspan="2" Template:N/A
1997	The Wrong Guy	David Steinberg	colspan="2" Template:N/A
1998	Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels	Guy Ritchie	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2000s
2003	Eloise at the Plaza	Kevin Lima	colspan="2" Template:N/A
	Eloise at Christmastime	Kevin Lima	colspan="2" Template:N/A
2006	Eloise: The Animated Series	Wes Archer	colspan="2" Template:N/A
2008	Manolete	Menno Meyjes	colspan="2" Template:N/A
	Fifty Dead Men Walking	Kari Skogland	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2009	Planet 51	Jorge Blanco	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Cracks	Jordan Scott	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2010s
2010	127 Hours	Danny Boyle	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2020s (credited under GFM Films)
2024	Time Bandits	Jemaine Clement Iain Morris Taika Waititi	76% (51 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite Rotten TomatoesTemplate:Cbignore</ref>	66% (28 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite MetacriticTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

References

Works cited

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External links

• Template:Official website
• HANDMADE LIMITED (03270629) company overview (1996-2018) at Companies House
• 1988 Interview with George Harrison at Film Comment
• An Accidental Studio documentary about the history of HandMade films