NOW AVAILABLE FOR SALE OR RENTAL
ON ALL YOUR FAVORITE DIGITAL PLATFORMS
Also available NOW on DVD/Blu-ray
and on The Criterion Channel,
along with a 20 film retrospective of the films of Cinema 5
Produced & Directed by
Ira Deutchman
Executive Producers
Peter Gilbert
Beth Krieger
Susan Lacy
Edited by
Brian Gersten
Original Score by
Leo Sidran
94 minutes
The feature documentary Searching for Mr. Rugoff is the story of Donald Rugoff, who was the crazy genius behind Cinema 5, the mid-century theater chain and film distribution company. Rugoff was a difficult (some would say impossible) person but was also the man who kicked art films into the mainstream with outrageous marketing schemes and pure bluster. Rugoff’s impact on cinema culture in the United States is inestimable, and his influence on the art film business—from the studio classics divisions to the independent film movement to the rise of the Weinsteins—is undeniable. Yet, mysteriously, Rugoff has become a virtually forgotten figure. The story is told through the eyes of former employee Ira Deutchman, who sets out to find the truth about the man who had such a major impact on his life, and to understand how such an important figure could have disappeared so completely.
“An essential history of film culture. I got the warm-and-fuzzies from seeing the love here for moviegoing.”
–Nicolas Rapold, New York Times
“An enthralling documentary that film buffs everywhere will want to see.”
–Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“A beautifully structured tale of movie love. “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” is both dramatic and enlightening, a moving document of an American life that has a bit of “Citizen Kane” to it.”
–Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com
“Searching for Mr. Rugoff is an entertaining and instructive jaunt, and it bristles with small shocks”
–Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
“A LOVING AND KALEIDOSCOPIC PORTRAIT.”
–DAVID EHRLICH, INDIEWIRE
“Quirky and thought provoking”
–Peter Keough. BOSTON GLOBE
“Entertaining and enlightening”
–Sandra Kent, Boston Herald
“Equal parts documentary, investigation, and film history feature, and all three are compelling in different ways…You’ll be charmed by it.”
–Kristen Lopez, Indiewire
