From Oscars.org:
In 1986, the Chanticleer Films’ Discovery Program was founded by producers Jana Sue Memel and Jonathan Sanger to give film industry professionals in other areas of the business an opportunity to direct their first 35mm short film. “Ray’s Male Heterosexual Dance Hall” (1987), the very first film produced by Chanticleer, won an Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category. Directed by the likes of Griffin Dunne, Christine Lahti, and Jeff Goldblum, 10 more nominations resulting in two more Academy Awards followed. In 1995 alone, four of the five films nominated in the Live Action Short Film category were Chanticleer Films productions.
Chanticleer Films was initially funded by various industry professionals and distributed their films via festivals and on Public Broadcasting Televsion. In the early nineties, cable channel Showtime began to fund the project and re-launched Chanticleer’s output as the “30-Minute Movie” program which was broadcast on Showtime.
Along with Academy Award Winners Rays... and Lieberman in Love, Chanticleer also produced the noted short 12:01 PM, which featured a blistering performance by RoboCop and That Seventies Show actor Kurtwood Smith and was based a time-loop concept familiar to fans of Groundhog Day.
The generic sounding “Cinema Collection” UK DVD box release collects together the majority of Chanticleer Film’s output. The menus vary slightly between some discs because either some or all of the “Volumes” were standalone DVD/VHS releases at some point. It is not complete, missing at least one short – 1988’s Greasy Lake, and possibly others. The set also does not include the feature-film versions developed from some of the shorts.
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME ONE
The Investigator – Starring Vincent D’Onofrio and Ame Heche
Teach 109 – Starring Jason Patric, Elizabeth Perkins and James Earl Jones
Another Round – Starring Alison Elliot and Brett Cullen
Hogg’s Heaven – Staring Keith Gordon and Shirley Knight
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME TWO
Texan – Starring Dana Delany and directed by Treat Willams
Museum of love – Starring Samantha Mathis and directed by Christian Slater
Once in a Blue Moon – Starring Fisher Steven, Jeff Silverman and Viggo Mortensen
Hearts of Stone – Starring Glen Plummer
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME THREE
Witness -Starring Gary Sinise and Eljah Wood
Lieberman in Love – Starring and directed by Christina Lahti with Danny Aiello and Nancy Travis
Birch St. Gym – Starring Harald Could, Directed by Stephen Kessler. Oscar Nominee for Live Action Short Film
The Price of Life – Starring Fred Ward
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME FOUR
The Gift -Starring Isabella Rosselini and Bonnie Bedelia, Directad by Laura Dern
Grandpa’s Funeral – Starring Joyce Van Patten
Two Over Easy – Starring Lucinda Jenney and Veranica Cartwright
Traveler’s Rest -Starring Paul Dooley
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME FIVE
Under The Car – Starring Robert Curtis Brown
Take Out The Beast – Starring Gary Kemp, Clarles Martin Smith and Steven Weber
On Hope – Starring Mereedes Ruehll, Directed by Jobeth Williams
Override – Starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Emily Lloyd, Directedy by Danny Glover
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME SIX
Present Tense, Past Perfect – Starring Anne Archer, Marin Sheen and Carrie Fisher, Directed by Richard Dreyfuss
Evening Class – Starring Michael Beach
Peacock Blues – Starring Bill Forsythe
Partners – Starring Griffin Dunne and Marg Helgenberger, Directed by Peter Weller.
Oscar Nominee for Best Live Action Short Film
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME SEVEN
Desert’s Edge – Starring Jay Thomas. Dirarted by Rob Lowe
The Last Shot – Starring Adam Baldwin and Gary Marshall
Session Man – Starring James Remar (Oscar Winner for Live Action Short Film)
What a Pass – Starring John Amos and Branford Marsalis. Directed by Marco Williams.
Oscar Nominee for Best Live Action Short Film
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME EIGHT
Conquering Space – Starring Guich Koock
18 Minutes in Albuquerque – Starring David Bowe and Kathleen Wilhoite
Tuesday Morning Ride – Starring Ruby Dee and Bill Cobbs
To the Moon, Alice – Starring Chris Cooper, Karen Young, Lisa Kudrow and Stephen Tobolowsky
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME NINE
A Hard Rain – Starring John Mahoney
12.01 PM – Staring Kurtwood Smith (Oscar Nominee for Best Live Action Short Film)
Bufford’s Got A Gun- Starring Frank Gorhhim
Leslie’s Folly – Starring Anne Archer, Mary Kay Place, Charles Durning and John Shea, Directed by Kathleen Turner
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME TEN
15th Phase of The Moon – Starring Bridgette Bako
Heart of the Deal – Starring Ruben Blades and Vincent Spano
Astronomy – Staring Hector Elizondo
The Great O’Grady – Starring Keith Coogan and Tom Hodges
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME ELEVEN
Peacemaker – Starring Mary Helgenberger and Lukas Haas
The Letter from Moab – Staring Priscilla Barnes
Right Driving – Staring William Sadler
Private Deals – Staring Shelia Kelley
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME TWELVE
Mr. Fix It-Starrin John Lawlor
The Jogger – Starring Terry O’Quinn.
(Winner Gold Award for Best Live Action at the Houston International Film Festival, Cable Age Award Winer)
Sapphire Man – Starring Powers Boothe
Little Surprises – Staring Rod Steiger and Julie Harris, Directed by Jeff Goldblum
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME THIRTEEN
Contact – Starring Brad Pitt and Elias Koteas:. Directed hy Jonathan Darly.
(Oscar Nominee for Best Live Action Short Film)
Beware of Dog – Starring Justine Bateman
The Open Window – Starring Barry Neikrug
They Haven’t Seen This – Starring Lori Petty
CINEMA COLLECTION VOLUME FOURTEEN
Ray’s Heterosexual Dance Hall – Staring David Rasche and Fred Willard
Oscar Winner for Best Live Action Short Film)
Little Feet – Starring Ed Gale and Ellen Greene
Homesick – Starring Kurtwood Smith and Miriam Flynn
Duke of Groove – Starring Tobey Maguire, Uma Thurman, Eliot Gould, Kiefer Sutherland and Kate Capshaw; Directed by Griffin Dunne
DVD Box Set Artwork:
