Pathé

Pathé is a historic French film and media brand whose origins date to the founding of Société Pathé Frères in Paris on 28 September 1896. Established by brothers Charles, Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé, the business initially combined phonograph retailing and recorded sound with the manufacture of entertainment equipment. It soon expanded into motion-picture cameras, film stock, production, distribution and exhibition. Pathé became one of the most important companies in the formative years of global cinema and is generally regarded as the second-oldest continuously operating film company after Gaumont. During the first decades of the twentieth century, Pathé developed an unusually broad vertically integrated model. It manufactured cameras and projectors, produced films, operated laboratories, distributed prints internationally and built cinema networks. At its peak, the company had a very substantial share of the world film market and maintained operations or commercial facilities in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan. Its rooster emblem became one of the most recognizable symbols in early cinema. Pathé also helped establish practices that later became standard in the industry. In 1907, it introduced a rental model in which film prints remained under the distributor's ownership and were licensed to cinemas rather than permanently sold. In 1908, it introduced the cinema newsreel, creating a recurring format for presenting current events before feature films. Pathé's early output included fiction films, actualities, travel films, news and spectacle pictures. The company worked with or distributed films by prominent early filmmakers, including Ferdinand Zecca, Segundo de Chomón and Georges Méliès. It developed studios and distribution operations in France, Britain and the United States, and operated one of the industry's largest cinema circuits. Pathé also pursued technical innovation, including smaller-gauge formats, sound-film research and equipment development. The Pathé Baby 9.5 mm home-film system, introduced in 1922, brought simplified film viewing and amateur filmmaking to a wider audience. The company later separated much of its phonograph activity from its cinema operations. Pathé's record businesses were sold or transferred through a series of transactions in the late 1920s and subsequently became part of the corporate history of EMI and, later, other music-rights businesses. Its American film-production activities were also separated and eventually absorbed into other American studio structures. These disposals reflected a broader retreat from the fully integrated international model that had characterized Pathé before the First World War. Pathé experienced financial and organizational difficulties after the war and during the Great Depression. Bernard Natan took control in 1929 and attempted to modernize the business through sound production, cinema expansion, publishing, broadcasting and technical research. His tenure included renewed feature and newsreel production and investment in communications ventures, but Pathé entered bankruptcy proceedings in the mid-1930s. Natan was removed, prosecuted in a politically and antisemitically charged environment, and later deported and murdered at Auschwitz during the Second World War. The company survived the crisis and resumed important film activity after the war, including involvement in the distribution and exhibition environment surrounding major French productions such as Children of Paradise. In the postwar period, Pathé's identity increasingly centered on film production, distribution and cinema exhibition rather than equipment manufacturing or recorded music. The modern group has operated as a major French and European producer and distributor, while Pathé Cinémas has remained a significant cinema operator. Its exhibition footprint expanded substantially when Pathé acquired Gaumont's cinema interests in 2017, making Pathé Cinémas the largest cinema circuit in France and the Netherlands and the oldest continuously operating cinema circuit in the world. The contemporary group continues to produce and distribute French and European feature films, including large-scale commercial productions, while maintaining a large historical catalogue and the Pathé brand's archival significance.

Pathé began in Paris in 1896 when Charles, Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé created Société Pathé Frères. The brothers first operated in the phonograph trade, selling equipment and cylinder recordings, but Charles Pathé recognized that the emerging motion-picture business offered a much larger international opportunity. The company moved into cameras, projectors, film stock and production, and reorganized its corporate structure to finance rapid expansion. Pathé's early growth was based on vertical integration. It produced films, manufactured equipment, processed film, distributed prints and established cinemas. The group expanded to London in 1902 and subsequently developed operations or facilities in major European cities, the United States and other overseas markets. By the beginning of the twentieth century, it had become one of the world's leading film companies. Its productions ranged from actualities and travel subjects to fiction, comedy, spectacle and crime films. Ferdinand Zecca's Histoire d'un crime, produced in 1901, is associated with early realistic drama and an influential use of flashback. Pathé also distributed or collaborated on works connected with Segundo de Chomón and Georges Méliès. Exhibition was central to the company's strategy. Pathé opened the Omnia-Pathé in Paris in 1906, among the early permanent cinemas built for film rather than fairground presentation. It then expanded its cinema network in France, Belgium and other markets. In 1907, the company introduced a rental approach in which distributors retained control of prints and licensed them to exhibitors. This reduced the problems associated with worn-out prints and created a recurring revenue model that anticipated modern film distribution. The company was also an important technology and media innovator. It acquired Lumière-related patents in 1907, invested in cameras and laboratories, launched the Pathé newsreel in 1908 and introduced the Pathéscope 28 mm non-flammable format in 1912. Its American operations included production activity in New Jersey, where serial films such as The Perils of Pauline were made. Pathé's record operations remained substantial, but the phonograph and cinema businesses were increasingly separated. The Pathé Baby 9.5 mm home-cinema system, launched in 1922, extended the brand into amateur and domestic film use. The First World War and the postwar restructuring of the international film industry weakened Pathé's position. Charles Pathé began selling or divesting assets, including American production and British studio interests. By the late 1920s, the company was more heavily concentrated on distribution, exhibition and selected production. Bernard Natan assumed control in 1929 and sought to rebuild the business. He introduced sound-film production, revived the newsreel, expanded cinemas and invested in magazines, radio, television experiments and research into widescreen imaging. Natan's restructuring could not overcome the effects of the Great Depression, excessive expansion and financing problems. Pathé entered bankruptcy proceedings in the mid-1930s, Natan was dismissed and he later faced fraud charges. The charges and press campaign against him were marked by antisemitic and xenophobic themes. He was imprisoned, transferred to the Nazi authorities during the occupation and murdered at Auschwitz in 1942. Pathé survived under new arrangements and resumed significant activity after the Second World War, while its earlier record assets and foreign film operations passed into other corporate structures. In the later twentieth century and the contemporary period, Pathé became primarily a French and European film producer, distributor and cinema operator. The company has maintained a major historical catalogue while producing and releasing commercially ambitious French-language and European films. Its cinema presence grew further through the 2017 acquisition of Gaumont's cinema interests. Pathé Cinémas is now a major operator in France and the Netherlands, and the group continues to combine production, distribution and exhibition under the Pathé name.

• 2017

  Pathé expands its cinema circuit

  [1]Pathéen.wikipedia.org

  Pathé acquires Gaumont's cinema interests, reinforcing its position in French and Dutch exhibition.

• 1942

  Bernard Natan is murdered at Auschwitz

  [2]Bernard Natanen.wikipedia.org

  After imprisonment and transfer to Nazi authorities, former Pathé leader Bernard Natan is deported and murdered at Auschwitz.

• 1936

  Pathé enters bankruptcy proceedings

  [2]Bernard Natanen.wikipedia.org

  Financial pressures and the economic crisis lead to bankruptcy proceedings and Natan's removal from management.

• 1929

  Bernard Natan takes control

  [2]Bernard Natanen.wikipedia.org

  Natan assumes leadership and attempts to modernize Pathé through sound films, exhibition growth and broadcasting ventures.

• 1922

  Pathé Baby launches

  [1]Pathéen.wikipedia.org

  The company introduces a 9.5 mm home-film system that becomes a widely known amateur and domestic cinema format.

• 1908

  Pathé News is introduced

  [1]Pathéen.wikipedia.org

  Pathé establishes the cinema newsreel format, normally shown before feature films and identified by its crowing-rooster emblem.

• 1907

  Pathé adopts film-print rental

  [1]Pathéen.wikipedia.org

  The company shifts toward retaining ownership of prints and renting them to cinemas, an important precursor to modern distribution economics.

• 1906

  Omnia-Pathé opens in Paris

  [1]Pathéen.wikipedia.org

  Pathé opens one of its first permanent purpose-built cinemas, helping move film exhibition beyond temporary fairground venues.

• 1896

  Société Pathé Frères is founded

  [1]Pathéen.wikipedia.org

  The four Pathé brothers establish the company in Paris, initially combining phonograph activities with the emerging film business.

A heritage-led French film group combining premium film production and distribution with large-scale cinema exhibition.

• Film production · 1896

  Feature-film production

  Pathé produces French and European feature films across commercial, historical, literary and prestige categories. The modern group is known for backing substantial productions intended for theatrical release, while its catalogue preserves more than a century of French and international cinema history.

• Film distribution · 1896

  Film distribution

  Distribution has been a core Pathé activity since the early cinema era. The company releases its own productions and selected third-party films, coordinating theatrical circulation and maintaining a business model descended from its pioneering film-rental system.

• Cinema exhibition · 1906

  Pathé Cinémas

  Pathé Cinémas operates multiplex and other cinema venues, principally in France and the Netherlands. The network is a direct continuation of Pathé's early exhibition strategy and became significantly larger after the acquisition of Gaumont cinema interests in 2017.

• Newsreels and archive · 1908

  Pathé News

  Pathé News was an influential cinema-news operation launched in 1908. Although regular newsreel production later ended as television became dominant, the surviving footage remains an important historical archive and a continuing part of the Pathé identity.

• Home cinema equipment · 1922

  Pathé Baby

  Pathé Baby was a compact 9.5 mm home-film system introduced in 1922. It made film projection and amateur collecting more accessible and became one of the best-known consumer formats associated with the historic company.

• 1936

  Pathé bankruptcy and prosecution of Bernard Natan

  Pathé's financial collapse led to bankruptcy proceedings and the dismissal of Bernard Natan. Subsequent prosecution and hostile press coverage included antisemitic attacks concerning Natan's Jewish and Romanian background. He was later deported and murdered by the Nazi regime.

  Source

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• 2017

  Acquisition of Gaumont cinema interestsM&A

  Background

  Pathé sought to strengthen its cinema-exhibition position in France and the Netherlands.

  Action taken

  Pathé acquired Gaumont's cinema operations.

  Aftermath

  The transaction made Pathé Cinémas the leading cinema circuit in France and the Netherlands and reinforced its historic exhibition position.

  Source

• 1922

  Launch of the Pathé Baby home-film formatProduct launch

  Background

  Pathé sought to extend cinema technology beyond professional production and theatrical exhibition.

  Action taken

  The company introduced a 9.5 mm film system with dedicated equipment and content for home users.

  Aftermath

  Pathé Baby became a durable consumer format and an important part of the company's technology legacy.

  Source

• 1907

  Retain ownership of prints and rent them to cinemasStrategy

  Background

  The market was experiencing profitability pressure and saturation as prints were repeatedly resold and deteriorated.

  Action taken

  Pathé shifted toward a rental system in which the distributor retained print ownership and licensed films to exhibitors.

  Aftermath

  The approach improved control over print quality and recurring revenue and helped establish a model recognizable in modern film distribution.

  Source

• 2020-06-23

  Netflix secures rights to Chicken Run sequel outside China[3]Netflix获得《小鸡快跑》续集在中国以外地区的版权comingsoon.net

  Reported: 2020-06-23

  Netflix secured rights to the Chicken Run sequel outside China from Studiocanal and Pathé. Aardman is producing the sequel, which Netflix announced would be coming to its service.

1. 1Pathéen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bernard Natanen.wikipedia.org
3. 3Netflix获得《小鸡快跑》续集在中国以外地区的版权comingsoon.net