Mumbai: Lionsgate has entered into a multi-year home entertainment distribution agreement with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope Corporation.

Under the terms of the arrangement, Lionsgate obtains the North American DVD, Blu-ray, Electronic-sell-through (EST), Video-on-demand (VOD) and broadcast television distribution rights to some of the most important films in American cinema from master filmmaker Coppola, including Apocalyse Now, Apocalyse Now Redux and others, as well as the North American DVD, Blu-ray, EST and VOD rights to The Conversation.

The first title to be released as part of the deal was Tetro. Lionsgate president and co-chief operating officer Steve Beeks said, " Having directed, produced and written some of the most financially successful and critically acclaimed movies in U.S. cinematic history, we are honored to add a selection of Coppola’s most renowned and personal works to our library and look forward to releasing these titles on all formats."

"With their expertise in the home entertainment marketplace, we consider Lionsgate to be the perfect partner to distribute some of my most enduring films.," said Coppola. The next release under the Zoetrope/Lionsgate partnership will come October 19th, when Lionsgate will unveil Apocalypse Now for the first time ever in High Definition. With new transfers supervised directly by Coppola, Apocalypse Now will premiere on Blu-ray in two deluxe editions: the 2-Film Set and the 3-disc Full Disclosure Edition. The deal with American Zoetrope continues to build on Lionsgate’s success distributing product from prominent libraries in the world. Consisting of approximately 12,000 motion picture titles and television episodes, Lionsgate has one of the largest and prestigious libraries in the entertainment industry with titles ranging from Dirty Dancing, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Basic Instinct, Reservoir Dogs, Monster’s Ball, Crash and Rambo.