Movie Review ‘Searching for Mr. Rugoff’: Distributor Who Brought Arthouse Cinema to America

On April 27, 1975, shoppers on Fifth Avenue in New York City were confronted by the sight of two actors in Arthurian robes, clip-clopping up and down the street to promote a movie opening in a theater nearby. The actors promised free coconuts to the first ticket buyers. Later that day, there were lines around the block for the movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Holy Grail, which no other film distributor wanted, turned out to be a huge hit for Cinema 5, the scrappy and ingenious company that introduced Americans to a trove of great documentary, arthouse, and European films. Critical to these movies’ success were the newspaper-ad campaigns and marketing gimmicks dreamed up by Don Rugoff, who founded Cinema 5 and built it into the Miramax of the ’60s and ’70s.

About the Author

Kyle Smith

Kyle Smith is the film critic for the Wall Street Journal.

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On April 27, 1975, shoppers on Fifth Avenue in New York City were confronted by the sight of two actors in Arthurian robes, clip-clopping up and down the street to promote a movie opening in a theater nearby. The actors promised free coconuts to the first ticket buyers. Later that day, there were lines around the block for the movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Holy Grail, which no other film distributor wanted, turned out to be a huge hit for Cinema 5, the scrappy and ingenious company that introduced Americans to a trove of great documentary, arthouse, and European films. Critical to these movies’ success were the newspaper-ad campaigns and marketing gimmicks dreamed up by Don Rugoff, who founded Cinema 5 and built it into the Miramax of the ’60s and ’70s.