British programmes sales company 3DD Entertainment has picked up a package of classic films that have been out of circulation for nearly a decade.

The package consists of critically acclaimed films made under the American Film Theatre (AFT) banner between 1973-1976. Directed by cinema greats including Joseph Losey, Lindsay Anderson and Tony Richardson, the collection consists of stage plays that were filmed and screened for audiences which originally paid a subscription fee. Titles include Man In The Glass Booth (pictured), for which Maximillian Schell won an Oscar nomination, and Three Sisters.

They were acquired for 3DD from the family of the AFT's creator Ely Landau, in association with Lorber Media's Richard Lorber, who previously brokered a similar deal involving a package of early Woody Allen films via Turner Classic Movies. 3DD will represent all rights to the titles worldwide, with the exception of the US theatrical and US DVD markets.

The AFT collection was originally handled by Telepictures and Lorimar, before it was sold to Warner Bros. "It is five or ten years since most of these were seen. Most have not been on video and none have ever been on DVD," said Lorber. "We hope that broadcasters will play them as a complete series, keeping to the spirit of the original subscription sale," said 3DD's Dominic Saville.