Silent Film on DVD and BD

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neilist
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2011 5:09 am
Location: Cambridge, UK

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#801 Post by neilist » Wed May 06, 2020 9:05 pm

Le Centre Pompidou have made Sergei's Eisenstein's debut 5-minute short 'Dnevnik Glumova' available online for a week, until Wednesday 13 May mid-afternoon CEST. It's a filmed insert to a play and doesn't have intertitles, so doesn't tell a hugely coherent story on its own. The short has been around online for some time, but this version seem to be in much better shape than those.

Filmmuseum München are screening their restoration of Piel Jutzis' 'Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück' on their Vimeo page, though you may have to quick if you want to watch it as I think it's only available until midnight tonight CEST, i.e. less than 24-hours from now...

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#802 Post by L.A. » Tue May 12, 2020 10:46 am

Filmoteca UNAM in Mexico has two silents free for streaming with Spanish and English intertitles: El tren fantasma (1926) and El puño de hierro (1927). Unfortunately the oldest surviving Mexican silent Tepeyac (1917) has no English intertitle or subtitle options but an English-friendly DVD+book combo is available though.

Isn’t a silent but the country’s first expressionist film Dos monjes (1934) sounds fascinating. Wonder whether a DVD exists?

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jwd5275
Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 12:26 pm
Location: SF, CA

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#803 Post by jwd5275 » Tue May 12, 2020 1:15 pm

Dos monjes was restored by the WCP and therefore will likely be released by Criterion at some point

seancolletti
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:28 pm

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#804 Post by seancolletti » Mon Aug 17, 2020 12:52 am

Hello. I'm trying to compile a comprehensive list of Scandinavian silent films available on DVD and/or Blu-Ray and was hoping some members here might be able to fill in some gaps or make corrections to the info. I already have. There were a couple posts earlier in this thread that were helpful, but I can't seem to find a way to private message those posters, so apologies if this is retreading a little bit.

In some cases, I'm listing what seems like the best edition and leaving off lesser ones.

Sweden

Ingeborg Holm (1913) / A Man There Was (1917) [Kino DVD - Out of print]
The Outlaw and His Wife (1918) [Kino DVD - Out of print]
Sir Arne's Treasure (1919) [Kino DVD - Out of print]
Erotikon (1920) [Kino DVD - Out of print]
The Parson's Widow (1920) [Flicker Alley - MOD]
Johan (1921) [ARTE - In print] [German]
The Phantom Carriage (1921) [Criterion DVD/BR - In print]
Häxan (1922) (Criterion DVD/BR - Out of print]
The Saga of Gösta Berling (1924) [Kino DVD - Out of print]

Six of those are in a DVD box set from the Swedish Film Institute, but it doesn't seem like any are significant improvements over the best individual editions.

Denmark

Master of the House (1924) [Criterion DVD/BR - In print] [Also included in BFI Dreyer collection]

And the 12 DVDs released by the Danish Film Institute, listed here: https://www.gartenbergmedia.com/dvd-dis ... ent-cinema

Those look to be in print but at non-institution prices from third-party sellers elsewhere.

Norway

Laila (1929) [Flicker Alley DVD - In print]

And three from the Norwegian Film Institute, only one of which I can seem to find in print on any Norwegian sites, The Bridal Party in Hardanger (1926) [DVD]. The two I can't find anywhere are Gipsy Anne (1920) [BR] and Markens Grøde (1921) [DVD].

It also looks like there was a release from NFI for Schneeschuhbanditen/Bergenstoget plyndret inatt (1928), but I couldn't find it listed anywhere, including the third-party sites that had info. for the other three as unavailable.

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RobertB
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:00 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#805 Post by RobertB » Mon Aug 17, 2020 12:43 pm

The Swedish film by Dreyer - Prästänkan (The Parson's Widow) was released on DVD by Image Entertainment in 2004 as a pressed disc.

Stefan Andersson
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#806 Post by Stefan Andersson » Sat Sep 19, 2020 12:32 pm

Some new colour footage from Phantom of the Opera (1925) courtesy of EYE Film Institute now online. Video and discussion here:
https://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30633

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#807 Post by L.A. » Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:17 am


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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
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Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#808 Post by L.A. » Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:25 am

Film Preservation Society has a pre-order up for Too Many Kisses (Paul Sloane, 1925), starring Richard Dix and Harpo Marx in his film debut. Coming in November.
PRE-ORDER: Too Many Kisses [Blu-ray, 2020]

Sale Price: $25.00 Original Price: $30.00

1925: Harpo Marx is starring on Broadway; Richard Dix is one of the newest stars of the silent screen and William Powell is nearly a decade away from making the first Thin Man movie. The three of them star in Paramount’s delightful comedy Too Many Kisses, which vanishes without a trace shortly after its initial release. Thought lost for decades, the film is now available for the first time.

With a new score composed and performed by Bill Marx - son of Harpo - Too Many Kisses is presented to modern audiences in a beautiful new restoration from Film Preservation Society. Among the film’s many charms is the chance to see Harpo speak – albeit through a title card. Powell is sinister in one of his many early villain roles and Dix is the dashing young romantic hero. (He’s romancing Frances Howard, who would soon give up her career to marry producer Samuel Goldwyn.)

Too Many Kisses will excite Marx Brothers fans eager to see the film debut of Harpo Marx. But Marx Brothers fans also get another important, rarely seen film on this Blu-ray edition of Too Many Kisses. The House That Shadows Built, a 1931 Paramount promotional feature celebrating the studio’s 20th anniversary, includes a Marx Brothers sequence not seen in any of their films. And that’s not the only rare treasure. Clips from lost silent films featuring stars like Douglas Fairbanks and Lon Chaney are included in this meticulously restored piece of film history.

Bonus Features:

The House That Shadows Built, restored 1931 Paramount publicity film featuring the Four Marx Brothers, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Gary Cooper, William S. Hart, Clara Bow, Lon Chaney, Marlene Dietrich, Harold Lloyd, Gloria Swanson, John Barrymore, and many other stars.

“About Film Preservation Society,” a short presentation about The Biograph Project, an effort to restore and preserve all of the short films directed by D.W. Griffith for the Biograph Company.

Restored 1910 D.W. Griffith Biograph short, “A Child’s Impulse” starring Mary Pickford, and featuring a new score written and performed by Donald Sosin.

16-page booklet with essays by D. Christian Anderson, Robert S. Bader, Kevin Brownlow, and Tracey Goessel.

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whaleallright
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#809 Post by whaleallright » Tue Oct 06, 2020 12:24 pm

L.A. wrote:
Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:17 am
City symphony Chicago - Weltstadt in Flegeljahren (Heinrich Hauser, 1931) upcoming from Arte.
Anyone know of any plans to release this in the US? I'd love to see this -- my family would have been in Chicago when the movie was shot, and having grown up there, I recognize lots of the locations in the trailer. It's become a nuisance to import discs lately, but I will if I have to!

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#810 Post by L.A. » Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:55 am

Apparently there is a new restored(?) edition of L'Inhumaine (Marcel L’Herbier, 1924) out now from Lobster Films. Is this English-friendly?

Raymond Marble
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:48 pm

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#811 Post by Raymond Marble » Fri Nov 27, 2020 12:43 pm

L.A. wrote:
Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:55 am
Apparently there is a new restored(?) edition of L'Inhumaine (Marcel L’Herbier, 1924) out now from Lobster Films. Is this English-friendly?
Isn't this the same restoration that Flicker Alley released in the States a while back?

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#812 Post by tenia » Fri Nov 27, 2020 12:52 pm

I'm not sure if it really is a new release or just a repacking of Lobster's existing release, which indeed used the same restoration than FA.

Kauno
Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2011 4:01 am

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#813 Post by Kauno » Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 pm

L.A. wrote:
Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:17 am
City symphony Chicago - Weltstadt in Flegeljahren (Heinrich Hauser, 1931) upcoming from Arte.
I can't find this on IMDb. Am I doing something wrong :-k

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Wigs by Leonard
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2020 3:52 pm

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#814 Post by Wigs by Leonard » Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:57 pm

Kauno wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:46 pm
L.A. wrote:
Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:17 am
City symphony Chicago - Weltstadt in Flegeljahren (Heinrich Hauser, 1931) upcoming from Arte.
I can't find this on IMDb. Am I doing something wrong :-k
I also can't find it on IMDb, and I don't know if this is useful in its place, but I remembered that Chicago Film Society screened this at the Music Box in 2019. I didn't go, but I was curious. Links to the website writeup, and a squib review in the Reader.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#815 Post by L.A. » Thu Dec 24, 2020 3:26 am

L.A. wrote:
Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:25 am
Film Preservation Society has a pre-order up for Too Many Kisses (Paul Sloane, 1925), starring Richard Dix and Harpo Marx in his film debut. Coming in November.
PRE-ORDER: Too Many Kisses [Blu-ray, 2020]

Sale Price: $25.00 Original Price: $30.00

1925: Harpo Marx is starring on Broadway; Richard Dix is one of the newest stars of the silent screen and William Powell is nearly a decade away from making the first Thin Man movie. The three of them star in Paramount’s delightful comedy Too Many Kisses, which vanishes without a trace shortly after its initial release. Thought lost for decades, the film is now available for the first time.

With a new score composed and performed by Bill Marx - son of Harpo - Too Many Kisses is presented to modern audiences in a beautiful new restoration from Film Preservation Society. Among the film’s many charms is the chance to see Harpo speak – albeit through a title card. Powell is sinister in one of his many early villain roles and Dix is the dashing young romantic hero. (He’s romancing Frances Howard, who would soon give up her career to marry producer Samuel Goldwyn.)

Too Many Kisses will excite Marx Brothers fans eager to see the film debut of Harpo Marx. But Marx Brothers fans also get another important, rarely seen film on this Blu-ray edition of Too Many Kisses. The House That Shadows Built, a 1931 Paramount promotional feature celebrating the studio’s 20th anniversary, includes a Marx Brothers sequence not seen in any of their films. And that’s not the only rare treasure. Clips from lost silent films featuring stars like Douglas Fairbanks and Lon Chaney are included in this meticulously restored piece of film history.

Bonus Features:

The House That Shadows Built, restored 1931 Paramount publicity film featuring the Four Marx Brothers, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Gary Cooper, William S. Hart, Clara Bow, Lon Chaney, Marlene Dietrich, Harold Lloyd, Gloria Swanson, John Barrymore, and many other stars.

“About Film Preservation Society,” a short presentation about The Biograph Project, an effort to restore and preserve all of the short films directed by D.W. Griffith for the Biograph Company.

Restored 1910 D.W. Griffith Biograph short, “A Child’s Impulse” starring Mary Pickford, and featuring a new score written and performed by Donald Sosin.

16-page booklet with essays by D. Christian Anderson, Robert S. Bader, Kevin Brownlow, and Tracey Goessel.
FYI, this is a pressed disc.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#816 Post by hearthesilence » Wed Feb 03, 2021 2:14 am

Wasn't quite sure where to put this, but Dave Kehr tweeted this link recently.

It's a 12-minute Charley Chase short from 1925 called Plain and Fancy Girls, directed by Leo McCarey (who was Chase's frequent collaborator) and according to Kehr, it was considered a lost film until it popped up on YouTube, which seems amazing - you'd think the uploader would make a note of it. (Judging by his other uploads, maybe he just had a handful of random, old films and decided to scan them all?)

Significant print damage, and yet it doesn't detract from the viewing experience, and it's pretty great! McCarey already proves to be a very sophisticated director with both his staging and some very impressive dolly (or tracking?) shots.

I see there have been a few DVD sets on Chase's silent and sound work - from Kino, Milestone and Kit Parker. I read about him like DECADES ago in a book that put him among the giants of silent comedy - maybe published in the '90s, it also indicated that he was sorely underrated and rarely discussed compared to Chaplin, Keaton or Laurel and Hardy. I'd say I've never heard anyone but silent film connoisseurs discussing his work - until the Leo McCarey retrospective at MoMA some years back, I don't think I ever had the chance to see any of his films projected either.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#817 Post by L.A. » Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:23 am

Sanz and the Secret of His Art (1918) was made available for a free stream on Feb. 5th thanks to Filmoteca Valenciana – Institut Valencià de Cultura.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#818 Post by L.A. » Tue Jun 29, 2021 10:39 am

Received an email from National Library (Nasjonalbiblioteket) in Norway earlier today. Their next silent publication on Blu-ray called Stumme filmspor will be released in September. The films are from 1910s.
Stumme filmspor, the collection of silent films, will have English subtitles (as well as a booklet with newly written film essays, with English translations). Stumme filmspor includes the titles Under forvandlingens lov, Dæmonen (fragments), Revolutionens datter, Historien om en gut and a short film called Paa jagt efter landets skjønneste kvinde. On the disc you will also find over 200 stills from “lost” silent films from the period.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#819 Post by L.A. » Sat Jul 03, 2021 11:29 am

L.A. wrote:
Tue Jun 29, 2021 10:39 am
Received an email from National Library (Nasjonalbiblioteket) in Norway earlier today. Their next silent publication on Blu-ray called Stumme filmspor will be released in September. The films are from 1910s.
Stumme filmspor, the collection of silent films, will have English subtitles (as well as a booklet with newly written film essays, with English translations). Stumme filmspor includes the titles Under forvandlingens lov, Dæmonen (fragments), Revolutionens datter, Historien om en gut and a short film called Paa jagt efter landets skjønneste kvinde. On the disc you will also find over 200 stills from “lost” silent films from the period.
Platekompaniet has a listing for it now. Doesn’t ship overseas though.

Stefan Andersson
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:02 am

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#820 Post by Stefan Andersson » Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:44 pm

A new thread about silent French films on DVD and Bluray:
https://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31967

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#821 Post by L.A. » Tue Sep 28, 2021 4:25 am

Julien Duvivier - Premiers chefs-d'oeuvre 1926-1930 in November. No mention of English subtitles yet.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#822 Post by L.A. » Fri Oct 01, 2021 3:46 pm

L.A. wrote:
Tue Sep 28, 2021 4:25 am
Julien Duvivier - Premiers chefs-d'oeuvre 1926-1930 in November. No mention of English subtitles yet.
No English subs. Bummer. Guess that’s that.

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

Silent Film on DVD and BD

#823 Post by Matt » Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:25 pm

An English-friendly, Blu-ray-only edition of the Duvivier set has been announced for pre-order by Flicker Alley.

(This is a PSA, not a reply to L.A. since they posted the news in a different thread.)

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captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#824 Post by captveg » Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:10 pm

With Kino announcing a BD of Lubitsch's Three Women (1924) for 1/18/22, it made me realize that Warner has sat on some of their premiere owned silent titles for so long (The Crowd (1928), The Wind (1928), etc.) that we could easily see George Eastman 4K restorations released via labels like Kino or Flicker Alley in four-five years or so, with WB never capitalizing on them. Obviously this depends on who has archived what elements, especially for a film like Greed (1924), which has already entered the public domain.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Silent Film on DVD and BD

#825 Post by knives » Wed Nov 03, 2021 7:31 pm

With Greed though isn’t the theatrical cut the only one that is public domain? Supposedly any longer cut will be copyrighted for a few more decades?

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