Flicker Alley (USA) and
Film Preservation Associates (USA) has released what will easily be one of the three most-important DVD releases of 2008, a two-disc, 4.5-hour
NTSC format edition of Abel Gance’s
La Roue (1922). The film has been restored to 20 of the 32 reels of its French premiere, and is presented with an orchestral score composed and conducted by Robert Israel.
Kino International (USA) has release a number of
NTSC format DVD releases of titles previously available only on VHS. Available separately are
The Red Kimona (1925) starring Priscilla Bonner,
Lois Weber’s Hypocrites (1915) with
Cleo Madison’s Eleanor’s Catch (1916), Alice Guy Blaché’s
The Ocean Waif (1916) with Ruth Ann Baldwin’s
’49-’17 (1917), and the Charles Musser documentary
Before the Nickelodeon (1982).
Criterion Collection (USA) has released their DVD boxset of silent Yasujiro Ozu films,
Silent Ozu (1931-1933). The
NTSC format set includes
Tokyo Chorus (1931),
I Was Born, But . . . (1932) and
Passing Fancy (1933).
Kino International (USA) has released their DVD boxset
Houdini: The Movie Star (1919-1923). The three-disc
NTSC format set includes the serial
The Master Mystery (1919) and the feature films
Terror Island (1920),
The Man from Beyond (1922) and
Haldane of the Secret Service (1923).
Nederlands Filmmuseum has
preserved unique nitrate prints of three feature films starring
Sessue Hayakawa,
His Birthright (1918),
The Man Beneath (1919) and
The Courageous Coward (1919), in response to the upsurge in interest in the Japanese-born Hollywood star.
Milestone Film & Video (USA) has released their
NTSC format DVD edition of
The Dragon Painter (1919) starring Hayakawa and
Tsuru Aoki. Also included will be
The Wrath of the Gods (1914).
Flicker Alley (USA) and
Film Preservation Associates (USA) have released
Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913), a five-disc
NTSC format DVD boxset that contains more than 170 Méliès films that span the cinema pioneer’s entire career. Several musicians provide accompaniment to the films gathered from film archives worldwide.
Kino International (USA) has released their DVD editions of Robert Wiene’s
The Hands of Orlac (1924) starring
Conrad Veidt, and G.W. Pabst’s
Secrets of a Soul (1926). Available separately, the discs are also included in a new boxset,
German Expressionism Collection (1920-1926), which includes Kino’s editions of
Warning Shadows (1923) and
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).
Flicker Alley (USA) and
Film Preservation Associates (USA) have released the three-disc
NTSC format DVD set
Saved from the Flames (1896-1944). Covering a number of short-film genres from dramas to comedies and experimental to jazz, the set presents many silent-era films preserved from endangered nitrate originals.
Eureka Entertainment (UK) has released a new
PAL format DVD edition of
Fritz Lang’s Frau im mond [Woman in the Moon] (1929).
Edition Filmmuseum (Germany) has released their two-disc
PAL edition of the restored
Frank Borzage film
The River (1928) starring Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan. The supplementary materials include three early Borzage films from 1915-1916.
All-Day Entertainment (USA) has released
Lost and Found: The Harry Langdon Collection (1924-1944). Comprised of many short films being released on DVD for the first time, the four-disc set also includes a documentary on Langdon, home movies and audio commentary.
Sunrise Silents (USA) has released their edition of
Cecil B. DeMille’s The Road to Yesterday (1925). Also released are digital editions of the October 1913 issue of
Motion Picture Story Magazine, the March 1920 issue of
Photoplay Magazine, and the September 1926 issue of
Motion Picture Magazine.
JEF Films (USA) has released their editions of
Frank Capra’s That Certain Thing (1928) starring Viola Dana and Ralph Graves,
Cecil B. DeMille’s The Little American (1917) starring Mary Pickford, and Paul Sloan’s
The Coming of Amos (1925) starring Jetta Goudal and Noah Beery.
The University Press of Kentucky (USA) has published Ray Zone’s
Stereoscopic Cinema and the Origins of 3-D Film: 1838-1952.
Fox Home Video (USA) has released a fantastic boxset,
The Ford at Fox Collection: John Ford’s Silent Epics (1920-1928), consisting of the five
John Ford feature films
Just Pals (1920),
The Iron Horse (1924),
3 Bad Men (1926),
Hangman’s House (1928) and
Four Sons (1928).
Kino International (USA) has released a DVD edition of
Ernst Lubitsch’s early film
The Doll (1919) with the feature-length documentary
Ernst Lubitsch in Berlin (2006). The new disc is available separately and in a economically-priced five-disc
Lubitsch in Berlin boxset that includes the previously-released titles in Kino’s Lubitsch in Berlin series:
The Oyster Princess (1919) with
I Don’t Want to Be a Man (1919),
Anna Boleyn (1920), and
Sumurun (1920) and
The Wildcat (1921).
Since the first posting on 8 October 2007, there has been a hot discussion on the Criterion Forum blog site regarding the assertion that a print of
F.W. Murnau’s 4 Devils (1928) has survived in a nitrate stash held by a retired engineer living in Tacoma, Washington. Cruel rumor or film recovery of the decade?
You decide.
Grapevine Video (USA) has released their
NTSC DVD-R editions of
Love ’em and Leave ’em (1926) starring
Evelyn Brent and
Louise Brooks,
The Man from Painted Post (1917) starring
Douglas Fairbanks,
Dress Parade (1926) starring William Boyd and Bessie Love,
The Red Raiders (1927) starring Ken Maynard, and a Glenn Tryon double feature with
Barnum Was Right (1929) and
Dames Ahoy (1930).
Eureka Entertainment (UK) has released a
PAL format definitive two-disc edition of
Nosferatu (1922), based on the recent F.W. Murnau-Stiftung restoration, which features the original 1922 intertitles, a new orchestral recording of the original Hans Erdmann music score, a full-length audio commentary, and 92-page booklet. Meanwhile,
Kino International (USA) has released a
two-disc set American
NTSC format edition of the restoration version, sharing many of the same features.
Eureka Entertainment (UK) has released a new
PAL format DVD edition of
Tabu (1931), from the recent F.W. Murnau-Stiftung restoration, which features the
F.W. Murnau’s cut of the film, a full-length audio commentary, and an 80-page booklet.
Edition Filmmuseum (Germany) has released their
PAL edition of the 2006 restoration of Hugo Rütters’
Vom Reiche der sechs Punke (1927).
Unknown Video (USA) has released a DVD edition of
What Happened to Rosa? (1920), starring
Mabel Normand. The disc also features
Hide and Seek (1913), and musical accompaniment by
Ben Model.
Sunrise Silents (USA) has released a DVD-R edition of
The Ice Flood (1926) starring Kenneth Harlan and Viola Dana. Also available are digital editions of the April 1916 issue of
Picture-Play Magazine, the June 1923 issue of
Motion Picture Magazine, and the February 1925 issue of
Photoplay Magazine.
Kino International (USA) has released an exciting two-disc edition of the definitive restoration of
Sergei M. Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925). The set includes the restored film mastered in high-definition, including all of the footage edited from the film before its premiere in its original and intended sequencing, accompanied by a full-orchestra presentation in 5.1 surround sound of the original Edmund Meisel German premiere music score overseen by Eisenstein. Also included is a presentation of the edited film as it originally premiered with optional English intertitles, a documentary on the making and restoration of the film, and a photo gallery.
The National Film Preservation Foundation (USA) has released their third collection of preserved films
Treasures III: Social Issues in American Films (1900-1934). The four-disc set, which was preceeded by the
Treasures from American Film Archives and
More Treasures boxsets, features short films, cartoons and feature films on social themes, including the early Technicolor
Redskin (1929) and
Cecil B. DeMille’s The Godless Girl (1928).
Warner Home Video (USA) has released the extras-packed three-disc edition of
The Jazz Singer (1927) starring Al Jolson, which includes more than 25 early Vitaphone sound shorts (1926-1929).
Image Entertainment (USA) has released David Shepard’s production of the “Ultimate Edition” of
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). A new high-definition video transfer from an ‘original’ color-tinted print is presented with a new orchestral score conducted by Robert Israel.
Kino International (USA) has released a new edition of
The Cat and the Canary (1927) as produced for video by
Photoplay Productions. The disc is available separately and in a new boxset
American Silent Horror Collection (1920-1998) along with
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920),
The Penalty (1920),
The Man Who Laughs (1928) and the Kino documentary
Kingdom of Shadows (1998).
