Silent Era : DVD : Strike (1924) Review

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Reviews of silent film releases on DVD home video.
Copyright © 1999-2008 by Carl Bennett. All Rights Reserved.

Strike
(1924)
on

Sergei Eisenstein’s first important film is a bold cinematic statement that is, in some aspects, more experimental and visually striking than his later works.

2000 Image Entertainment edition

Strike (1924), black & white, 94 minutes, not rated.

Image Entertainment, ID4588DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-45882-4.
Full-frame 4:3 NTSC, one single-sided, single-layered DVD disc, Region 1, ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops, snapper case, $29.99.
DVD release date: 25 July 2000.
Country of origin: USA

We have not viewed the DVD. We have seen the film in its laserdisc edition.

This edition, prepared by David Shepard, has been transferred from a positive print struck from the original camera negative. And the disc features audio commentary by Russian cinema historian Yuri Tsivian. We are impressed by the new music score performed by The Alloy Orchestra.

USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com.
Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca.

2006 Films-sans-frontières edition

Strike (1924), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, with Glumov’s Diary (1923), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Battleship Potemkin (1925), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, October (1928), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Old and New [The General Line] (1929), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Sentimental Romance (1930), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Que Viva Mexico! (1932), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Bezhin Meadow (1937), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Alexander Nevsky (1938), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, and Ivan the Terrible (1944), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.

Films-sans-frontières, unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
Full-frame 4:3 PAL, four single-sided?, dual-layered? DVD discs, Region 2, ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo? sound, Russian language intertitles, French and English language subtitles, chapter stops, keep case, €90,00.
DVD release date: 2006.
Country of origin: France

We have not viewed this edition, but have received reports that the visual quality ranges from very-good to excellent. This edition features a music score by Meisel.

This Region 2 PAL DVD is available directly from Films-sans-frontières.

Other silent era Sergei Eisenstein films available on DVD home video:
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Glumov’s Diary (1923)
October (1928)
Old and New (1929)

Plus:
Earth (1930) with 31-minute reconstruction of Sergei Eisenstein’s Bezhin Meadow (1937)

About Sergei Eisenstein:
Sergei Eisenstein: Autobiography (1996)

Other Russian silent era films available on DVD home video:
Aelita (1924)
Arsenal (1928)
Bed and Sofa (1927)
By the Law (1926)
The Cameraman’s Revenge and Other Fantastic Tales: Ladislaw Starewicz (1912-1958)
Chess Fever (1925)
Earth (1930)
The End of St. Petersburg (1927)
The Girl with the Hatbox (1927)
Kino-Eye (1924)
Mad Love: The Films of Evgeni Bauer (1913-1917)
Man with the Movie Camera (1929)
Mother (1926)
My Grandmother (1929)
Storm Over Asia (1928)
Zvenigora (1927)

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