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

Three Ages
(1923)
on

Three Ages (1923) was Buster Keaton’s first feature length film for his own production company (he had previously starred in 1920’s The Saphead for Metro Pictures).

The film is a loose parody of D.W. Griffith’s historical epic Intolerance (1916), with its multiple era storyline: prehistoric, ancient Rome, and modern day. Three Ages was also planned as a shrewdly careful excursion into feature films. If audiences did not accept Buster in a feature film format, the film could be divided into three two-reel shorts and redistributed. And Buster did not disappoint his fans in this feature film. The prehistoric ‘baseball’ gag is worth seeing. — Carl Bennett

1999 Kino International edition

Three Ages (1923), black & white, 63 minutes, not rated, with The Goat (1921), black & white, 23 minutes, not rated, and My Wife’s Relations (1922), black & white, 24 minutes, not rated.

Kino International, K136DVD, UPC 7-38329-01362-2.
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 (reissued in keep case, and in slimline keep case), $29.99 (reduced to $24.95).
DVD release date: 23 November 1999.
Country of origin: USA

We have not viewed the DVD. The DVD also includes The Goat (1921) and My Wife’s Relations (1922). We have seen the laserdisc edition of these films. We can assume the DVD will be of similar or better quality to same films on laserdisc, as produced for video by David Shepard. Based on our knowledge of the quality of these films in their laserdisc edition, we recommend this DVD edition.

 
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.
This Region 1 NTSC DVD is also available directly from Kino International.
Other silent era Buster Keaton films available on DVD home video:
Arbuckle & Keaton, Volume 1 (1917-1919)
Arbuckle & Keaton, Volume 2 (1918-1920)
The Art of Buster Keaton box set (1920-1962)
Battling Butler (1926)
The Best Arbuckle Keaton Collection (1917-1918)
The Cameraman (1928)
College (1927)
The Cook and Other Treasures (1917-1920)
The General (1926)
Go West (1925)
Keaton Plus (1921-1962)
My Wife’s Relations (1922)
The Navigator (1924)
Our Hospitality (1923)
The Playhouse (1921)
The Saphead (1920)
Seven Chances (1925)
Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Spite Marriage (1929)
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

Other Buster Keaton films available on DVD home video:
The Railrodder (1965) with Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965)
The Twilight Zone, Volume 10 includes episode “Once Upon a Time” starring Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List
 
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