Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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The Drummer
of the 8th
(1913)
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This Civil War drama, produced by Thomas H. Ince and directed by Jay Hunt, stars Cyril Gardner, Mildred Harris and Marion Sunshine.
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 Twilight Time
2018 Blu-ray Disc edition
The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-tinted black & white, color-toned black & white and black & white, 191 minutes, not rated, including The Drummer of the 8th (1913) [original edit version], color-tinted black & white, 28 minutes, not rated, and The Drummer of the 8th (1913) [2015 reedited version], color-tinted black & white, 28 minutes, not rated.
Twilight Time, 329-BR, UPC 8-11956-02235-6.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (two BDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in SDR AVC format at 32.2 Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound encoded at 4.0 Mbps average audio bit rate and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 2.1 Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); 8-page insert booklet; standard two-disc BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 2018.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 9 / audio: 9 / additional content: 8 / overall: 9.
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered at high-resolution from an excellent 35mm archival print (from Worldview Entertainment and/or Film Preservation Associates). Digital image stabilization has been performed as has some defect clean-up. Very light dust and speckling remain, with some fleeting print wear and an emulsion scrape at the right edge of the picture.
The film is presented in two different edited forms: the original edit as has survived in the source print, and a reedited version that places sequences in the latter half of the film into correct order (per logical story progression).
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on piano by Stephen Horne, with flute and drum.
Supplemental material includes the 1930 sound version introduction to The Birth of a Nation, featuring a staged conversation between D.W. Griffith and actor Walter Huston, mastered from an excellent 35mm print (6 minutes) and the intermission and the introduction to the second part of the film with Griffith and Huston from a very-good to excellent 35mm print (2 minutes); four additional Griffith Civil War films, including a complete presentation of The Coward (1915); outtakes and camera tests from the production of The Birth of a Nation from the Library of Congress (silent, 39 minutes); “The Birth of a Nation Score Recording Sessions,” documentary footage in 5.1 audio (21 minutes); D.W. Griffith’s 1936 appearance on Lux Radio Theater with Cecil B. DeMille (4 minutes); “The Birth of a Nation: The Legacy,” a featurette by John McCarty (18 minutes); “The Clansman: From Stage to Screen,” a featurette by Daniel Griffith, with historian David Mayer (17 minutes); a text essay “We Can Never Censor the Past” by Kevin Brownlow (9 screens); a text essay “The Birth of a Nation: The 2015 Restoration” by Patrick Stanbury (5 screens); a text essay “Fighting Back: Responding to The Birth of a Nation” by Ashley Clark (8 screens); a timed still photograph and advertising materials gallery (73 images, 14 minutes); and an 8-page insert booklet with an essay on The Birth of a Nation by Julie Kirgo.
This is our enthusiastically recommended home video edition of The Drummer of the 8th. It is, unfortunately, out-of-print and can be hard to find at a reasonable price.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Film Preservation Associates
2000 DVD edition
Civil War Films of the Silent Era (1913-1915), color-toned black & white and black & white, 134 minutes total, not rated, including The Drummer of the 8th (1913), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Film Preservation Associates, distributed by Image Entertainment, ID9703DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-97032-6.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 6.5 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 224 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; 6 chapter stops; snapper DVD case (reissued in standard DVD keepcase); $24.99.
Release date: 19 December 2000.
Country of origin: USA •
Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 6 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.
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This DVD edition has been mastered from excellent 35mm print print materials. The usual dust, speckling, scuffing and other print flaws are there.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on synthesizers by Eric Beheim.
An OK home video edition but we recommend the Twilight Time Blu-ray Disc edition noted above.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Other CIVIL WAR FILMS of the silent era available on home video. Other SHORT DRAMA FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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