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The House with
Closed Shutters

(1910)

 

The House with Closed Shutters (1910) is a D.W. Griffith Civil War drama of cowardice, ostracism and unexpected bravery, featuring Henry B. Walthall, Dorothy West and Charles West, that accelerates the passage of time toward the end of the story through expository intertitles and subtle visual changes to the settings (and not-so-subtle makeup changes).

coverKino Classics
2011 Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition

The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-toned black & white, 187 minutes, not rated, with The House with Closed Shutters (1910), black & white, 17 minutes, not rated.

Kino Lorber, K835, UPC 7-38329-08352-6.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray Disc; 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 ? Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate, and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); and one single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (two DVDs in the set); 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 ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate;English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); standard three-disc BD keepcase; $39.95.
Release date: 22 November 2011.
Country of origin: USA
This Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition has been transferred from high-quality 35mm materials.

The set is made up of one Blu-ray Disc featuring the remastered HD edition of the film, with music performed by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, while two other DVD discs represent the content of the 2002 Kino DVD edition noted below.

Mysteriously, this edition has disappeared from all Amazon sites — likely due to pressure from the cancel culture movement.

 
This Region 0 Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .
coverEureka Entertainment
2013 Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition

The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-tinted black & white, 194 minutes, BBFC Certification 15, with The House with Closed Shutters (1910), black & white, 17 minutes, not rated.

Eureka Entertainment, K835, UPC 7-38329-08352-6.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray Disc; 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 ? Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 48 kHz 5.1 surround sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate, and Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, no chapter stops (within the film); and two single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 PAL DVD discs; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); standard three-disc BD keepcase; £10.99.
Release date: 29 July 2013.
Country of origin: USA
This dual-format Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition has been transferred and encoded at 1080p from high-quality 35mm materials.

The film is presented with music performed by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

The supplemental material includes a 44-page insert booklet.

North American collectors will need a region-free Blu-ray Disc and/or a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.

Mysteriously, this edition has disappeared from all Amazon sites — likely due to pressure from the cancel culture movement.
coverKino Classics
2011 DVD edition

The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-toned black & white, 187 minutes, not rated, with The House with Closed Shutters (1910), black & white, 17 minutes, not rated.

Kino Lorber, K834, UPC 7-38329-08342-7.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (three DVDs in the set); 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 ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); standard three-disc DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 22 November 2011.
Country of origin: USA
This three-disc DVD edition has been transferred from high-quality 35mm materials.

The set is made up of one DVD disc featuring the remastered HD edition of the film, with music performed by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, while two other DVD discs represent the content of the 2002 Kino DVD edition noted below.

Mysteriously, this edition has disappeared from all Amazon sites — likely due to pressure from the cancel culture movement.

 
This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is available directly from . . .
coverKino on Video
2002 DVD edition

The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-toned black & white, 187 minutes, not rated, including The House with Closed Shutters (1910), black & white, 17 minutes, not rated.

Kino International, K266, UPC 7-38329-02662-2.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (two DVDs in the set); 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 3.8 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); two-page insert card; double-wide two-disc DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 10 December 2002.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 7 / overall: 6.

This DVD edition of The House with Closed Shutters (1910) has been transferred from a good to very-good 35mm source print is likely a silent era rerelease print, given the differences in main titles and intertitles content and typography to other surviving prints, and this print’s inclusion of a cast list. There is some early print decomposition to be seen in the first reel of the film, and the majority of the whole print is scuffed, speckled and a little dusty. Several frames of the print are lost to splices. The horizontal framing of the video transfer appears to be close to the hard lines of the print, but the vertical framing crops the top of the picture (with more of the bottom of picture visible than in other video editions) for the sake of a full-frame image.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on piano by Jon C. Mirsalis.

Mysteriously, this out-of-print edition has disappeared from all Amazon sites — likely due to pressure from the cancel culture movement intending to eliminate The Birth of a Nation from the face of the earth. This DVD edition is also included in Kino’s Griffith Masterworks boxset.

 
This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is . . .
coverFilm Preservation Associates /
Anthology Film Archives
2005 DVD edition

Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film (1894-1947), black & white, color-toned black & white and color, 1127 minutes total, not rated, including The House with Closed Shutters (1910), black & white, 17 minutes, not rated.

Film Preservation Associates with Anthology Film Archives,
distributed by Image Entertainment,
ID0592DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-05922-9.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (seven DVDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? 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; no chapter stops (within the film); seven slimline DVD keepcases in cardboard box; $99.99.
Release date: 18 October 2005.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 4 / additional content: 7 / overall: 6.

Appearing on Disc Four: Inverted Narratives: New Directions in Storytelling, The House with Closed Shutters (1910) has been transferred from a good to very-good 35mm print from Film Preservation Associates. The video transfer is a bit darker than usual allowing for controlled picture details in highlights, but overall the picture is a little flat.

The transfer framing is a bit tighter than the Kino edition noted above, with more of the top portion of the picture visible but sacrificing about 10 percent of the bottom of the picture.

The film is presented with a music score performed on synthesizer by Eric Beheim. As usual, the synthesizer sounds Beheim has chosen are a bit annoying.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Grapevine Video
DVD edition

D.W. Griffith, Director, Volume 6 (1910), black & white, 117 minutes total, not rated, including The House with Closed Shutters (1910), black & white, 14 minutes, not rated.

Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-10350-6.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 3.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); standard DVD keepcase; $14.95
Release date: 18 June 2009.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 4 / audio: 6 / additional content: 5 / overall: 5.

This DVD-R edition has been transferred at slightly faster-than-natural-speed from a good to very-good 16mm reduction print, that features a fairly balanced greyscale range but a few times loses picture details in highlights, leaving faces almost featurelessly white. This is by no means the worst print we’ve seen of this film.

The film is presented with an abruptly compiled music score performed on MIDI-based digital piano.

Note that the opening titles appear to be original, as opposed to the Kino edition noted above.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .
coverAlpha Video
2011 DVD edition

The Birth of Motion Pictures (1910-1915), black & white, 55 minutes total, not rated, including The House with Closed Shutters (1910), black & white, 14 minutes, not rated.

Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 6609D, UPC 0-89218-66099-2.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R 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 5.4 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); standard DVD keepcase; $7.98 (raised to $8.98).
Release date: 26 July 2011.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 3 / audio: 3 / additional content: 3 / overall: 3.

This budget DVD edition has been mastered from a fair but tightly-cropped 8mm reduction print. The results are substandard and the video transfer runs at faster than a natural pace. The image details are rough and compression artifacts are easily seen on large screens.

The film is accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from inappropriate preexisting recordings.

This is not an edition worth buying, even at this low cost, as the film is available on home video in other, better-looking editions. Save your money.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Other silent era D.W. GRIFFITH films available on home video.

Other CIVIL WAR FILMS of the silent era available on home video.

 
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