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SILENT ERA FILMS ON HOME VIDEO
Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2009 by Carl Bennett.
All Rights Reserved.
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Orphans of
the Storm
(1921) |
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 2002 Kino International edition
Orphans of the Storm (1921), black & white, 150 minutes, not rated,
with Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest (1908), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Kino International, K269, UPC 7-38329-02692-9.
Full-frame 4:3 NTSC, one single-sided, dual-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, keep case, $29.95.
DVD release date: 10 December 2002.
Country of origin: USA
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We have not seen this DVD. But expect this Kino International edition, produced for video by David Shepard, to be of very-good quality, and likely identical to the Image edition noted below.
This edition includes a number of disc supplements, including an introduction by Orson Welles filmed in the early 1970s, Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest (1908) starring D.W. Griffith, documentary footage taken at Griffith’s funeral, a radio eulogy for Griffith by Erich von Stroheim, plus “The Story of David Wark Griffith,” a biography published in Photoplay magazine in 1916.
USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com. |
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Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca. |
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| This Region 1 NTSC DVD is also available directly from Kino International. |
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 1998 Image Entertainment edition
Orphans of the Storm (1921), color-toned black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Film Preservation Associates, distributed by Image Entertainment,
ID4676DSDVD, UPC 1-14381-46762-8.
Full-frame 4:3 NTSC, one single-sided, single-layered DVD disc, Region 0, ? 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: 22 December 1998.
Country of origin: USA
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This early DVD edition, produced by David Shepard, should be of very good quality — probably from video materials originally prepared for Shepard’s prior laserdisc edition, which used the same packaging artwork.
USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 0 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com. |
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Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 0 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca. |
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 2003 Alpha Video edition
Orphans of the Storm (1921), color-toned black & white, 118 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Video, ALP 4163D, UPC 0-89218-41639-1.
Full-frame 4:3 NTSC, one single-sided, single-layered DVD disc, Region 0, 4.5 Mbps average video bit rate, 192 kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, 6 chapter stops, keep case, $6.98.
DVD release date: 10 June 2003.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 5 / additional content: 0 / overall: 6.
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 Surprisingly, the video transfer has been made (at sound speed, unfortunately) from a very-good color-toned 16mm reduction print. Allowing for its inevitable soft image detail, the grayscale range of the print is generally broad, with only a few burnt-out highlights and plugged shadows. It is, at least, a watchable edition of the film.
The musical accompaniment is a cobbled-together orchestral score that is serviceable at best.
Altogether, this is a good edition — a rarity in the realm of the budget disc.
USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 0 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com. |
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Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 0 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca. |
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United Kingdom: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 0 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.co.uk. |
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 2004 Delta Entertainment edition
Orphans of the Storm (1921), black & white, 150 minutes, not rated.
Delta Entertainment, unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
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 mono? sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops, keep case, $6.99.
DVD release date: 24 February 2004.
Country of origin: USA
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We have not viewed this edition. Until we have the opportunity to do so, we cannot recommend this edition.
USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com. |
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Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca. |
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Other D.W. GRIFFITH films available on home video.
Other silent era LILLIAN GISH films available on home video.
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| Lillian Gish filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List |
