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This crime drama from Paramount, directed by Josef von Sternberg, stars George Bancroft, Evelyn Brent and Clive Brook. |
 2010 Criterion Collection DVD edition
Three Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (1927-1928), black & white, 244 minutes total, not rated, Full-frame 4:3 NTSC, three single-sided, dual-layered DVD discs, Region 1, ? Mbps average video bit rate, 192 kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, 17 chapter stops, three cardboard wrapped plastic trays in cardboard slipcase, 96-page booklet, $79.95. DVD release date: 24 August 2010 Country of origin: USA |
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This DVD collection of three late silent era films directed by Josef von Sternberg features new, restored high-definition digital transfers of each of the films. The collection features six musical scores to accompany the films: one full orchestral score each by Robert Israel for the three films, two scores for Underworld and The Last Command by the Alloy Orchestra, and a piano and voice piece by Donald Sosin and Joanne Seaton for The Docks of New York. The collection’s supplemental material includes visual essays by UCLA film professor Janet Bergstrom and film scholar Tag Gallagher, a 1968 Swedish television interview with Sternberg, and a 96-page booklet featuring the original film treatment for Underworld by Ben Hecht, essays by film critic Geoffrey O’Brien, film scholar Anton Kaes, and author Luc Sante, and an excerpt on actor Emil Jannings from Sternberg’s autobiography, Fun in a Chinese Laundry.
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 2006 eMoviez DVD edition
Underworld (1927), color-toned black & white, 81 minutes, not rated. eMoviez, unknown catalog number, no UPC number. |
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a very-good 16mm reduction print. The full-frame video transfer is of higher quality than most small company DVD-R disc editions, with few signs of encoding compression (despite its low video bit rate) even in still frames. The source print is a bit contrasty, with dark, closed-up shadows, but otherwise features good picture detail and tonal range. The presentation features what appears to be a custom music score tastefully performed on MIDI keyboards. With the Criterion Collection edition noted above now being available, and while this edition filled a need when it was the sole DVD edition available, we recommend the Criterion edition instead of this passable edition.
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| Other silent era JOSEF VON STERNBERG films available on home video.
Other CRIME FILMS of the silent era available on home video. |
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| Josef von Sternberg filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List | ||||||||||||||||||
| Silent Era Home Page > Home Video > Underworld || Top of Page |
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