Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2025 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Chang
A Drama of the Wilderness
(1927)
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This documentary, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper, features Kru, Chantui, Nah, Ladah and Bimbo the monkey.
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 The Milestone Collection
2025 Blu-ray Disc edition
Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life (1925), black & white, 63 minutes, not rated, with Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927), black & white, 68 minutes, not rated.
Milestone Film & Video, distributed by Image Entertainment, unknown catalog number, UPC 7-38329-27182-4.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (3840 x 2160 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in HDR HEVC format at ? Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 18 November 2025.
Country of origin: USA
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from a 2K high-definition scan of archival film materials, with digital clean-up and stabilization.
The film is accompanied by a traditional Thai score composed and conducted by Bruce Gaston and performed by Fong Naam.
Supplemental material includes a Rudy Behlmer audio interview with Merian C. Cooper on Grass; audio commentary on Chang by film historian Rudy Behlmer; and a Chang color test.
Sight unseen, this is our recommended home video edition of the film.
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This
Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .
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 The Milestone Collection
2000 DVD edition
Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927), color-tinted black & white, 69 minutes, not rated.
Milestone Film and Video, distributed by Image Entertainment, ID5922MLSDVD, UPC 0-14381-59222-1.
One single-sided, single-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 ? 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 subtitles; chapter stops; snapper DVD case; $29.99.
Release date: 21 November 2000.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 6 / additional content: 6 / overall: 6.
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This DVD edition of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s Chang has been mastered from a very-good 35mm print, but the older analog video transfer itself is soft, even slightly blurry.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed by Bruce Gaston and performed on traditional Asian instruments and on synthesizers, with Thai vocals performed by Fong Naam.
The presentation includes audio commentary by cinema historian Rudy Behlmer.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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Other DOCUMENTARY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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