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The Champion
A Story of America’s
First Film Town
(2015)

This short documentary, The Champion (2015) directed by Marc Perez, focuses on the first motion picture production center, Fort Lee, New Jersey.

The Milestone Cinematheque
2025 Blu-ray Disc edition

Made in New Jersey: Films from Fort Lee, America’s First Film Town (1909-2015), black & white, 383 minutes total, not rated, including The Champion (2015), color and black & white, 35 minutes, not rated.

Milestone Film & Video, distributed by Kino Lorber,
K26962, UPC 7-38329-26962-3.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Regions ABC 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 ? Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, optional English language SDH subtitles; chapter stops; 20-page insert booklet; standard two-disc BD keepcase; $44.95.
Release date: 24 June 2025.
Country of origin: USA

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from high-definition scans of archival film elements.

The silent films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed by Philip C. Carli, Ben Model, arranged by Rodney Sauer and performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, and Donald Sosin.

Supplemental material includes the vintage documentary Ghost Town: The Story of Fort Lee (1935) by Theodore Huff and Mark A. Borgatta; the documentary The Champion (2015) by Marc Perez; a 4K restoration of the Edgar G. Ulmer musical drama Cossacks in Exile (1939); and a 20-page insert booklet with an essay and film notes by Richard Koszarski.

For more information about this collection, see our Made in New Jersey on home video page.

This is our recommended home video edition of the documentary.

This Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition is available from
MILESTONE FILM & VIDEO through . . .

The Milestone Cinematheque
2021 DVD edition

The Champion: A Story of America’s First Film Town (1910-2015), black & white, ? minutes total, not rated, including The Champion (2015), black & white, 35 minutes, not rated, with The Indian Land Grab (1910), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, A Daughter of Dixie (1911), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Flo’s Discipline (1912), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, A Grocery Clerk’s Romance (1912), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Not Like Other Girls (1912), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Robin Hood (1912), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Marked Cards (1913), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Danger Game (1918), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Ghost Town: The Story of Fort Lee (1935), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.

Milestone Film & Video, distributed by Kino Lorber,
unknown catalog number, UPC 7-84148-01484-5.
Two single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD discs; 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; standard two-disc DVD keepcase; $34.99.
Release date: 1 August 2021.
Country of origin: USA

This DVD edition has been mastered from high-definition scans of archival film elements.

The silent films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed by Ben Model, arranged by Rodney Sauer and performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, and Donald Sosin.

Supplemental material includes a 2K restoration of the vintage documentary Ghost Town: The Story of Fort Lee (1935) by Theodore Huff and Mark A. Borgatta; and an insert booklet with an essay and film notes by Richard Koszarski.

For our comparative reviews of some of the films in this collection, see our The Danger Game on home video, Flo’s Discipline on home video, and A Grocery Clerk’s Romance on home video pages.

This is our recommended DVD home video edition of the documentary.

This Region 0 DVD edition is available from
MILESTONE FILM & VIDEO through . . .

Other KEYSTONE comedy films available on home video.

Other SHORT COMEDY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.

Other SHORT DRAMA FILMS of the silent era available on home video.

Other silent era-related DOCUMENTARIES available on home video.

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