Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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When Comedy
Was King
(1960)
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Robert Youngson’s When Comedy Was King (1960) was an introduction for many people to the short comedies of the silent era.
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 The Sprocket Vault
2016 DVD edition
When Comedy Was King (1960), black & white, 81 minutes, not rated, An Elephant on His Hands (1920), black & white, 17 minutes, not rated, Fast and Furious (1924), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated, and Heavy Love (1926), black & white, 19 minutes, not rated.
The Sprocket Vault, 35053, UPC 6-88474-35053-3.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.66:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (720 x 480 pixels) anamorphic interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 8-bit 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.99.
Release date: 2016.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD edition has been mastered from the original 35mm negative.
The film features its original soundtrack and optional audio commentary by Richard M. Roberts. The bonus material includes three comedy shorts from the 1920s, from the collection of Richard M. Roberts, and presented with music by Donald Sosin.
While it’s not the sharpest picture for a DVD, it’s still a good picture, and this is our recommended home video edition.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 TeleVista
2007 DVD edition
When Comedy Was King (1960), black & white, 81 minutes, not rated.
TeleVista, unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $24.95.
Release date: 11 September 2007.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD edition may have been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
The film features its original soundtrack.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Genius Entertainment
2007 DVD edition
When Comedy Was King (1960), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, with The Golden Age of Comedy (1957), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Genius Entertainment,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, dual-layered?, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $16.95.
Release date: 16 October 2007.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
It has been coupled with an earlier Youngson documentary on film comedy.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 eMoviez
200? DVD edition
When Comedy Was King (1960), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
eMoviez, unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $24.95.
Release date: 11 September 2007.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
The film features its original soundtrack.
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EMOVIEZ no longer sells home video products and this item is . . .
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Other silent era-related DOCUMENTARIES available on home video.
Other SHORT COMEDY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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