Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
|
The Fugitive
(1910)
|
This Civil War drama, directed by D.W. Griffith, stars Edward Dillon and Kate Bruce, with Clara T. Bracy, Edwin August, Dorothy West and Lucy Cotton.
|
 Kino Classics
2011 Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition
The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-toned black & white, 187 minutes, not rated, with The Fugitive (1910), black & white, not rated.
Kino Lorber, K835, UPC 7-38329-08352-6.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray Disc; 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 5.1 surround sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate and LPCM 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; and 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 three-disc BD keepcase; $39.95.
Release date: 22 November 2011.
Country of origin: USA
|
|
This dual-format Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition has been transferred from high-quality 35mm materials. The set is made up of one Blu-ray Disc featuring the remastered HD edition of the film, while two other DVD discs are identical to the content of the 2011 Kino remastered DVD edition noted below (which seems redundant).
The HD version of the film is presented with music performed by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. The standard-deinition version of the film is accompanied by the original Joseph Breil music score as arranged and conducted by Robert Israel, and performed by a small ensemble.
Mysteriously, this edition has disappeared from all Amazon sites — likely due to pressure from the cancel culture movement.
|
|
This Region 0 Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .
|
|
|
 Eureka Entertainment
2013 Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition
The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-tinted black & white, 194 minutes, BBFC Certification 15, with The Fugitive (1910), black & white, not rated.
Eureka Entertainment, K835, UPC 7-38329-08352-6.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray Disc; 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 48 kHz 5.1 surround sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate, and Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); and two single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 PAL DVD discs; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 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; no chapter stops (within the film); standard three-disc BD keepcase; £10.99.
Release date: 29 July 2013.
Country of origin: USA
|
|
This dual-format Blu-ray Disc / DVD edition has been transferred and encoded at 1080p from high-quality 35mm materials.
The film is presented with music performed by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.
The supplemental material includes seven Griffith Civil War short films; and a 44-page insert booklet.
North American collectors will need a region-free Blu-ray Disc and/or a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.
Mysteriously, this edition has disappeared from all Amazon sites — likely due to pressure from the cancel culture movement.
|
 Kino Classics
2011 DVD edition
The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-toned black & white, 187 minutes, not rated, with The Fugitive (1910), black & white, not rated.
Kino Lorber, K834, UPC 7-38329-08342-7.
Three 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 three-disc DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 22 November 2011.
Country of origin: USA
|
|
This three-disc DVD edition has been transferred from high-quality 35mm materials. The set is made up of one DVD disc featuring the remastered HD edition of the film, while two other DVD discs represent the content of the 2002 Kino DVD edition noted below.
The remastered version of the film is presented with music performed by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. The standard-deinition version of the film is accompanied by the original Joseph Breil music score as arranged and conducted by Robert Israel, and performed by a small ensemble.
Mysteriously, this edition has disappeared from all Amazon sites — likely due to pressure from the cancel culture movement.
|
|
This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is available directly from . . .
|
|
|
 Kino on Video
2002 DVD edition
The Birth of a Nation (1915), color-toned black & white, 187 minutes, not rated, with The Fugitive (1910), black & white, not rated.
Kino International, K266, UPC 7-38329-02662-2.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (two DVDs in the set); 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 4.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); two-page insert card; double-wide two-disc DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 10 December 2002.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.
|
This DVD edition has been transferred from what appears to be a very-good 16mm reduction print that runs a bit dark in some shots. Dust, speckling, schmutz, frame jitters, and other print flaws are seen.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on piano by Jon C. Mirsalis.
Supplemental material includes the 1930 sound version introduction to The Birth of a Nation, featuring a staged conversation between D.W. Griffith and actor Walter Huston, mastered from a good 16mm reduction print (6 minutes); a 1993 featurette on the making of the film written by Russell Merritt and narrated by David Shepard (24 minutes); a collection of documents presented as “New York vs. The Birth of a Nation,” a reproduction of an article in which Griffith discusses the film; exerpts from the source novel; plus a gallery of posters, ads and programs.
Mysteriously, this out-of-print edition has disappeared from all Amazon sites — likely due to pressure from the cancel culture movement intending to eliminate The Birth of a Nation from the face of the earth. This DVD edition is also included in Kino’s Griffith Masterworks boxset.
|
This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
|
|
|
|
Other silent era D.W. GRIFFITH films available on home video.
Other CIVIL WAR FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
Other silent film music scores by ROBERT ISRAEL available on home video.
|
