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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Tango Tangles
(1914)
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This Keystone comedy stars Charles Chaplin, Ford Sterling and Roscoe Arbuckle.
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 Flicker Alley
2010 DVD edition
Chaplin at Keystone (1914), black & white, 590 minutes total, not rated, including Tango Tangles (1914), black & white, 10 minutes, not rated.
Flicker Alley, FA0018,
UPC 6-17311-67579-9, ISBN 1-893967-57-3.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (four 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 ? 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; four slimline DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; $79.95.
Release date: 26 October 2010.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.
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This DVD edition has been mastered from a 35mm print with French intertitles. The intertitles have been reconstructed from contemporary sources. The results are generally excellent.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by Stephen Horne.
Supplemental material includes Charlie et sa Belle [Charlie’s White Elephant] (1916); Inside the Keystone Project (2010) documenting the Chaplin Project (10 minutes); Silent Traces: The Keystone Locations (2010) with John Bengtson, author of Silent Traces (12 minutes); and a stills gallery.
Overall, the improvement in quality over previous home video editions is so great that you’ll toss your other Keystone Chaplin discs when you see this collection. Highly recommended!
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is available directly from . . .
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 Delta Entertainment
2003 DVD edition
The Essential Charlie Chaplin Collection (1914), black & white, 70 minutes total, not rated, including Tango Tangles (1914) [Charlie’s Recreation], black & white, 12 minutes, not rated.
Delta Entertainment, 82 453, UPC 0-18111-24539-5.
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 24 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $7.99.
Release date: 18 March 2003.
Country of origin: USA
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This budget DVD edition follows the suit of other Chaplin collections: put as few films onto as many discs as possible, regardless of print quality and sell them as cheap as possible. And don’t expect them to be mastered from anything but subpar 16mm and 8mm reduction prints.
Don’t consider buying this collection for the Chaplin Mutual films. The Mutual films have all been released on DVD home video in far superior editions transferred from 35mm prints. Cobra Entertainment (successor to Delta) rereleased remaining stock of this disc onto the market in 2010.
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DELTA ENTERTAINMENT has discontinued business and this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is . . .
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 Madacy Entertainment
1999 DVD edition
Chaplin: Collector’s Choice Double Feature (1914-1918), black & white, 91 minutes total, not rated, including Tango Tangles (1914) [rereleased as Charlie’s Recreation], black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.
Madacy Entertainment Group,
DVD9 9103, UPC 0-56775-03619-5.
One double-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 3.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 448 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 2 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $11.98.
Release date: 2 March 1999.
Country of origin: Canada
Ratings (1-10): video: 3 / audio: 4 / additional content: 1 / overall: 3.
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This DVD edition has been mastered from a good 8mm reduction print of the 1918 rerelease version of the film, which has been reedited, retitled and rereleased as Charlie’s Recreation.
The print does have issues with close cropping, blasted-out highlights, fluctuating exposure levels, splices and the usual speckling and dust. As contrasty as the print is, most shadow detail is still visible in many of the shots.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Madacy Entertainment
1999 DVD edition
Chaplin (1914-1918), black & white, ? minutes total, not rated, including Tango Tangles (1914) [rereleased as Charlie’s Recreation], black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.
Madacy Entertainment Group,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-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 ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 2 chapter stops; standard two-disc DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 1999.
Country of origin: Canada
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A repackaging of the same Madacy DVD program reviewed above was also issued under a different title and on two discs, with a slipcase wraparound, as Chaplin: Hollywood Classics.
No doubt, just as rough.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Madacy Entertainment
1998 DVD edition
Chaplin: The Collection (1914-1918), black & white, ? minutes total, not rated, including Tango Tangles (1914) [rereleased as Charlie’s Recreation], black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.
Madacy Entertainment Group,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (five 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 ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 2 chapter stops; five standard DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 1998.
Country of origin: Canada
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Yet another Madacy repackaging, this a DVD boxset, of the content reviewed above.
Have they no shame in their repackaging attempts to deceive the consumer?
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD boxset has been discontinued
and is . . .
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Other silent era CHARLES CHAPLIN films available on home video.
Other KEYSTONE comedy films available on home video.
Other SHORT COMEDY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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Charles Chaplin filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List
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