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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The Martyrs of
the Alamo
(1915)
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This historical drama, directed by W. Christy Cabanne, stars Sam de Grasse, Allan Sears, Walter Long, Alfred Paget, Fred Burns, John T. Dillon and Juanita Hansen.
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 Grapevine Video
2015 DVD edition
The Martyrs of the Alamo (1915), black & white, 62 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-10709-2.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R 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; standard DVD keepcase; $16.95.
Release date: February 2015.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
The film is accompanied by a music score performed on virtual theatre pipe organ by David Knudtson.
Sight unseen, this is our recommended home video edition of the film.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .
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 Delta Entertainment
2004 DVD edition
The Martyrs of the Alamo (1915), black & white, 72 minutes, not rated.
Delta Entertainment, 82 755, UPC 0-18111-27559-0.
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 4.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 1.5 Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 5 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $9.99.
Release date: 30 March 2004.
Country of origin: USA •
Ratings (1-10): video: 5 / audio: 6 / additional content: 4 / overall: 5.
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This DVD edition has been mastered from a good-to-very-good 16mm reduction print, which is soft in image detail, has its fair share of dust, speckling, print damage, and frame jitters, but has a reasonable greyscale range, and is at least watchable. The video transfer is of a bit lower quality than is commonly available on silent era DVDs. Especially on high-definition equipment, the coarse resolution of the transfer will be readily apparent to most viewers. Regretfully, an Alamo logomark appears in the lower right-hand corner of the picture throughout the film.
The presentation features an introduction by author Frank Thompson, and the film is accompanied by a music score performed on synthesizers.
The supplemental material includes the video featurettes, “The Alamo: Shrine of Texas Liberty Lost & Found,” “The Alamo: Shrine of Texas Liberty” and “The Spirit of Independence.”
While not ideal, this so-so DVD is an improvement over its VHS predecessor, an edition produced by Frank Thompson for the Alamo Historical Site.
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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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DELTA ENTERTAINMENT has discontinued business and this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is . . .
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 Alpha Video
2021 DVD edition
The Spoilers (1914), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, with The Martyrs of the Alamo (1915), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 8392D, UPC 0-89218-83929-9.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R 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; standard DVD keepcase; $7.98 (raised to $8.98).
Release date: 2 February 2021.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm or 8mm reduction print.
The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings.
Sight unseen, we cannot recommend this home video edition of the film.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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 Loving the Classics
201? DVD edition
The Martyrs of the Alamo (1915), black & white, 71 minutes, not rated.
Loving the Classics,
no catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R 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; standard DVD keepcase; $14.99.
Release date: 201?
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting music recordings.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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Other WESTERN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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