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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Midnight Faces
(1926)
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 Alpha Video
2005 DVD edition
Midnight Faces (1926), black & white, 53 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 4686D, UPC 0-89218-46869-7.
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 5.5 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 6 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $6.98 (raised again to $9.99).
Release date: 29 March 2005.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD edition has been mastered from a VHS videotape copy of a sound-speed video transfer (which runs a bit too fast) from a 16mm reduction print, and is of fairly low quality. The picture is blurry and the greyscale range a little light, but the edition is watchable.
The presentation features a new music score by Paul David Bergel performed on synthesizers.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available from
ALPHA VIDEO through . . .
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 CryptFlicks
2008 DVD edition
Where East is East (1929), black & white, 68 minutes, not rated, with Midnight Faces (1926), black & white, 54 minutes, not rated.
CryptFlicks, no catalog number, no 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 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 8 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 200?.
Country of origin: USA •
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This cheapy DVD-R edition of Midnight Faces (1926) has been mastered from a VHS videotape copy of a full-frame video transfer of a 16mm reduction print. The full-frame video transfer is too light. This edition looks even worse than the cheap edition from Alpha Video noted above. Also, a small, grey “cf” logo appears at times in the lower right-hand corner of the picture. This is supposed to discourage video pirates; which is funny, as this video transfer was likely ripped-off from some other video company for this DVD edition.
The film is accompanied by a disjointed selection of preexisting music recordings that are haphazardly assembled, regardless of the current action of the story.
Not recommended, and not that easy to find; this disc is chiefly sought after for the rare Lon Chaney film accompanying this film.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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Other silent era FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN JR. films available on home video:
Dangerous Traffic (1926)
Other OLD DARK HOUSE FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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