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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Shadows
(1922)
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In Shadows (1922), Lon Chaney portrays another of the character roles that dubbed him The Man of a Thousand Faces, a Chinese laundry worker who is caught in a tangle of extortion and small-town prejudice.
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 Film Preservation Associates
2000 DVD edition
Outside the Law (1920), black & white, 75 minutes, not rated, with Shadows (1922), color-tinted black & white, 68 minutes, not rated.
Film Preservation Associates, distributed by Image Entertainment, ID5838DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-58382-3.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 5.8 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; 12 chapter stops; snapper DVD case; $24.99.
Release date: 27 June 2000.
Country of origin: USA •
Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 7 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.
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Normally, the DVD editions produced by David Shepard are fine examples of silent era films brought to home video. And this quality windowboxed presentation has apparently been mastered from what appears to be, at least, a fine-grain 16mm reduction print if not a 35mm print — the same video transfer that was released on laserdisc and VHS videotape in the 1990s. The video transfer on the older disc still looks pretty good, even on high-definition equipment.
The film is accompanied by a custom music score performed on theater pipe organ.
We recommend this Image edition until a better one come along.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This Region 1 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Alpha Video
2003 DVD edition
Shadows (1922), black & white, 70 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 4101D, UPC 0-89218-41019-1.
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; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $6.98 (raised to $8.98).
Release date: 21 January 2003.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 5 / audio: 4 / additional content: 0 / overall: 5.
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This budget DVD edition is watchable, with a good transfer of a very-good (what appears to be) 16mm reduction print that is compromised by a number of splices, dust, speckling, and some contrastiness, but is not a bad disc for the moderate cost.
The film is accompanied by a canned orchestral music track.
After looking at both of these noted editions, we would recommended the Image edition noted above over this watchable but not ideal disc.
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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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 Miracle Pictures
2003 DVD edition
Shadows (1922), black & white, 90 minutes, not rated.
Miracle Pictures,
unknown catalog number, UPC 0-90328-30911-4.
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); no audio tracks; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $6.98.
Release date: 3 March 2003.
Country of origin: USA
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A Silent Era reader brought this DVD edition to our attention. Considering the home video company, we have to assume that the film has been transferred from a 16mm or 8mm reduction print.
There is no musical accompaniment for this presentation. Other discs from this company are extremely cheaply made and don’t play in some older DVD players.
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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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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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Other silent era LON CHANEY films available on home video.
Other ASIAN-THEMED FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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