Silent Film on DVD and BD

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HerrSchreck · #351 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:23 am

You never knew Mickeys baby brother Rip Rooney? He's all over the comedy clubs now.

You're cranky uncle was right: I was talking about ripping Dubarry.

Kinsayder · #352 Post by **Kinsayder** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:26 am

[quote9f="davidhare"]Have just received the now familiar grovelling apology email from amazon france advising a delay on L'Argent. This usually means a wait of one to two weeks.[/quote9f]
Same here. Screw Amazon. I'm taking my business to FNAC, who have it in stock.

Knappen · #353 Post by **Knappen** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:26 am

[quote9d]I was talking about ripping Dubarry.[/quote9d]
Plenty of euroboys are probably already on the case.

HerrSchreck · #354 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:32 am

[quote2d="Knappen"] euroboys [/quote2d]
Is that a small piece of EU currency?

ptmd · #355 Post by **ptmd** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:25 pm

[quote7e]French tv is showing major films by Maurice Tourneur like Justin de Marseille and La Main du diable this month, and are throwing in some early silents: La Bergère d'Ivry (1913) (20 april), Obsession (1933??)(27 april), Figures de cire (1912!) (4 may) [/quote7e]
If anyone tapes these or knows where I could get a copy of them (tape, torrent or otherwise), please PM me because I am writing on Tourneur right now and would very much like to see these, particularly Figures de Cire (which is actually from 1914).

Knappen · #356 Post by **Knappen** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:35 pm

[quote5d] particularly Figures de Cire (which is actually from 1914).[/quote5d]
Sounds like a case for our sleeping IMDB missing entries page. The site gives 1912.

ptmd · #357 Post by **ptmd** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 1:02 am

[quote70]Sounds like a case for our sleeping IMDB missing entries page. The site gives 1912.[/quote70]
The IMDB is abysmal with films from the 1910s, but I'll try to correct this. It's definitely from 1914 (it's one of the last films Tourneur made in France during the silent era).

Kinsayder · #358 Post by **Kinsayder** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:00 am

I've received the Gaumont "Le Cinéma Premier Volume 1" set. 94 films on 7 discs: 2 each for Alice Guy and Louis Feuillade, 3 for Léonce Perret. 20 hours in total.

First, for those who were asking about English subs, there don't seem to be any. Perret's [i97]Le Roman d’un mousse[/i97] has original bilingual intertitles, but these are bilingual in French and Dutch. A lot of the very short films don't need subs as they are pure mime with no intertitles.

The packaging is quite interesting. It's constructed like a box of tabbed cardboard index cards with the DVDs mounted on them in semi-circular cutouts. Gaumont seem to be fond of cardboard sleeves for their box sets. Here, it makes it easy to find the disc you want, but the mountings have caused a few radial scratches on each of the discs. I haven't noticed any playback problems yet.

The films have all been restored to some extent, but the image quality is immensely varied. There are new musical accompaniments for all the films. No commentaries, but there are two 50 minute documentaries on Perret and Guy. The set comes with a chunky 98-page book that has a description and photo for each film.

I've only started to scratch the surface of these discs (much like the packaging

) but there are some very tasty items in this set. One I loved was Perret's [i97]Dents de fer[/i97] (1913), an early ancestor of the [i97]Saw[/i97] films: a doctor rushing to save a sick child gets his hand caught in a wolf trap; fortunately, he has his medical kit with him.

[img97]http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/5551 ... 003up3.jpg[/img97]

Gregory · #359 Post by **Gregory** » Sat May 03, 2008 9:32 pm

Is there a good list of Region 1 silent film DVDs anywhere? I have already consulted the one at Silent Era (here) but there are a few problems with it: 1. It includes tons of Grapevine-type releases, bootlegs found on eBay, etc.; 2. There is no information given for many of the titles (the ones without links) and many of these do not seem to actually have any kind of legitimate DVD release; and perhaps most importantly, 3. It is not complete. Off the top of my head, I noted that it was missing the silent titles from Cinema Epoch's Chinese Film Classics series, Criterion discs like Borderline, Floating Weeds, and a lot more, I'm assuming.
Is there any other resource? I've yet to even find any retailers that allow one to browse DVDs of silent films, although many have links for nearly every other type of category.
And in case anyone is wondering why I'm specifying R1, it's not because I don't have an all-region player but because I'm trying to make fewer foreign orders, the economy being the way it is.

HerrSchreck · #360 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Sat May 03, 2008 10:02 pm

[quote72="Gregory"]I'm trying to make fewer foreign orders, the economy being the way it is.[/quote72]
Tell me about it. Kims on St Marks were always a decent way to grab an MoC or BFI (or Raro, etc) etc when the impulse grabbed you... you read a great review for something like say [i72]Kuroneko[/i72]... you could run out and grab it and spin it the same day. Rather than order and sit and wait. And the hi-end Moc's were rarely higher than approx 30 bucks w tax, give or take a couple. Considering customs duties shipping etc-- and the waiting factor removed-- that wasnt bad at all.

The PAL section of Kims has shrunk to virtually nothing. Even THEY are not buying imports anymore. Guys like us greg are in a real pickle for sure.

EDIT: conversely, for Europe, it's like America is on fire sale.

Gregory · #362 Post by **Gregory** » Mon May 05, 2008 12:35 am

Well, I discovered another list that can be accessed by going to www.dvdaf.com and searching with "silent" as the genre. Not perfect but good for the sake of comparison with the list I mentioned earlier.

Ashirg · #363 Post by **Ashirg** » Mon May 05, 2008 1:07 pm

Here's the list I maintained at dvdaf. It doesn't include only region 1 releases.

And here's yet another list.

Knappen · #364 Post by **Knappen** » Mon May 05, 2008 1:09 pm

[b5c]Figures de cire[/b5c] by Maurice Tourneur, shown yesterday on French tv, was rediscovered last year. Seems that the copy, or at least parts of it, had been badly preserved.

[img5c]http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/8499 ... esdpn3.jpg[/img5c]
[img5c]http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/6060 ... esdnv9.jpg[/img5c]
[img5c]http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8909 ... esdgn1.jpg[/img5c]
[img5c]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6226 ... esdeb6.jpg[/img5c]

HerrSchreck · #365 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Mon May 05, 2008 1:15 pm

How was the film?

Knappen · #366 Post by **Knappen** » Mon May 05, 2008 1:18 pm

I'll tell you tonight when I have seen the whole thing!

Knappen · #367 Post by **Knappen** » Mon May 05, 2008 10:40 pm

Of the 11 minutes that are left of the film I have only good things to say, but I won't present any spoilers that could give away the surprise ending.

The damaged footage make some of the main character's motivation a bit confusing, but all in all it is a pretty straight forward mix of wax cabinet movies and Abel Gance's [b2b]Au secours![/b2b] But since the usual horror clichés weren't established yet it is somehow less predictable, I think.

The ending comes very fast and abruptly and is a bit shocking as opposed to other films of the same time that take forever to explain the twists in the story.

Oh yes: There is an early use of a shadow screen though with no attempt to make an expressionistic effect.

Tommaso · #368 Post by **Tommaso** » Sat May 17, 2008 12:15 pm

Fantastic News from arte edition/absolut medien. All coming in the next few months:

"Storm over Asia" (Pudovkin, with new music by Bernd Schultheis/Ensemble Kontraste)

"Intolerance" (Griffith, apparently with three different soundtracks)

"Johan"(Stiller (!!), with Kaurismaki's "Juha"; the Stiller is restored and tinted with music by Alexander Popov)

"The Phantom Carriage"/"Kiss of Death"(Sjöström, "Phantom Carriage" with different music to any of the Tartan discs )

"Kuhle Wampe"(!!)(Brecht/Dudow)

Plus a disc with films by Samuel Beckett...

markhax · #369 Post by **markhax** » Sat May 17, 2008 1:20 pm

Kulhe Wampe!! Two exclamation points indeed! I've been waiting for this for years. I caught the INTOLERANCE on Arte while in Paris last fall and it looks like a great resto.

denti alligator · Sat May 17, 2008 2:39 pm

I've got a boot of Kuhle Wampe, so although this is great and exciting news, it pales next to...

[b94]Samuel Beckett: HEY JOE und andere Filme für den SDR[/b94]

Holy Fuck, guys! Beckett's television plays!!!! Finally!!!

(Note: neither [b94]Kuhle Wampe [/b94]nor the Beckett plays are silent)

Tommaso · #371 Post by **Tommaso** » Sat May 17, 2008 4:12 pm

denti alligator wrote:(Note: neither Kuhle Wampe nor the Beckett plays are silent)

Of course not, but "Kuhle" somehow fits with the other films historically, and some of the Becketts I've seen were indeed (almost) silent, in one case just figures moving around a square (don't know whether that one is included, but I suppose it's "Quadrat I+II")

But hell, I'm raving most about the Stiller...

MichaelB · #372 Post by **MichaelB** » Sat May 17, 2008 5:45 pm

[quote41="denti alligator"]I've got a boot of Kuhle Wampe, so although this is great and exciting news, it pales next to...

[b41]Samuel Beckett: HEY JOE und andere Filme für den SDR[/b41]

Holy Fuck, guys! Beckett's television plays!!!! Finally!!![/quote41]
The "für den SDR" suggests that the plays will be [i41]Eh Joe, Footfalls[/i41] and [i41]Rockaby[/i41] - but don't get too excited, as the SDR version of [i41]Eh Joe[/i41] is [u41]not[/u41] the original 1966 version with Jack MacGowran, for whom it was written.

Instead, it stars Klaus Herm and Billie Whitelaw, and Whitelaw is also the lead in the other two (no complaints here: she's one of the all-time great Beckett interpreters).

I imagine it'll still be pretty good - these productions were recorded in 1988 under Beckett's personal supervision (in fact, I think they were the last TV productions to have that distinction), but the definitive Beckett TV boxset would have to come from the BBC, which produced the original [i41]Eh Joe[/i41] plus [i41]Not I, Ghost Trio[/i41], [i41]...but the clouds...[/i41] and [i41]Quad[/i41] - again, under Beckett's supervision. In fact, he had a clause in his contract that said that unless he and Whitelaw were personally satisfied with [i41]Not I[/i41], it wouldn't be transmitted. (Fortunately, they were).

denti alligator · Sat May 17, 2008 7:06 pm

It looks like it will be including all of them:

[quote9c]He Joe 33’52 Min. | Quadrat I und II 14’58 Min. | Nacht und Träume 10’52 Min. |
Schatten 60’35 Min. | Geistertrio 31’30 Min. | Nur noch Gewölk 15’46 Min. |
Was, wo 15’43 Min.[/quote9c]
No idea what "Schatten" is ... anyone? There is no play, for television, stage, or radio, that I know of called "Shadows."

Nacht und Träume and Quad were originally made for the SDR, so these would be the originals. Not sure about the others.

MichaelB · #374 Post by **MichaelB** » Sat May 17, 2008 7:55 pm

[quote73="denti alligator"]It looks like it will be including all of them:

[quote73]He Joe 33’52 Min. | Quadrat I und II 14’58 Min. | Nacht und Träume 10’52 Min. |
Schatten 60’35 Min. | Geistertrio 31’30 Min. | Nur noch Gewölk 15’46 Min. |
Was, wo 15’43 Min.[/quote73][/quote73]
All the SDR productions, but not all of Beckett's TV work. Still good news, though.

denti alligator · Sat May 17, 2008 7:59 pm

Aren't these all the plays[i92] written for [/i92]television, Michael? What else is there? Perhaps there were stage plays presented on television, but I thought these were all the ones written specifically for tv.

Technically [i92]What Where [/i92]is not a television play, for example, but was obviously produced by and for SDR.

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Silent Film on DVD and BD