Unknown Video
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:38 am
Unknown Video
Here is a small label of interest to friends of the silent cinema. I ordered their two volumes of Nickelodia, each of which features six one-reelers from the era of the Nickelodeon (1909-1915). Included on the discs are several otherwise unavailable films by D.W. Griffith, Thomas Ince, Mack Sennett, and several other directors. The following links show the full lists of films included along with short descriptions:
Nickelodia 1
Nickelodia 2
I have posted a series of stills from a number of the films in the screen captures thread. In general, I was very positively surprised by the quality of the presentations. Nothing is perfect, when it comes to films of this vintage, but as far as I could tell all the prints are complete, and there is minimal wear and tear. The actual pedigree of the transfers, I am not sure of; someone more technically savvy than I can probably comment. The stills do not reflect the fact that there is consistent combing latent in the transfers. I did not notice this until creating the captures on my computer; while screening these films through my projector, the appearance of the films were much like the stills posted.
The films themselves are of course fascinating. What is nice here is that we are presented with a fairly broad range of material. Some of the films are "merely" entertainments, and are rather crudely made (As a Boy Dreams). The Griffiths are generally a notch below the best of his Biograph shorts that I have seen, although the high production values -- Bitzer's photography, the quality of the acting, and the polish of the editing and pacing -- really place his films in a league of their own for the time. Fate's Turning and The Adventures of Billy are striking for being very direct in their social commentary, while A Country Cupid is an interesting slice of Americana beneath its somewhat overheated romantic hysteria. Then there is The Romance of Little Deer, which stars James Young Deer and Red Wing, who were autual American Indian stars of the early silent cinema. There is a lot of flailing with the arms and wild gesticulation, and the film attempts to pack more action into its short 15 minutes than is advisable, however, the sense of authenticity of the nature that serves as the film's backdrop, and the sympathetic depiction of the Native Americans in the film, makes it a very interesting early western.
The discs come with nice imitation silent film posters for covers, and label owner Christopher Snowden has provided several inserts with insightful and humorous notes on the films.
Unknown Video has released a considerable list of other silent films. These are covered in detail at their site, and include several William Hart westerns, a double-bill of Wallace Reid pictures, a series of "Silent Comedy Mafia" sets, and several other feature films that look very interesting -- Dimitri Buchowetzki's The Swan (1926) with Adolphe Menjou; a "reconstruction" of the Mabel Normand film Suzanna; and, Fred Niblo's Sex (1920) starring Louise Glaum, who apparently rivalled Theda Bara in screen vampism (this disc also features what promises to be one of the most outlandish and "cult" extras of the DVD medium -- a gallery of unclad and under-clad stars of the silent era, including Louise Brooks, Douglas Fairbanks, Clara Bow, Mae West, Bessie Love and many more...!!!) If the quality is close to as good as the Nickelodia sets, then these are real treasures. I aim to find out, and will update this thread with my findings. Comments and recommendations from anyone else, who owns any of Unknown's releases would be most welcome.
Here is a small label of interest to friends of the silent cinema. I ordered their two volumes of Nickelodia, each of which features six one-reelers from the era of the Nickelodeon (1909-1915). Included on the discs are several otherwise unavailable films by D.W. Griffith, Thomas Ince, Mack Sennett, and several other directors. The following links show the full lists of films included along with short descriptions:
Nickelodia 1
Nickelodia 2
I have posted a series of stills from a number of the films in the screen captures thread. In general, I was very positively surprised by the quality of the presentations. Nothing is perfect, when it comes to films of this vintage, but as far as I could tell all the prints are complete, and there is minimal wear and tear. The actual pedigree of the transfers, I am not sure of; someone more technically savvy than I can probably comment. The stills do not reflect the fact that there is consistent combing latent in the transfers. I did not notice this until creating the captures on my computer; while screening these films through my projector, the appearance of the films were much like the stills posted.
The films themselves are of course fascinating. What is nice here is that we are presented with a fairly broad range of material. Some of the films are "merely" entertainments, and are rather crudely made (As a Boy Dreams). The Griffiths are generally a notch below the best of his Biograph shorts that I have seen, although the high production values -- Bitzer's photography, the quality of the acting, and the polish of the editing and pacing -- really place his films in a league of their own for the time. Fate's Turning and The Adventures of Billy are striking for being very direct in their social commentary, while A Country Cupid is an interesting slice of Americana beneath its somewhat overheated romantic hysteria. Then there is The Romance of Little Deer, which stars James Young Deer and Red Wing, who were autual American Indian stars of the early silent cinema. There is a lot of flailing with the arms and wild gesticulation, and the film attempts to pack more action into its short 15 minutes than is advisable, however, the sense of authenticity of the nature that serves as the film's backdrop, and the sympathetic depiction of the Native Americans in the film, makes it a very interesting early western.
The discs come with nice imitation silent film posters for covers, and label owner Christopher Snowden has provided several inserts with insightful and humorous notes on the films.
Unknown Video has released a considerable list of other silent films. These are covered in detail at their site, and include several William Hart westerns, a double-bill of Wallace Reid pictures, a series of "Silent Comedy Mafia" sets, and several other feature films that look very interesting -- Dimitri Buchowetzki's The Swan (1926) with Adolphe Menjou; a "reconstruction" of the Mabel Normand film Suzanna; and, Fred Niblo's Sex (1920) starring Louise Glaum, who apparently rivalled Theda Bara in screen vampism (this disc also features what promises to be one of the most outlandish and "cult" extras of the DVD medium -- a gallery of unclad and under-clad stars of the silent era, including Louise Brooks, Douglas Fairbanks, Clara Bow, Mae West, Bessie Love and many more...!!!) If the quality is close to as good as the Nickelodia sets, then these are real treasures. I aim to find out, and will update this thread with my findings. Comments and recommendations from anyone else, who owns any of Unknown's releases would be most welcome.