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Kino to release classic Keaton silent "The General" on November 10

post #1 of 7
9/2/09 at 7:57am
Thread Starter 
Dunno why there's no press release on this, but here's the info:
Quote:
 
Kino Video is set to release Buster Keaton's silent-cinema masterpiece 'The General' on Blu-ray on November 10, making it the first silent feature film on BD in America (although the absolute record is for the UK release of 'Sunrise', which comes out September 21). This release has been mastered from a 35mm archive print struck from the original camera negative.

On the audio side, three different musical scores will be available: music composed and conducted by Carl Davis, performed by The Thames Silents Orchestra (in 5.1 or 2.0); music arranged and directed by Robert Israel; and theatre organ score by Lee Erwin.

Special features include:
  • A video tour of the authentic General, presented in association with The Southern Museum
  • A tour of the filming locations, presented by John Bengtson, author of Silent Echoes
  • Behind-the-scenes home movie footage
  • Filmed introduction by Gloria Swanson
  • Filmed introduction by Orson Welles
  • “The Buster Express,” a brisk montage of train gags from throughout Keaton's Carreer

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3353
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

The Art of Buster Keaton (The General / Sherlock, Jr. / Our Hospitality / The...
Buster Keaton Collection (The Cameraman / Spite Marriage / Free & Easy)
The General (1926) (Silent) [Blu-ray]
post #2 of 7
9/2/09 at 9:09am
Hot damn!

Great cover, too.


Edited by Brandon Conway - 9/2/09 at 9:25am
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post #3 of 7
9/2/09 at 10:11am
Total speculation on my part, but it would seem to me that these other films would be the most likely to follow The General to Blu from Kino:

Battleship Potemkin
The Black Pirate
Blind Husbands
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Foolish Wives
It (1927)
Metropolis (already said to be coming once the new restoration is completed)
Nosferatu (also got an Ultimate edition DVD around the time The General did in 2007)

Really, that's about it. Maybe some other Keatons (The Navigator, Steamboat Bill Jr.), but those haven't had the Ultimate edition DVD re-release that The General has. If the Griffiths weren't so old (The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance are mid-1910s) I could see those happening. When dealing with silent films it's definitely a question of elements.
Edited by Brandon Conway - 9/2/09 at 2:15pm
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post #4 of 7
9/2/09 at 2:03pm
Man, a properly done Blu-ray of CALIGARI without the overcropping that's on most DVDs would be something to see. 
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post #5 of 7
9/3/09 at 7:11am

I don't currently have a copy of THE GENERAL in my collection, so this is great news. I can't wait to see it, and(hopefully)many more silent classics on BD.

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post #6 of 7
9/3/09 at 10:31am
I have the DVD version of this from Kino. Over all, it's my favorite version of this film on DVD. The print is very fine quality, and all the tints have been applied. However, there are a fair number of speckles in the print that should have been fairly easy to clean up (I almost hesitate to say that after the Gladiator debacle). There is also a fine Region 2 version of The General, which has been cleaned up, but it lacks the tints.

This Kino version also features Carl Davis' superb score, which cannot be bettered, IMO. The nice (though uncleaned) print and the tints and the Carl Davis score make this the best version, IMO. Before investing in a Blu-ray, I'd like to see if they did remove a few speckles. Also, the DVD was a single layer disc with the special features on a second disc. They obviously did not use a high bitrate on the DVD, so it will be interesting to find out how the Blu-ray turns out.
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post #7 of 7
9/3/09 at 11:04am
Well, a BD25 should be plenty for the film since it is so short.

So, what are the odds that the soundtracks are lossless?
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

The Art of Buster Keaton (The General / Sherlock, Jr. / Our Hospitality / The...
Buster Keaton Collection (The Cameraman / Spite Marriage / Free & Easy)
The General (1926) (Silent) [Blu-ray]
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming Video and Digital Downloads › Blu-ray › Kino to release classic Keaton silent "The General" on November 10