Re: CHAPLIN MUTUALS - This is Promising... (1 Viewer)

Hmmm. Curious for this one, but I already have that remastered 90th anniversary set from 2006. I'm hoping for a newly done set of the Essanay material. I think that's all I'm missing? I got the Chaplin at Keystone, The Mutual, and then the 2 warner brothers boxsets that are slowly being upgraded to bluray via Criterion.

Maybe that can do a Essanay/Mutual set. I think there used to be one of these on DVD before the Mutual 90th anniversary set came out....

... I've completely confused myself now. :S

(Los Angeles, CA - January 16, 2014) - Flicker Alley, the Blackhawk Films® Collection, CineMuseum, and Keystone Films invite you to celebrate the lives and work of two silent comedy icons with the dual-release of Chaplin's Mutual Comedies (Limited SteelBook Edition) andThe Mack Sennett Collection (Vol. One), both highly anticipated, newly restored collections never before seen on home video.
Both collections, along with limited-time, special offer combo-package are now available for pre-order on the Flicker Alley website.


In the comedies Charlie Chaplin created for the Mutual Film Corporation, Chaplin sometimes played an inebriate, a fireman, or a prop man in a movie studio; but most of all, he further explored and developed his celebrated Little Tramp character that would soon join Falstaff and Don Quixote in the pantheon of immortal comic
characters.


Flicker Alley and The Blackhawk Films® Collection are proud to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Little Tramp with the premiere of Chaplin's Mutual Comedies, a 5-disc Blu-ray/DVD box set, presented for a limited time in a collector's edition SteelBook case. The collection features 12 newly restored films (The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond, One A.M., The Count, The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, and The Adventurer) , all scanned under the aegis of Association Chaplin at a resolution of 2,000 lines from original 35mm prints gathered from archives all over the world, then digitally assembled and restored, a collaborative effort of Lobster Films in Paris and L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. Each film offers the option of either improvised piano accompaniment or a full orchestral score. Among the many well-known composers and musicians featured are Eric Beheim, Neil Brand, Timothy Brock, Antonio Coppola, Carl Davis, Stephen Horne, Robert Israel, the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Maud Nelissen, Donald Sosin, and Gabriel Thibaudeau.

[*]A 34-page booklet with rare, behind-the-scenes images, and an extensive essay by film historian and author Jeffrey Vance (Chaplin: Genius of Cinema).
[*]The home-video premiere of a 52-minute documentary by Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange, The Birth of the Tramp, which chronicles Chaplin's rise to stardom in concordance with early cinema's growth from fairground attraction into an international industry.
[*]Chaplin's Goliath by Academy Award® winner Kevin Macdonald, which tells the story of Charlie's nemesis Eric Campbell, who achieved screen immortality with his appearances in eleven of these comedies.
[/list]

The Keystone Film Company, under the guidance of pioneering producer and director Mack Sennett, was the birthplace of classic American slapstick comedy. This historic studio was at one time home to a staggering number of silent screen luminaries including Mabel Normand, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Harold Lloyd, Gloria Swanson, Wallace Beery, Harry Langdon, Marie Dressler, Ben Turpin, The Keystone Cops, Ford Sterling, Charley Chase, Al St. John, Mack Swain, Edgar Kennedy, Billy Bevan, Louise Fazenda, Eddie Quillan, and countless others. Even Hollywood icon Charlie Chaplin, still the world's most recognized actor, introduced his beloved Tramp character under the auspices of Keystone. Later, under the Mack Sennett Comedies banner, Sennett went on to produce a new generation of sound comedies, some in early color, featuring the likes of W.C. Fields, Bing Crosby, Lloyd Hamilton, Andy Clyde, and more.

Now, for the first time, thanks to Flicker Alley, CineMuseum, and Keystone Films, over 100 of the best surviving Sennett comedies have been gathered from around the world, fully restored, and digitally re-mastered in HD for home video. The Mack Sennett Collection, Vol. One features the first 50 of these films.

These new editions have been painstakingly reconstructed by CineMuseum and Keystone Films using original 35mm nitrate, archival negatives, preservation materials, and sometimes the lone known surviving film print, from the collections of the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Blackhawk Films®, Lobster Films, the Richard M. Roberts Collection, Gierucki Studios, and dozens of privately held archives.

The Mack Sennett Collection, Vol. One premieres a wealth of rare, unknown, and previously thought lost footage which had been locked away in vaults and unseen for nearly 100 years! Finally, these long neglected classic comedies may once again be seen as originally intended.

Produced for video by CineMuseum, LLC and Keystone Films, LLC. Restorations compiled and directed by Paul E. Gierucki.

[*]16-page full color booklet filled with rare images, production information, restoration notes, and Keystone - Sennett player biographies
[*]New music scores from silent film accompanists Philip Carli, Ben Model, Dennis Scott, Andrew Simpson, and Donald Sosin
[*]Commentary tracks from noted comedy historians Brent Walker, Steve Massa, Richard M. Roberts, Stan Taffel, Sam Gill, Paul Gierucki, and others
[*]Memorabilia galleries featuring vintage lobby cards, glass slides, posters, scripts, studio photographs, The Mack Sennett Story by film historian Joe Adamson, and rare audio recordings
[*]Long unseen rarities: newsreels, trailers, outtakes, Sennett-Color films, the dedication of the Mabel Normand soundstage, This Is Your Life Mack Sennett, and much more!
[/list]

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWK FILMS® COLLECTION
Blackhawk Films® was founded in 1927 as a producer of film advertising for merchants and as a distributor of regional newsreels. The company made its mark as a nontheatrical distributor with the advent of 16mm sound film in 1933, establishing several regional offices before WWII. In 1947, Blackhawk expanded into sales of used film and soon thereafter began distributing new 8mm and 16mm prints of Laurel & Hardy comedies from Hal Roach Studios as well as titles from such other suppliers such as Fox Movietone, Killiam Shows, and National Telefilm Associates. David Shepard joined Blackhawk as Vice President (1973-1976) and after founding Film Preservation Associates in 1986, acquired the Blackhawk Films® library which now comprises some 5,000 titles.

ABOUT KEYSTONE FILMS
Keystone Films LLC, a Southfield Michigan based company, has collaborated with CineMuseum LLC, Turner Entertainment Networks, and various archives around the world to digitally restore over 100 comedy films in HD for global broadcast and distribution.

ABOUT CINEMUSEUM LLC
CineMuseum LLC is a critically acclaimed television and motion picture production company specializing in the restoration and distribution of classic Hollywood films. Their works have been hailed by celebrated critic Leonard Maltin, and are regularly showcased in prime time on Turner Classic Movies with hosts Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz.

ABOUT FLICKER ALLEY
Flicker Alley, LLC was founded in 2002 by Jeff Masino. Each Flicker Alley project is the culmination of hundreds of hours of research, digital restoration, and music production. The Flicker Alley brand has grown to enjoy national and international critical acclaim and is regularly featured in annual "Best Of" lists. The company is a 2008, 2010, and 2011 recipient of the National Society of Film Critics Film Heritage Award. The name "Flicker Alley" was the nickname of Cecil Court, London W.C.2., the business center of the British film industry during the silent film era.
www.flickeralley.com
http://www.facebook.com/FlickerAlley
http://twitter.com/flickeralley

I'll probably go for the Sennett set since I'm pretty okay with the previous mutual collection. I really need the Essanay films.

I wish that there was a "non-SteelBook" edition. I don't really care for S-Books. I usually manage to bend or dent them which makes them unable to close correctly and sometimes even come apart. And they add unnecessarily to the cost of the product. Bah Humbug!!!

To those that are unaware, Flicker Alley is offering a combo pack for both blu-ray sets for a total of $80.90. That's $40 savings over purchasing these separately.

Preorder page for this offer is listed here.

This offer is only available for two weeks, ending 4/30. I'd recommend ordering this ASAP for those interested in both.

On a side note, the pricing seems a bit weird for these. They have the same list price yet the Chaplin set has 12 shorts while the Mack Sennet set is advertised as having 50 shorts/films spread over three discs. It doesn't take a genius to see which has the better bang for your buck, especially since many of these Sennets have likely never been on DVD.

The Chaplin set seems more inflated because it is a combo DVD edition (the Sennet set is blu-ray only) and because of the steelbook. Then again, the list price for the Image DVDs was almost just as much so maybe I'm overthinking this.

JoHud said:

To those that are unaware, Flicker Alley is offering a combo pack for both blu-ray sets for a total of $80.90. That's $40 savings over purchasing these separately.
Preorder page for this offer is listed here.

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SOLD!

already ordered both.

JoHud said:

To those that are unaware, Flicker Alley is offering a combo pack for both blu-ray sets for a total of $80.90. That's $40 savings over purchasing these separately.

Preorder page for this offer is listed here.

This offer is only available for two weeks, ending 4/30. I'd recommend ordering this ASAP for those interested in both.

On a side note, the pricing seems a bit weird for these. They have the same list price yet the Chaplin set has 12 shorts while the Mack Sennet set is advertised as having 50 shorts/films spread over three discs. It doesn't take a genius to see which has the better bang for your buck, especially since many of these Sennets have likely never been on DVD.

The Chaplin set seems more inflated because it is a combo DVD edition (the Sennet set is blu-ray only) and because of the steelbook. Then again, the list price for the Image DVDs was almost just as much so maybe I'm overthinking this.

Click to expand...

Darn it Joe, I already said I was good with the previous Mutual set, but this is too good a deal! Purchased.

Russell G said:

Darn it Joe, I already said I was good with the previous Mutual set, but this is too good a deal! Purchased.

Click to expand...

I can sympathize. I was going to put off the Mutual set a bit since I just happened to pay $50 for the Image DVD set last year and wasn't too keen on double dipping this soon. However, this offer can't be beat and likely won't be long after the release date.

I will wait to hear more about these releases before plunking down the $ for my 4th purchase of the Mutuals (Laserdisc, DVD, DVD again, Blu-ray). I think it would be great if they showed some restoration comparisons online.

So, these are only available through Flicker's website, no non-metal version has been announced, and it likely won't be showing up on Amazon?
(Since FA doesn't really do the double-dip thing?)

David_B_K said:

I will wait to hear more about these releases before plunking down the $ for my 4th purchase of the Mutuals (Laserdisc, DVD, DVD again, Blu-ray). I think it would be great if they showed some restoration comparisons online.

Click to expand...

In this case, restoration could also mean additional footage restored since many of these titles have been reissued and cut in various ways over the years. ( I say "could" since I have no insider knowledge as to what has been done. )

Ejanss said:

So, these are only available through Flicker's website, no non-metal version has been announced, and it likely won't be showing up on Amazon?
(Since FA doesn't really do the double-dip thing?)

Click to expand...

They'll likely be on amazon.com eventually, but I doubt the price will be much better. As for the steelbook of Chaplin, the steelbook of A Trip to the Moon eventually sold out and was replaced by a regular non-steelbook edition, but I'm not sure what the timing to that changeover was.

These are some of his best stuff in my view ,first time on Blu ray

From what I gather at Nitrateville and other sites, it seems the Mutual set includes new restorations off of different prints along with some different music tracks. Plenty of work seems to have gone into this--it won't be an HD carbon copy of the 90th Anniversary set, that's for sure.

Ordered. Sounds promising and I don't have these titles yet on any format.

Full list of Mack Sennett V1 shorts, via nitrateville.com:

THE MACK SENNETT COLLECTION - Volume 1 content list:1 THE CURTAIN POLE2 THE MANICURE LADY3 A DASH THROUGH THE CLOUDS4 THE WATER NYMPH5 A GROCERY CLERK’S ROMANCE6 ON HIS WEDDING DAY7 BANGVILLE POLICE8 A FISHY AFFAIR9 THE SPEED KINGS10 A THIEF CATCHER11 THE GREAT TOE MYSTERY12 RECREATION13 SHOT IN THE EXCITEMENT14 THE NOISE OF BOMBS15 AMBROSE’S FIRST FALSEHOOD16 A BIRD’S A BIRD17 GUSSLE’S DAY OF REST18 DO-RE-MI-BOOM!19 A LOVER’S LOST CONTROL20 A SUBMARINE PIRATE21 FATTY AND MABEL ADRIFT22 HIS BITTER PILL23 MADCAP AMBROSE24 TEDDY AT THE THROTTLE25 HER TORPEDOED LOVE26 A CLEVER DUMMY27 HEARTS AND FLOWERS28 DOWN ON THE FARM29 DON’T WEAKEN30 GYMNASIUM JIM31 THE EXTRA GIRL32 THE DARE-DEVIL33 BLACK OXFORDS34 GALLOPING BUNGALOWS35 HIS MARRIAGE WOW36 SUPER-HOOPER-DYNE LIZZIES37 A RAINY KNIGHT38 SATURDAY AFTERNOON39 A SEA DOG’S TALE40 HOBOKEN TO HOLLYWOOD41 ICE COLD COCOS42 BROKE IN CHINA43 THE PRIDE OF PIKEVILLE44 FIDDLESTICKS45 RUN, GIRL, RUN46 TAXI FOR TWO47 THE BLUFFER48 THE DENTIST49 DON’T PLAY BRIDGE WITH YOUR WIFE50 THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER

I wonder how many volumes we'll get? Hopefully more than two. This is easily the best venue yet for Sennet devotees.

Also looks like they've crossed into Criterion territory with the two WC Fields shorts. Will The Dentist be derived from the original release version this time (no additional "comedic" music)?