Recommend Some Silent Movie DVDs For Me Please (1 Viewer)

[Roger_S]

I found out today what Brian meant by Les Vampires being overpriced...Amazon.com is charging over $60 for it. Luckily, many other places (including their Marketplace sellers) are charging under $30 for it and I've now ordered it through one of those. Brian also mentioned "Slaphappy" Collection...did he actually mean the Slapstick Encyclopedia? I tried entering "slaphappy" into a few sites' search engines and came up empty.

 

[BrianRi]

Hi,
No, Slapstick Encyclopedia is different. The Slaphappy Collection was originally aired on PBS and can only be purchased through the Slaphappy site: http://www.slaphappycomedies.com/

I own four volumes and they are all entertaining and worth the money. Here is a site that has reviewed all the volumes.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/list....Text=Slaphappy

Comedians profiled include Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Langdon, Fatty Arbuckle, Charley Chase, Lloyd Hamilton, Lupino Lane, Billy Bevan, Keystone Kops, etc, etc.

 

[Roger_S]

Okay, I'll check them out. Since they're only available through one site, I guess it's no surprise I didn't find them.

What's your opinion on the Image double-feature of The General and Steamboat Bill Jr.? I've heard they look great but have also heard many negative things about the audio that was used. I already have these two films on Kino's releases...should I also get the Image versions?

 

[John_S]

I may be in the minority, but I find the included scores by the "Alloy Orchestra" on the Image versions of "The General" and "Steamboat Bill, Jr." to be outstanding.

I'll also second the motion for "Tess of the Storm Country" (Pickford) and "It" (Bow) [either version- I've owned both]. I'd also nominate "Hindle Wakes", "The Cameraman" [part of the Keaton 'TCM Archives'] and "The Unknown" [part of the Lon Chaney 'TCM Archives']

 

[Roger_S]

Last night, I ordered three volumes of The Slaphappy Collection and I see that means I get Slaphappy: The Movie free.

Today the silents I've been ordering started to arrive. Two came today: Sunrise which I was able to get by itself without getting the box set it came in (I had two of the movies in that set already) and Warner Brothers' version of Charlie Chaplin's The Circus.

 

[Alan_H]

Roger, I recently watched The Passion of Joan of Arc for the first time and it was fantastic! The Criterion DVD gives you the option of seeing it with or without music. I strongly recommend that you choose the with music option. Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light orchestral score is truly inspirational! I give this movie my highest recommendation!

 

[Roger_S]

That's one I've definitely thought of getting so it will probably be among my next purchases.

 

[BrianRi]

If you're looking mostly for entertainment value, I don't see any reason to spend more money to get the Image General/Steamboat Bill dvd if you've already got the Kino discs. I've got the Kinos, and am quite happy with them.

 

[Roger_S]

Thank you. That's probably what I'll do. I'll use the money instead for movies I don't yet have any version of. Speaking of the Kino Keaton releases, I received another pair of them after my post above about getting Sunrise and The Circus. Seven Chances and The Navigator were the ones to arrive today.

 

[Mike D]

Most of the recommendations I might have made have already been mentioned (except perhaps for the Flaherty documentaries - Nanook, Man of Aran and Louisiana Story) so I'll just include the link below. There are also many DVD reviews of silent films on the site so have a look...

http://www.silentera.com/info/top100.html

 

[Bob Turnbull]

Just catching up now on this great thread...


Now I assume that's just a standard description of any 'R' rated disc they have, but is it that scary/violent? I've never seen it except some of the classic scene of him hanging from the clock.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Safety Last is pretty close to completely harmless. I've got no idea how that rating got attached to it.

 

[Patrick McCart]

The "R" rating for Safety Last mainly for the following scene cut from the TCM showings (they're intact on the new 35mm prints and the upcoming DVD's):

There's a steamy love scene between Mr. Stubbs and one of the elderly fabric women

 

[Jason Seaver]

Really? I just saw it on a 35mm print this June, and don't remember any scene like that. Might not have been a new print, I suppose.

Or I could just be really gullible.

 

[ChrisPearson]

Really, Patrick? I thought it would be the part where

Harold falls off the clock and splatters all over the sidewalk. The scene is very graphic and all the more shocking for occurring in an otherwise wacky comedy.

 

[John Hodson]

Excellent five page examination of some of the major silent movies on DVD at 'The Laser Examiner' starting here - be aware there are some big picture files to load if you are on dial-up!

 

[oscar_merkx]

Hi John

Just beat me to it.

Fascinating article and also explains the non appearance of Abel Gance's Napoleon by Kevin Brownlow

 

[Roger_S]

Thank you. I have this site bookmarked but had not found this page before detailing the top 100 silent films. That page alone is worth bookmarking itself...I have 4 of the top 10 already...which means there's obviously more to be bought.