What silent film would you most like to see on 4K? (1 Viewer)

[Arthur Powell]

Four Devils, The Patriot, Hats Off, London After Midnight, and The Miracle Man.

 

[usrunnr]

"Intolerance" and preferably the longest version. We saw a 4 hour version at UCLA many years ago with live organ accompaniment. I've never seen anything like it since. I have 3 different DVD/Blu-rays, but not the 4 hour version I saw years ago.

 

[ABaglivi]

Two times the daily recommended dose of Gish!

And a healthy dose of Lucille La Verne!

 

[bujaki]

Four Devils, The Patriot, Hats Off, London After Midnight, and The Miracle Man.

That's quite ambitious! You forgot the complete version of Greed.

 

[Dick]

Four Devils, The Patriot, Hats Off, London After Midnight, and The Miracle Man.

Good luck with LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. I assume you mean a reconstruction of sequential still photos?

 

[jmegas]

Naturally, the classic "It" with Clara Bow directed by Clarence G. Badger and Josef von Sternberg.

 

[octobercountry]

I think the real question is "What silent films have surviving original negatives in good condition?" Because unless that's the case, there is no point whatsoever in a 4K release. If you're several generations removed from the original elements, a blu-ray is more than sufficient. I really have no idea how many of these negatives are out there.

 

[richardburton84]

The Big Parade might work since all but one shot (I think) of the Blu-ray transfer was derived from the camera negative.

 

[Rob W]

Good luck with LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. I assume you mean a reconstruction of sequential still photos?

All of the titles on his list are legendary lost films (which he undoubtedly knows)

 

[BILLONEEG]

No question: Fritz Lang's Metropolis. (Not the Moroder version)

Second place: Fairbanks's The Mark of Zorro.

"Metropolis" for sure! This time around though they should get a bunch of top experts together to restore the film utilizing the best technology & tricks of today. Then they can make the ultimate 8K (or higher) "Go-To" Master & produce 4K discs from that. My opinion.

 

[Martin_Teller]

A Page of Madness

 

[OliverK]

"Metropolis" for sure! This time around though they should get a bunch of top experts together to restore the film utilizing the best technology & tricks of today. Then they can make the ultimate 8K (or higher) "Go-To" Master & produce 4K discs from that. My opinion.

4k can be nice to have for more natural looking film grain but it usually isn't needed for fine detail as there is none to extremely little beyond 2k for silent movies. This is why I would rather stay at 4k which is plenty and use the limited resources for other movies.

 

[ajabrams]

My vote would be for PANDORA'S BOX.

 

[OliverK]

4k can be nice to have for more natural looking film grain but it usually isn't needed for fine detail as there is none to extremely little beyond 2k for silent movies. This is why I would rather stay at 4k which is plenty and use the limited resources for other movies.

OK, wanted to make a case for 4k scanning being an excellent top shelf solution but left that word out. Combining that with a standard Blu-ray release should will yield excellent results and should already give excellent results.

With everything else being the same a 4k UHD release with a sensible grading should look a bit better as no upscaling to 4k will be needed on todays displays and at times there will be additional detail so I welcome a worthy and hopefully successful releases if they make some money for the studios.

Any money made with silent films will be great as I think that all top 10 to 100 silent movie lists will show that a lot of the movies on that list are still not available on Blu-ray and that overall representation of silent movies on home video is much worse than for "talkies".

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Oh what’s that Best Picture winnner’s name again- now I remember The Artist!

 

[Ed Lachmann]

Pastrone's 1914 restored Cabiria would be my top choice, although I'm still waiting for a blu-ray or even a DVD from somebody that manages to crack the vault over at the National Museum of Cinema in Turin.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Napoleon.

 

[Robert Harris]

Napoleon.

Like most other films shot let’s call it pre-1930, there is no 4k imagery in Napoleon. The best surviving is footage from the La Marseillaise sequence, which was scanned in 4k from the camera negative, and even that tops out at around 2.5 or thereabouts.

What has been presumed to be the M-G-M version, released in 1928, has been scanned at 6k, but there are no shots that hit 2k resolution. For those following the history of the film, the negative acquired from M-G-M, which was copied from a 35mm print, has turned out not to conform to that release version.

While it has the M-G-M main and end titles, some proper sequences, and a couple of others from a longer M-G-M test version, cut before release, probably half the footage was taken from other versions (possibly UK), and used to repair the only surviving print in the library.

While the original final cutting continuity survives, the actual film version does not, unless an unknown print is secreted away, or waiting in permafrost.

 

[Brianruns10]

Greed. It's my number one most wanted silent film. It's never gotten an official DVD or a blu-ray release.

 

[MarkantonyII]

I can't think of a single B&W/silent* film pre-1940 that would benefit from a 4K home release, especially as in so many cases the OCN no longer exists to create a 4K from.

By all means master from the best materials available in 4K for archival purposes, but the home release will not be appreciably better than a Blu from the same master - especially if already owning a decent copy on Blu.

I applaud Criterion releasing 4K's, but Citizen Kane (No OCN)/For All Mankind (primarily 16mm OCN) and others will not convince those sitting on the fence that this is a game changing format. Given that they have titles like The Leopard and Richard III, among many others, that could really benefit from 4K, I find the title choices bizarre from a quality perspective - although I understand the historical reason for CK.

*I caveat B&W as certain three-strip technicolor productions have benefited from a 4K/HDR release and show benefits over a Blu from the same master.

M