Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Zander
the Great
(1925)
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This comedy-drama western, directed by George Hill, stars Marion Davies and Harrison Ford, with Holbrook Blinn, Harry Watson, Harry Myers, George Siegmann, Emily Fitzroy, Hobart Bosworth, Richard Carle and Hedda Hopper.
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 Undercrank Productions
2022 Blu-ray Disc edition
Zander the Great (1925), black & white and color-tinted black & white, 79 minutes, not rated.
Undercrank Productions,
no catalog number, UPC 6-47213-97028-9.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (BD-R BDMV); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in SDR AVC format at ? Mbps average video bit rate; Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 10 chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $21.98.
Release date: 1 February 2022.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 9 / audio: 8 / additional content: 0 / overall: 8.
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This Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition has been mastered in high-resolution from an archival 35mm preservation print held by the Library of Congress. Dust, speckling, long vertical scratches, timing marks, a bit of schmutz and other print flaws have been allowed to remain in the 2K natural-speed (except for the undercranked motorbike sequence) scan. Budget allowing, the scan could have used some digital stabilization. The picture is quite detailed with a broad range of pleasing greytones that give us open shadows and controlled highlights.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on virtual theatre pipe organ by Ben Model. Both the performance and the pipe organ emulation are outstanding.
This is the best home video edition of the film we know of and it is highly recommended.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Undercrank Productions
2022 DVD edition
Zander the Great (1925), black & white and color-tinted black & white, 79 minutes, not rated.
Undercrank Productions,
no catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $19.99.
Release date: 1 February 2022.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered in 2K high-resolution from an archival 35mm preservation print held by the Library of Congress.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on virtual theater pipe organ by Ben Model. Both the performance and the pipe organ emulation are outstanding.
Even sight unseen, this is the best DVD home video edition of the film we know of.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises
2021 DVD edition
Zander the Great (1925), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises, 217, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; slimline CD jewelcase; $34.99 (raised again to $44.99).
Release date: 1 February 2022.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has apparently been mastered from a VHS videotape copy prepared from a 16mm reduction print (as may be surmised from this publisher-provided still frame).
If you’re lucky, the film is accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings otherwise you’ll be watching the film in silence.
Given the high cost of this disc and its dubious visual quality, we do not recommend this low-value, bare-bones edition.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Other WESTERN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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