Tweet Silent Films That Should Be on DVD

Having seen it recently, it's a crime that the 1925 Stella Dallas is not on DVD.

The Goose Woman
and
Smoldering Fires also would be a wonderful 100th birthday gift from Universal. I wish.....

And as long as you mentioned my favorite Pauline Frederick movie, Three Women is another wonderful film that hasn't been on video in any form as far as i know. Since it's a Lubitsch film, i'm surprised it hasn't appeared before now.

greta

Napoleon came out in Europe (Spain, I think, not immediately having the copy to hand) as well as Australia. The Coppola version of course.

I'm really puzzled why Greed, The Big Parade and The Crowd are missing from DVD. Gish in The Scarlet Letter too.

GREED has probably been reconstructed as best can be done. THE BIG PARADE was painstakingly restored eight years ago, but the restoration from the long lost original camera negatives only gets an occasional live screening. Has never even been on Television. At least debut this on TCM. I question if they will ever have a broadcast master. THE CROWD is a mystery. I do not know if a newer transfer has been worked on or not over the 1981 Thames Silents version. THE SCARLET LETTER transfer is certainly allot more recent than THE CROWD (2001), but maybe they plan on doing this again, or it's possible additional 35 millimeter elements have surfaced where those scenes before were from 16 millimeter? Don't know. The majority of it was taken from the camera negatives found at Eastman House. Lubitsch OLD HEIDELBERG is another Silent Essential in my mind that needs a fresh digital transfer. Does anyone know if there has been a more recent restoration of THE WIND?

Having seen it recently, it's a crime that the 1925 Stella Dallas is not on DVD.

The Goose Woman
and
Smoldering Fires also would be a wonderful 100th birthday gift from Universal. I wish.....

And as long as you mentioned my favorite Pauline Frederick movie, Three Women is another wonderful film that hasn't been on video in any form as far as i know. Since it's a Lubitsch film, i'm surprised it hasn't appeared before now.

greta

THREE WOMEN (1924) is Warner Brothers, and I had hoped TCM would debut this sometime. Same thing with SO THIS IS PARIS, which aired on TCM France two Summer's ago. Really none of Lubitsch American Silent films have been released on DVD with the exception of THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE, and LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN . The later of these as part of the Treasures From American Film Archives 2 collection.

Is Olive Thomas any good? If so I'd want everything of hers that is out there on dvd.

I wouldn't mind seeing some of Olive's other features like THE GLORIOUS LADY and DOWN YONDER. We need some Tom Mix Westerns. a few titles that he made at Fox. Pretty much nothing is available. A nicely restored print of the original ANNA CHRISTIE (1923) with Blanche Sweet.

Olive Thomas appears in an episode of BEATRICE FAIRFAX, which is out on DVD from the Serial Squadron.

I don't think anybody mentioned THE SEA BEAST (1926) with John Barrymore and Dolores Costello. I like to think that WB has the material - the way WB brought out the ten-reel BEAU BRUMMEL out of the blue. The ratty looking version that been around forever really needs to be retired permanently.

Mitch,

The ratty old version of THE SEA BEAST is from 16 millimeter. Hope there is a good 35 millimeter archival print out there someplace, but I honestly can't say for sure?

Having seen it recently, it's a crime that the 1925 Stella Dallas is not on DVD.

The Goose Woman
and
Smoldering Fires also would be a wonderful 100th birthday gift from Universal. I wish.....

And as long as you mentioned my favorite Pauline Frederick movie, Three Women is another wonderful film that hasn't been on video in any form as far as i know. Since it's a Lubitsch film, i'm surprised it hasn't appeared before now.

greta

With Universal Silents, I'd really like to see BUTTERFLY (1924) too. Even though I don't know much about it. And if it survives without question THE MIDNIGHT SUN!(1926) That had a to be a huge hit because it had a sound re-issue. Another film Kevin Brownlow loves is THE HOMEMAKER.

"The Stain" (1914) should be released. It's
one of the only films surviving with Theda Bera
and sounds like a good film. It also captures
Virginia Pearson when she was in her prime as
a leading lady.

Good write-up here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209347/reviews

I like the title change in the French poster -- Moby Dick of course was changed to The Sea Beast in America, then in France it becomes Jim the Harpooner. (Was it really Captain Jim Ahab?) I'm also intrigued by the Harold Lloyd / Snub Pollard film Harold Hunts Large Wild Animals. What was that film called at home?

Mitch,

The ratty old version of THE SEA BEAST is from 16 millimeter. Hope there is a good 35 millimeter archival print out there someplace, but I honestly can't say for sure?

Gagman,

Mitch here I've owned one of those ratty 16mm prints of SEA BEAST since the 70s and the problems with it are a lot more serious than it merely being in 16. Everything is washed out and whatever original it was taken from must have had about 500 splices in it. Many scenes are truncated or represented by only a few frames. Looking at original stills you realize what a handsome production it was but it's lost in the edition kicking around today.