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I was trying to watch a silent film last night and got annoyed by how difficult it was to secure a watchable copy. I wrote this article in response that you guys might find interesting. Feedback very welcome.

https://robertwilkinsonrsj.wordpress.co ... rowd-1928/

Did you buy the restoration of The Big Parade when it came out several years ago?

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Parade-Blu-r ... 00D9BNOKK/

That's why they haven't spent similar money restoring other MGM silents, like The Crowd, Greed, etc. The Big Parade didn't sell enough to justify the expense of giving others the same treatment.

Easy to blame the studios, but when they try and it doesn't pay off, they're not the only ones to blame.

There's actually an pretty good streaming version of The Crowd on the Watch TCM channel at the moment.

I’m still waiting for Universal to issue Modern Love In dvd after they went through the trouble and expense of restoring it. I’ve pledged to buy a copy, which means they should be able to sell ten easily.

Bob

TCM just showed THE CROWD last Sunday. For me, having access to TCM HD is certainly essential for this silent film fan...a way to see things "properly" in lieu of releases to Blu ray or DVD.

David

I did actually buy The Crowd, It's a great release . Sadly, I am unable to get TCM, Which is much of my issue admittedly. I was just annoyed in that moment and wrote this. I do believe this is harder than it should be.

Kevin Brownlow restored The Crowd for standard definition back in the 1980s and it was available on VHS and laserdisc. It needs another restoration for high def.

The late Ron Hutchison and his Vitaphone fans contributed cash to restorations of those shorts and their release on disc by WB. And Kickstarters by Ben Model, Ed Lorosso, and Bob Furmaneck have raised money for restorations of public domain films.

Mike Gebert wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:54 pm

Did you buy the restoration of The Big Parade when it came out several years ago?

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Parade-Blu-r ... 00D9BNOKK/

That's why they haven't spent similar money restoring other MGM silents, like The Crowd, Greed, etc. The Big Parade didn't sell enough to justify the expense of giving others the same treatment.

Easy to blame the studios, but when they try and it doesn't pay off, they're not the only ones to blame.

I did buy the restoration Bluray of The Big Parade. I was so excited about the release......I watched it immedietly. It is fabulous( as is Wings, I might add)

Agnes wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:21 pm

Mike Gebert wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:54 pm

Did you buy the restoration of The Big Parade when it came out several years ago?

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Parade-Blu-r ... 00D9BNOKK/

That's why they haven't spent similar money restoring other MGM silents, like The Crowd, Greed, etc. The Big Parade didn't sell enough to justify the expense of giving others the same treatment.

Easy to blame the studios, but when they try and it doesn't pay off, they're not the only ones to blame.

I did buy the restoration Bluray of The Big Parade. I was so excited about the release......I watched it immedietly. It is fabulous( as is Wings, I might add)

Warner Archives is re-releasing The Big Parade on blu-ray 08/25/20. I hope the packaging is the same.

Interesting. I did notice the used prices on Amazon were quite high.

35MM wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 03, 2020 5:38 am

Agnes wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:21 pm

Mike Gebert wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:54 pm

Did you buy the restoration of The Big Parade when it came out several years ago?

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Parade-Blu-r ... 00D9BNOKK/

That's why they haven't spent similar money restoring other MGM silents, like The Crowd, Greed, etc. The Big Parade didn't sell enough to justify the expense of giving others the same treatment.

Easy to blame the studios, but when they try and it doesn't pay off, they're not the only ones to blame.

I did buy the restoration Bluray of The Big Parade. I was so excited about the release......I watched it immedietly. It is fabulous( as is Wings, I might add)

Warner Archives is re-releasing The Big Parade on blu-ray 08/25/20. I hope the packaging is the same.

It will likely be in a standard case possibly with different cover art (they do this sometimes), but the disc content should be an exact duplicate of the one already out.