Commentaries on the new Lobster set of Chaplin Mutuals

[martin arias]

The set contains the best restorations I've ever seen of most of the comedies.

THE FIREMAN contains the missing Leo White/Chaplin bit which was missing from other prints; THE FLOORWALKER also adds the missing footage, ONE A.M. has the long version already on the 90 Anniversary set; THE CURE has the complete film with many missing bits. The same can be said about THE PAWNSHOP.
THE COUNT has no new footage, but is the most beautiful print I've seen.
Most of the films (in fact all but THE RINK) are uncropped versions with the left section of the image intact.

THE RINK, adds a complete routine with John Rand at the beginning of the film that was missing from all previous versions. However, it's still cropped at the left and is still missing the ending, with Charlie falling from the car.

THE IMMIGRANT is presented in a beautiful, sharp, uncropped print, but sadly has none of the many missing scenes, and the same happens with EASY STREET.

THE ADVENTURER is another case. The print is again beautiful and uncropped, and presents various missing bits which I had only seen before in a 16mm print with text cards in both Spanish and French which I had many years ago. One is a small bit at the beach, before Charlie escapes into the sea, another is a short fragment at the very end of the gag with the drinks, showing Charlie pushing Loyal Underwood away. However, a whole bit is missing at the very end of reel 1 and the beginning of reel 2, with Charlie and Edna exiting the hall and going into the yard, which was more complete in all of the Blackhawk and Van Beuren prints. This jump is hard to understand. It was even more complete on the 90th anniversary set.

The set has two sountracks, one orchestral and one by unaccompanied piano. Both are worth listening and represent a big improvement over the CARL DAVIS ones, which may be musically beautiful, but do not fit at all the mood of these comedies.

[Scoundrel]

How did you get access to the new Lobster restorations...?

Let's hope the missing bits are added to the Flicker Alley Blu ray release

The last thing we need is a higher resolution set of incomplete Mutuals.

Otherwise, what's the point...?

[s.w.a.c.]

Would it be from this set?

Only available from France at the moment, as far as I can see. And only on DVD from the looks of it (this is just from looking at Amazon France, mind you, there's no sign of it at amazon.co.uk, for example).

[DShepFilm]

The French release of the new Chaplin Mutuals was rushed at the insistence of the distributor and to take advantage of a subsidy that expired at the end of last year.

Much more work has been/is being done on these films prior to the Flicker Alley release, that will be a dual Blu-Ray/DVD steelbook package with a fifth disc of supplements.

I would suggest that U.S. buyers wait until the set from Flicker is available; it will be much more than a domestic version of the French release.

Meanwhile, perhaps you would like to buy the new version of HUNCHBACK. It does not stutter; that seems to be an equipment issue from a diligent correspondent to this site.

David Shepard

[martin arias]

Thanks for the info, David.

It looks like I'm condemned to buy also the Flicker Alley set when it comes out. But I've already had these 12 films in so many different supports that one more wouldn't kill me. I only hope it would truly be a definitive set, with all of the known missing bits of THE IMMIGRANT and EASY STREET, the ending of THE RINK, a missing close-up on Charlie's face missing from the ending of THE CURE I just noticed is not on the LOBSTER set, and the reel change of THE ADVENTURER properly restored, if it's not much asking. It would truly be inconvenient to be force to buy this stuff once again in a couple of more years!!!!

Also, I just noticed a jump in THE PAWNSHOP which is not on some prints I've seen. When Charlie goes back to the shop to take care of Henry Bergman as the lady with the fish, he jumps over Eric Campbell's hat for a second time and then goes into the shop. On the recent restoration, the scene is cut just when he is avoiding the hat, and the gag's effect is lost.

I'm aware these are tiny details. But as I told you, I've had these films in 8mm, 16mm, various versions on VHS, and as many as appeared on DVD... so in 2014 we should be entitled to have truly definitive versions of these classics.

[bigshot]

I've been happy with everything I've gotten from Flicker Alley... the Cinerama films, Hunchback, Most Dangerous Game, Nanook... They're a class act. I won't be hesitating on the Chaplin set. I'm sure it's going to be fantastic.

[WaverBoy]

The French release of the new Chaplin Mutuals was rushed at the insistence of the distributor and to take advantage of a subsidy that expired at the end of last year.

Much more work has been/is being done on these films prior to the Flicker Alley release, that will be a dual Blu-Ray/DVD steelbook package with a fifth disc of supplements.

I would suggest that U.S. buyers wait until the set from Flicker is available; it will be much more than a domestic version of the French release.

Meanwhile, perhaps you would like to buy the new version of HUNCHBACK. It does not stutter; that seems to be an equipment issue from a diligent correspondent to this site.

David Shepard

David, it DOES stutter; it has nothing to do with my equipment setup. You are incorrect. I'd be curious to know whether you notice the documented stuttering on THE THIEF OF BAGDAD or THE BLACK PIRATE. I'm betting you won't. Not everyone notices this unfortunate effect; I've watched those two with a friend of mine who just doesn't notice it. The Kino Blu of NOSFERATU is plagued with this as well, as confirmed by our own Christopher Jacobs' review of it on this site. But I'm betting you'll think it looks just peachy.

The bad news (at least for those viewers sensitive to the issue) is that the conversion of the film’s 18 frames-per-second running speed to the Blu-ray standard of 24 progressive frames per second may present the sharpest possible picture but also results in a slight jerky effect whenever there is motion on the screen, sometimes more distracting than others. Different people may be bothered by this technical artifact to various degrees. The DVD (using the NTSC-TV standard of 30 interlaced frames per second) does not exhibit this jerkiness, but also does not have nearly as sharp an image.

[WaverBoy]

Thanks for the info, David.

It looks like I'm condemned to buy also the Flicker Alley set when it comes out. But I've already had these 12 films in so many different supports that one more wouldn't kill me. I only hope it would truly be a definitive set, with all of the known missing bits of THE IMMIGRANT and EASY STREET, the ending of THE RINK, a missing close-up on Charlie's face missing from the ending of THE CURE I just noticed is not on the LOBSTER set, and the reel change of THE ADVENTURER properly restored, if it's not much asking. It would truly be inconvenient to be force to buy this stuff once again in a couple of more years!!!!

Also, I just noticed a jump in THE PAWNSHOP which is not on some prints I've seen. When Charlie goes back to the shop to take care of Henry Bergman as the lady with the fish, he jumps over Eric Campbell's hat for a second time and then goes into the shop. On the recent restoration, the scene is cut just when he is avoiding the hat, and the gag's effect is lost.

I'm aware these are tiny details. But as I told you, I've had these films in 8mm, 16mm, various versions on VHS, and as many as appeared on DVD... so in 2014 we should be entitled to have truly definitive versions of these classics.

I also dearly hope the bits you mention that are still missing from the French set will be restored to the Flicker Alley set, especially THE IMMIGRANT which is missing quite a few bits that can be seen in Doug Sulpy's reconstruction, and the bit of Charlie falling off the car at the end of THE RINK.

I even more dearly hope that the films which are running slower than 24fps aren't crammed into 1080p; for the love of Charlie, please please PLEASE put them in 1080i. I want to be able to unreservedly shout the praises of this set from the rooftops, which I can't do if it suffers from BLACK PIRATE syndrome. Fingers crossed.

[WaverBoy]

The set contains the best restorations I've ever seen of most of the comedies.

THE FIREMAN contains the missing Leo White/Chaplin bit which was missing from other prints; THE FLOORWALKER also adds the missing footage, ONE A.M. has the long version already on the 90 Anniversary set; THE CURE has the complete film with many missing bits. The same can be said about THE PAWNSHOP.
THE COUNT has no new footage, but is the most beautiful print I've seen.
Most of the films (in fact all but THE RINK) are uncropped versions with the left section of the image intact.

THE RINK, adds a complete routine with John Rand at the beginning of the film that was missing from all previous versions. However, it's still cropped at the left and is still missing the ending, with Charlie falling from the car.

THE IMMIGRANT is presented in a beautiful, sharp, uncropped print, but sadly has none of the many missing scenes, and the same happens with EASY STREET.

THE ADVENTURER is another case. The print is again beautiful and uncropped, and presents various missing bits which I had only seen before in a 16mm print with text cards in both Spanish and French which I had many years ago. One is a small bit at the beach, before Charlie escapes into the sea, another is a short fragment at the very end of the gag with the drinks, showing Charlie pushing Loyal Underwood away. However, a whole bit is missing at the very end of reel 1 and the beginning of reel 2, with Charlie and Edna exiting the hall and going into the yard, which was more complete in all of the Blackhawk and Van Beuren prints. This jump is hard to understand. It was even more complete on the 90th anniversary set.

The set has two soundtracks, one orchestral and one by unaccompanied piano. Both are worth listening and represent a big improvement over the CARL DAVIS ones, which may be musically beautiful, but do not fit at all the mood of these comedies.

I should have quoted this post of yours first. Thank you for the detailed rundown; it's much appreciated! Great news that a bunch of the missing stuff has already been restored to the French set, especially for THE CURE, and an entire John Rand routine restored to THE RINK that we didn't even know was missing. Crazy.

And, Mr. David Shepard, many many MANY heartfelt thanks to you and your associates for giving these films another go-round. Here's hoping the extant bits missing from the new French set can be restored for the Flicker Alley release, so we can have a definitive complete-as-can-possibly-be set of the Mutual Chaplin Specials at long last.

[DShepFilm]

Waverboy writes:

"David, it DOES stutter; it has nothing to do with my equipment setup. You are incorrect. I'd be curious to know whether you notice the documented stuttering on THE THIEF OF BAGDAD or THE BLACK PIRATE. I'm betting you won't. Not everyone notices this unfortunate effect; I've watched those two with a friend of mine who just doesn't notice it. The Kino Blu of NOSFERATU is plagued with this as well, as confirmed by our own Christopher Jacobs' review of it on this site. But I'm betting you'll think it looks just peachy."

I don't have all the Blu-Ray discs you mention but I find THE BIG PARADE and THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (and our own HUNCHBACK) quite thrilling. The Lloyd and Chaplin features so far issued by Criterion, and WINGS, transfer at 24 fps.
I think I'm pretty observant but maybe I fail to notice alleged defects because I keep my eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole.

David

[Danny Burk]

I keep my eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole.

I'm tucking that one away for future use.

[Gloria Rampage]

DShepFilm
I keep my eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole.

Ooh! I really enjoy doughnuts and coffee.

[WaverBoy]

I don't have all the Blu-Ray discs you mention but I find THE BIG PARADE and THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (and our own HUNCHBACK) quite thrilling. The Lloyd and Chaplin features so far issued by Criterion, and WINGS, transfer at 24 fps.
I think I'm pretty observant but maybe I fail to notice alleged defects because I keep my eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole.

David

That's not good, coming from someone who oversees the release of products that can potentially be affected by these defects. With all due respect for all you have done for classic film preservation and promotion, that indicates to me that you are one of those that doesn't notice bad motion artifacting, and apparently isn't too concerned if one of his products is plagued with it, which is akin to having a colorblind person in charge of color correction. Perhaps some quality control measures regarding avoidable motion artifacting problems could be implemented at Flicker Alley, like having someone involved who does notice these defects. And I'm really not trying to be an asshole here; I'm extremely thankful for all you've done to save these films, I own and love many of your products for which I have nothing but praise, and want to buy more, and want others to buy them too, but I can't recommend the purchase of botched transfers, and I will no longer blind buy any silent film releases on Blu, whether from Flicker Alley or any other company.

[antifrodis]

Thanks for the info, David.

It looks like I'm condemned to buy also the Flicker Alley set when it comes out. But I've already had these 12 films in so many different supports that one more wouldn't kill me. I only hope it would truly be a definitive set, with all of the known missing bits of THE IMMIGRANT and EASY STREET, the ending of THE RINK, a missing close-up on Charlie's face missing from the ending of THE CURE I just noticed is not on the LOBSTER set, and the reel change of THE ADVENTURER properly restored, if it's not much asking. It would truly be inconvenient to be force to buy this stuff once again in a couple of more years!!!!

Also, I just noticed a jump in THE PAWNSHOP which is not on some prints I've seen. When Charlie goes back to the shop to take care of Henry Bergman as the lady with the fish, he jumps over Eric Campbell's hat for a second time and then goes into the shop. On the recent restoration, the scene is cut just when he is avoiding the hat, and the gag's effect is lost.

I'm aware these are tiny details. But as I told you, I've had these films in 8mm, 16mm, various versions on VHS, and as many as appeared on DVD... so in 2014 we should be entitled to have truly definitive versions of these classics.

I believe I may have mentioned this in another thread, but there's a brief shot of Charlie near the second floor elevator at the end of "The Floorwalker" that is missing on the recent French release. It is present on previous releases.

[bigshot]

The Thief of Bagdad and Hunchback don't stutter on my projection system. Black Pirate does a little but it isn't distracting.

[scocs]

Waver Boy is right about one thing: The Kino blu-ray of Nosferatu DOES have a bad jitter problem that the UK Masters of Cinema blu-ray Nosferatu does not. I did an a/b comparison and couldn't believe my own eyes. How is it possible in 2014 to manufacture two blu-rays from supposedly the same exact sources and one is brilliant and one sucks?!

[EddieLarkin]

Waver Boy is right about one thing: The Kino blu-ray of Nosferatu DOES have a bad jitter problem that the UK Masters of Cinema blu-ray Nosferatu does not. I did an a/b comparison and couldn't believe my own eyes. How is it possible in 2014 to manufacture two blu-rays from supposedly the same exact sources and one is brilliant and one sucks?!

The Kino BD has about 10-20% of all frames missing from its encode, as detailed in the comments here:

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleic ... =2#auswahl" target="_blank

The stuttering on that Blu-ray cannot be blamed on its progressive nature; the MoC disc is fine.

[scocs]

Why did Kino do this? Aren't they a professional organization?

[EddieLarkin]

Whatever algorithm they used to take the 18fps master they had and interpolate it into 24fps obviously messed up spectacularly and adopted a regular pattern of frame deletion. Either no one at Kino noticed or no one cared. The Masters of Cinema disc follows a precise "3 frames, 1 repeat" sequence for the entirety of its runtime and looks perfect.

[moglia]

Why did Kino do this? Aren't they a professional organization?

Whatever algorithm they used to take the 18fps master they had and interpolate it into 24fps obviously messed up spectacularly and adopted a regular pattern of frame deletion. Either no one at Kino noticed or no one cared. The Masters of Cinema disc follows a precise "3 frames, 1 repeat" sequence for the entirety of its runtime and looks perfect.

Seems like a total lack of quality control or a total lack of actually caring, which are both hallmarks of a slipshod organization. Sad actually as they used to be quite good.