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Films of
Edwin S. Porter
(1898-1905)

Contents: Elopement on Horseback (1898), Strange Adventure of New York Drummer (1899), Uncle Josh’s Nightmare (1900), Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King (1901), Love by the Light of the Moon (1901), Circular Panorama of Electric Tower (1901), Panorama of Esplanade by Night (1901), Martyred Presidents (1901), Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show (1902), The Twentieth Century Tramp; or, Happy Hooligan and His Airship (1902), Fun in a Bakery Shop (1902), Jack and the Beanstalk (1902), The Life of an American Fireman (1903), Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Slavery Days (1903), The Gay Shoe Clerk (1903), Rounding Up of the “Yeggmen” (1904), The European Rest Cure (1904), The Ex-Convict (1904), The Kleptomaniac (1905), The Seven Ages (1905), How Jones Lost His Roll (1905) and The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (1905).

Grapevine Video
2009 DVD edition

Films of Edwin S. Porter (1898-1905), black & white, 117 minutes total, not rated, including Elopement on Horseback (1898), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Strange Adventure of New York Drummer (1899), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Uncle Josh’s Nightmare (1900), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King (1901), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Love by the Light of the Moon (1901), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Circular Panorama of Electric Tower (1901), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Panorama of Esplanade by Night (1901), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Martyred Presidents (1901), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show (1902), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Twentieth Century Tramp; or, Happy Hooligan and His Airship (1902), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Fun in a Bakery Shop (1902), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Jack and the Beanstalk (1902), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Life of an American Fireman (1903), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Slavery Days (1903), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Gay Shoe Clerk (1903), black & white, 1 minute, not rated, Rounding Up of the “Yeggmen” (1904), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The European Rest Cure (1904), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Ex-Convict (1904), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Kleptomaniac (1905), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Seven Ages (1905), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, How Jones Lost His Roll (1905), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, and The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (1905), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.

Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-10367-4.
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 5.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 22 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.95.
Release date: November 2009.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 4 / audio: 4 / additional content: 4 / overall: 4.

This DVD-R collection has been mastered from the old Library of Congress 16mm reduction compilation prints prepared from the paper print collection that were originally released for home video on VHS videotape by Kartes Video in the 1980s. The results are clearer than the old VHS copies but here but of the films can still be quite contrasty, with deep black and burnt-out highlight details.

The films are accompanied by a variety of preexisting low-fidelity recordings, both vintage and contemporary.

For years we have looked for an excuse to dump those old videotapes. This collection, at least partially, allows us to do that. Recommended, but knowing that at some time in the future the films surviving exclusively as 35mm paper prints will be revisited for restoration with digital equipment that will stabilize, correct exposure problems and provide great image resolution.

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