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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Napoleon
(1927)
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 BFI Video Publishing
2016 Blu-ray Disc edition
Napoléon (1927), color-toned black & white and black & white, 332 minutes, BBFC Certification PG.
British Film Institute, BFIB1239, UPC 5-035673-012390.
Three single-sided, dual-layered, Region B Blu-ray Discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24fps progressive scan AVC (MPEG-4) format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Mbps audio bit rate, DTS-HD 48 kHz 7.1 surround sound and Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no subtitles?; chapter stops; 36-page insert booklet; standard BD keepcase; £39.95.
Release date: 21 November 2016.
Country of origin: England
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This highly-anticipated Blu-ray Disc edition has been remastered at 2K high-definition for the most-recent restoration by Kevin Brownlow.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed by Carl Davis.
Supplemental material includes the Kevin Brownlow documentary The Charm of Dynamite (1968) (51 minutes), feature-length commentary by Paul Cuff, a new interview with composer Carl Davis, a featurette on the restoration of the film (5 minutes), an alternative single-screen ending and individual triptych panel presentations; and a 36-page insert booklet.
North American collectors will need a region-free Blu-ray Disc player to view this edition.
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United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region B Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.
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 BFI Video Publishing
2016 DVD edition
Napoléon (1927), color-toned black & white and black & white, 332 minutes, BBFC Certification PG.
British Film Institute,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
Four single-sided, dual-layered, Region 2 PAL DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (720 x 576 pixels) progressive? scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 7.1 surround sound and Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no subtitles?; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; £34.95.
Release date: 21 November 2016.
Country of origin: England
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This highly-anticipated DVD edition has been remastered at 2K high-definition for the most-recent restoration by Kevin Brownlow.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed by Carl Davis.
Supplemental material includes the Kevin Brownlow documentary The Charm of Dynamite (1968) (51 minutes), feature-length commentary by Paul Cuff, a new interview with composer Carl Davis, a featurette on the restoration of the film (5 minutes), an alternative single-screen ending and individual triptych panel presentations, and a 60-page booklet.
North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.
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United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 2 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.
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 Universal Home Video/StudioCanal
200? DVD edition
Napoléon (1927), color-toned black & white and black & white, 139 minutes, BBFC Certification G.
Universal Home Video [Europe],
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 2 PAL DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, English? language intertitles, unknown subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 200?.
Country of origin: England
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We have not viewed this Region 2 DVD edition. And we believe it to now be out-of-print. However, the disc appears from time-to-time on Internet auction sites like eBay. Note that this edition is the American Francis Coppola adaptation, which is the shortest version available on home video.
The film is accompanied by an orchestra music score composed by Carmine Coppola and pipe organ performance by Dennis James.
North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.
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This Region 2 PAL DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Vertigo
200? DVD edition
Napoléon (1927), color-toned black & white and black & white, 225 minutes, not rated.
Vertigo, unknown catalog number, 8-420172-038427.
Two single-sided, dual-layered, Region 2 PAL DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced? scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, English? language intertitles, optional Italian? subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 200?.
Country of origin: Italian?
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This Region 2 DVD edition is presented on two discs and should render a far better picture than the overcompressed Korean edition noted below. This edition features the Kevin Brownlow restored edition presented by Francis Ford Coppola, with orchestral accompaniment by Carmine Coppola and pipe organ performance by Dennis James.
The two-disc set appears to be out-of-print.
North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.
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United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 2 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Purchase supports Silent Era.
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This Region 2 PAL DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Premier Entertainment
2004 DVD edition
Napoléon (1927), color-toned black & white and black & white, 222 minutes, not rated.
Premier Entertainment,
2004-FDVD421, UPC 8-809097-758557.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, optional Korean and English language subtitles; 19 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 2004.
Country of origin: South Korea
Ratings (1-10): video: 5 / audio: 7 / additional content: 0 / overall: 5.
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This South Korean DVD edition popped up for sale on eBay in 2004, and is likely available via mail order from a South Korean DVD retailer. This edition features the Kevin Brownlow restored edition presented by Francis Ford Coppola, with orchestral accompaniment by Carmine Coppola and pipe organ performance by Dennis James.
Our review of this edition reveals a very-low video encoding bit rate that presents many, many video artifacts that will marginally be visible on smaller standard televisions and very, very visible on large HD televisions. Not really worth the money.
This edition is no longer available in the USA through eBay for copyright reasons (American Zoetrope strikes again!).
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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Other silent era ABEL GANCE films available on home video.
Other FRENCH FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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