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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The
Covered Wagon
(1923)
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Who can explain what makes a film great and what keeps a film from being great? Sometimes a film has a huge reputation simply because the film’s producers mounted it as an epic. The Covered Wagon (1923) is both an epic and an average film. Epic in its mounting, the film was largely shot on-location in Utah and Nevada, with as many as 3000 extras and what appears to be at least 100 or more Conestoga wagons. Yet when the film plays out its story of pioneer hardships, power struggles and love triangles, The Covered Wagon is not much more than a large-scale Western programmer. That being said, The Covered Wagon was a very successful film in 1923, and led to other big-budget Westerns such as John Ford’s The Iron Horse (1924).
The film remains a pleasing diversion today, in large part due to the performances of character actors Alan Hale, Ernest Torrance and Tully Marshall. Male lead J. Warren Kerrigan makes a somewhat ridiculous-looking hero, with his paunchy stomach and overdone (even for 1923) eye makeup, but he does his job on-screen and can be overlooked for other cast members. Kerrigan’s former costar Lois Wilson turns in a journeyman performance in a role originally intended for Mary Miles Minter. Director James Cruze reaches the pinnacle of his career with this daunting project, taking care of the large picture while paying attention to little details.
— Carl Bennett
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 Kino Classics
2018 Blu-ray Disc edition
The Covered Wagon (1923), black & white, 98 minutes, not rated.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region A Blu-ray Disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) progressive scan AVC (MPEG-4) format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 34.8 Mbps average video bit rate, 1.6 Mbps audio bit rate, DTS-HD Master Audio 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, 10 chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $24.95.
Release date: 20 February 2018.
Country of origin: USA
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This Blu-ray Disc edition features a new high-definition transfer from a 35mm restoration print.
The edition’s supplemental material includes audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan; a booklet essay by film scholar Matt Hauske; The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) a one-reel spoof starring Shirley Temple; plus the historic Wurlitzer theater organ music score performed by Gaylord Carter.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Kino Classics
2018 DVD edition
The Covered Wagon (1923), black & white, 98 minutes, not rated.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) progressive? 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, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $19.95.
Release date: 20 February 2018.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD edition features a new high-definition transfer from a 35mm restoration print.
The edition’s supplemental material includes audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan; a booklet essay by film scholar Matt Hauske; The Pie-Covered Wagon (1932) a one-reel spoof starring Shirley Temple; plus the historic Wurlitzer theater organ music score performed by Gaylord Carter.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Alpha Video
2020 DVD edition
The Covered Wagon (1923), black & white, 98 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 8203D, UPC 0-89218-82039-6.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R 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, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $7.98 (raised to $8.98).
Release date: 12 March 2020.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a reduction print.
The film may be accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Other WESTERN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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