Kino International’s Blu-ray Disc edition of The Black Pirate features a 1080p high-definition video transfer of the restored 35mm two-strip Technicolor version of the film.

From the beginning of the Technicolor footage, one is struck by the visual improvements in this high-definition edition. The increased resolution allows viewers to clearly see that the pirate captain is sporting a chest tattoo of a hand holding a weighing scale, and long diagonals of rope cutting through the frame no longer create rainbows of color noise as they move about with the rocking of the ship. The new video transfer sacrifices deep blacks (black blacks in video monitors is an overrated technical specification in today’s television systems) in the picture for the sake of pulling out image details in the shadows. The results are admirable and satisfying, as one can now clearly see Charles Stevens moving around the captured ship’s powder magazine preparing to blow it up, or clearly identify Sam de Grasse and Donald Crisp in broadside long shots. Kino’s previous DVD editions lost image details in dark, plugged-up shadows and indistinct lower-resolution transfer images.

The color saturation in the new video transfer is slightly paler than in Kino’s previous DVD editions, making this film in the early Technicolor process look a little more pastel here than in our memories of a film that has always looked more pale and pinkish than other Technicolor films of the time. One black & white shot, at 23:35, appears to have been inserted from the black & white version of the film.

The film is presented with the Robert Israel arranged and conducted version of the original Mortimer Wilson music score that was originally recorded for Kino’s 1996 laserdisc and VHS editions, now presented here in clearer audio fidelity. An optional theater pipe organ music score performed by Lee Erwin is also available (likely originally recorded in the 1970s) — a fitting testament to the late Erwin’s high reputation as a musical performer.

An alternate version of the film is presented in its sound version rerelease, with a synchronized orchestral music score and effects soundtrack. Also transferred in high-definition, this version removed the intertitles (most of them, not all) from the black & white version of the film, relying on narration by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (really? — it doesn’t sound like him) for exposition and dialogue.

This Kino Blu-ray Disc edition retains the supplemental content of their previous DVD editions: a full-length audio commentary by Rudy Behlmer, a section of production outtakes (transferred in standard resolution) and stills, narrated by Rudy Behlmer, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the production of The Black Pirate (18 minutes), and an additional section of outtakes (transferred in standard resolution) from the Library of Congress without commentary (29 minutes). Several of the stunts and special effects are seen in their rejected form, giving the viewer an insight into the technical production problems that had to be overcome.

The substantial and thrilling improvement in visual quality in this high-definition edition of The Black Pirate makes it worth investing in a Blu-ray Disc player and an HD monitor for those collectors who have been holding out, just waiting for a good reason. This edition remains highly recommended as the best home video edition of The Black Pirate and slightly favored over the Cohen BD edition noted below for its inclusion of the black & white rerelease version and the Lee Erwin score.

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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been prepared from a 35mm color negative at high-definition. As with the Kino BD edition noted above, the color saturation is slightly paler and pinkish than in the Kino DVD editions noted below, making this film in the early Technicolor process look a little more pastel here than in our memories of a film that has always looked more pale and pinkish than other Technicolor films of the time. One black & white shot, at 23:37, appears to have been inserted from the black & white version of the film. It should also be noted that the picture is cropped slightly tighter at the top and bottom of the image as compared to the Kino DVD editions noted on this page. Ultimately, it appears that this Cohen edition utilizes the same master as the Kino BD edition — this only difference being the lower video bit rate.

The film is presented with the Robert Israel arranged and conducted version of the original Mortimer Wilson music score in DTS-HD Master Audio stereo.

This Cohen Blu-ray Disc edition features the supplemental content of the previous Blu-ray Disc and DVD editions from Kino Lorber: a full-length audio commentary by Rudy Behlmer, a section of production outtakes (transferred in standard resolution) and stills, narrated by Rudy Behlmer, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the production of The Black Pirate (18 minutes), and an additional section of outtakes (transferred in standard resolution) from the Library of Congress without commentary (29 minutes). Several of the stunts and special effects are seen in their rejected form, giving the viewer an insight into the technical production problems that had to be overcome.

If you already own the 2010 Kino Blu-ray Disc edition, you may not need this Cohen BD edition for your collection. If you do not currently own the film or only have a DVD edition, consider adding this BD upgrade to your stash.

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Kino International rereleased their second DVD edition of The Black Pirate only a scant five years after their early DVD edition. As this edition was likely prepared from the same video master as the 1999 DVD edition, not remastered and delivered on a dual-layered disc to increase the video bit rate as one might hope, the visual quality is virtually identical. For additional information, see our notes on the 1999 Kino edition noted below.

We are, once again, very pleased with the work of Robert Israel, who conducted a small orchestra performing the original 1926 music score composed by Mortimer Wilson. The soundtrack in digital stereo is well recorded and always a wonderful accompaniment to this entertaining film.

The supplemental material includes audio commentary by Rudy Behlmer, originally recorded in the 1990s for the laserdisc edition, with historic information and anecdotes; a section of production outtakes and stills, narrated by Behlmer, that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the production of The Black Pirate. Several of the stunts and special effects are seen in their rejected form, giving the viewer an insight into the technical problems that had to be overcome.

Despite its age, this remains our recommended DVD edition of The Black Pirate.

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Over the past 20 years, we have been excited by the release of any silent era Technicolor footage. Home video editions of silent films began appearing with original Technicolor sections intact. The home video edition of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) was glorious. The videocassette edition of The Wedding March (1928) became a treasured find. The 1990 laserdisc version of The Phantom of the Opera (1925) was a revelation, as was the DVD edition of The Toll of the Sea (1922). Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances (1925) featured rough Technicolor footage. But, there was little hope of much else. Lillian Gish’s Annie Laurie (1927) had been found and restored with the Technicolor sequences intact, but there would be no news of the film coming to home video. Early Technicolor fans had to be satisfied with occasional American Movie Classics showings of the early talkies The King of Jazz (1930) and Whoopee (1930).

There seemed to be little hope that early Technicolor features such as Wanderer of the Wasteland (1924), The Water Hole (1928) or The Black Pirate (1926) would be released on home video. A small videotape distributor released an awful, washed-out edition of the Technicolor Black Pirate, which gave little impression of the film’s previous glory. A quality home video edition would surface in the form of the Republic Pictures Home Video color-tinted laserdisc of the black & white version of the film. Still, hope remained that a high-quality edition of the color version would someday be produced. In 1996 the Kino International Technicolor edition, produced for home video by David Shepard, premiered on laserdisc and VHS videotape.

This DVD edition of The Black Pirate appears to have been assembled from as many as three different source materials. All appear to be in excellent condition, as there is no jarring contrast between the quality of one print and another. (An intriguing question is: Have the original Technicolor negatives to The Black Pirate survived? If so, new IB Technicolor prints could be struck that would give us the colors of the original prints.) Very little speckling is evident in the prints utilized for the video transfer, and there are very few Technicolor green or red print defects. Picture detail is very-good to excellent and the framing is always generous.

There were still problems with the Technicolor process. We assume some of those problems are evident in the finished Black Pirate. Early in the film, exteriors are washed-out to an unsaturated and greyish (almost black & white) color. Some interiors are hard to pick picture details out of the deep shadows. But we nitpick. Overall, this video edition on DVD looks better than any other presentation of The Black Pirate we have ever seen, including a live presentation from a 35mm film print. Colors still look a little pale compared to Ben-Hur or The Phantom of the Opera (or even The King of Jazz), but, we like to simply boost our television’s color saturation a modest 5 percent to reach a pleasing color level. In our reevaluation of this disc on high-definition equipment, upscaling the standard NTSC signal to full HD, the picture looks good and so we stand by our original grading, but a new HD transfer and rerelease on Blu-ray Disc and DVD would do justice to the source print.

We are, once again, very pleased with the work of Robert Israel, who has conducted a small orchestra performing the original 1926 music score composed by Mortimer Wilson. The soundtrack in digital stereo is well recorded and always a wonderful accompaniment to this entertaining film.

A supplementary section of production outtakes and stills, narrated by Rudy Behlmer, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the production of The Black Pirate. Several of the stunts and special effects are seen in their rejected form, giving the viewer an insight into the technical problems that had to be overcome.

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This budget DVD edition has been mastered from a good 16mm reduction print of the black & white version of the film, and is presented here without the color-tones of the Navarre edition noted below. The image detail is only good, with often contrasty greytones plugging up the shadows and blasting out highlights.

The film is accompanied by a cobbled-together orchestral music score that is not synchronized to the film’s action and only occasionally seems appropriate to the scene being viewed. The unusually high audio bit rate does nothing to enhance the sound quality.

While not ideal, this Delta edition and the Navarre edition below provide a collector an OK record of the black & white version of the film. That said, if you want the best edition of the black & white version, choose the Kino Blu-ray Disc noted above.

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The video transfer appears to be the same as has previously appeared on Republic Pictures Home Video laserdisc and videotape editions of The Black Pirate. That transfer, from a 35mm preservation print in the Paul Killiam collection of the black & white version of the film, is identical to the one on this DVD edition (both of them cropped identically and running at the same speed), with the exception that the color tones of the two transfers are different. The qualities of the two transfers are also identical, being slightly contrasty, soft of image detail and some exposure fluctuations. With the oversaturation of the color toning on all of the Republic Pictures silent film releases on home video, this DVD edition is slightly more pleasant viewing despite the relatively low DVD video bit rate of 3Mb per second, the occasional color noise of older analog video masters, and the slightly more burnt-out highlights.

The musical accompaniment on the DVD is a generic orchestral score cobbled together from existing recordings rather than the mono piano score by William Perry that was released with the Killiam preservation print.

While it is not the best example of DVD production, this edition is an OK record of the black & white version of The Black Pirate.

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The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings.

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We suspect, given what information is available and from the price attached to this edition, that it has been mastered from a color-toned 16mm reduction print of the black & white version of The Black Pirate.

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Passport Video productions usually maintain a nonremoveable logomark in the lower right-hand corner of the picture throughout the film’s presentation.

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The set is filled out with 27 other films and television episodes for a 1099-minute boxset running time.

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Other TECHNICOLOR FILMS of the silent era available on home video.