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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It’s the Old
Army Game
(1926)
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This feature comedy, directed by Eddie Sutherland, stars W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks.
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 Kino Classics
2018 Blu-ray Disc edition
It’s the Old Army Game (1926), black & white, 75 minutes, not rated.
Kino Lorber, K21240, UPC 7-38329-21240-7.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region A Blu-ray Disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in SDR AVC format at ? Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 13 March 2018.
Country of origin: USA
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered in 2K from a 35mm print preserved by the Library of Congress.
The film is accompanied by a music score performed by Ben Model.
The supplementary material includes audio commentary by film historian James L. Neibaur.
The film was trapped for decades in its best available home video edition . . . a 1990s Paramount VHS videotape! Now, this is our recommended home video edition.
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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
It’s the Old Army Game (1926), black & white, 75 minutes, not rated.
Kino Lorber, unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
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 ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $19.95.
Release date: 13 March 2018.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD edition has been mastered in 2K from a 35mm print preserved by the Library of Congress.
The film is accompanied by a music score performed by Ben Model.
The supplementary material includes audio commentary by film historian James L. Neibaur.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that this is our recommended home video edition.
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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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 Reel Vault
2008 DVD edition
It’s the Old Army Game (1926), black & white, 105 minutes, not rated.
Reel Vault, 2772D, UPC 6-44827-27722-3.
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 6.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 256 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; 18 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $18.98.
Release date: 19 August 2008.
Country of origin: USA •
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 6 / additional content: 0 / overall: 6.
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This DVD-R edition appears to have been mastered from a very-good 16mm reduction print. There is a persistent amount of speckling and some dust, with occasional emulsion chipping and schmutz.
The film is accompanied by an improvised music score performed on an upright piano by Keith Taylor.
Over the years, this company has released DVD-R editions under a number of company names, with the same catalog number and UPC number, including Nostalgia Family Video, Hollywood’s Attic (as originally reviewed), RetroFlix, and (as of 2015) Reel Vault. As for this edition, it’s OK but we prefer and recommend the Kino Lorber releases noted above.
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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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 Sunrise Silents
2005 DVD edition
It’s the Old Army Game (1926), black & white, 105 minutes, not rated.
Sunrise Silents, AGWF, no UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $19.99.
Release date: August? 2005.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition from Sunrise Silents has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print, and likely features a music score performed on a MIDI synthesizer.
Don’t be misled by statements by Sunrise Silents that their discs contain commentary on the film. As is commonly understood among DVD consumers, audio commentary is an alternative audio track that runs in conjunction with the film featuring historical and anecdotal information about the film and filmmakers. Sunrise Silents’ discs instead feature a video introduction by edition producer Rich Olivieri, which is referred to as “commentary,” that serves much the same purpose as the three-minute introductions to films featured on TCM and AMC cable networks.
If you own a copy of this disc please consider loaning it to us to review for documentation purposes. We pay postage both ways.
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SUNRISE SILENTS has discontinued business and this edition is . . .
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 Unidentified individual
2005 DVD edition
It’s the Old Army Game (1926), black & white, 70 minutes, not rated.
Unknown individual, no catalog number, no UPC number.
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 5.5 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 1536 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; no set retail price.
Release date: 2005.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 4 / audio: 4 / additional content: 0 / overall: 4.
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This questionable DVD-R edition, purchased on eBay, has been mastered from a VHS videotape copy of a full-frame sound-speed video transfer from a 16mm reduction print, and shows all the signs of its origin with smeary image detail and occasional videotape glitches.
A rather trying viewing experience.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is . . .
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Other silent era LOUISE BROOKS films available on home video.
Other silent era W.C. FIELDS films available on home video.
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Louise Brooks filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List
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