Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
The
New York Hat
(1912) |
This well-known short film by D.W. Griffith stars Mary Pickford. |
 Kino on Video
2002 DVD edition
Griffith Masterworks: Biograph Shorts (1908-1914), black & white, 362 minutes total, not rated,
including The New York Hat (1912), black & white, 16 minutes, not rated.
Kino International, K268, UPC 7-38329-02682-0.
Two single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 4.0 Mbps average video bit rate, 192 kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, no chapter stops (for The New York Hat); two-disc DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 10 December 2002.
Country of origin: USA |
This DVD edition of The New York Hat features a very-good 35mm source print that is a little flat in greyscale contrast and is little soft in image detail. When compared to the Image edition below, we note that the Kino edition shows more of the frame at the top and right portions of the picture but crops the bottom and left side of the picture. The full-frame transfer also means that some of all edges of the picture will not be seen due to overscan cropping on some monitors.
The film is accompanied by a music score performed by the Biograph Quartet (whomever that is).
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Film Preservation Associates
2002 DVD edition
D.W. Griffith: Years of Discovery 1908-1914 (1908-1914), black & white, 334 minutes total, not rated,
including The New York Hat (1912), black & white, 16 minutes, not rated.
Film Preservation Associates, distributed by Image Entertainment, ID1270DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-12702-7.
Two single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 4.0 Mbps average video bit rate, 224 kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, no chapter stops (for The New York Hat); two-disc DVD keepcase; $39.99.
Release date: 10 September 2002.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 8 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.
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This DVD edition of The New York Hat has been transferred from a very-good 35mm source print. The tonal ranges in the source print are broad and image detail is very-good. When compared to the Kino edition above, we note that the Image edition shows more of the frame at the left and bottom portions of the picture but crops the top of right side of the picture.
The film is accompanied by an excellent music score performed on piano and violin as arranged and conducted by Robert Israel.
Optional audio commentary by Griffith scholar Russell Merritt also accompanies the film.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Film Preservation Associates
2003 DVD edition
Before Hollywood There Was Fort Lee, N.J. (1964), color and black & white, 40 minutes, not rated,
with The New York Hat (1912), black & white, 16 minutes, not rated.
Film Preservation Associates, distributed by Image Entertainment, ID1855DSDVD, 0-14381-18552-2.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in windowboxed 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 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, no chapter stops (for The New York Hat); standard DVD keepcase; $24.99.
Release date: 20 May 2003.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 8 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.
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This DVD edition of The New York Hat has been mastered from a very-good 35mm source print. If fact, it is identical to the 2002 Image edition noted above.
The film is accompanied by an excellent music score performed on piano and violin as arranged and conducted by Robert Israel.
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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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Other silent era D.W. GRIFFITH films available on home video.
Other silent era MARY PICKFORD films available on home video.
Other silent film music scores by ROBERT ISRAEL available on home video.
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