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Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
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Tango Tangles
(1914)

This Keystone comedy stars Charles Chaplin, Ford Sterling and Roscoe Arbuckle.

Flicker Alley
2010 DVD edition

Chaplin at Keystone (1914), black & white, 590 minutes total, not rated
including Tango Tangles (1914), black & white, 10 minutes, not rated.

Flicker Alley, FA0018,
UPC 6-17311-67579-9, ISBN 1-893967-57-3.
Four single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 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), ? 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; four slimline DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; $79.95.
Release date: 26 October 2010.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This DVD edition has been mastered from a 35mm print with French intertitles. The intertitles have been reconstructed from contemporary sources. The results are generally excellent.

The films is accompanied by a music score performed by Stephen Horne.

The collection’s supplemental material includes Charlie et sa Belle [Charlie’s White Elephant] (1916), Inside the Keystone Project (2010) documenting the Chaplin Project (10 minutes), Silent Traces: The Keystone Locations (2010) with John Bengtson, author of Silent Traces (12 minutes), and a stills gallery.

Overall, the improvement in quality over previous home video editions is so great that you’ll toss your other Keystone Chaplin discs when you see this collection. Highly recommended!

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Madacy Entertainment
1999 DVD edition

Chaplin: Collector’s Choice Double Feature (1914-1918), black & white, 91 minutes total, not rated,
including Tango Tangles (1914) [rereleased as Charlie’s Recreation], black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.

Madacy Entertainment Group,
DVD9 9103, UPC 0-56775-03619-5.
One double-sided, single-layered, Region 1 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), 3.0 Mbps average video bit rate, 448 Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 8-bit 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, 2 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $11.98.
Release date: 2 March 1999.
Country of origin: Canada

Ratings (1-10): video: 3 / audio: 4 / additional content: 1 / overall: 3.

This DVD edition has been mastered from a good 8mm reduction print of the 1918 rerelease version of the film, which has been reedited, retitled and rereleased as Charlie’s Recreation.

The print does have issues with close cropping, blasted-out highlights, fluctuating exposure levels, splices and the usual speckling and dust. As contrasty as the print is, most shadow detail is still visible in many of the shots.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Madacy Entertainment
1999 DVD edition

Chaplin (1914-1918), black & white, ? minutes total, not rated,
including Tango Tangles (1914) [rereleased as Charlie’s Recreation], black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.

Madacy Entertainment Group,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
Two single-sided, single-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), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 8-bit 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, 2 chapter stops; standard two-disc DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 1999.
Country of origin: Canada

A repackaging of the same Madacy DVD program reviewed above was also issued under a different title and on two discs, with a slipcase wraparound, as Chaplin: Hollywood Classics.

No doubt, just as rough.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Madacy Entertainment
1998 DVD edition

Chaplin: The Collection (1914-1918), black & white, ? minutes total, not rated,
including Tango Tangles (1914) [rereleased as Charlie’s Recreation], black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.

Madacy Entertainment Group,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
Five single-sided, single-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), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, 2 chapter stops; five standard DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 1998.
Country of origin: Canada

Yet another Madacy repackaging, this a DVD box set, of the content reviewed above.

Have they no shame in their repackaging attempts to deceive the consumer?

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.