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| Trying To Expand My Silents Collection | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 24 2005, 12:07 PM (917 Views) | |
| SuperRog | Sep 24 2005, 12:07 PM Post #1 |
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My collection of silent films is, alas, not very big. I have some...Phantom of the Opera, 3 or 4 Buster Keaton DVDs, one by Chaplin, a few Bill Hart westerns and a few others here and there...but I really want more. Today I ordered 3 titles...and will likely make other orders periodically. The three I ordered today include another Keaton set...I think it's officially titled The Buster Keaton Collection and is comprised of 3 feature films that he made when he signed with MGM in the late 20's. These include a pair of silents and his first sound film for them. I also ordered It starring (who else?) Clara Bow and a 5-disc set called the Slapstick Encyclopedia which is supposed to have a lot of really nice stuff and features work by comics you rarely hear about anymore, let alone see. Obviously, I was concentrating on comedy this time. Maybe I'll go for westerns next time or some true classics such as Metropolis or a few films by D.W. Griffith. I'm looking for movies that are actually entertaining, not just movies of historical significance. I looked at that sale from Grapevine...I might have purchased one or two of those if I was more familiar with them or if I found out they were really good movies. One reviewer at IMDB calls the Gish movie "dreary". |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Sep 24 2005, 07:38 PM Post #2 |
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Mouth Breather
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Rogmeister, if you can cancel the Keaton thing, I'd advise you to do it. Those are not Keaton's good movies. IT is wonderful, and the SLAPSTICK COLLECTION is very much worth owning. |
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| SuperRog | Sep 24 2005, 07:48 PM Post #3 |
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Charter Member
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Panzer, thank you for the advise but I just checked and the order is now into the shipping phase and cannot be cancelled at this point so I'll be getting everything there for good or worse. Leonar Maltin's Classic Movie Guide actually gives 2 of the 3 films (the silent ones) 3 stars so perhaps I'll enjoy them more than you do. I did notice while looking around that there is one William S. Hart western available I don't have yet, Wagon Tracks. I may get that later. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Sep 24 2005, 08:56 PM Post #4 |
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I agree; the Keaton films are all terrible on that Warners set. If you only have 3 or 4 Keaton discs already, you don't have some of his best work (Kino has 10 or 12 discs available). There are an awful lot of great silents on DVD. Here's what I'd snap up: Chaplin's City Lights and Modern Times Kino's two Charley Chase collections The Cat and the Canary (1927) Harry Langdon: The Forgotten Clown The King of Kings (Criterion) The Last Laugh Sunrise The Man who Laughs Metropolis (Special Edition) That'll hold ya for awhile. I've ordered a few things from Grapevine, and can vouch for their quality. They have stuff I don't see anywhere else. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| SuperRog | Sep 24 2005, 09:01 PM Post #5 |
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I am not sure exactly how many I have of Keaton but it may be 3 or 4 discs and it's all Kino. I know Sherlock Jr. Our Hospitality and The General are among those and I can't remember what the others are. I have City Lights. I was trying to find out earlier tonight how good the Metropolis disc out there is. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Sep 24 2005, 09:17 PM Post #6 |
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Metropolis... to me, is the greatest science-fiction film ever made, and one of the great movies, period, of any genre, sound or silent. The Special Edition puts back a lot of footage that had been missing for 75+ years, and adds new intertitles to explain what's missing. The film has been restored and remastered, and it looks brand new. It is firmly entrenched on The Official Laughing Gravy List of Top Ten DVDs of All Time. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| The Batman | Sep 24 2005, 09:47 PM Post #7 |
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I will back up LG on that METROPOLIS claim, Rogmeister. Kino did a wonderful job, in restoring one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. For comedy, you can't go wrong with: THE CHARLIE CHAPLIN COLLECTION - Vol.1 (Warner Bros.) THE CHARLIE CHAPLIN COLLECTION - Vol.2 (Warner Bros.) THE FORGOTTEN FILMS OF ROSCOE "FATTY" ARBUCKLE - (Mackinac Media) For a little scare, try: NOSFERATU (Image Entertainment) THE SPIDERS (Image Entertainment) And if you are thinking of trying out D.W. Griffith, there is a wonderful box set of his work available; but for starters, I might suggest the BIRTH OF A NATION 4-disc set. It may be a little controversial, as is well known, but it is a very well made movie. I believe one of Kino, Image or Criterion released it; but not owning it myself, I am not sure. |
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| SuperRog | Sep 25 2005, 12:36 AM Post #8 |
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Thank you for your suggestions. I wonder if Laughing Gravy will share that top ten list with us sometime? I thought of that Fatty Arbuckle set but didn't want to commit to it until I decided whether or not I liked the guy's work which is one reason I'm getting Slapstick Encyclopedia. It will let me sample his work (and those of many other comedians) so I can decide which I want more of. I will probably also want to get a set of Charley Chase's two-reel comedies. I've seen and enjoyed Nosferatu in the pastand actually have it on a disc already along with the Thomas Edison Studios early version of Frankenstein and have certainly heard a lot about The Birth Of A Nation so that one's a definite possibility. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Sep 25 2005, 07:37 AM Post #9 |
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I'll share that list... sometime! I have the Fatty Arbuckle set, and it's wonderful... except that I don't find Fatty funny at all. Some of the early films have Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy, and Chaplin, though, and they (along with the Keystone Kops, who are hilarious) make the films worthwhile. I haven't watched the third disc in the set yet, though, so who knows? My opinion of Fatty might change. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| SuperRog | Sep 25 2005, 08:29 AM Post #10 |
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I may look around and price them. I pulled out my Buster Keaton films from Kino Video DVDs and I seem to have 3 of them...I thought I might have 4. The ones I have include The General (with Cops and The Playhouse), Steamboat Bill Jr. (with Convict 13 and Daydreams) and Our Hospitality (with Sherlock Jr.). I may go look around and order one or two more if I can decide which one(s) I should get next. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Sep 25 2005, 08:35 AM Post #11 |
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Jump on The Navigator! |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| SuperRog | Sep 25 2005, 09:24 AM Post #12 |
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Perhaps I'll order that and another that caught my eye, Seven Chances. As you might expect, there are many versions of certain films. I found a handful of versions of The Birth Of A Nation, for instance. I might order three: those two Keaton films and a Harold Lloyd disc. Regarding your earlier comment...
I saw someone say this same thing at the Home Theatre Forums...unless that was you, too. That's one reason I'm not rushing into buying a whole collection of his... |
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| SuperRog | Sep 25 2005, 09:55 AM Post #13 |
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Well, I've now gone ahead and made another order, probably my last DVD order for at least a few months as I now have quite a few things coming. I'm still in comedy mode for the most part and I ordered two Buster Keaton titles (Seven Chances and The Navigator), Mickey (starring Mabel Normand), and two "Slapstick Symposium" titles, Harold Lloyd and Charley Chase. I also ordered one non-comedy title, the William S. Hart western Wagon Tracks which happens to also feature a short starring G.M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson. Perhaps if everything arrives together, I'll have a week watching nothing but silents... |
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| Ignatz Ratzkywatzky | Sep 25 2005, 07:17 PM Post #14 |
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Rog, It looks like I found this thread after you made your DVD purchases, but I'd like to add a few more worthy titles that you might want to look into in the future. MARK OF ZORRO/DON Q, SON OF ZORRO (Kino) - If you love Keaton's stunts and athleticism, you'll probably enjoy the films of Douglas Fairbanks as well. This package includes two of his swashbucklers. It's a good place to start. THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (Criterion) - Whether you're interested in the subject matter or not, you won't be able to take your eyes off the amazing images in this film, and the choral/orchestral score is one of the best ever created for a silent film. HAXAN (Criterion) - Here's an oddity that's a lot of fun. It's a documentary of sorts about "witchcraft through the ages". Weird images abound. I put this on in the background at my Halloween party, and soon more than half the guests were gathered around the television whispering, "what the hell is this?" THE KID/A DOG'S LIFE (Image) - Chaplin's short, A DOG'S LIFE, is a mini-masterpiece. In my opinion it is the next best thing that he made after CITY LIGHTS. The Image DVD is out-of-print but worth searching out on ebay. The Warner DVDs are often missing footage when compared to the Image releases. When Chaplin re-released many of his films in the 70's, he cut footage, because he felt the films were too slow for modern audiences. With the exception of THE GOLD RUSH, which includes both versions of the films, the Warner discs only include the trimmed versions. Also, the Warners versions of the First National shorts, including A DOG'S LIFE, are timed incorrectly. THE LOST FILMS OF LAUREL AND HARDY (Image) - Nine discs containing a number of brilliant L&H shorts. Their two best shorts BIG BUSINESS and TWO TARS appear on Vol. 1 and Vol. 8 respectively. Silence is golden, Ignatz |
| IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF! is a movie recommendation site, focusing on forgotten classics, lesser-known gems, and oddball discoveries. https://www.bottomshelfmovies.com | |
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| SuperRog | Sep 25 2005, 08:13 PM Post #15 |
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Thank you, Ignatz. I actually considered a few of your suggestions but will certainly think about them next time which may actually be awhile. I now have quite a bit on order as it is. |
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