Mario Gauci
09-05-2002, 15:24
I was recently looking at the upcoming titles section of a UK online supplier when I chanced upon an unheralded Region 2 DVD edition of John Ford’s first great Western, THE IRON HORSE (1924), to be released by the BFI (British Film Institute) on 24/6.
Although there was yet no mention of whether the disc will have supplementary features or not, the running time is given as 134 minutes and it is safe to assume that it will be transferred from a beautifully-tinted and restored print. I had always thought that the film ran for 119 minutes (as stated in the indispensable Halliwell’s Film Guide and Leonard Maltin’s TV Movies and Video Guide), so the “additional” 15 minutes (supported by the film’s entry in the IMDB) are very welcome.
The film has impressive production values: it stars George O’Brien (SUNRISE), Madge Bellamy (WHITE ZOMBIE) and George Waggner (director of MAN MADE MONSTER, THE WOLF MAN and THE CLIMAX and producer of FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN and the Claude Rains version of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA), while Burnett Guffey (the Oscar-winning cinematographer of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and BONNIE AND CLYDE, to name just two) served as assistant cameraman!
I have managed to locate two reviews of the film which should give anybody interested in purchasing this film a fine idea of what to expect:
http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/Fe...eo/video150.htm
http://us.imdb.com/Reviews/317/31743
By the way, does anybody know if there are any plans for this important early western to be released on Region 1 DVD? I think that Fox owns the rights for the US market. And while they’re at it, they should also prepare a DVD edition of John Ford’s other great Silent Western, THREE BAD MEN (1926), also with George O’Brien.
If we’re lucky enough, the BFI version of THE IRON HORSE may prompt Paramount to follow suit and release their own discs of James Cruze’s THE COVERED WAGON (1923) (and OLD IRONSIDES [1926, with Boris Karloff in a bit-part]) - an inverse situation to the real-life events when THE IRON HORSE was actually Fox’s answer to Paramount’s THE COVERED WAGON!!
And let’s not forget that another celebrated Silent Western epic followed hard on the heels of THE IRON HORSE: King Baggott’s TUMBLEWEEDS (1925) which will premiere on DVD on 25/6 (accompanied by “a rare and moving tribute to the West by its star William S. Hart” filmed for the film’s 1939 reissue) through Image Entertainment!
The following is an extract taken from an announcement reported by DVD Times a couple of weeks ago:
“To celebrate American Independence Day, Eureka Video is releasing an R2 DVD box set of five newly restored early classics from director D.W. Griffith under the title of ‘D.W. GRIFFITH MONUMENTAL EPICS DVD BOX SET’. Set to appear on 1st July 2002 with a retail price of £49.95 the set will include the following titles: THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915), INTOLERANCE (1916), BROKEN BLOSSOMS (1919), WAY DOWN EAST (1920) and ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1930). Eureka Video will also release ABRAHAM LINCOLN separately with a retail price of £19.99.”
The first four titles are easily available separately on both Region 1 (from Image Entertainment) and 2 (from Eureka Video), and Kino On Video are also preparing their own Region 1 DVD editions of THE BIRTH OF A NATION and INTOLERANCE possibly to be released before the end of the year.
Therefore, I will concentrate on the latter specifically because it is an exclusive Region 2 DVD release. As yet, there are no known plans for a DVD release for it in the U.S., but it should be noted that the Eureka Video DVD of D.W. Griffith’s ABRAHAM LINCOLN is the only one in their Box Set to include a full-length Audio Commentary.
I have watched this early Talkie many years ago in a battered, heavily edited print on Italian TV which brought its 97 minutes running time to barely over an hour! It was to be Griffith’s penultimate film and features a stirring leading performance by Walter Huston mouthing the dialogue written by Stephen Vincent Benet (who also wrote the script for ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY and the story which inspired SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS)!
On 27/5, the BFI will also release their Special Edition DVD of Frank Hurley’s feature-length Documentary on Ernest Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition of 1914 entitled SOUTH (1919). Although this is already available on Region 1 DVD from The Milestone Collection (through Image Entertainment), the upcoming Region 2 disc will apparently include all the extras on the Image disc plus many more, as can be deduced from the list below:
· Audio Commentary by Luke McKernan of the British Film Institute's National Film & Television Archive
· Recently discovered footage of the ill-fated Ross Sea Party, with commentary by Polar historian Kelly Tyler
· Additional footage from Shackleton's last expedition Southward on the Quest with Commentary by Shackleton on His Nimrod Expedition of 1907
· Shackleton's funeral
· Extensive stills gallery
· Map of the Expedition with narrative by Kelly Tyler
· Leaflet with notes, stills, chapter points, details of the extras and credits
For anybody interested in knowing more about this remarkable document, I have supplied the following links:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/bookvid/videos/dvd/south.html
http://www.bfi.org.uk/collections/r...outh/index.html
Talking of Silent Documentary films released on Region 2 DVD, Eureka Video has just launched their version of Esfir Shub’s chronicle of the 1917 Russian Revolution, THE FALL OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY (1927), which is presently only available in the US on VHS from Kino On Video. Here is an extract from the official press release (as reported in the DVD Times website):
“Set for retail DVD release by Eureka Video on 6th May 2002, THE FALL OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY is a truly unique documentary film, made all the more extraordinary by its mythical representation of revolutionary events. Lauded as one of the most influential films of its time, THE FALL OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY is an essential addition to any discerning film collection.
Created entirely from actual documentary footage and fully restored and digitally re-mastered, this Eureka Video release also includes the DVD special features of interactive motion menus, full-length commentary, extensive 'Royal' photo essay, scene selection and documentary essay. In addition, the documentary will be available to buy as a stand alone title or as part of the four volume video or DVD box set entitled RUSSIA IN REVOLT that also features Sergei Eisenstein's landmark films STRIKE, THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN and OCTOBER 1917.”
Although there was yet no mention of whether the disc will have supplementary features or not, the running time is given as 134 minutes and it is safe to assume that it will be transferred from a beautifully-tinted and restored print. I had always thought that the film ran for 119 minutes (as stated in the indispensable Halliwell’s Film Guide and Leonard Maltin’s TV Movies and Video Guide), so the “additional” 15 minutes (supported by the film’s entry in the IMDB) are very welcome.
The film has impressive production values: it stars George O’Brien (SUNRISE), Madge Bellamy (WHITE ZOMBIE) and George Waggner (director of MAN MADE MONSTER, THE WOLF MAN and THE CLIMAX and producer of FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN and the Claude Rains version of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA), while Burnett Guffey (the Oscar-winning cinematographer of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and BONNIE AND CLYDE, to name just two) served as assistant cameraman!
I have managed to locate two reviews of the film which should give anybody interested in purchasing this film a fine idea of what to expect:
http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/Fe...eo/video150.htm
http://us.imdb.com/Reviews/317/31743
By the way, does anybody know if there are any plans for this important early western to be released on Region 1 DVD? I think that Fox owns the rights for the US market. And while they’re at it, they should also prepare a DVD edition of John Ford’s other great Silent Western, THREE BAD MEN (1926), also with George O’Brien.
If we’re lucky enough, the BFI version of THE IRON HORSE may prompt Paramount to follow suit and release their own discs of James Cruze’s THE COVERED WAGON (1923) (and OLD IRONSIDES [1926, with Boris Karloff in a bit-part]) - an inverse situation to the real-life events when THE IRON HORSE was actually Fox’s answer to Paramount’s THE COVERED WAGON!!
And let’s not forget that another celebrated Silent Western epic followed hard on the heels of THE IRON HORSE: King Baggott’s TUMBLEWEEDS (1925) which will premiere on DVD on 25/6 (accompanied by “a rare and moving tribute to the West by its star William S. Hart” filmed for the film’s 1939 reissue) through Image Entertainment!
The following is an extract taken from an announcement reported by DVD Times a couple of weeks ago:
“To celebrate American Independence Day, Eureka Video is releasing an R2 DVD box set of five newly restored early classics from director D.W. Griffith under the title of ‘D.W. GRIFFITH MONUMENTAL EPICS DVD BOX SET’. Set to appear on 1st July 2002 with a retail price of £49.95 the set will include the following titles: THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915), INTOLERANCE (1916), BROKEN BLOSSOMS (1919), WAY DOWN EAST (1920) and ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1930). Eureka Video will also release ABRAHAM LINCOLN separately with a retail price of £19.99.”
The first four titles are easily available separately on both Region 1 (from Image Entertainment) and 2 (from Eureka Video), and Kino On Video are also preparing their own Region 1 DVD editions of THE BIRTH OF A NATION and INTOLERANCE possibly to be released before the end of the year.
Therefore, I will concentrate on the latter specifically because it is an exclusive Region 2 DVD release. As yet, there are no known plans for a DVD release for it in the U.S., but it should be noted that the Eureka Video DVD of D.W. Griffith’s ABRAHAM LINCOLN is the only one in their Box Set to include a full-length Audio Commentary.
I have watched this early Talkie many years ago in a battered, heavily edited print on Italian TV which brought its 97 minutes running time to barely over an hour! It was to be Griffith’s penultimate film and features a stirring leading performance by Walter Huston mouthing the dialogue written by Stephen Vincent Benet (who also wrote the script for ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY and the story which inspired SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS)!
On 27/5, the BFI will also release their Special Edition DVD of Frank Hurley’s feature-length Documentary on Ernest Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition of 1914 entitled SOUTH (1919). Although this is already available on Region 1 DVD from The Milestone Collection (through Image Entertainment), the upcoming Region 2 disc will apparently include all the extras on the Image disc plus many more, as can be deduced from the list below:
· Audio Commentary by Luke McKernan of the British Film Institute's National Film & Television Archive
· Recently discovered footage of the ill-fated Ross Sea Party, with commentary by Polar historian Kelly Tyler
· Additional footage from Shackleton's last expedition Southward on the Quest with Commentary by Shackleton on His Nimrod Expedition of 1907
· Shackleton's funeral
· Extensive stills gallery
· Map of the Expedition with narrative by Kelly Tyler
· Leaflet with notes, stills, chapter points, details of the extras and credits
For anybody interested in knowing more about this remarkable document, I have supplied the following links:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/bookvid/videos/dvd/south.html
http://www.bfi.org.uk/collections/r...outh/index.html
Talking of Silent Documentary films released on Region 2 DVD, Eureka Video has just launched their version of Esfir Shub’s chronicle of the 1917 Russian Revolution, THE FALL OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY (1927), which is presently only available in the US on VHS from Kino On Video. Here is an extract from the official press release (as reported in the DVD Times website):
“Set for retail DVD release by Eureka Video on 6th May 2002, THE FALL OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY is a truly unique documentary film, made all the more extraordinary by its mythical representation of revolutionary events. Lauded as one of the most influential films of its time, THE FALL OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY is an essential addition to any discerning film collection.
Created entirely from actual documentary footage and fully restored and digitally re-mastered, this Eureka Video release also includes the DVD special features of interactive motion menus, full-length commentary, extensive 'Royal' photo essay, scene selection and documentary essay. In addition, the documentary will be available to buy as a stand alone title or as part of the four volume video or DVD box set entitled RUSSIA IN REVOLT that also features Sergei Eisenstein's landmark films STRIKE, THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN and OCTOBER 1917.”