Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2025 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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The Shakedown
(1929)
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This crime-boxing drama, directed by William Wyler, stars James Murray and Barbara Kent, with George Kotsonaros, Wheeler Oakman, Jack Hanlon, Harry Gibbon and Harry Tenbrook.
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 Kino Classics
2020 Blu-ray Disc edition
The Shakedown (1929), black & white, 65 minutes, not rated.
Kino Lorber, K24893, UPC 7-38329-24893-2.
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 36.8 Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 2.0 Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; 12-page insert booklet; standard BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 28 July 2020.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 7 / additional content: 8 / overall: 7.
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been restored at 4K high-resolution by NBCUniversal from a 35mm duplicate negative copied from a moderately worn 16mm reduction positive. The results are not great as the image quality is no better than an average 16mm print. The picture has been stabilized and digitally cleaned, removing dust, speckling, emulsion scuffing, scratches, and other print flaws. While the scuffing has been softened, it hasn’t been entirely removed.
The film is accompanied by a jazzy music score composed by Michael Gatt and performed by a small ensemble.
Supplemental material includes an audio commentary by Nick Pinkerton, and a booklet with a critical essay by Nora Fiore.
This is our recommended home video edition of the film.
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This
Region A Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .
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 Kino Classics
2020 DVD edition
The Shakedown (1929), black & white, 65 minutes, not rated.
Kino Lorber, K24892, UPC 7-38329-24892-5.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD 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 subtitles; chapter stops; 12-page insert booklet; standard DVD keepcase; $19.95.
Release date: 28 July 2020.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD edition has been mastered from restored at 4K high-resolution by NBCUniversal from a 35mm duplicate negative copied from a moderately worn source print (which may have been a 16mm reduction positive).
The film is accompanied by a music score composed by Michael Gatt and performed by a small ensemble.
Supplemental material includes an audio commentary by Nick Pinkerton, and a critical essay by Nora Fiore.
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This
Region 1 NTSC DVD edition is available directly from . . .
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Other WESTERN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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