Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Wilful Peggy
(1910)
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This historical drama short, directed by D.W. Griffith, features Biograph regulars Mary Pickford, Henry B. Walthall, Clara T. Bracy and Claire McDowell.
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 The Milestone Collection
1999 DVD edition
Sparrows (1926), black & white, 107 minutes, not rated, with Wilful Peggy (1910), black & white, 17 minutes, not rated.
Milestone Film & Video, distributed by Image Entertainment,
ID5958MLSDVD, UPC 0-14381-59582-6.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 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 5.5 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; no chapter stops; snapper DVD case; $29.99.
Release date: 5 October 1999.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 4 / additional content: 7 / overall: 6.
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This DVD edition of this Pickford Biograph one-reeler, Wilful Peggy (1910), looks as though it has been mastered from an older video transfer, probably those utilized for the 1990 Image laserdisc The Griffith Biographs. The appearance of the films on DVD (both being slightly soft of image detail and a little flat, with greyish highlights) is virtually identical to the laserdisc.
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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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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Grapevine Video
2009 DVD edition
D.W. Griffith, Director, Volume 6 (1910), black & white, 117 minutes total, not rated, including Wilful Peggy (1910), black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-10350-6.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R 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 3.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; no chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.95
Release date: 18 June 2009.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 5 / audio: 6 / additional content: 0 / overall: 5.
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This DVD-R compilation of D.W. Griffith short Biograph films has been mastered from 16mm reduction print materials that are generally good to very-good in quality.
Wilful Peggy (1910) is presented from a very-good 16mm reduction print that is a little jittery. The film is presented with a score performed on digital piano.
The MIDI-based digital piano scores prevalent in this collection are a far cry better than the audio conflations of preexisting recordings of varying quality that were previously presented in Grapevine home video products. The higher audio quality makes the music augment the film’s action rather than letting an inconsistent audio track distract the viewer.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .
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 Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises
2017 DVD edition
Mary Pickford Rare Shorts III (1909-1910), black & white, 125 minutes total, not rated, including Wilful Peggy (1910), black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.
Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises, 197, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R 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 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; slimline CD jewelcase; $34.99 (raised again to $44.99).
Release date: 2017.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting music recordings.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Other silent era MARY PICKFORD films available on home video.
Other silent era D.W. GRIFFITH films available on home video.
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| Mary Pickford filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List |
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