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Pioneers of
African-American
Cinema
(1915-1946)

Contents [Blu-ray Disc edition]: Two Knights of Vaudeville (1915), Mercy, the Mummy Mumbled (1918), A Reckless Rover (1918), Screen Snapshots (1920) [excerpt], The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), Within Our Gates (1920), By Right of Birth (1921) [excerpt], Regeneration (1923) [excerpt], Body and Soul (1925), The Flying Ace (1926), Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926), The Scar of Shame (1927), [Rev. S.S. Jones Home Movies] (1924-1928), Eleven P.M. (1928), [Zora Neale Hurston’s Fieldwork Footage] (1928), Hell-Bound Train (circa 1930), The Darktown Revue (1931), The Exile (1931), Hot Biskits (1931), The Girl from Chicago (1932), Ten Minutes to Live (1932), Veiled Aristocrats (1932), Verdict: Not Guilty (circa 1933), Heaven-Bound Travelers (circa 1935), We Work Again (1937), Birthright (1938), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort, South Carolina, May 1940 [excerpt] (1940), The Blood of Jesus (1941), Dirty Gertie from Harlem, U.S.A. (1946) and [The Moses Sisters Interview] (circa 1978).

This collection includes many films that are making their debut on home video, and several films that have been previously released in inferior home video editions or long out-of-print editions.

The Screen Snapshots excerpt features staged footage of Oscar Micheaux directing the actors (including Evelyn Preer) in a scene from one of his films.

Kino Classics
2016 Blu-ray Disc edition

Pioneers of African-American Cinema (1915-1946), black & white, color-tinted black & white, color-toned black & white, and color, 1266 minutes total. not rated, including Two Knights of Vaudeville (1915), black & white, 11 minutes, not rated, Mercy, the Mummy Mumbled (1918), black & white, 12 minutes, not rated, A Reckless Rover (1918), black & white, 14 minutes, not rated, Screen Snapshots (1920) [excerpt], black & white, 1 minute, not rated, The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), black & white, 59 minutes, not rated, Within Our Gates (1920), black & white, 79 minutes, not rated, By Right of Birth (1921) [excerpt], black & white, 4 minutes, not rated, Regeneration (1923) [excerpt], black & white, 11 minutes, not rated, Body and Soul (1925), color-tinted black & white, 93 minutes, not rated, The Flying Ace (1926), black & white, 65 minutes, not rated, Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926), black & white, 64 minutes, not rated, The Scar of Shame (1927), black & white, 86 minutes, not rated, [Rev. S.S. Jones Home Movies] (1924-1928), black & white, 16 minutes, not rated, Eleven P.M. (1928), black & white, 67 minutes, not rated, [Zora Neale Hurston’s Fieldwork Footage] (1928), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, Hell-Bound Train (circa 1930), black & white, 50 minutes, not rated, The Darktown Revue (1931), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, The Exile (1931), black & white, 78 minutes, not rated, Hot Biskits (1931), color-toned black & white, 10 minutes, not rated, The Girl from Chicago (1932), black & whits, 70 minutes, not rated, Ten Minutes to Live (1932), black & white, 58 minutes, not rated, Veiled Aristocrats (1932), black & white, 44 minutes, not rated, Verdict: Not Guilty (circa 1933), black & white, 8 minutes, not rated, Heaven-Bound Travelers (circa 1935), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated, We Work Again (1937), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated, [Birthright Trailer] (1938), black & white, 3 minutes. not rated, Birthright (1938), black & white, 73 minutes. not rated, The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), black & white, 58 minutes, not rated, Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort, South Carolina, May 1940 [excerpt] (1940), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Blood of Jesus (1941), black & white, 56 minutes, not rated, Dirty Gertie from Harlem, U.S.A. (1946), black & white, 60 minutes, not rated, and [The Moses Sisters Interview] (circa 1978), color, 33 minutes, not rated.

Kino Lorber, K20601, UPC 7-38329-20601-7.
Five single-sided, dual-layered, Region A Blu-ray Discs; 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 ? Mbps average video bit rate; Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate, LPCM 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 1.5 Mbps audio bit rate, and Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 256 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; 80-page insert book; one cardboard wrap with three plastic BD trays in cardboard slipcase; $99.95.
Release date: 26 July 2016.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 9 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered at 2K and 4K high-definition from a combination of 35mm prints and 16mm reduction prints from the Library of Congress, The Museum of Modern Art, George Eastman Museum, British Film Institute, UCLA Film and Television Archive, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Southern Methodist University. The films in the collection range in visual quality from fair to excellent.

The silent films are accompanied by music scores compiled, composed and performed by Donald Sosin, The Alloy Orchestra, The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Paul D. Miller, Makia Matsumura, Max Roach, and (unfortunately) Rob Gal.

Supplemental material includes the documentaries “We Work Again” (1937) produced by the Federal Works Project (15 minutes), and “The Tyler-Texas Black Film Collection: The Missing Link in Black Cinema” (1985), with Ossie Davis (6 minutes); theatrical trailers for Veiled Aristocrats (4 minutes) and Birthright (3 minutes); an interview with historian S. Torriano Berry on the works of James and Eloyce Gist (5 minutes); and the featurettes “Pioneers of African-American Cinema: An Introduction,” with collection curators Jacqueline Najuma Stewart and Charles Musser (8 minutes), “About the Restoration,” with edition producer Bret Wood (8 minutes), “The Color Line,” with Charles Musser (5 minutes), “Ten Nights in a Bar Room: An Introduction,” with Charles Musser (4 minutes), “Eleven P.M.: An Introduction,” with Charles Musser (3 minutes), “The Films of Oscar Micheaux,” with Charles Musser (9 minutes), “The Films of Zora Neale Hurston,” with film archivist Mike Mashon (2 minutes), “The Films of Spencer Williams,” with Jacqueline Najuma Stewart (7 minutes), “Religion in Early African-American Cinema,” with Jacqueline Najuma Stewart and Charles Musser (7 minutes), and “The End of an Era,” with Jacqueline Najuma Stewart (5 minutes); and an 80-page insert book with notes on the films and essays by Charles Musser and Jacqueline Najuma Stewart, with contributions from Rhea L. Combs, Mary N. Elliott and Paul D. Miller.

For our comparative reviews of some of the silent films in this collection, see our Body and Soul on home video, The Flying Ace on home video, The Scar of Shame on home video, The Symbol of the Unconquered on home video, Ten Nights in a Bar Room on home video, and Within Our Gates on home video pages.

We enthusiastically recommend this collection.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

This Region A Blu-ray Disc edition is also available directly from . . .

Kino Classics
2016 DVD edition

Pioneers of African-American Cinema (1915-1946), black & white, color-tinted black & white, color-toned black & white, and color, 952 minutes total. not rated, including Two Knights of Vaudeville (1915), black & white, 11 minutes, not rated, A Reckless Rover (1918), black & white, 14 minutes, not rated, Screen Snapshots (1920) [excerpt], black & white, 1 minute, not rated, The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920), black & white, 59 minutes, not rated, Within Our Gates (1920), black & white, 79 minutes, not rated, By Right of Birth (1921) [excerpt], black & white, 4 minutes, not rated, Regeneration (1923) [excerpt], black & white, 11 minutes, not rated, Body and Soul (1925), black & white, 93 minutes, not rated, The Flying Ace (1926), black & white, 65 minutes, not rated, Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926), black & white, 64 minutes, not rated, The Scar of Shame (1927), black & white, 86 minutes, not rated, [Rev. S.S. Jones Home Movies] (1924-1928), black & white, 16 minutes, not rated, Eleven P.M. (1928), black & white, 60 minutes, not rated,Hell-Bound Train (circa 1930), black & white, 50 minutes, not rated, The Darktown Revue (1931), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, The Exile (1931), black & white, 78 minutes, not rated, Hot Biskits (1931), black & white, 10 minutes, not rated, The Girl from Chicago (1932), black & whits, 70 minutes, not rated, Ten Minutes to Live (1932), black & white, 58 minutes, not rated, [Veiled Aristocrats Trailer] (1932), black & white, 4 minutes, not rated, Veiled Aristocrats (1932), black & white, 44 minutes, not rated, Verdict: Not Guilty (circa 1933), black & white, 8 minutes, not rated, [Birthright Trailer] (1938), black & white, 3 minutes. not rated, Birthright (1938), black & white, 73 minutes. not rated, The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), black & white, 58 minutes, not rated, Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort, South Carolina, May 1940 [excerpt] (1940), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Blood of Jesus (1941), black & white, 56 minutes, not rated, Dirty Gertie from Harlem, U.S.A. (1946), black & white, 60 minutes, not rated, [The Moses Sisters Interview] (circa 1978), color, 33 minutes, not rated, Tyler Texas Black Film Collection (1985), color, 6 minutes, not rated.

Kino Lorber, K20600, UPC 7-38329-20600-0.
Five single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD discs; 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; an insert book; one cardboard wrap with three plastic DVD trays in cardboard slipcase, $79.95.
Release date: 26 July 2016.
Country of origin: USA

This abbreviated DVD collection has been mastered in high-definition from a combination of 35mm prints, 16mm reduction prints from the Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, George Eastman Museum, British Film Institute, UCLA Film and Television Archive, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Southern Methodist University.

The silent films are accompanied by music scores by Donald Sosin, The Alloy Orchestra, Paul D. Miller, The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Makia Matsumura, Rob Gal and Max Roach.

The collection is supplemented with an insert book that includes notes on the films and essays by collection curators Charles Musser and Jacqueline Najuma Stewart.

Sight unseen, this DVD home video collection is recommended.

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