Silent Era : Home Video Reviews

Silent Era Home Page > Home Video > Motherhood: Life’s Greatest Miracle

Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2025 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved.

Motherhood:
Life’s Greatest
Miracle
(1925)

This feature drama, directed by Lita Lawrence, stars George E. Patton and Adelaide M. Chase, with J. Thomas Hopkins, Nance Newman and Mildred Dunnock in her film debut.

Kino Classics
2018 Blu-ray Disc edition

Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers (1911-1929), black & white and color-toned black & white, 1710 minutes total, not rated, including Motherhood: Life’s Greatest Miracle (1925), black & white, 59 minutes, not rated.

Kino Lorber, K23411, UPC 7-38329-23411-9.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region A Blu-ray Disc (six BDs in the set); 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; LPCM 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 1.5 Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; 80-page insert booklet; three double-disc plastic trays on cardboard wrap in cardboard slipcase; $99.95.
Release date: 20 November 2018.
Country of origin: USA

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from a 2K high-resolution scan by the Library of Congress of a 35mm nitrate print (Alois Dettlaff collection).

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by Meg Morley.

Supplemental material includes audio commentaries by Gaylyn Studlar; an introductory featurette with contributions by Shelley Stamp, Cari Beauchamp, Anthony Slide, Jane M. Gaines, Karen Ward Mahar and Rob Stone (17 minutes); a featurette on Alice Guy-Blaché with contributions by Alison McMahan, Shelley Stamp, Jane M. Gaines and Anthony Slide (8 minutes); a Lois Weber featurette with contributions by Shelley Stamp and Anthony Slide (9 minutes); a featurette on social commentary with contributions by Karen Ward Mahar, Shelley Stamp and Anthony Slide (11 minutes); a featurette on the restorations of the films with contributions by Rob Stone, Geo. Willeman and Lynanne Schweighofer of the Library of Congress (11 minutes).

This is our recommended home video edition of the film.

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

Loving the Classics
2025 DVD edition

Motherhood: Life’s Greatest Miracle (1925), black & white, 59 minutes, not rated.

Loving the Classics,
no catalog number, 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 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.99.
Release date: 20 February 2025
Country of origin: USA

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.

For now, this is our recommended home video edition of the film.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .