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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Reaching for
the Moon
(1917)
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This comedy-drama, directed by John Emerson, stars Douglas Fairbanks and Eileen Percy, with Richard Cummings, Millard Webb, Eugene Ormonde and Frank Campeau. Erich von Stroheim is barely recognizable as Prince Badinoff’s aide as his back is turned to the camera during his appearance.
Doug’s bounding optimism is on full display in this tale of a dreamer of big things.
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 Flicker Alley
2008 DVD edition
Douglas Fairbanks: A Modern Musketeer (1916-1921), color-toned black & white, color-tinted black & white, color-tinted and color-toned black & white and black & white, 760 minutes total, not rated, including Reaching for the Moon (1917), color-toned black & white, 69 minutes, not rated.
Flicker Alley, FA0011,
UPC 6-17311-67359-7, ISBN: 1-8939-6735-2.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (five DVDs in the set); 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 8.6 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 11 chapter stops; 32-page insert booklet; five slimline DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; $89.95.
Release date: 2 December 2008.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 6 / additional content: 7 / overall: 6.
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This DVD edition has been mastered from a very-good 35mm print (presumably held by the Museum of Modern Art). The older video transfer does not do the source material justice, with its coarse (vertical!) pixels that are easily detected and distracting on high-definition monitors, which may play acceptably on standard CRT televisions and small computer screens. The resulting picture looks more like a 16mm reduction print than it does a 35mm. The source material has a moderate amount of dust and speckling, schmutz, a bit of warping, a few examples of inconsistent film processing, and other minor print flaws.
The film is accompanied by a musical score compiled and performed on synthesizers by Eric Beheim.
Supplemental material includes a 32-page booklet with film notes by Jeffrey Vance and Tony Maietta; production stills and pressbook reproductions; an audio essay for A Modern Musketeer by Vance and Maietta; and a reproduction of Fairbanks’ first film contract. This boxset collection won an award at Il Cinema Ritrovato in 2009 for excellence.
For now, this is our recommended home video edition of the film. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a new Blu-ray Disc edition right about now?
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is available directly from . . .
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 Alpha Video
2020 DVD edition
Reaching for the Moon (1917), black & white, 91 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 8303D, UPC 0-89218-83039-5.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $7.98 (raised to $8.98).
Release date: 14 January 2020.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R collection has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
The films are likely to be accompanied by a soundtrack of preexisting recordings.
We have not yet viewed this film in this home video edition.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available from
ALPHA VIDEO through . . .
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 Loving the Classics
201? DVD edition
Reaching for the Moon (1917), black & white, 69 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: 201?
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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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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Other silent era DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS films available on home video.
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Douglas Fairbanks filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List
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