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Ten Nights in a
Barroom
(1926)

This feature drama, directed by Roy Calnek, stars Charles S. Gilpin and Myra Burwell, with Lawrence Chenault, Harry Henderson, William A. Clayton Jr., Ethel Smith and Arline Mickey.

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 Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926), black & white, 64 minutes, not rated.

Kino Lorber, K20601, UPC 7-38329-20601-7.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region A Blu-ray Disc (five 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 21.4 Mbps average video bit rate; Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate, and LPCM 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 1.5 Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 6 chapter stops; 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: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered in high-definition from a 35mm print held by the George Eastman Museum that is, at times, significantly contrasty, with blasted-out highlights and closed-up shadows. While picture midtones are held as best possible they are often largely composed of hard filmgrain dots, as just about any still frame will reveal. The film’s intertitles seem to fare better, with the background artwork reproduced in a more filmlike appearance. The source print shows a moderate amount of dust, speckling, schmutz, emulsion damage, and other flaws, in the natural-speed film scan that we wish looked better.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by Donald Sosin with a small orchestra.

Supplemental material includes the documentaries “We Wosrk 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.

This is our recommended home video edition of the film.

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 Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926), black & white, 64 minutes, not rated.

Kino Lorber, K20600, UPC 7-38329-20600-0.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 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 ? 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 DVD edition has been mastered in high-definition from a 35mm print held by the George Eastman Museum.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by Donald Sosin with a small orchestra.

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 is our recommended DVD home video edition of the film.

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