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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I Don’t Want to
Be a Man
(1918)
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Ossi Oswalda stars in this Ernst Lubitsch comedy.
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 Kino Classics
2023 Blu-ray Disc edition
The Doll (1919), color-tinted black & white, 68 minutes, not rated, with I Don’t Want to Be a Man (1918), black & white, 45 minutes, not rated.
Kino Lorber, K26362, UPC 7-38329-26362-1.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region A Blu-ray Disc; 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 38.4 Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 1.7 Mbps audio bit rate (music) and Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate (commentary); German language intertitles, optional English language subtitles; 4 chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 15 August 2023.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from the 35mm restoration print prepared by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung. Some of the surviving material utilized for the restoration was a bit contrasty with occasional blown-out highlights that lose facial details. Other portions of the material is more detailed with better highlight detail but with darker shadows.
The film is presented with a music score performed on piano by Neil Brand, and he captures a feeling of the time in post-war Germany in his choice of themes.
Supplementary material includes audio commentary by author Joseph McBride.
This is our recommended home video edition of this film.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Kino International
2006 DVD edition
The Oyster Princess (1919), black & white, 60 minutes, not rated, with I Don’t Want to Be a Man (1918), black & white, 45 minutes, not rated.
Kino International, K515, UPC 7-38329-05152-5.
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 5.8 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; 8 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 5 December 2006.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 9 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.
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This DVD edition has been mastered from the 35mm photochemical restoration print prepared by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung. The results are very-good, with the slightly flat and dupey print materials rendering a picture that is similar to a very-good to excellent 16mm reduction print. Dust, speckling, fine vertical scratches, and other print flaws remain.
The film is presented with a music score composed and performed on piano by Neil Brand.
Supplementary material includes a presentation of The Oyster Princess (1919); and a Lubitsch filmography.
This remains our recommended DVD home video edition of the film for North American collectors.
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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 is also available directly from . . .
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 Eureka Entertainment
2010 DVD edition
Lubitsch in Berlin (1919-1921), black & white, color-toned black & white, and color and black & white, 581 minutes total, BBFC Classification PG, including I Don’t Want to Be a Man (1918), black & white, 45 minutes, BBFC Classification PG.
Eureka Entertainment,
unknown catalog number (MoC94), unknown UPC number.
Six single-sided, dual-layered, Region 2 PAL DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 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 stereo sound, German language intertitles, optional English language subtitles; chapter stops; six slimline keep cases in cardboard slipcase; £49.99.
Release date: 25 January 2010.
Country of origin: England
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This PAL DVD edition has been mastered from the same 35mm restoration materials prepared by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung as for the 2006 Kino International edition noted above.
Among the supplemental materials is a short essay on the film by Anna Thorngate.
This is our recommended DVD home video edition for European collectors. North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.
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United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 2 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.
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Other silent era ERNST LUBITSCH films available on home video.
Other GERMAN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
Other GENDER BENDER FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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