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HerrSchreck
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am

#1 Post by HerrSchreck » Thu Oct 18, 2007 2:20 am

So I budged and picked up this Cecil B DeMille Classics Collection from a budget dvd company called Passport Video.

There was some sniggering on Amazon that this set contains dupes of David Shepards work for Image and Kino, but-- though I don't own any of those releases (I'm not a huge DeMille fan)-- I can tell off the bat these are not rips. The Kino of MANSLAUGHTER for example, is tinted, and this is not (in fact none of the films here are tinted)... nor are any of the scores of Alloy ,Mont Alto, or Sosin, etc in evidence. I watched the legendary CHEAT and they actually used a recording of THE RITE OF SPRING!

There are a full 16 full silents on here spread across five discs, which-- since all discs are dual layer-- is not all that bad, considering the short length... very similar to what Universal does with movies of 55 to 70 minutes in their Horror and Franchise box sets.

For 15 bucks.. what I paid on an impulse buy-- I'd say for someone with an interest in silent film, and with even a passing interest in DeMille, this set is worth it. The most important thing is that the vast majority of the source material is in above average shape, with a few in good shape. Some of the transfers are actually pretty decent, but with a portion showing that blocky pixelization that shows up on "kitchen table pc transfers". Not all, but maybe 40-50%. But a good number of them are spared this. For under a buck a film, and the opportunity to own the vast bulk of the guys whole silent output that is worth watching (16 films!), and avoiding paying 20 bucks for each one of these films, the set is a good compromise. And believe it or not you get a four page color booklet w little descriptions of each film, and some newsreels and interviews on DeMille as extras. Not to mention 5 films apparently not previously available on dvd.

If you're a huge fan, you'll want it since it contains stuff not available elsewhere (and probably not forthcoming)... and if you are a silent film fan, not particularly obsessed with CBD-M but wouldn't mind getting these films under your belt without having to spend a couple hundred dollars just to own the Kino's and the Image Ent's of the films in here that are available, you wont regret it. And the whole piracy issue seems dubious to me, based on what I've seen in this set.

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