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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Zvenigora
(1927)
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Aleksandr Dovzhenko’s first film in his Ukranian trilogy, Zvenigora, is an exploration of Ukranian myths.
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Mr Bongo Films
2011 DVD edition
Zvenigora (1927), black & white, 91 minutes, BBFC Classification 12 (PG).
Mr Bongo Films, MRBDVD035, UPC 7-11969-11599-4.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 PAL DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 7.4 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 25 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 320 Kbps audio bit rate; Russian language intertitles, optional English language language subtitles; 10 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; £17.99.
Release date: 18 February 2011.
Country of origin: England
Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 6 / additional content: 3 / overall: 7
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This PAL DVD edition has been mastered from 35mm print materials restored by Mosfilm in 1973. The image has been digitally stabilized, as is evident from the wandering frame line at the extreme edges of the picture.
The film is presented with an orchestral music score by Ovchinnikov.
This is the best available home video edition of Zvenigora.
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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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Purchase supports Silent Era.
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 Grapevine Video
2003 DVD edition
Zvenigora (1927), black & white, 90 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-00080-5.
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 6.8 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 224 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 8 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $16.95 (reduced to $14.95).
Release date: 2003.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 4 / audio: 3 / additional content: 0 / overall: 4.
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a contrasty 16mm reduction print. Some blasted-out highlights mean a loss of details in the actors’ faces. The substandard source print also is jittery and has persistent exposure fluctuations.
The film is presented with English language intertitles and is accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting low-fidelity monaural recordings.
Not the best edition imaginable, but this is currently the only known NTSC DVD edition of the film.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .
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Other RUSSIAN and SOVIET FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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