Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright ÂĐ 1999-2026 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Grass
A Nationâs Battle for Life
(1925)
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This documentary-drama, directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, features Cooper and Schoedsack, with Marguerite Harrison, Haidar Khan and Lufta.
In the first of their collaborations, Cooper and Schoedsack pioneered some of the filmmaking techniques that characterized their ethnographic films: an unswerving attention to visual details and striking photographic quality, and the interweaving of clearly spontaneous documentary footage with moments of narrative fiction that were preplanned, set-up and directed. This synthesis of document and story has continued to this day by contemporary filmmakers. Not only do audiences learn something, they are entertained as well.
Nomadic Persian tribes of 50,000 must migrate from one annually-green region that is now baking in the summer suns to a distant valley seeking green grasses for their animal herds to graze on. Yo Ali!
Grass is a truly astounding and beautiful film that rewards multiple viewings.
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 The Milestone Collection
2025 Blu-ray Disc edition
Grass: A Nationâs Battle for Life (1925), black & white, color-tinted black & white, color-toned black & white, and color-tinted and color-toned black & white, 64 minutes, not rated, with Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927), color-tinted black & white and color-toned black & white, 68 minutes, not rated.
Milestone Film & Video, distributed by Image Entertainment, K27182, UPC 7-38329-27182-4.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 16:9 (3840 x 2160 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in HDR HEVC format at 39.4 Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 1.6 Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 10 chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 18 November 2025.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from a 4K high-definition scan of the lone surviving but incomplete 35mm tinted and toned 35mm nitrate print held by the Library of Congress and Cooperâs internegative held by the Museum of Modern Art. It appears that no digital clean-up has been performed as there is a typical amount of dust, speckling, emulsion scrapes, print tears, moderate exposure fluctuations, beginning nitrate decomposition, timing marks, and other print flaws remaining in the scan.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed by Patrick Holcomb and performed by Malcolm Dalglish and students of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. An optional score is provided composed and performed by Gholam Hossain Janati-Ataie, Kavous Shirzadian and Amir Ali Vahabzadegan.
Supplemental material includes audio commentary on Chang by film historian Rudy Behlmer; a Rudy Behlmer audio interview with Merian C. Cooper on Grass (99 minutes); and a Chang color test (4 minutes). Unfortunately, the noise reduction performed on Cooperâs audio interview has resulted in the characteristic metallic ringing of digital overprocessing on each of the louder words spoken, which makes listening to the entire interview in one sitting a challenge.
If you do not have Grass in your collection or you are thinking of upgrading your existing copy, this is our recommended home video edition of the film.
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This
Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .
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 The Milestone Collection
2000 DVD edition
Grass: A Nationâs Battle for Life (1925), black & white, 71 minutes, not rated.
Milestone Film and Video, distributed by Image Entertainment, ID5924MLSDVD, UPC 0-14381-59242-9.
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 ? 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; snapper DVD case; $29.99.
Release date: 28 March 2000.
Country of origin: USA
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We have not viewed this DVD edition. We are not familiar with this respected documentary film or its presentation on DVD.
Supplemental material includes an audio interview with producer Merian C. Cooper conducted by Rudy Behlmer.
This remains our recommended DVD home video edition of the film.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Loving the Classics
2025 DVD edition
Grass: A Nationâs Battle for Life (1925), black & white, 71 minutes, not rated.
Loving the Classics, no catalog number, no 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 (raised to $15.49).
Release date: 5 December 2025.
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.
Note that this company apparently has a history of pirating other home video editions or pirating television network recordings to produce their products. Be aware that purchasing pirated home video editions does not benefit the original edition producers nor the composers whose music is often pirated as well.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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Other DOCUMENTARY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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