Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2026 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Hands Up!
(1926)
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Raymond Griffith stars in this feature-length Civil War comedy directed by Clarence Badger, featuring Virginia Lee Corbin, Marian Nixon and Mack Swain.
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 Grapevine Video
2007 DVD edition
Hands Up! (1926), black & white, 70 minutes, not rated, with The Love Bug (1925), black & white, 14 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-10285-1.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 7.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 256 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 8 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $16.95 (reduced to $14.95).
Release date: 2007.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 4 / audio: 4 / additional content: 3 / overall: 4.
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a good 16mm reduction print that has a number of issues including a high contrast picture that often loses highlight image details, moderate dust and speckling, schmutz, and other print flaws. The slightly windowboxed video transfer will appear as full-frame on older CRT television monitors.
The film is accompanied by a low-fidelity music score performed on electric organ and piano (which sounds like a Bob Vaughn performance).
Supplemental material includes an Our Gang comedy short presented from a good 16mm reduction print (that has apparently been duplicated from surviving 16mm and 8mm elements), with a synchronized music score performed on electric organ, piano, celeste, electric guitar, percussion, and a sprinkling of silly sound effects.
For now, this is our recommended home video edition of the film but — boy! — is there room for an improved ediition.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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 Loving the Classics
201? DVD edition
Hands Up! (1926), black & white, 60 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: 201?.
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 silent era RAYMOND GRIFFITH films available on home video.
Other CIVIL WAR FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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