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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Irene
(1926)
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This romantic comedy, directed by Alfred E. Green, stars Colleen Moore and Lloyd Hughes, with George K. Arthur, Charles Murray, Kate Price, Ida Darling and Eva Novak.
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 Grapevine Video
2008 DVD edition
Irene (1926), black & white, 90 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-10340-8.
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 6.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 18 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.95.
Release date: 2008.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 4 / audio: 4 / additional content: 0 / overall: 4.
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from an analog video transfer of a fair to good 16mm reduction print that is overcropped on the top and left sides of the picture. The older transfer is coarse enough that the picture’s interlacing cannot be totally removed by an HD system’s upscaling abilities. Dust, speckling, mild frame jitters, emulsion scuffing, splices, and other print flaws are inevitably present.
The film is accompanied by a vintage, low-fidelity music score performed anonymously on an electric organ.
For now, this remains our recommended home video edition of the film.
This review was updated in 2026.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Silent Gems Collection
2022 DVD edition
Irene (1926), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises, 239, 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 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; slimline CD jewelcase; $34.99 (raised again to $44.99).
Release date: 2022.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a 16mm reduction print (as is evident from the publisher-provided still frame above). It is likely that throughout the presentation a faint “SHF-E” watermark appears in the lower right-hand corner of the picture to discourage pirating; as this edition was likely pirated from some other home video edition or from some Internet streaming source, we find this to be ludicrous.
The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings.
We still have problems with the unconscionably high retail price of this edition for the low value provided: low-quality video transfer, no custom music, no supplemental material, no packaging artwork, cheap storage case. We vehemently criticize this publisher for their overpriced offerings that give the consumer as little value as possible.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available through . . .
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Other silent era COLLEEN MOORE films available on home video.
Other silent era LLOYD HUGHES films available on home video.
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