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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Isn’t Life
Terrible?
(1925)
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This short comedy, directed by Leo McCarey, stars Charley Chase and Katherine Grant, with Oliver Hardy, Lon Poff, Mary Kornman, Leo Willis, Fay Wray and Sammy Brooks.
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 Kino on Video
2005 DVD edition
The Charley Chase Collection, Volume 2 (1922-1926), black & white and color-tinted black & white, 151 minutes total, not rated, including Isn’t Life Terrible? (1925), color-tinted black & white, 24 minutes, not rated.
Kino International, K432, UPC 7-38329-04322-3.
One single-sided, dual-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 5.6 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $24.95.
Release date: 13 September 2005.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 9 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.
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This DVD edition was originally produced for home video by Eric Lange and Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films, Paris, from a good to very-good 16mm reduction print that has some dust, speckling and schmutz, filmbase scuffing and long vertical scratches, some frame jitters, and other print flaws.
The film is accompanied by a lively music score composed and performed on piano by Neil Brand.
Supplemental material includes a Paul Parrott (Charley’s brother) short comedy; and A Charley Chase Biography (2004), a special montage about Chase’s life, narrated by Serge Bromberg and directed by Eric Lange (5 minutes).
This is our recommended home video edition of the film.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is available directly from . . .
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 The Milestone Cinematheque
2011 DVD edition
Cut the the Chase: The Charley Chase Collection (1924-1926), black & white, 303 minutes total, not rated, including Isn’t Life Terrible?> (1925), black & white, 22 minutes, not rated.
Milestone Film & Video, distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories (now distributed by Kino Lorber), Mile00118, UPC 7-84148-01184-4, ISBN 978-1-933920-14-6.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (two DVDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 7.8 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sound encoded at 448 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; two-page insert card; standard two-disc DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 2011.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 6 / overall: 7.
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This DVD edition has been mastered from a good to very-good 16mm reduction print, which has some dust, speckling and schmutz, filmbase scuffing, nascent nitrate decomposition, and other print flaws.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on piano by David Drazin.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition is available from
MILESTONE FILMS through . . .
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 Alpha Video
2016 DVD edition
Charley Chase Rarities (1915-1926), black & white, 90 minutes total, not rated, including Isn’t Life Terrible? (1925), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 7862D, UPC 0-89218-78629-6.
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 3.4 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; no chapter stops (within the film); standard DVD keepcase; $7.98 (raised again to $9.99).
Release date: 27 September 2016.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 3 / audio: 3 / additional content: 3 / overall: 3.
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from an old VHS videotape transferred from a fair 8mm reduction print. As would be expected, the picture is full of analog videotape artifacts including shadow ghosting to the right of white picture elements and mistracking noise at the bottom of the picture. Compared to other home video editions, this is one of the worst-looking examples among them. Isn’t This DVD Terrible?
The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting music recordings.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available from
ALPHA VIDEO through . . .
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 Passport Video
2006 DVD edition
The Laurel or Hardy Collection (1917-1927), black & white, 560 minutes total, not rated, including Isn’t Life Terrible? (1925), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated.
Passport International Productions,
DVD-5380, UPC 0-25493-53809-0.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (five DVDs in the set); 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 4.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); 4-page insert pamphlet; double-wide five-disc DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 21 February 2006.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 3 / audio: 4 / additional content: 4 / overall: 4.
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This DVD edition has been mastered from an analog video transfer of a good 16mm reduction print, with picture details a bit coarse and smeary. The transfer frame rate is at sound speed with the resulting action running a little faster than a natural pace (which is probably a blessing in disguise). The transfer appears to be the same as that utilized for other budget editions and, here, is a bit contrasty with facial details often burnt out to white and grayish blacks. The film is presented with a digital “The Laurel OR Hardy Collection” watermark in the lower right corner of the picture; this is to discourage video pirates (which is ironic given the low quality of many of the transfers in this collection).
The film is accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting piano music recordings.
Supplemental material includes a video introduction by archivist Rob Stone; and a 4-page insert pamphlet with brief notes and film listings.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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Other silent era CHARLEY CHASE films available on home video.
Other silent era OLIVER HARDY films available on home video.
Other SHORT COMEDY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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