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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Lightnin’
(1925)
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This comedy-drama, directed by John Ford, stars Jay Hunt and Madge Bellamy, with Edythe Chapman, Wallace MacDonald, J. Farrell MacDonald, Ethel Clayton, James Marcus, Otis Harlan and Brandon Hurst.
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 Loving the Classics
2018 DVD edition
Lightnin’ (1925), black & white, 104 minutes, not rated.
Loving the Classics, no catalog number, no UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.20:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 5.2 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; closed captions; 20 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.99 (raised to $15.49).
Release date: 2018.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 4 / audio: 7 / additional content: 0 / overall: 5.
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a VHS videotape off-cable recording of an AMC Film Preservation Festival presentation of the Museum of Modern Art’s very-good preservation print. The image is only good due to the low resolution of VHS videotape. Periodically, the AMC Film Preservation Festival logomark appears in the lower right-hand corner of the picture. Given the apparent quality of the source material, it is surprising that no one has issued a high-quality home video edition of the film.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on digital piano.
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.
Not a great presentation but, hey, this is, for now, our recommended home video edition of the film.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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 Silent Gems Collection
2022 DVD edition
Lightnin’ (1925), black & white, 104 minutes, not rated.
Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises, 249, 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.
Release date: 2022.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a VHS videotape copy of a 35mm or 16mm reduction print (as might be surmised 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 music recordings.
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 JOHN FORD films available on home video.
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