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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Midnight Faces
(1926)
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This crime drama, directed by Bennett Cohn, stars Francis X. Bushman Jr. and Kathryn McGuire, with Jack Perrin, Edward Peil, Charles Belcher, Nora Cecil, Al Hallett, Martin Turner and Andy Waldron.
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 Sinister Cinema
202? DVD edition
Midnight Faces (1926), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Sinister Cinema, ST18, unknown 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; $16.95.
Release date: 202?.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting music recordings.
Sight unseen, this is 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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 Alpha Video
2005 DVD edition
Midnight Faces (1926), black & white, 53 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 4686D, UPC 0-89218-46869-7.
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 5.5 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; 6 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $6.98 (raised again to $9.99).
Release date: 29 March 2005.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 3 / audio: 4 / additional content: 0 / overall: 3.
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a VHS videotape copy of a sound-speed video transfer (which runs a bit too fast) from a 16mm reduction print, and is of fairly low quality. The picture is blurry and the greyscale range a little light, but the edition is watchable. Dust, speckling, schmutz, and other print flaws are present.
The presentation features a music score composed and performed on synthesizers by Paul David Bergel.
Not a great edition but it is watchable.
This review was updated in 2026.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available from
ALPHA VIDEO through . . .
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CryptFlicks
2008 DVD edition
Where East is East (1929), black & white, 68 minutes, not rated, with Midnight Faces (1926), black & white, 54 minutes, not rated.
CryptFlicks, 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 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 8 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 200?.
Country of origin: USA •
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This cheapy DVD-R edition of Midnight Faces (1926) has been mastered from a VHS videotape copy of a full-frame video transfer of a 16mm reduction print. The full-frame video transfer is too light. This edition looks even worse than the cheap edition from Alpha Video noted above. Also, a small, grey “cf” logo appears at times in the lower right-hand corner of the picture. This is supposed to discourage video pirates; which is funny, as this video transfer was likely ripped-off from some other video company for this DVD edition.
The film is accompanied by a disjointed selection of preexisting music recordings that are haphazardly assembled, regardless of the current action of the story.
Not recommended, and not that easy to find; this disc is chiefly sought after for the rare Lon Chaney film accompanying this film.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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Other silent era FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN JR. films available on home video:
Dangerous Traffic (1926)
Other OLD DARK HOUSE FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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