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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Salambo
(1914)
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This early Italian historical epic, directed by Domenico Gaido, features Suzanne De Labroy, Mario Guaita-Ausonia, Egidio Candiani and Cristina Ruspoli.
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 Grapevine Video
2008 DVD edition
Salambo (1914), black & white and color-tinted black & white, 75 minutes, not rated, with Lady Godiva (1911), black & white, 9 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-10325-4.
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 5.8 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; 12 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $12.95 (raised to $14.95).
Release date: 2008.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 3 / audio: 3 / additional content: 4 / overall: 3.
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a good 16mm reduction print but the analog video transfer does little to capture the qualities that may exist in the print. There is a typical amount of dust, speckling, frame jitters, and other print flaws in the picture that is soft in its image details. It is easy enough to follow the film’s action but one will sit wishing that the picture was of higher visual quality.
The film is accompanied by a soundtrack crudely compiled from preexisting low-fidelity music recordings, with some selections lifted from scratchy LPs. Some of the music sounds as if it is the work of an uncredited Eric Beheim.
Supplemental material is limited to a Vitagraph short film, Lady Godiva (1911), misidenified in the film credits as released in 1914.
For now, this is our recommended home video edition of the film.
This review was updated in 2025.
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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
Salambo (1914), black & white, ? 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; Italian language intertitles, optional? English language 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 ITALIAN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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