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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The Whistle
(1921)
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This feature drama, directed by Lambert Hillyer, stars William S. Hart and Myrtle Stedman, with support from Frank Brownlee, Georgie Stone and Robert Kortman.
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 Sinister Cinema
202? DVD edition
The Whistle (1921), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Sinister Cinema, ST47, 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
2015 DVD edition
The Whistle (1921), black & white, 59 minutes, not rated, with The Taking of Luke McVane (1915), black & white, 24 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 7709D, UPC 0-89218-77099-8.
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 3.0 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, 6 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $7.98 (raised again to $9.99).
Release date: 6 October 2015.
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 a good 16mm reduction print of the film. The source print is constrasty and dark in places and there is the usual amount of speckling and dust, schmutz, and other print flaws in the coarse video transfer.
The film is accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting orchestral music recordings that are definitely inappropriate for the film’s action.
Supplemental material includes a William S. Hart short western.
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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Loving the Classics
202? DVD edition
The Whistle (1921), black & white, 70 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; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.99 (raised to $15.49).
Release date: 202?.
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 WILLIAM S. HART films available on home video.
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William S. Hart filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List
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