Charlie Chaplin Keystone, Essanay and Mutual DVDsADDED

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

So Arte distributed the German DVDs for 1-3, Icestorm for 4-6. I assume Icestorm released the 1-6 box?

[Brent_Reid]

No: strangely, Icestorm only released the German Mutuals 4-6. The German box is from Arte; there's a pic in the link in my last post. This is an odd wrinkle but rather than explaining, it was another complication I was hoping to avoid by offering the copy/paste option. I don't blame you for asking though.

My confusion over this and a few other points led me to get the French and German box sets, to settle it once and for all.

There are are just two other DVD sets of these restorations: Dutch and Spanish (which has just four discs and different extras; I'll add it eventually). It may not be enough for you to add it to this site, but I'm convinced the Dutch set is also identical to the French and German. I've scoured numerous Dutch listings, like those here and here, which show it to have their specs and the French set's variant artwork (it was issued there in two different flavours). What's more, the same Dutch label, Living Colour, also distributed all the other French/German DVDs in Arte's "The Silent Era" Collection.

To sum up, it seems Arte Video distributed their exact same discs and overall package designs everywhere, except in the case of the German individually-released Mutuals and the Dutch set. With those, the discs and package designs were still exactly the same, but the sleeves themselves additionally mentioned their different distributors.

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

OK, added the French 4-6 set.

[Brent_Reid]

Seriously good work, James. I see you've generally tidied the comparisons up too - thanks!

Re the BFI DVDs, both baggish and I confirmed the Essanay scores were mono and I could have sworn he or someone else said the same was true of the Mutuals, which I don't own. However, I now see their scores listed as 2.0 and 5.1 stereo; is that definite?

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Not sure. Didnt touch the BFI DVDs.

[baggish]

Just to confirm, I haven't said anything about the Mutuals. My county library does have the Mutuals Vol 2 (but not Vol 1) but I haven't decided whether to order it yet. They have some other things that are higher priority for me. The library also has the 4-disc BFI Keystone set, but it looks like the specs are already complete for that.

[Brent_Reid]

Cheers for the reply. I thought I'd heard something about the BFI Mutuals' scores being mono too, and supposed it must have been here. Amid all that talk of them being NTSC-PAL and so on, I was probably just conflating the two sets. I'd appreciate confirmation the Mutuals really do have the two stereo options as listed. If so, it begs the question why the 5.1 mixes weren't included on the BFI BDs...

[baggish]

OK, I now have the BFI Mutual Vol 2 DVD from the library

It does indeed have 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks.

To fill in some gaps:
- the Introduction by Paul Merton has optional English subtitles
Durations are:
- "The Floorwalker" 24:13
- "The Fireman" 24:05
- "The Vagabond" 26:02
- "One A.M." 26:42 (this one is tinted blue for the first 3:45 approx and then brown)
- "The Count" 24:04
- "The Pawnshop" 24:54

[Brent_Reid]

Nice one! Any chance you can get your mitts on Volume 1?

[baggish]

Sorry, no, the library doesn't have it.

[Brent_Reid]

Not to worry: I'll pick up a cheap copy at some point and add the missing details myself - unless someone beats me to it!

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Updated Chaplin Mutual 2 BFI

[Brent_Reid]

I'm adding some of the handful of restored Chaplin shorts that have appeared on other DVDs and BDs. As previously, it makes most sense to slot them into the existing listings rather than create new pages for them.

This one has Chaplin's Carmen, which should go with the Essanay DVD comparison, but it will need new comparisons for De Mille's Carmen and The Cheat.

Title: Carmen (1915) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_(1 ... ille_film)
Country: US
Region: 0
Releasing Studio: Image Entertainment
Case Type: Snapper
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Anamorphic?: No
PAL or NTSC?: NTSC
Soundtracks: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo orchestral score (Carmen by Timothy Brock, Burlesque on Carmen and The Cheat by Robert Israel)
Subtitles (are they optional?): None (English intertitles)
Cuts: (and if you know it, precise run time) Yes (1918 re-release, 57:15), but most complete restored version by Eastman House
Commentaries: None
Extras:
- The Cheat (1915) (58:49) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cheat_(1915_film)
- "Burlesque on 'Carmen'" (1916) (31:24) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Burlesque_on_Carmen
Notes: There's an identical DVD reissue by Flicker Alley (ASIN B018RCYMSI). The same transfer of The Cheat has also been issued on the Manslaughter (1922) DVD by Kino Lorber.
Easter Eggs: None
Amazon ASIN (UK, French, German, USA releases only): B000059H89
Source:* Own copy

This one's a standalone which doesn't include Chaplin, but I thought I may as well add it with the other one.

Title: Carmen (1915) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_(1 ... ille_film)
Country: US
Region: 0
Releasing Studio: Video Artists International
Case Type: Keep case
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Anamorphic?: No
PAL or NTSC?: NTSC
Soundtracks: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo orchestral score by Gillian Anderson
Subtitles (are they optional?): None (English intertitles)
Cuts: (and if you know it, precise run time) Yes (1918 re-release, 63:03), but most complete restored version by Eastman House. Includes instrumental prelude with notes and slideshow.
Commentaries: None
Extras: Sound recordings of excerpts from Bizet's Carmen sung by Geraldine Farrar, with notes, slideshow and film clips:
- "Habenera" (Dec 9, 1914) (03:00)
- "Séguedille" (Dec 9, 1914) (07:00)
- "Mais moi, Carmen" (final scene) with Giovanni Martinelli (May 19, 1915) (4:50)
Notes: Film and extras play as one continuous feature, or songs are selectable individually from menu.
Easter Eggs: None
Amazon ASIN (UK, French, German, USA releases only): B000EXZFOO
Source:* Own copy

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Added them, thank you

[Brent_Reid]

Nice work, James. I forgot to mention: could you please add a note on the Image DVD listing for Chaplin short:

• 1995 restoration by Film Preservation Associates (David Shepard).

I also see you omitted mention of the Flicker Alley reissue; was it an oversight?

Here's another:

Title: Slapstick Masters
- Easy Street (1917) (24:21) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_Street_(film)
- One Week (1920) (23;17) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Week_(1920_film)
- Chasing Choo Choos (1927) (22:40) abridged two-reel version of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_Safe
- Big Business (1929) (16:16) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Business_(1929_film)
Country: US
Region: 0
Releasing Studio: Image Entertainment
Case Type: Snapper
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Anamorphic?: No
PAL or NTSC?: NTSC
Soundtracks: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo score by the Alloy Orchestra (all films)
Subtitles (are they optional?): None (English intertitles)
Cuts: (and if you know it, precise run time) None/yes; see above
Commentaries: None
Extras:
Notes:
- For Chaplin: 1995 restoration by Film Preservation Associates (David Shepard), with some new and rearranged intertitles
- For the rest: Restoration by Film Preservation Associates (David Shepard)
Easter Eggs: None
Amazon ASIN (UK, French, German, USA releases only): B00009Q4W5
Source:* Own copy

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Nice work, James. I forgot to mention: could you please add a note on the Image DVD listing for Chaplin short:

• 1995 restoration by Film Preservation Associates (David Shepard).

I also see you omitted mention of the Flicker Alley reissue; was it an oversight?

Updated about the restoration. I don't know what you mean, the Flicker Alley is mentioned at the bottom of the pages.

[Brent_Reid]

Thanks. I don't mean the Flicker Alley Essanays set, but the Carmen/The Cheat/Burlesque... reissue I mentioned in the notes for that release: "There's an identical DVD reissue by Flicker Alley (ASIN B018RCYMSI)."

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Thanks. I don't mean the Flicker Alley Essanays set, but the Carmen/The Cheat/Burlesque... reissue I mentioned in the notes for that release: "There's an identical DVD reissue by Flicker Alley (ASIN B018RCYMSI)."

Yeah, it's there at the bottom of the pages.

Added the Slapstick Masters set.

[Brent_Reid]

I've just confirmed with a friend that "The Essanay and Mutual Comedies" 6-DVD set from Living Colour Entertainment in the Netherlands is identical to the French and German Icestorm/Arte Video sets. It comes in a fold-out Digipak inside a slipcase. Once it's added, in terms of complete collections that only leaves the Spanish Divisa 4-DVD set, which I plan to get at some point.

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

The Dutch set has no Dutch subtitles?