Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2025 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Au bonheur
des dames
(1930)
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This feature drama, directed by Julien Duvivier, stars Dita Parlo, Ginette Maddie and Andrée Brabant, with Mireille Barsac, Nadia Sibirskaïa, Germaine Rouer, Pierre de Guingand, Fabien Haziza, Fernand Mailly, René Donnio and Albert Bras.
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 Flicker Alley
2022 Blu-ray Disc edition
Cinema of Discovery: Julien Duvivier in the 1920s (1925-1930), black & white, 857 minutes total, not rated, including Ladies’ Paradise [Au bonheur des dames] (1930), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Flicker Alley, FA0077, UPC 6-17311-68779-2.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc (five BDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in SDR AVC format at ? Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; French language intertitles, optional English language subtitles; chapter stops; 44-page insert booklet; two standard multidisc BD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; $79.95.
Release date: 4 January 2022.
Country of origin: USA
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from the 2018 restoration by Lobster Films utilizing archival film materials. This collection has been produced by Lobster Films, Paris, with the support and collaboration of the CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de L’image animée), the Národní filmový archiv (Prague), the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, Cinematek (Cinémathèque royale de Belgique, Belgium), La Cinémathèque française, Le Cinémathèque de Toulouse, Cineteca di Bologna (Italy), Département de la Charente, Eye Film Instituut Nederland, and the Gosfilmofond film archive.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed by Gabriel Thibaudeau.
Supplemental material includes introductions to eight of the films by historian Serge Bromberg; appreciations of all nine films with film critic Hubert Niogret and historian Patrick Brion, including an appreciation of Ladies’ Paradise (Au bonheur des dames) by director Patrice Leconte; restoration demonstrations on five of the films by restoration technicians Chrystel Bonne and Colin Ruffin; a featurette on scoring The Divine Voyage by classical ensemble L’Octuor de France and composer Antonio Coppola; image galleries featuring rare production stills and promotional images; and a 48-page insert booklet featuring introductory remarks by Christian Duvivier, son of Julien Duvivier, essay notes by film historian Serge Bromberg, along with full credits on each film, and many rare photographs.
This is our recommended home video edition of these films.
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This
Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .
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 Arte Editions
2009 DVD edition
Au bonheur des dames (1930), black & white, 89 minutes, not rated.
Arte Editions, distributed by Facets Video,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, French language intertitles, optional English language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $39.95.
Release date: 28 April 2009.
Country of origin: USA
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This NTSC DVD edition has likely been transferred from 35mm print materials held by FPA France (Lobster Films collection).
The film is accompanied by a modern music score.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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Other FRENCH FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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