Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Looney Lens:
Pas de deux
(1924)
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This short film, directed by Al Brick from the Fox Movietone News stable, is one of a series of odd short films produced for Fox from circa 1924 through circa 1927.
Two men pose in front of a reflecting sphere to create funhouse mirror distortions of themselves. Presumeably, the shoot attracts curious bystanders who are seen in the background of later shots.
One can drive themselves crazy trying to figure out where the camera has been placed to not be reflected in the distorting sphere. (Actually, the camera is not clearly seen down low in front of a row of trees or bushes across the grass midground. The sphere’s distortion misleads the eye as to how close the camera is set-up from the sphere.)
— Carl Bennett
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 Kino Classics
2023 Blu-ray Disc edition
Silent Avant-Garde (1921-2022), black & white, color-tinted and color-toned black & white, and color, 188 minutes total, not rated, including Looney Lens: Pas de deux (1924), color-tinted and color-toned black & white, 4 minutes, not rated.
Kino Lorber, K26157, UPC 7-38329-26157-3.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) progressive scan AVC (MPEG-4) format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, 1.6 Kbps audio bit rate, DTS-HD 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, no chapter stops (within the film); standard BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 21 February 2023.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 7 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered at 4K high-resolution from an archival 35mm print held by the University of South Carolina News Film Archive. The scan has not been digitally cleaned, repaired or stabilized. Beginning print decomposition is seen as tiny, blotchy blooms from time to time in the picture.
The film is accompanied by an amusing, lively music score performed on piano by Donald Sosin.
This is the best home video edition of this film that is available and it is recommended.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This
Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .
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 Film Preservation Associates /
Anthology Film Archives
2005 DVD edition
Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film (1894-1947), black & white, color-toned black & white and color, 1127 minutes total, not rated, including Looney Lens: Pas de deux (1924), color-tinted and color-toned black & white, 4 minutes, not rated.
Film Preservation Associates with Anthology Film Archives, distributed by Image Entertainment,
ID0592DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-05922-9.
Seven single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame and windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 5.0 Mbps average video bit rate, 224 Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo and mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops; seven slimline DVD keepcases in cardboard box; $99.99.
Release date: 18 October 2005.
Country of origin: USA
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Looney Lens: Pas de deux (1924) has been transferred from a print held by the University of South Carolina in their newsreel collection.
The film is accompanied by an amusing, lively music score performed on piano by Donald Sosin.
For collectors acquiring films on DVD exclusively, this is the best DVD home video edition of the film that is available.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Other AVANT-GARDE FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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