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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Mickey
(1918)
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Produced while still at The Keystone Film Company, this Mabel Normand feature comedy was delayed until its 1918 release. The film survives in two versions: its original 1918 release version, and the reedited 1920s rerelease version.
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 Grapevine Video
2021 Blu-ray Disc edition
Mickey (1918) [original version], black & white, 67 minutes, not rated, and Mickey (1918) [FBO rerelease version], black & white, 100 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (BD-R BDMV); 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; LPCM 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Mbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $19.95.
Release date: 5 February 2021.
Country of origin: USA
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This BD-R edition presents two versions of the film, the original 1918 release version and the FBO rerelease version, scanned at 2K high-resolution. The original version is of higher print quality. The rerelease version features alternate, and often longer, takes than those seen in the original release.
The film is accompanied by optional music scores performed on piano and on virtual theatre pipe organ by David Knudtson.
This is our recommended home video version of the film.
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This Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition is available directly from . . .
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 Grapevine Video
2021 DVD edition
Mickey (1918) [original version], black & white, 67 minutes, not rated, and Mickey (1918) [FBO rerelease version], black & white, 100 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, unknown UPC number.
Two single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R discs; 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 two-disc DVD keepcase; $16.95.
Release date: 5 February 2021.
Country of origin: USA
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This remastered DVD-R edition presents two versions of the film, the original 1918 release version and the FBO rerelease version, scanned at 2K high-resolution. The original version is of higher print quality. The rerelease version features alternate, and often longer, takes than those seen in the original release.
The film is accompanied by optional music scores performed on piano and on virtual theatre pipe organ by David Knudtson.
This is our recommended DVD home video version of the film.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
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Grapevine Video
2009 DVD edition
Mickey (1918) [original version], black & white, 67 minutes, not rated, and Mickey (1918) [FBO rerelease version], black & white, 100 minutes, not rated.
Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-10359-9.
Two single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R discs; 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 7.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps) [original version] and 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 5.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps) [rerelease version]; Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 384 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 12 chapter stops (each version); slimline two-disc DVD keepcase; $14.95.
Release date: 9 October 2009.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 5 / audio: 5 / additional content: 5 / overall: 5.
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| The 1918 original release version. |
This DVD-R edition of Mickey (1918) is unique in that the collector is presented with two versions of the film, the original 1918 release version and the FBO rerelease version. The original version is of higher print quality, while the release version is generally much darker in flat greytones. The rerelease version (marked on the disc label as “Complete Version”) features alternate, and often longer, takes than those seen in the original release.
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| The 1920s FBO rerelease version. |
The versions of the film are accompanied by a compiled score of public-domain music performed on MIDI synthesizer.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Unknown Video
2004 DVD edition
Mickey (1918) [FBO rerelease version], black & white, 71 minutes, not rated, with He Did and He Didn’t (1916), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated.
Unknown Video, 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 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 5 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $18.95.
Release date: 22 November 2004.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD-R edition of Mickey was mastered from a very-good 16mm reduction print for the 1920s Film Booking Offices of America rerelease version of the film. The full-frame, slightly faster-than-natural-speed analog video transfer holds the reasonably broad range of greytones and image detail in the source print, which has the normal amount of dust and speckling. Unfortunately, the image is framed off-center, with approximately ten percent of the left side of the picture lost to cropping.
The film is presented with custom musical accompaniment performed on electric organ by Bob Vaughn.
This is the best-looking version of the rerelease print of Mickey available on home video.
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UNKNOWN VIDEO has discontinued business and this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is . . .
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Other MABEL NORMAND films available on home video.
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