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Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
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Those Awful
Hats
(1909)

This short comedy, directed by D.W. Griffith, a features a number of Biograph players including Mack Sennett, Linda Arvidson, Arthur Johnson, John R. Cumpson, Florence Lawrence and Flora Finch.

Film Preservation Associates
2002 DVD edition

D.W. Griffith: Years of Discovery 1908-1914 (1908-1914), black & white, 334 minutes total, not rated, including Those Awful Hats (1909), black & white, 3 minutes, not rated.

Film Preservation Associates, distributed by Image Entertainment, ID1270DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-12702-7.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (two DVDs in the set); 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 4.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 224 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); four-page insert booklet; double-wide two-disc DVD keepcase; $39.99.
Release date: 10 September 2002.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This DVD edition, originally prepared for laserdisc release in 1996 by producer David Shepard, has been mastered from a 35mm print held by the Library of Congress. The print has a light amount of dust and speckling, momentary nitrate decomposition, and other print flaws.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on piano by Jon C. Mirsalis.

Supplementary material includes optional audio commentary by Griffith scholar Russell Merritt; and an insert booklet with notes on the films by Merritt.

Visually, the home video editions noted on this page are visually nearly identical, possibly all being sourced from the same analog video transfer. We slightly recommend this edition over the others for the additional feature of Merritt’s audio commentary.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Kino on Video
2002 DVD edition

Griffith Masterworks: Biograph Shorts (1908-1914), black & white, 362 minutes total, not rated, including Those Awful Hats (1909), black & white, 3 minutes, not rated.

Kino International, K268, UPC 7-38329-02682-0.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD discs (two DVDs in the set); 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 4.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); two-page insert card; double-wide two-disc DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 10 December 2002.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This DVD edition has been mastered from a 35mm print held by the Library of Congress. The print has a light amount of dust and speckling, and other print flaws. The print itself suffers from momentary nitrate decomposition.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on piano by Jon C. Mirsalis.

A collector’s preference for one home video edition over another will be driven by an evaluation of price, availability and the other films available in each collection.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Kino on Video
2002 DVD edition

Griffith Masterworks (1908-1921), color-toned black & white and black & white, 986 minutes total, not rated, including Those Awful Hats (1909), color-toned black & white, 3 minutes, not rated.

Kino International,
no catalog number, UPC 7-38329-02702-5.
Seven single-sided, single-layered and dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD 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 4.5 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); four standard DVD keepcases and one double-wide two-disc DVD keepcase in cardboard slipcase; $99.95.
Release date: 10 December 2002.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This DVD boxset contains the Kino International 2002 edition noted above.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on piano by Jon C. Mirsalis.

An obvious attraction of this boxset is the additional content in the form of supplemental materials, and the compilation of early Griffith Biograph short films.

A collector’s preference for one home video edition over another will be driven by an evaluation of price, availability and the other films available in each collection.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD boxset from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD boxset from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Flicker Alley
2011 DVD edition

The Alloy Orchestra Plays Wild and Weird: 14 Fascinating and Innovative Films 1902-1965 (1902-1965), black & white, 140 minutes total, not rated, including Those Awful Hats (1909), black & white, 3 minutes, not rated.

Flicker Alley, FA0021,
UPC 6-17311-67649-9, ISBN 1-893967-64-6.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD 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 6.2 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); standard DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 28 June 2011.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 7 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by The Alloy Orchestra.

The supplemental material includes the brief featurette Alloy Orchestra Plays Filmstudie (2011) presented in 16:9 anamorphic video (10 minutes).

A collector’s preference for one home video edition over another will be driven by an evaluation of price, availability and the other films available in each collection. Unfortunately, this disc is now out-of-print.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Lobster Films
2017 DVD edition

Le meilleur de Retour de Flamme, Volumes 1-8 (1896-1961), black & white, color-tinted black & white, and color, 1088 minutes total, not rated, including Those Awful Hats (1909), black & white, 3 minutes, not rated.

Lobster Films, EDV 1419, UPC 3-760130-460873.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 PAL DVD disc (eight DVDs in the set), 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 8.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 50 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono and stereo sound encoded at 256 Kbps audio bit rate; English and French language intertitles, French language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); four two-disc slimline DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 20 February 2017
Country of origin: France

Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This PAL DVD edition has been mastered from a 35mm print that has a light amount of dust and speckling, and other print flaws. The print itself suffers from momentary nitrate decomposition. This edition looks a little rougher than the American DVD editions noted above.

The film is accompanied by a music score performed on piano.

This boxset is highly recommended however please note that there are no English language intertitles except for the American films and that there are no English language subtitles to Bromberg’s verbal introductions or to the foreign language films. North American collectors will need a PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.

France: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Grapevine Video
2003 DVD edition

D.W. Griffith, Director, Volume 1 (1908-1909), black & white, 102 minutes total, not rated, including Those Awful Hats (1909), black & white, 3 minutes, not rated.

Grapevine Video, no catalog number, UPC 8-42614-00116-1.
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 5.5 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 224 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops (within the film); standard DVD keepcase; $16.95 (reduced to $14.95).
Release date: 2003.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 4 / additional content: 0 / overall: 3.

This DVD-R edition has apparently been mastered from the same video transfer prepared by David Shepard that was utilized for the Film Preservation Associates edtion and the Kino International edition noted above. The print has a light amount of dust and speckling, momentary nitrate decomposition, and other print flaws.

The film is accompanied by a piano music score copped from an old low-fidelity recording.

Not recommended, chiefly due to the poor visual quality of the other films in this collection.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .