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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The Fall of the
House of Usher
(1928)
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The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) is James Sibley Watson Jr.’s and Melville Webber’s bizarre and Caligarian version of Edgar Allan Poe’s story, obliquely conveyed but still an interesting avant garde benchmark that was independently produced in Rochester, New York.
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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 The Fall of the House of Usher (1928), black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.
Film Preservation Associates with Anthology Film Archives, distributed by Image Entertainment,
ID0592DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-05922-9.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (seven DVDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 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); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 224 Kbps audio bit rate; 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
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 4 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.
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The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) is windowbox transferred from what appears to be a 16mm reduction print of very-good quality held by Anthology Film Archives. Unfortunately, whether on purpose or forced by the video transfer technology, a visible amount of edge sharpening (a thin, pixelated white halo around dark objects on a lighter background shade) can be seen. The effect is less pronounced than is seen in the National Film Preservation Foundation edition noted below.
The film is accompanied by an orchestral music score composed by Alec Wilder, transferred from the film print’s optical soundtrack in fluttering mono, which compromises the film’s presentation.
This is, reluctantly, our recommended home video edition of the film. Had the source print been more detailed, with no edge sharpening, and the music presentation better we would be more enthusiastic. The film deserves a better home video presentation than these noted on this page.
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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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 National Film Preservation Foundation
2000/2005 DVD edition
Treasures from American Film Archives (1893-1960), black & white, color-tinted black & white, and color, 642 minutes total, not rated, including The Fall of the House of Usher (1928), black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.
National Film Preservation Foundation, distributed by Image Entertainment, NATD9706DVD (rereleased as NATD0918DVD), UPC 0-14381-97062-3 (rereleased as 0-14381-09182-3).
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (four DVDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 6.0 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; 150-page book of program notes (rereleased with four smaller bookets); four cardboard wrapped plastic trays in cardboard slipcase; $99.99 (rereleased at $69.95).
Release date: 3 October 2000 (rereleased 10 May 2005).
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 8 / additional content: 3 / overall: 6.
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This early DVD edition has been transferred windowboxed from a very-good preservation print prepared from the slightly-flawed original 35mm nitrate negative held by the George Eastman Museum. Unfortunately, whether on purpose or forced by the video transfer technology, an annoying amount of edge sharpening (a thin, pixelated white halo around dark objects on a lighter background shade) is visible.
The film is presented with a music score.
We do not recommend this home video edition of the film.
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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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 Alpha Video
2015 DVD edition
Genuine (1920), color-toned black & white, 44 minutes, not rated, with The Fall of the House of Usher (1928), black & white, 13 minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 7558D, UPC 0-89218-75589-6.
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 3.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 30 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; no chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $7.98 (raised to $8.98).
Release date: 27 January 2015.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 5 / audio: 4 / additional content: 5 / overall: 5.
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This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a 16mm reduction print. As with the editions noted above, whether on purpose or forced by the video transfer technology, a visible amount of edge sharpening (a thin white halo around dark objects on a lighter background shade) can be seen. The lower resolution of this DVD coupled with the reduction source print makes for a blurry picture.
The film is accompanied by a music score from the source print’s noisy optical soundtrack.
Not recommended. Watchable but not ideal.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .
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Other AVANT-GARDE FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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