Earliest Cinema on DVD

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#1 Post by **Jeff** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 7:49 pm

I'm thinking of finally investing in some/all of the boxed sets of various early short films, and would like some advice. It looks like the most comprehensive sets are:

- Treasures from the American Film Archives (Image - OOP, but soon re-released)
- More Treasures from the American Film Archives (Image)
- The Movies Begin (Kino)
- Edison: The Invention of Movies (Kino - due 2/22)

Can anyone comment on the quality of the various sets? Is there a lot of overlap between them? Do I need to buy all four in order to have a comprehensive collection? Does "The Movies Begin" contain most of the material from Kino's discs of Lumiere and Biograph shorts, or will I need those as well? I'm confused & overwhelmed...help me!

oldsheperd · #2 Post by **oldsheperd** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:07 pm

Go for Movies Begin. Each disc is a separate subject. I would also recommend the Slapstick Encyclopedia if you want to see a good selection of silent comedians besides Cahplin, Keaton and Lloyd.

FilmFanSea · #3 Post by **FilmFanSea** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:20 pm

Be aware that Treasures from American Film Archives is being re-released (they're calling it the "Encore Edition") on May 10th with some additional documentation and---at a retail price of $70---$30 cheaper than the original release.

Gregory · #4 Post by **Gregory** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:44 pm

Of those four, I only have Treasures and More Treasures. They're both outstanding and have a wealth of selections for nearly every taste. I bought the Treasures set because it was so varied. I was especially interested in the experimental and non-narrative films included, but I enjoyed seeing everything in the set, to varying degrees. I got it during a DDD sale for about $60, which was a good deal, and It'll be an even better bargain when it's re-released. Anyway, it's been such a valuable resource that I also bought the follow-up set, which spans 1894-1931. The sales of both of these sets benefit further film preservation efforts.
I'm interested in the Edison set, but I'm going to wait for some reviews.

Brian Oblivious · #5 Post by **Brian Oblivious** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:27 pm

I've watched all three of the sets that have been released so far. the Movies Begin contains the greatest concentration of "canonized" films, and its national scope is obviously far broader, as it devotes discs to French and British films. Anyone seriously interested in knowing about silent cinema needs to see the films presented on these discs.

That said, it's probably the set of the three I'd least like to own. Though I love quite a few of the films (the Impossible Voyage and an Interesting Story are two favorites) there are a lot of films there that I can't imagine wanting to see more than once. And the presentation (music, image quality, menus) is only fair in comparison to the Treasures From American Film Archives sets.

The first Treasures... set (which I heard only yesterday has gone OOP, thanks to FilmFanSea for explaining why) includes a few acknowledged masterpieces like Land Beyond the Sunset and Rose Hobart, but it largely yet-to-be-canonized films. One of my favorites is the William S. Hart Western Hell's Hinges. The set does a very good job capturing selections from a broad range of American filmmaking approaches, including animation, regional cinema, instructional films, ads, etc. The set doesn't stop at the end of the silent era, and in fact has a piece from as late as the 1980s Battery Film. As a result, the set may seen as lacking in unity. So be it; its not trying for that.

Its sequel at least focuses on the era up to the point where talkies completely took over, and one of its threads is the development of early experiments with film sound. That said, the music, which was very good in the first Treasures... set, is even better here. Certain films (most notably Skyscraper Symphony) benefit from the attachment of modern compositions, though its also very much appreciated to have well-researched, appropriate accompaniment to films by the likes of D.W. Griffith and Alice Guy Blache. Perhaps best of all are the commentary tracks from various scholars, which range from interesting to truly illuminating. And with masterpieces like There It Is and the set's centerpiece Lady Windemere's Fan, it would probably be my first pick of which to buy for myself. Luckily I work at a library that owns all three of these sets so I can pretty much see any of them any time I want.

oldsheperd · #6 Post by **oldsheperd** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:54 pm

Treasures just doesn't cover early films either, it covers films and actualities from other eras. Rose Hobart, Off/On and the Negro Leagues stuff is pretty sweet. But if you just want early cinema, then Movies Begin is where it's at.

ltfontaine · #7 Post by **ltfontaine** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 2:00 pm

Does "The Movies Begin" contain most of the material from Kino's discs of Lumiere and Biograph shorts, or will I need those as well? I'm confused & overwhelmed...help me!

The Movies Begin includes only 12 of the films included on The Lumiere Brothers' First Films, which features 80 of the surviving 1500 Lumiere films. The DVD of the Lumiere collection improves on the VHS edition by offering two commentary tracks: one in English by Bernard Tavernier; and another in French by Thierry Fremaux, director of The Institut Lumiere.

Gregory · #8 Post by **Gregory** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 3:48 am

Treasures From American Film Archives Volume Three is coming and sooner than I expected!
From mastersofcinema.org:
"Thanks to a new grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the excellent National Film Preservation Foundation will release a 3-disc DVD set presenting social issue films from the silent era in the fall of 2007. According to the NFPF's press release, the content will range from 'the one-minute Kansas Saloon Smashers (1901) to The Godless Girl (1928), Cecil B. De Mille's feature-length exposï¿½ of juvenile reformatories, and include features, documentaries, serial episodes, public service announcements, newsreel segments, and cartoons addressing social issues from different political and ideological perspectives.' - D.C. "

htdm · #9 Post by **htdm** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:28 am

Full press release here. It looks like Redskin (1928) and Where are My Children? (1916) will be included, too!

Gregory · #10 Post by **Gregory** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:58 am

That press release doesn't name any of the titles to be included. I looked around a little for the press release Doug Cummings received but couldn't find it.

htdm · #11 Post by **htdm** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:33 am

Check here, Greg.

tryavna · #12 Post by **tryavna** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 1:25 pm

It's good to see that the NEH is on the ball these days. Looks like Lynn Cheney's reign of terror is now but a distant (though still unpleasant) memory....

Faux Hulot · #13 Post by **Faux Hulot** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:39 pm

Brian Oblivious wrote:The first Treasures... set (which I heard only yesterday has gone OOP, thanks to FilmFanSea for explaining why)

I can't find the thread with the explanation (FilmFanSea's comment above only says that it's coming back into print) -- can anyone please point me in the right direction?

Thank you,
FH

Brian Oblivious · #14 Post by **Brian Oblivious** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 8:40 pm

Faux Hulot wrote:
Brian Oblivious wrote:The first Treasures... set (which I heard only yesterday has gone OOP, thanks to FilmFanSea for explaining why)
I can't find the thread with the explanation (FilmFanSea's comment above only says that it's coming back into print) -- can anyone please point me in the right direction?

I don't remember my exact state of mind while posting that, but I suspect I was trying to read between the lines; that the reason for the set going OOP was because it was soon to be rereleased in this cheaper "Encore Edition" with additional documentation. I have not followed up on the rereleased version to see how it differs from the original release.

But I'm superexcited to see a Vol. 3 on the horizon. Very intrigued to see the DeMille film for the first time, and Where Are My Children? is a jaw-dropper.

Gregory · #15 Post by **Gregory** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:26 pm

I'm very excited about this, too, but also a little concerned that they may be inviting sparse sales by moving away from the eclecticism that was one of the main things that made the earlier sets such a treat. I know that social issues were addressed using a wide variety of styles in the silent era. But it also seems true that each of these sets has been a bit more narrowly conceived than the one before it. For example, the films in the first set spanned about 100 years while those in the second are from a range of less than 40 years. Now the third one has a theme with respect to the films' content.
Again, personally, I've been just about equally ecstatic about each one so far, but for other potential viewers I think the appeal might be becoming more limited. The first one is by far the set I'd most readily give (and have given) as a gift to almost anyone (certainly not just film fans of the type that post here), confident there will be something in it they'll adore.

htdm · #16 Post by **htdm** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 2:39 am

National Film Preservation just announced the full list of titles on their upcoming Treasures from the American Film Archives III 4-DVD set here.
This set looks to be fantastic!

Disc 1: The City Reformed

* The Black Hand (1906, 11 min.)
Earliest surviving Mafia film.
* How They Rob Men in Chicago (1900, 25 sec.)
Police corruption Chicago-style.
* The Voice of the Violin (1909, 16 min.)
A terrorist plot is foiled by the power of music.
* The Usurer's Grip (1912, 15 min.)
Melodrama arguing for consumer credit co-operatives.
* From the Submerged (1912, 11 min.)
Drama about homelessness and "slumming parties"
* Hopeâ€”A Red Cross Seal Story (1912, 14 min.)
A small town mobilizes to fight TB
* The Cost of Carelessness (1913, 13 min.)
Traffic safety film for Brooklyn school children.
* Lights and Shadows in a City of a Million (1920, 7 min.)
Charitable plea for the Detroit Community Fund.
* 6,000,000 American Children...Are Not in School (1922, 2 min.)
Newsreel story inspired by census data.
* The Soul of Youth (1920, 80 min.), with excerpts from Saved by the Juvenile Court (1913, 4 min.)
William Desmond Taylor's feature about an orphan reclaimed through the juvenile court of Judge Ben Lindsey with excerpts from the political campaign film Saved by the Juvenile Court (1913. 4 min.)
* A Call for Help from Sing Sing! (1934, 3 min.)
Warden Lawes speaks out for wayward teens.

Disc 2: New Women

* The Kansas Saloon Smashers (1901, 1 min.)
Carrie Nation swings her axe.
* Why Mr. Nation Wants a Divorce (1901, 2 min.)
Role-reversal temperance spoof.
* Trial Marriages (1907, 12 min.)
Male fantasy inspired by a feminist's proposal.
* Manhattan Trade School for Girls (1911, 16 min.)
Profile of the celebrated progressive school for impoverished girls.
* The Strong Arm Squad of the Future (ca. 1912, 1 min.)
Anti-suffragette cartoon.
* A Lively Affair (ca. 1912, 7 min.)
Comedy with poker-playing women and child-rearing men.
* A Suffragette in Spite of Himself (1912, 8 min.)
Boys' prank results in an unwitting crusader.
* On to Washington (1913, 80 sec.)
News coverage of the historic suffragette march.
* Hazards of Helen: Episode 13 (1915, 13 min.)
Helen thwarts robbers and overcomes workplace discrimination.
* Where Are My Children? (1916, 65 min.)
Provocative anti-abortion drama by Lois Weber.
* The Courage of the Commonplace (1913, 13 min.)
A young farm woman dreams of a better life.
* Poor Mrs. Jones! (1926, 46 min.)
Why wives should stay on the farm.
* Offers Herself as Bride for $10,000 (1931, 2 min.)
Novel approach to surviving the Depression.

Disc 3: Toil and Tyranny

* Uncle Sam and the Bolsheviki-I.W.W. Rat (ca. 1919, 40 sec.)
Anti-union cartoon from the Ford Motor Company.
* The Crime of Carelessness (1912, 14 min.)
Management's version of the Triangle Factory fire.
* Who Pays?, Episode 12 (1915, 35 min.)
A lumberyard strike brings deadly consequences.
* Surviving reel from Labor's Reward (1925, 13 min.)
The American Federation of Labor's argument for "buying union."
* Listen to Some Words of Wisdom (1930, 2 min.)
Why personal thrift feeds the Depression.
* The Godless Girl (1928, 128 min.)
Cecil B. DeMille's sensational exposé of juvenile reformatories.

Disc 4: Americans in the Making

* Emigrants Landing at Ellis Island (1903, 2 min.)
Actuality footage from July 9, 1903.
* An American in the Making (1913, 15 min)
U.S. Steel film promoting immigration and industrial safety.
* Ramona: A Story of the White Man's Injustice to the Indian (1910, 16 min.)
Helen Hunt Jackson's classic about racial conflict in early California, retold by D.W. Griffith and starring Mary Pickford.
* Redskin (1929, 82 min.)
Racial tolerance epic, shot in 2-color Technicolor at Acoma Pueblo and Canyon de Chelly.
* The United Snakes of America (ca. 1917, 80 sec.)
World War I cartoon assailing homefront dissenters.
* Uncle Sam Donates for Liberty Bonds (1918, 75 sec.)
Patriotic "striptease" cartoon.
* 100% American (1918, 14 min.)
Mary Pickford buys war bonds and supports the troops.
* Bud's Recruit (1918, 26 min.)
Brothers learn to serve their country in King Vidor's earliest surviving film.
* The Reawakening (1919, 10 min.)
Documentary about helping disabled veterans to build new lives.
* Eight Prohibition Newsreels (1923-33, 13 min.)
From Capital Stirred by Biggest Hooch Raid to Repeal Brings Wet Flood!

dx23 · #17 Post by **dx23** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:06 pm

Other good set, although now OOP, is the Origins of Film box by Image. The quality is as decent as it can be for early films, and it has a nice collection of silent films.

mikeohhh · #18 Post by **mikeohhh** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:14 pm

Wow, I knew Godless Girl was going to be coming to DVD sometime soon, but I wouldn't have expected it here! I'm really interested in that anti-abortion movie from 1916 too. Ooh, and the Henry Ford anti-union cartoon! And the striptease war bond ad!! This set looks great.

#19 Post by **Matt** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 9:30 pm

Volume 5 of the Treasures from American Film Archives returns to celebrating early cinema, this time focusing on the American West:

National Film Preservation Foundation wrote:NEH AWARDS $305,000 TO THE NATIONAL FILM PRESERVATION FOUNDATION TO PRODUCE TREASURES 5

New DVD Set Will Present the American West in Early Film

Contact: Annette Melville (415-392-7292, [email protected])

San Francisco, CA (April 2, 2010)—Thanks to a $305,000 grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Film Preservation Foundation will produce Treasures from American Film Archives 5, a ten-hour DVD set presenting the American West in early film. The anthology will draw from the preservation work of the nation's preeminent silent-film archives—the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Archives, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive—and explore how film recorded and mythologized the American West from 1897 to 1938.

Some of America’s earliest movies brought the West’s distinctive landscapes and peoples to faraway audiences. By 1910, narratives set in the West accounted for one-fifth of all U.S. releases and had emerged internationally as the first film type for which “American-made” become a selling point. While Westerns were helping to put Hollywood on the map, the real West became a popular subject in educational shorts, travelogues promoting rail and auto travel, industrial profiles, newsreels, and government films about agriculture, Native Americans, and conservation. Film exported the West to every part of the globe and inspired a movie-made vision of America far beyond our shores.

The three-disc anthology will reclaim this little known history by presenting an array of features and shorts previously unavailable on video. Scheduled for release in fall 2011, Treasures 5 will feature audio commentary, new musical accompaniments, and program notes and will reunite the production team from previous NFPF DVDs: curator Scott Simmon (UC Davis), music curator Martin Marks (MIT), and designer Jennifer Grey. The NEH grant builds on a generous start-up grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts in December 2009.

The NFPF's critically acclaimed Treasures DVD series is widely used in libraries and universities around the world. The sets have won awards from the National Society of Film Critics, the Video Software Dealers Association, and Il Cinema Ritrovato, the festival of film preservation in Bologna, Italy, and have become a staple in the teaching of film and history.

The Treasures 5 grant was made through the NEH’s Preservation and Access program. These grants support initiatives that “provide an essential foundation for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities.” The NEH designated Treasures 5 as a We the People project, a special recognition for efforts that promise to “strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture.”

The National Film Preservation Foundation is the nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America's film heritage. Since starting operations in 1997, the NFPF has assisted institutions in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and helped preserve more than 1,560 films. The NFPF is the charitable affiliate of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. For more information on the NFPF's programs, please visit http://www.filmpreservation.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

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