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Well, the original Kino Keaton Blu-Rays were not the Lobster "restorations." I got the Kino/Lobster release of the Keaton shorts, and much preferred the original Kino Blu-Ray, the Kino/Lobster versions looking frankly rather washed out, almost bleached. I read at least one review of the Kino/Lobster release of THE GENERAL that preferred the original Kino Blu-Ray, and after my experience with the short films I didn't bother to get it.

These Cohen 4K restorations are glorious. THE GENERAL in particular looks like it was shot yesterday. My multi-region Blu-ray player is more than justified.

I assume that Cohen themselves will be releasing these in the USA...? Are these the only Keaton features that have benefited from this new(er) round of restorations?

It's going to be a massive project comparable to the Chaplin one over at Cineteca di Bologna. The goal is to restore, over time, all Keaton's silents.

No word from Cohen about when they'll be releasing them over here, but I believe as of mid-2017 these were the only ones they had completed.

andyli wrote:It's going to be a massive project comparable to the Chaplin one over at Cineteca di Bologna. The goal is to restore, over time, all Keaton's silents.

Thanks! This is probably a product of me getting older and time seeming to run faster, but it feels like yesterday that Lobster debuted their own restorations of Keaton's films, to considerable fanfare or at least gratitude. I was inclined to wait to purchase these new restorations until something equivalent to Kino's enormous Keaton set arrived, but it sounds like these will be released piecemeal for the foreseeable future.

According to Cohen's website Our Hospitality and Seven Chances are also available in 4k.

The other Keaton films that have been restored thus far other than The General, Sherlock Jr., and Steamboat Bill Jr, include Seven Chances, Our Hospitality, and Battling Butler, they are also working on all of the shorts and have completed Neighbors, The Goat,the High Sign, Cops, and One Week

I've no interest in re-buying the shorts for a 4th time, however that manifests itself*, but I'll buy a MoC triple feature of Seven Chances, Our Hospitality and Battling Butler.

*The exception is if its an actual UHD release.

Glad I held off getting the BR of the Shorts. So, are the rest of these coming? I'm selling off my Kinos now, but just want to be sure.

FWIW -- I saw the new restoration of BATTLING BUTLER, the Cohen restoration that is, at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival a few weeks back, and it is a marvel. Clean and clear and razor sharp, looking like it was shot yesterday. Cohen can't get these restorations to us eager US buyers fast enough.

I’m very surprised Cohen has released these yet. I wonder if they have rights issues for the physical media.

I wonder/hope that MoC will eventually sell these as standalones.

This set is showing no longer available on the MoC site. If it went out of print that has to be the fastest I’ve seen, one year and two months.

I assume their Keaton sets sell very well. Shocked they wouldn’t keep it in print!

I'd expect them to reissue it either as individual films or in some slightly abbreviated form, as they did with the Vertov set, which I think sold out even faster (though perhaps MoC printed fewer copies of that). I'm surprised the Keaton took so long to go OOP, as some people were warning it might sell out this time last year.

Woah, gone from everywhere already

I'm sure they'll reissue these in good time, it would be foolish not to.

Got them just in time...

Tonight, I watched Sherlock Jr, and, of course, I had a blast!

This is getting a new release on August 12. It's now in a single case (like the Lubitsch in Berlin set), has only one Peter Kramer interview instead of three, and the 60-page book is now a booklet which I assume will be about half the size.

swo17 wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 10:12 pm It's now in a single case (like the Lubitsch in Berlin set), has only one Peter Kramer interview instead of three, and the 60-page book is now a booklet which I assume will be about half the size.

Can anyone confirm that there were indeed three Peter Kramer interviews in the original box set? Although many reviews mention that, I have found contradicting information on the Web, mostly pictures of the back of the box set (not the reissue) and of the individual cases that mention a Kramer piece only for The General. It would seem strange to make new pressings of 2 discs only to remove the two allegedly missing clips.

As for the booklet, the contemporary reviews were removed and a portion of the archival photos from what I could find.

I have the original box set and there is only one Kramer interview for THE GENERAL.

Florinaldo wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:28 pm As for the booklet, the contemporary reviews were removed and a portion of the archival photos from what I could find.

Can anyone who has bought the reissue of Keaton vol 1 confirm that the essay by Philip Kemp and the notes on each film have been retained?

Thanks

Can anyone who has bought the reissue of Keaton vol 1 confirm that the essay by Philip Kemp and the notes on each film have been retained?

I just received a copy of the reissue last week. The Philip Kemp essay is still in the booklet. Pages 4, 5 and 6 contain Cast and Crew list as well as Restoration notes for each film. The restoration notes are slight, telling who completed the restorations and on Sherlock JrSherlock Jr a couple of other facts.

A French label called Factoris is bringing The General out on 4K UHD next January. Hope Eureka consider bringing their excellent Keaton titles back in 4K, or at least the first volume.

Eureka announced forthcoming 4K UHD of The General in first half of 2026.