Unknown Chaplin

[htdm]

DavisDVD just announced this:

One of the greatest documentaries ever made, Unknown Chaplin will make its DVD debut on November 29th from A&E Home Video. For decades the secrets to Charlie Chaplin's timeless film magic were presumed lost forever to the cutting-room floors of a bygone era. Using countless reels of footage and outtakes Chaplin had wanted destroyed, as well as interviews with people who knew and worked with Chaplin, film archivists Kevin Brownlow and David Gill meticulously crafted this essential and fascinating documentary homage to the Little Tramp. Presented in three programs (My Happiest Years, Hidden Treasures and The Great Director) totaling 163 minutes, the DVD will also include "The Making of 'Unknown Chaplin,'" featurette, two rare bonus Chaplin shorts, a biography and filmography. Retail will be $24.95.

If you just can't wait for November, the DVD is also a giveaway in Kevin Brownlow's latest book "The Search For Charlie Chaplin" which, at least for the time being, appears to be for sale only in Italy (Pordenone-related?).

[emcflat]

I have a lot of respect for Brownlow. An excellent writer and filmmaker. I have a dub copy of his Keaton documentary "A Hard Act to Follow," which is really definitive (hopefully we'll see this on disc soon also?) His Garbo doc in the new Warner box is excellent (though shorter) as well. Looking forward to this!

[academyleader]

This is the URL for Brownlow's book and DVD at Unilibro.it

http://www.unilibro.com/find_buy/findre ... UnilibroIT

The site has the option of Italian or English menus.

Marshall Deutelbaum

[htdm]

The review for Unknown Chaplin is up over at DVD Beaver. It doesn't look too promising -- it appears not to have been remastered for DVD (possibly ported over from video?). Anyone with the PAL version able to compare the two versions?

[Joe Buck]

The DVD isn't that bad. Looks like there was no attempt to clean it up, but it's not the worst that I've seen. A really great program, and decent extras including interview with director and some raw footage. Price was a bit high, but got it off Amazon for $16 so that wasn't so bad. I'm just happy to have this little gem on DVD.

[Gregory]

This is currently $5 at DeepDiscountDVD, which is 80% off MSRP.

[hearthesilence]

I've noticed that 16mm prints of this were actually made in 1983 (and indeed you can find digital transfers of at least a few reels from those prints online, albeit not in great quality). With that in mind, does that mean good film elements exists, in which case a true HD transfer (i.e. Blu-ray) is feasible? The entire documentary originally came from film - even the interviews were shot on film - so I imagine if money weren't an issue and a reissue producer was granted access to Chaplin's archives again, they could theoretically re-scan everything in 2K or even 4K and re-assemble everything.