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Post by antifrodis on Jan 4, 2011 11:13:31 GMT -5
This info was posted by someone on the OurGangFollies Yahoo group in reference to the TCM Our Gang marathon.
"On a side note, the Silent Our Gang films to be broadcast is part of a
collection that is supposed to be released on DVD. In a several cases, film
material was supplied by N.Y. Founding Tent Grand Sheik and Our Gang film
archivist, Jack Roth."
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 4, 2011 16:29:35 GMT -5
Finally! The silents on DVD! Thanks for telling us, antifrodis!
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Post by cubear on Jan 4, 2011 20:07:48 GMT -5
I was hoping that was the case when I saw all the silents they were showing!! Cant wait for more info!!
FYI: I am watching "Helping Grandma" on TCM as I write. GREAT PRINT!!!
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Post by Mark on Jan 4, 2011 21:17:50 GMT -5
Was "Helping Grandma" a Blackhawk print on the Genius DVDs? I forget.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 4, 2011 22:25:22 GMT -5
Was "Helping Grandma" a Blackhawk print on the Genius DVDs? I forget. Helping Grandma wasn't a Blackhawk print on the Genius DVD set. I'm not a 100% sure, but it's possible that none of the films that were released on that set as Blackhawk prints will be shown on TCM tonight. |
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 5, 2011 3:05:08 GMT -5
I would love it if they were to release all of the Roach Pathé shorts into one collection! As it stands now, I can't seem to get a clear picture of what releases are necessary to obtain in order to have collected all of the Our Gang silent films that are in circulation (I know that some, of course, are lost or commercially unavailable at the present time).
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Post by Mark on Jan 5, 2011 3:35:07 GMT -5
"Little Sinner" was the Blackhawk print.  |
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rlh
New Member
Posts: 48
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Post by rlh on Jan 5, 2011 8:33:11 GMT -5
Great to hear that there will be a dvd of silent Our Gang shorts. I hope it will have all of the available silent shorts.
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Post by rascaLee on Jan 9, 2011 22:03:37 GMT -5
I would love to get a DVD set that collects all the silents (hopefully restored) together. I did a quick web search, and there is a bootleg collection that has 71 silents (though the prints on the bootleg are most likely substandard quality), and they say 9 more are in the hands of private collectors, while 8 are considered lost. I hope the legit DVD collection has all 79 available films, again hopefully restored.
On the silents aired on the TCM marathon, I didn't care for the repetitive musical score. Too bad they didn't use a Wurlitzer organ score like the old "VIdeo Yesteryear" VHS tapes. For a legit DVD release, I'd love it if they use the Beau Hunks' recordings of the Leroy Shield scores, similar to what antifrodis does on his Our Gang Youtube page.
I know its a complicated issue, but if anyone could give me a quick status of where things stand now in regards to the silents, I would greatly appreciate it.
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Post by antifrodis on Jan 10, 2011 0:48:34 GMT -5
There are currently only 6 Our Gang shorts that are considered totally lost. If you can play PAL dvds, you can purchase a German DVD set with restored versions of the MGM silents (minus the 6 lost shorts + two more that were thought to be lost). These look pretty good, but have German subtitles anytime there is text on the screen. They can not be turned off or removed. So that's a bit annoying. Otherwise, they're worthwhile. A few of the Pathe silents have seen legitimate release. Most are only available on those bootleg dvd sets that you mentioned. The quality is not too good on those sets and the films are mostly shortened, edited versions of the films. Still, it's about all you can get if you want to see these films. There are a handful of Pathe films that aren't currently publicly available. They do still exist though.
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Post by rascaLee on Jan 10, 2011 12:00:48 GMT -5
Wow, that's pretty good that only 6 films haven't been located. Unfortunately, I doubt my DVD can play PAL discs. Are there any plans for the German set to be released in the US? I'm guessing the MGM silents are owned by the same company who owns the Roach talkies (is it RHI or King World)? Maybe if we write to them?
Are all the Pathe films public domain? I'm guessing the proposed silents set mentioned in the first post of this thread would be all Pathes? Any idea if it would be all the existing Pathes, or if they are restored (some of the TCM shorts were incomplete)?
It would be great if that German set (minus the German subtitles) were reissued in the US adding the 2 additional shorts left off the German set, and the Pathe set would contain all the existing Pathes restored. (I can dream, can't I?)
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 10, 2011 13:03:26 GMT -5
Wow, that's pretty good that only 6 films haven't been located. Unfortunately, I doubt my DVD can play PAL discs. Are there any plans for the German set to be released in the US? I'm guessing the MGM silents are owned by the same company who owns the Roach talkies (is it RHI or King World)? Maybe if we write to them? Are all the Pathe films public domain? I'm guessing the proposed silents set mentioned in the first post of this thread would be all Pathes? Any idea if it would be all the existing Pathes, or if they are restored (some of the TCM shorts were incomplete)? It would be great if that German set (minus the German subtitles) were reissued in the US adding the 2 additional shorts left off the German set, and the Pathe set would contain all the existing Pathes restored. (I can dream, can't I?) The silents "Our Gang" through "War Feathers" plus "Playin' Hookey" are all in public domain. "Seeing the World" through "The Smile Wins" are still under copyright. I think RHI/Genius owns the MGM silents, but I could be wrong. King World/CBS Television Distribution only owns the Roach talkies, but exclusively for television and not home video. |
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Post by rascaLee on Feb 1, 2011 16:03:58 GMT -5
Do you think it would be worthwhile to try a petition or email campaign to RHI/Genius to have them do a US release of the Kinowelt restored MGM silents (minus the German subtitles, and add the recently discovered silents not included on the Kinowelt volume)? After a quick websearch, I found Kinowelt's email address: info@kinowelt.de Genius email is info1@geniusproducts.com Couldn't find an email address for RHI, but they do have a question/comment form: ir.rhitv.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=215483&p=irol-inforeqAny other ideas to get the MGM silents released in the US on DVD? |
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Post by mickeygubitosifan on Feb 2, 2011 0:51:25 GMT -5
I don't know exactly how the process for selecting what new releases will be produced by a company takes place, but I could get behind some kind of a petition drive if it had a real chance of success. I wonder, though, if the number of people clamoring for a DVD compilation that isn't already in the works would have to be gigantic in order to catch the attention of a company like Genius Products.
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Post by rascaLee on Feb 4, 2011 21:11:24 GMT -5
I would think it would be very easy to release the MGM silents on DVD, as Kinowelt did most of the work as far as restoration. All RHI/Genius would need to do it get the Kinowelt prints, and add the few MGM silents that were discovered after the Kinowelt DVD was released. It would be a relatively easy project for RHI/Genius.
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