Nickelodia #1
by G. M. Anderson, D. W. Griffith, J. Searle Dawley, Lee Beggs, Thomas Ince
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DVD details
Actor: Blanche Sweet, Charles Ray, Constance Talmadge, Donald Crisp, G. M. AndersonDirector: D. W. Griffith, G. M. Anderson, J. Searle Dawley, Lee Beggs, Thomas Ince
DVD: Region Code 1
Format: NTSC, Silent
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-26
Studio: Unknown Video
DVD Reviews of Nickelodia #1
DVD Review: An excellent and enjoyable selection of early films
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm really pleased to be able to give this DVD a 5-star rating and thereby praise Unknown Video's fine efforts in bringing rare silent films back into circulation and presenting them in an appealing and also educational manner. I was particularly happy to see an insert with good notes about the 6 short films on this DVD, which appears to be the first in a series of such silent films from the early film-making period of 1911-1915. The main production companies are represented here in 15-minute short films: Biograph, Edison and Vitagraph; then two more, lengthier films by other pioneering film-makers, namely Thomas H. Ince and G.M. Anderson, and all of them feature well-known stars of the silent era such as Blanche Sweet, Constance Talmadge, Charles Ray, Donald Crisp and G.M Anderson (alias "Broncho Billy"). For the novice, this DVD serves as a fine introduction to this early period of silent films, and as most of these shorts are currently not readily available elsewhere on DVD, it also makes a very welcome addition to a silent film collection. The picture quality of all but one of the films is extremely good, especially for the age of these films, and the one of lesser quality, namely "The Charge of the Light Brigade" 1912, is only slightly poorer, a little blurry and too much light in some scenes. The content and otherwise high standard of the films, along with an excellent traditional piano score accompaniment easily outweigh these few imperfections, in my opinion.
The first two Biograph shorts from 1911 are prime examples of pioneering director D.W. Griffith's work, choosing themes which highlighted social problems and relationship dramas relevant at that time, and which still pack a punch even today. "A Country Cupid" starts off looking like a quaint, old-fashioned love story in a rural town, but there is an element of "fatal attraction" - by 1911 standards, that is! "The Adventures of Billy" is another great example of Griffith's style in action and suspense, as the audience feels pity for a young homeless boy who falls prey to a couple of tramps with bad intentions. The next short is the Edison production of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" which is impressive for its big scale battle scenes, as well as being a fine rendition of Tennyson's famous poem. For a complete change of pace, the following short, "The Egyptian Mummy" 1914, was already one of my favourites, combining comedy with an element of mystery as a mad professor finds the elixir of enteral life and decides to try it on an Egyptian mummy to see if he can bring it back to life. His prospective son-in-law has other ideas, however, and the consequences are quite hilarious. Then the mood changes to more serious drama again, this time in quite an authentic Western setting in the last two films; "In the Tennessee Hills" being a rarely-seen Thomas Ince drama about a struggling, honest man (Charles Ray) moved to take revenge on his cruel and ruthless landlord. And last but not least, one of the literally hundreds of short films in the life and times of Broncho Billy, the first real Western star of the screen. By 1915 G.M. Anderson had already produced, directed and starred in dozens of short Broncho Billy episodes, and this one, "Broncho Billy's Sentence" is a more refined story with a moral message as a bad Broncho Billy finds religion and turns himself in to the law. There is a short but fascinating little slide show as a bonus, showing the areas around Niles, Ca. where Anderson made the Broncho Billy series. Overall, a very good and varied selection makes for entertaining viewing, and lastly, the refrigerator magnets of silent era stars included with each Unknown Video DVD are also a lot of fun and worth collecting!
More Nickelodia #1 reviews:
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