Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2025 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
|
North of
Hudson Bay
(1923)
|
This northwoods drama, directed by John Ford, stars Tom Mix and Kathleen Key, with Jennie Lee, Frank Campeau, Eugene Pallette, William Walling and Frank Leigh.
I have a question: Does Tom Mix always have to wear those Mickey Mouse white gloves?
|
 Loving the Classics
2025 DVD edition
North of Hudson Bay (1923), black & white, 50 minutes, not rated.
Loving the Classics,
no catalog number, no UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $14.99.
Release date: 7 June 2025
Country of origin: USA
|
|
This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.
The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting music recordings.
For now, this is our recommended home video edition of the film.
|
|
This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .
|
|
|
Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises
2018 DVD edition
North of Hudson Bay (1923), black & white, 48 minutes, not rated.
Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises, 177, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 5.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 30 fps); LPCM 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 1.5 Mbps audio bit rate; Czechoslovakian and English language intertitles, permanent English language subtitles; no chapter stops; slimline CD jewelcase; $34.99 (raised again to $44.99).
Release date: 2018.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 6 / audio: 5 / additional content: 0 / overall: 6.
|
This DVD-R edition has been mastered from an incomplete 35mm (or possibly 16mm) print with Czechoslovakian intertitles. Some Czech insert shots have been replaced with English intertitles. The source print is significantly damaged in places, with emulsion chipping and scrapes, numerous print splices, beginning nitrate decomposition, frame jitters, timing marks, print tears, and with dust, speckling and other flaws.
The film is accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting orchestral music recordings of varied audio quality.
It needs to be noted that a faint “SHF-E” digital watermark appears in the lower right-hand corner of the picture to discourage pirating of this edition (which is a laugh in itself).
Not recommended. Ask yourself whether you will pay $45.00 for a disc with no menus, no custom music, no chapter stops, and no DVD storage case or packaging artwork.
|
|
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available through . . .
|
|
|
|
Other silent era JOHN FORD films available on home video.
Other silent era TOM MIX films available on home video.
|
