directed by
Various
UK / USA / Italy 1899 - 1911
The seven films in this unique collection – from Britain, Italy and the USA – are created from the only known surviving materials, nitrate prints preserved by the British Film Institute's National Film and Television Archive. They have survived for almost a century, and include beautiful examples of hand stenciling and tinted prints. There is a magical version of A Midsummer Night's Dream containing some remarkable special effects, a charming five-minute film of The Tempest, and the very first Shakespeare film ever made, King John, in 1899. This unique and fascinating record shows us the exuberance, invention and conviction of these early filmmakers and demonstrates the possibility of the Shakespearean text.
The complete collection, accompanied by a specially commissioned score by
award-winning young composer Laura Rossi, contains: King John (UK, 1899), The
Tempest (UK, 1908), A Midsummer Night's Dream (USA, 1909), King Lear (Italy,
1910), Twelfth Night (USA, 1910) The Merchant of Venice (Italy, 1910) and
Richard III (UK, 1911)
DVD extras include filmed introduction and commentary by Judith Buchanan,
lecturer in Film Studies at the University of York
DVD Review: BFI Video - Region 2 - PAL
| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution | BFI Video - Region 2 - PAL | |
| Runtime | 1:28:24 (in total) | |
| Video |
Aspect Ratio
- various from pillar boxed to 1.33 Average Bitrate: 7.89 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | Silent (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby) , Commentary in (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby) | |
| Subtitles | English, None( on Commentary and Introduction) | |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Introduction
by Judith Buchanan (4;3 - 11:01) |
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| Comments: |
BFI has done it again - bringing a totally unique and eccentric treat for DVD connoisseurs. Transferred from the original black and white prints, color tinted at times, damage is visible but acceptable. The overall resolution is very good even considering it was taken from a non-HD source ('combing in 'auto weave mode' is prevalent). BFI produced and released Silent Shakespeare several years ago - first as a VHS and then Image Entertainment - Region 1- NTSC used their PAL master to bring out the Milestone Collection DVD in North America. Hopefully, they'll also be coming out with a long-planned Dickens collection in the coming year.
The initial King John short was
actually from the last century! It is pretty fascinating once you start
to delve in to it all and the commentary is very helpful in gaining some
perspective on what we are witnessing (ditto for Introduction). It is
another one of those cool "watch-when-you-can't-think-of-anything else"
DVDs.
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Gary Tooze
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