NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: VCI Blu-ray (December 2023): VCI have transferred Marshall Neilan's Stella Maris to Blu-ray. Initial text screens inform us: "The Mary Pickford Foundation and the Paramount Film Archive partnered to access all elements available in the Pickford collections both at the UCLA Film & Television Archive and at the Library of Congress. Even though the archives were shut down during the pandemic, all parties cooperated to send the film elements to Paramount so they could be scanned in 4K resolution and commence work on the restoration.

The two primary elements used in this restoration were a 1967 35mm B&W Dupe Negative and an incomplete 1925 35mm Tinted Print. Scans from the Dupe Negative were used for the majority of the feature, and all surviving material from the print was inserted where possible. New inter-titles were digitally recreated for the Dupe Negative to match the feel and length of the Print, as the cards in the Negative were static and much longer than originally intended. The tinting scheme of the Print was used for all evening sequences: amber for night interiors and blue for night exteriors, with the rest of the feature B&W for all daytime sequences. Lastly, all the most egregious damage was digitally repaired, the film's printed-in jitter was stabilized, and the film's frame-rate was digitally varisped to 19FPS, mirroring a more natural, hand-cranked projection speed suitable for 1918, the year of the film's release."

The 1080P HD presentation looks quite good - reasonably clear - marks exists but aren't overly distracting - there are a couple of pleasing tints. Overall, I was very happy to see the film, let alone looking this strong - especially considering the 105-year old age. I'm highly appreciative of this restoration.

NOTE: We have added 62 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, VCI use a lossy Dolby track for the score. It is stated that: "Stella Maris was the perfect silent vehicle for us, as composers, to showcase our style of delivering simple, yet highly emotional thematic cues. The process was about clearing the clutter, paring back whenever necessary to elevate the film with music, rather than to drown it our The story itself demanded a "less is more" approach in the musical arena, succumbing to its thought-provoking and captivating story from the very beginning. We sought simplification in the approach to our orchestration, allowing the film to translate the proper emotions; whether conveying Unity Blake's sadness or hopeful moments, Stella Maris' sincerity, or the pain and devastation of Mrs. Risca's life, and how it effects everyone around her. For Stella Maris we created the musical template at Sterling Silver studios in Van Nuys, California. This is where we wrote the score and performed many of the instruments such as guitar and celeste. It is also where we fine-tuned our themes, adding texture to enhance the action on the screen. We then arranged for some incredibly talented musicians to add layers of instrumentation to accentuate the score at Savannah Studios in Boyle Heights.

The Graves Brothers had the honor of working with Ginny Luke on Violin, Viola and vocals, and Sean Sonderegger on clarinet and bass clarinet. Ian Roller captivated us with his layering of flute and with harmonious solo performances. Quenton Blache delivered a mesmerizing cello performance that glued the score together. We recorded all these gifted musicians at Savannah Studios with the guidance of Ignacio Gonzalez, who recorded the instruments and mixed the score for the final outcome." It does sound great! There are English intertitles - "new inter-titles were digitally recreated for the Dupe Negative to match the feel and length of the Print" - on the Region FREE Blu-ray.

The VCI Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Marc Wanamaker, author (Early Beverly Hills) and film historian. He is the founder of Bison Archives, which manages research on the motion picture industry. He helped form and worked with the American Film Institute. He was a co-founder of the Los Angeles International Film Exposition and American Cinematheque. He covers a lot from Mary Pickford's involvement and playing of two characters in the film to the history of the production, performers, the story of Stella Maris and much more. It was well-researched - excellent job. There is an "Extensive Photo Gallery" running over 4-minutes of stills and VCI include The Mountaineer’s Honor, an American Biograph short film directed by D.W. Griffith, released November 25th, 1909. It was newly mastered in HD, running 1/4 hour, with an original score by the Graves Brothers. It is about a mountain girl (Mary Pickford) is seduced by a traveler from the valley. Her brother tracks the seducer down and kills him. In retaliation, the sheriff captures the brother and prepares to lynch him. Mother intervenes and, to save her son the disgrace of hanging, shoots him. The package has a second disc DVD of the feature and extras plus a liner notes pictorial booklet by the Mary Pickford Foundation. 

Marshall Neilan's Stella Maris was based on William John Locke's 1913 novel of the same name. It's an emotional story about a sheltered, paralyzed, girl - Stella Maris played by Mary Pickford - who stays in her bedroom in the London mansion of her wealthy guardians. An uneducated orphan, named, Unity Blake (also played by Pickford) has been deprived and mistreated her entire life. This story is how their lives tragically intersect. It's a brilliant Silent Era gem and the VCI Blu-ray has the extensively restored image, beautiful score, commentary and more. Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze