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Directed by James Kirkwood

USA 1915

 

Fanchon the Cricket, based on an adult fairy tale by George Sand, stars Mary Pickford as the title character, a strong-willed waif ostracized by acceptable society until she shows them the power of love and understanding. Directed by James Kirkwood and boasting exquisite cinematography by Edward Wynard, Fanchon the Cricket was filmed on location in Delaware Gap, Pennsylvania. A natural, sensual and uninhibited Pickford breaks through today s stereotype of her as the girl with the curls. It is also the only surviving film in which both siblings Jack Pickford and Lottie Pickford are featured alongside their sister.

Once believed to be a lost film, Fanchon the Cricket restoration is the result of a unique international collaboration between the Mary Pickford Foundation, the Cinematheque Francaise and the British Film Institute. A new negative and 35MM prints were created from the restored digital version and are paired with a new, original score by Julian Ducatenzeiler and Andy Gladbach, commissioned by the Mary Pickford Foundation.

Fanchon the Cricket includes a souvenir booklet featuring rare photographs and an essay by Cari Beauchamp.

Poster

Theatrical Release: May 10th, 2015

Reviews                                                                        More Reviews                                                            DVD Reviews

 

Review: Flicker Alley - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

 

     

 

Coming to a new Restored and Digitally Mastered on 4K with a new score from the Mary Pickford Foundation On Blu-ray from VCI in May 2021:

 

Distribution

Flicker Alley
Region
FREE Blu-ray

Runtime

1:14:59.328

Video

Disc Size: 22,463,704,006 bytes

Feature Size: 22,433,031,744 bytes

Average Bitrate: 33.953 Mbps

Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video

Bitrate:

 

Flicker Alley Blu-ray

 

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio Undetermined 4051 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4051 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)

Subtitles English intertitles
Features Release Information:
Studio: Flicker Alley

 

Disc Size: 22,463,704,006 bytes

Feature Size: 22,433,031,744 bytes

Average Bitrate: 33.953 Mbps

Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:
• Scoring Little Annie Rooney - interview with Andy Gladbach (05:16)

Included booklet


Blu-ray  Release Date: November 20th, 2018
Transparent Blu-ray case

Chapters: 6

 

 

Comments

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

Flicker Alley release the 1915 Pickford film "Fanchon the Cricket" on a dual-layered Blu-ray. The 1.33:1 image has a maxed out bitrate. The film's age is evident, though the image quality is quite awe-inspiring, with a strong amount of detail and only slight damage. The tinting is also very well done, the process of which is best summed up by the title card that opens the film, "Mary Pickford died believing that Fanchon the Cricket, released in 1915, was among her lost films. She was devastated because she had actively tried to preserve her films and Fanchon was the only time she appeared with both her sister Lottie and her brother Jack.

In 2012, the Mary Pickford Foundation learned that a nitrate dupe of Fanchon the Cricket was preserved at La Cinematheque francaise, and conversations began that led to a unique partnership between the Pickford Foundation and the Cinematheque to restore the film. An incomplete nitrate print was preserved at the British Film Institute and, with their cooperation, we now had all the elements necessary for a successful restoration. L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in Italy then scanned the two nitrate elements directly at 4K resolution, and further digital restoration was performed. A new negative and 35MM prints were created from the restored digital version.

Colors were recreated by referring to the original tinting notes on the nitrate print and on the dupe negative leaders. The missing English intertitles have been reconstructed by translating from the French on the dupe negative. The digital mastering was completed at Roundabout Entertainment in Los Angeles. Fanchon the Cricket captures Mary Pickford at the height of the popularity of her "Waif" character. The film was directed by James Kirkwood, photographed by Edward Wynard and based on the novel by George Sand, adapted for the screen by James Kirkwood and Frances Marion
."

Flicker Alley present "Fanchon the Cricket" with the option of 24-bit 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. This new score is thanks to composers Julian Ducatenzeiler and Andy Gladbach (who is also responsible for the score for "Little Annie Rooney" from Flicker Alley). The original intertitles are in English.

The sole extra here is an extensive booklet thanks to Cari Beauchamp. This booklet covers all aspect of the picture, and its new score.

This is another highly appealing Blu-ray package from Flicker Alley for Silent Era fans.   

 - Colin Zavitz

Flicker Alley Blu-rays Reviewed at DVDBeaver:

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Box Cover

 

     

 

Coming to a new Restored and Digitally Mastered on 4K with a new score from the Mary Pickford Foundation On Blu-ray from VCI in May 2021:

 

Distribution

Flicker Alley
Region
FREE Blu-ray

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