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

ADDITION: Flicker Alley Blu-ray (August 2020): Flicker Alley have transferred H.K. Breslauer's The City Without Jews to Blu-ray. This is quite remarkable as The City Without Jews was considered lost for many decades until the Filmarchiv Austria found a fragment of the film in the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam in 1991. After the discovery in 2015 of hitherto missing footage of the film in Paris, the Filmarchiv Austria succeeded in creating a new comprehensive version. This 1080P is housed on a dual-layered Blu-ray with a high bitrate. There is some predictable damage (see two samples below) and inconsistencies considering the varied sources - but the image quality is frequently strong considering it is approaching it's 100th year birthday. There are color tints often identifying interiors, exteriors or mood/location shifts. Overall I would say this looked extremely pleasing in HD. Great to see this silent-era film looking this impressive.

NOTE: We have added 28 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Flicker Alley use a DTS-HD Master stereo track (24-bit) exporting the newly commissioned score by pianist Donald Sosin and Klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals. It supports the film wonderfully. Flicker Alley offer optional English subtitles, for the recreated intertitles, protester signs and text letters etc. (see samples below), on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Flicker Alley Blu-ray offers quite a few supplements. "Victims of Hatred" ("Opfer des Hasses") is a 1923 3/4 hour semi-documentary feature additionally restored by Filmarchiv Austria about the Jewish refugees who fled pogroms in Russia, produced by the Jüdisches Hilfswerk - the Jewish Relief Organization in Vienna. Music composed and performed by Donald Sosin. There is a 1/2 hour conversation with Dr. Nikolaus Wostry, Filmarchiv Austria from 2019. Dr. Margrit Frölich moderates an in-depth interview with Dr. Nikolaus Wostry, managing director and head of film collections at Filmarchiv Austria, discussing the challenging history of the film and its legacy in the Republic of Austria today. Saving “Die Stadt ohne Juden” is from 2016's crowdfunding campaign, short, video by Filmarchiv Austria’, for the digital scanning of The City without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden). It was an integral step in the process of rescuing and preserving this landmark of Austrian silent cinema. "The City without…Jews, Muslims, Refugees, Foreigners” is a slide show of the 2018 exhibition at METRO Kinokulturhaus document. The package has a collector’s Edition Souvenir Booklet - Limited edition booklet with new essays by Ernst Kieninger, Armin Loacker, and Cynthia Walk on the film’s history and significance, as well as articles on the comprehensive reconstruction and restoration process by Anna Dobringer and Fumiko Tsuneishi, and an introduction to the edition’s unique bonus features by Margrit Frölich. There is a second disc region FREE NTSC DVD included.

What is incredibly sobering about H.K. Breslauer's The City Without Jews is both how prescient it was about World War II's Holocaust and how history certainly rhymes if it doesn't exactly repeat. When crises arise, the populace are politically encouraged to seek a scapegoat - outside of the ruling body (of course.) I heard a rehabilitated ex-convict on YouTube state that every time they had a lockdown in prison - sometimes as long as 18-months without leaving their cells - it always concluded the same way - racial tension. I was thrilled to see the restoration on Flicker Alley's Blu-ray. Totally fascinating - such though that you almost refuse it was made almost 100 years ago. From that standpoint - you could say it was shocking. The extras - including the booklet - have value and this is an impressive Blu-ray package. For some reason the price on Amazon is double what it is on Flicker Alley's website HERE. For its historical relevance the appeal extends beyond silent-era fans and is strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze