Kino: D.W. Griffith collections

Message

Wes Moynihan · #1 Post by **Wes Moynihan** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 4:32 am

Has anyone got this set ? Does it come recommended ??
.

swingo · #2 Post by **swingo** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:31 am

Supposedly if you're into Griffith or want to get into him, Kino's version is what you need.

Axel.

glueman · #3 Post by **glueman** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 2:57 pm

Recommended - along with Image Entertainment's 'Way Down East'.
In absolute terms, I can imagine better editions, but, relatively speaking, these are the ones to have.
There are useful comparisons of alternative editions of 'The Birth of a Nation' and 'Intolerance' at
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/[url]

exte · #4 Post by **exte** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:00 pm

I got mine for $9, but haven't opened it yet. For the price, it CAN'T BE BEAT. Yes, others have said other regions have surperior editions, but this has commentaries galore, etc, etc... Get it.

Sai · #5 Post by **Sai** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 10:08 pm

exte wrote:I got mine for $9, but haven't opened it yet. For the price, it CAN'T BE BEAT. Yes, others have said other regions have surperior editions, but this has commentaries galore, etc, etc... Get it.

Well, do you mind telling us where you got it for that price? I'm not really a fan of Griffith's longer films, but for $9, who can resist?

exte · #6 Post by **exte** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 2:00 am

Tricky story... Let's just say before Christmas, Amazon had Mythos which is normally $99.99 on sale for $9.00. Some of you may have heard of this at dvdtalk... Well, I cashed in...

gubbelsj · #7 Post by **gubbelsj** » Wed May 10, 2006 4:52 pm

Looking for some advice on the best edition of Griffith's Intolerance. The Image Entertainment release seems to be the one circulating around NetFlix, but at 178 minutes it's nearly twenty minutes shorter than Kino's release, either in or out of the Griffith Box. Do both versions feature accurate tinting? Are the twenty extra Kino minutes made up of stills or the reconstructed footage from Raymond Rohauer? And does anybody know what scores are used? I've always wondered how the 1986 Duhamel and Jansen score worked.

HerrSchreck · #8 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Fri May 12, 2006 11:25 am

gubbelsj wrote:Looking for some advice on the best edition of Griffith's Intolerance. The Image Entertainment release seems to be the one circulating around NetFlix, but at 178 minutes it's nearly twenty minutes shorter than Kino's release, either in or out of the Griffith Box. Do both versions feature accurate tinting? Are the twenty extra Kino minutes made up of stills or the reconstructed footage from Raymond Rohauer? And does anybody know what scores are used? I've always wondered how the 1986 Duhamel and Jansen score worked.

That's easy: Kino's is the way to go for the most complete print and the best image, plus a great intro by Welles.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompar ... erance.htm

The score is an orcherstral Turrin piece, played on sampled synth. It works. Not anywhere near as bad as some stuff.

Cash Flagg · #9 Post by **Cash Flagg** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 12:10 am

Second Griffith box set from Kino

ptmd · #10 Post by **ptmd** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 2:43 am

Amazing news! My only question is why they didn't include the great Isn't Life Wonderful, which they released on VHS. Perhaps their rights have lapsed, but I really do hope that this finds its way to DVD soon one way or another.

What A Disgrace · #11 Post by **What A Disgrace** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:58 am

I'm definitely in for that; I've been dying to see Way Down East and the talkies for the longest time. Though I don't think I'll be revisiting Sally of the Sawdust any time soon! I estimate that the box can be had from the Planet, during the November sale, for just under $50.

There's definitely room for more volumes, too, in the future. I imagine Kino is saving other major Griffiths (Hearts of the World, Isn't Life Wonderful?) to pair with somewhat lesser ones. Griffith was surprisingly productive

Thomas J. · #12 Post by **Thomas J.** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 9:28 am

WAY DOWN EAST
AMERICA
ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
THE STRUGGLE
D.W. GRIFFITH: THE FATHER OF FILM

That would've been what I had hoped for. But this is great anyway, if not as comprehensive as it could have been.

HerrSchreck · #13 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:02 am

Fucking A-OK!

There's a couple in here I havent seen, (Lincoln, the Avenging Conscience), and hopefully the transfer (if its a new one) of Way Down East corrects the framing of the Shepard release, which nearly turned it into a 1.66 film.

The reason Isn't Life Wonderful (which I love, have the old vhs) probably isnt seeing dvd release is its survived only in 16mm.

denti alligator · #14 Post by **denti alligator** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:08 am

HerrSchreck wrote:Fucking A-OK!

There's a couple in here I havent seen, (the Avenging Conscience), .

You're in for a real good time with this one, Schreck! It's probably my favorite DWG.

HerrSchreck · #15 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:17 am

I've only seen clips of it here & there-- I think the longest excerpts I've seen are from some old broadcast of Bret Wood's Kingdom of Shadows (or some horror doc just like it).

This just reminded me what a kevyippy fuck I am-- I have the Home Sweet Home/Judith of Bethulia VHS and still never watched the whole thing.

justeleblanc · #16 Post by **justeleblanc** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:47 am

Wow! Thank you Kino!!!

Though, what are the remaining DWG titles that still are unavailable?

HerrSchreck · #17 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:55 am

It's probably a pretty big list, both films that have been on vhs but not dvd (including the above mentioned Judith & Home Sweet Home which never hit dvd), but off the top of my head a Griffith film I like that I've never seen on vhs OR dvd is The Sorrows of Satan which is based on the same source novel that Dreyers Leaves from Satan's Book was taken from.

A loony friend of mind who Has Everything got me a vhs of this film, with the Satan Cast From Heaven prologue that is supposed to be "missing from all surviving prints" of this film.

I really dig Adolphe Menjou, and this film is no exception. Here's a guy who coulda panhandled in rags on old Broadway, and still come off as a natural aristocrat.

Thomas J. · #18 Post by **Thomas J.** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 12:23 pm

Actually Schreck you're right. JUDITH OF BETHULIA is another noteworthy title Kino didn't include.

They clearly have enough for a Griffith Masterworks 3 box to be released, what 2014?

Scharphedin2 · #19 Post by **Scharphedin2** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:08 pm

HerrSchreck wrote:...off the top of my head a Griffith film I like that I've never seen on vhs OR dvd is The Sorrows of Satan which is based on the same source novel that Dreyers Leaves from Satan's Book was taken from.

Schreck, I have seen the line drawn between these two films on several occasions over the years, and just thought I would quote the Danish DFI release of Dreyer's film, which counters this claim:

The script was written in 1913 by Danish author Edgard Høyer...; it is an original work and owes nothing to Maria Corelli's 1895 bestseller The Sorrows of Satan, filmed by D.W. Griffith in 1926.

Naturally, I have not seen this Griffith film either, and would of course line up for a DVD release of it.

ptmd · #20 Post by **ptmd** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:21 pm

The Avenging Conscience is a masterpiece, Shreck, I'm sure you'll love it. Judith of Bethulia, from the same year, isn't, but it is certainly important as a test-run for Intolerance and I'd love to see that get released along with Hearts of the World at some point. The Sorrows of Satan I could certainly pass on (I've seen it, and it's mildly interesting due to the Faust connection but that's about it), but it's one of several Griffith films I wouldn't mind having on DVD eventually.

I'm a bit confused about Isn't Life Wonderful, though. I've seen it at MoMA before and I'm almost certain it was a 35mm print (as their collection states here). It's possible that this is a 16mm blow-up, but it didn't look that way to me when I last saw it.

HerrSchreck · #21 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:46 pm

I've heard that it survives only in 16 (and certainly the vhs bears this out), but I can't for the life of me remember where I heard it.. just one of those things I had taken as rote.

Believe me I hope I'm wrong, because it's actually-- despite the schmaltzy love story-- one of my favorite Griffiths, owing to the all location shooting, and the stripped down honesty of DWG's aesthetic and sensibility. He seemed to always be in love with the female lead characters (O Brown Eyes! O me! O me!) in his films, and this one seems to feature a very pure crush on Carol Dempster that registers with an easy naturalism wherein she's not built up to Gishian absurdities of near fucking pagan idolatry. Demptser is a plain, nice, drab, good girl, and the couple registers well with the location shooting of the hard times in postwar germany.

Along with Greed, one of the real predecessors of Italian neorealism.

Dr Amicus · #22 Post by **Dr Amicus** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:25 pm

Just to add, if you haven't seen it, the Brownlow & Gill documentary is predictably excellent.

lubitsch · #23 Post by **lubitsch** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:21 pm

HerrSchreck wrote:The reason Isn't Life Wonderful (which I love, have the old vhs) probably isnt seeing dvd release is its survived only in 16mm.

But it looks quite good on the tape, there are FAR worse releases by Kino or Image in 16mm with many scratches.
If you can get over Griffith's complete disregard for continuity editing which is almost avantgarde in its blissful ignorance, you get one of the best silent films ever. It's a small believable story without the usual melodramatic stuff and even Dempster rises to the occasion.

HerrSchreck · #24 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:34 pm

I hope you're not telling me of all people to give the film a chance.. I been spending the last 2 pages championing it. Look above-- I said it's one of my favorite Grif's.

As for films on dvd (we're talking about why it may not be on dvd), you'll very rarely see Kino release a silent film on dvd (at least over the past couple of years) if it only exists in 16mm. Their VHS line was altogether different, but the dvd line, especially since around 2004, seems to hew to 35's.

whaleallright · #25 Post by **whaleallright** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 5:15 pm

Re. Isn't Life Wonderful: The Giornate del Cinema Muto appears to have shown a 35mm MoMA print last year.

It's possible this was blown up from 16mm. Note however that One Exciting Night, listed on the same page, was shown in 16mm.

Looking through these lists of Griffith's late films, I'm again amazed by how many stinkers he was responsible for. Drums of Love, anyone?