Red Bartlett wrote:R. Cat wrote:Hasn't been any more discussion on the upcoming KINO silent Blu-ray releases since mid-May. There are some early website reviews coming in on Valentino's Son of The Sheik, but not enough info yet. Supposedly the 2K transfer to BD provides some improvement over earlier DVDs while utilizing the same source elements. Current pricing is reasonable, but are these two Valentino films worth the double dipping? I'm open to it, but may have to wait for screenshot comparisons.
I'm all-in for other upcoming KINO silent features, but still on the fence about Sheik & Son of The Sheik. I want to be fully supportive, but if there isn't enough visual improvement to warrant it, music options may be the deal-breaker.
Anyone have these yet? Opinions?
I would be interested in some reviews/opinions as well. I don't have on either on DVD, much less bluray... so I will probably get both anyway. But just curious what others think of these releases.
The blu rays came in the mail yesterday, and I watched them last night. Both prints are worn,
Son of the Sheik much more so than
The Sheik. With
The Sheik, you see the wear in the intertitles and in several scenes near the end; but while the film hasn't had a full-out restoration, it looks leagues better than any previous incarnation I've seen. The gloppy, oversaturated tinting that marred both the VHS and DVD releases (Sleight of hand to gloss over the scratches?) is gone, and the present tinting is far more subtle. The new level of detail in costumes, sets, and backgrounds is very impressive--not on par with, say, Kino's blu ray of
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, but impressive enough that I often got the feeling that I was watching the film for the first time. Ben Model's organ score is first rate. I'd buy this one again in a heartbeat.
Now a
caveat emptor about
Son of the Sheik: if you do a chapter spot check for image quality, you're going to be very disappointed, for wear and scratches abound, an effect compounded by the new, scratch-free intertitles. But watch it from the beginning, acclimating yourself to a certain degree of wear, and it works somewhat better. Somewhat. The image is scratchy and rather soft throughout, but it too is has better detail than any earlier edition I've seen. The Alloy Orchestra score is all right, for my money more effective in the quieter scenes than in espresso-speed counterparts.
Son of the Sheik is probably the better movie-as-movie of the two, worth the discount price of $17.40 from Amazon, but I would not pay the $29.95 retail. If you can get that discount, I'd say it may be worth the upgrade.
I did not listen to the commentaries, but the other extras are fine;
The Sheik's Physique--here titled
Valentino on the Beach on the SOTS disc--is taken from a much sharper print than in the past, with the erstwhile s-l-o-w speed corrected.
Bottom line: the Paramount series is off to a good start--in the case of
The Sheik, very, very good indeed.