This DVD edition, a collaborative effort of Lobster Films, Film Preservation Associates and Flicker Alley, has been mastered from the 2008 Lobster Films reconstruction of Bardelys the Magnificent, conflated chiefly from a print that was recovered in France in 2006. The print is presumably an export version, as it had French intertitles, that was originally assembled from the B-camera negative. The English language intertitles have been restored from MGM paper records.
The full-frame, natural-speed video transfer is excellent, from the very-good to excellent restoration source material. The greyscale range of the image is broad, with detailed highlights to some very black shadows. Image detail is excellent in the French print, but only very-good in bridging footage selected from a print of the surviving theatrical trailer (Bardelys’ swordplay with and flight from the king’s men in the inn). Very little dust, speckling and processing flaws are seen in the video transfer. Evidence of digital flaw removal is seen in the film at 46:25 in the highlights of the stray hairs to the right of Eleanor Boardman’s head that appear, then disappear and reappear in a shimmer of pixels. Not removed is some sprocket damage to the original material that intrudes into the sides of the frame in the first reels.
Missing footage begins with Bardelys’ trek to Lavedan, with expositional bridging intertitles in italic and original dialogue intertitles consistent with the restored original intertitles. Production stills are panned and detailed to give a modicum of a sense of narrative.
The film is accompanied by two selectable music scores, one performed by The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, another performed on piano by Antonio Coppola. The Mont Alto performance is excellent, as is usual — both lively and entertaining. The Coppola score equals in quality, but we prefer to watch the film to the Mont Alto score.
The disc also features informative full-length audio commentary on Bardelys the Magnificent by Jeffrey Vance and Tony Maietta, a full-length presentation of John Gilbert in Monte Cristo (1922), Rediscovering John Gilbert (2009) featuring an interview with John’s daughter Leatrice Gilbert Fountain (32 minutes), and an extensive Bardelys the Magnificent image gallery (242 images).
We highly recommend this home video edition of this previously lost film. Unfortunately, the disc is now out-of-print.
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USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era..
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Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
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