It wasn’t quite a year ago today (and admittedly, I’m a little late with this review) but in April of last year silent film historian/accompanist Ben Model—the hardest working man in the 88 keys business—launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce a DVD showcasing the work of silent movie mirthmaker Alice Howell. Howell, described on the back of the… Continue reading Go Ask Alice
Tag: Film restoration
Money in the Bank(s)
You may recall in April of this past year that Thrilling Days of Yesteryear beat the drums for a Kickstarter project instigated by the good people at Grapevine Video. The mom-and-pop label responsible for bringing so many outstanding silent and sound features—with some serials and classic TV thrown into the mix for variety—to Blu-ray/DVD passed around a… Continue reading Money in the Bank(s)
“Oh, why did I ever begin this dark deception?”
In March of this year, I made the mistake of opening an e-mail I received from Milestone Films. (Okay, there was no gun placed to my temple...but you'd think I'd learn by now.) They were advertising a sale on DVDs in their inventory featuring female filmmakers (to celebrate Women's History Month) and one of the… Continue reading “Oh, why did I ever begin this dark deception?”
Where’s That Been? – The Power and the Glory (1933)
The following review is one of several that I composed for the ClassicFlix site under the column title “Where’s That Been?” Most of those columns made the transition to CF’s new site but some of them stayed behind for reason or another...and since my writer’s ego is just big enough to where I don’t like having what… Continue reading Where’s That Been? – The Power and the Glory (1933)
Buried Treasures: Behind the Door (1919)
Last week, I climbed this blog’s highest rooftop to announce that Thrilling Days of Yesteryear had agreed to co-host a giveaway sponsored by Flicker Alley: they are going to hand out a Blu-ray/DVD combo copy of their upcoming April 4th release of Behind the Door (1919), a World War I drama recently restored as a collaborative effort by the San Francisco Silent… Continue reading Buried Treasures: Behind the Door (1919)
“You never dreamed a film could be so funny!”
Filmmaker Robert Youngson considered 1960’s When Comedy Was King his personal favorite of all his feature-length film compilations showcasing classic footage from silent movies (with a heavy concentration on those immortal mirthmakers from that era). Historian Richard M. Roberts isn’t bashful about saying it’s Youngson’s best work, either, and his commentary for the recent Sprocket Vault release of WCWK (restored from… Continue reading “You never dreamed a film could be so funny!”
From the DVR: Old San Francisco (1927)
A title card from Old San Francisco (1927) reads: “Under the proud banner of Spain, Governor Portola, heading a small band of Franciscan Padres and soldiers of Philip, came, in 1769, upon a land-locked harbor that was destined to become the site of the metropolis of the Pacific.” This establishes the brief prologue of the movie, in which… Continue reading From the DVR: Old San Francisco (1927)
Thoroughly MODern Alley: Victory (1919)/The Wicked Darling (1919)
In December of 1914, I joined what eventually numbered nearly 100 contributors on Indiegogo to raise money for a Manufactured-on-Demand (MOD) program at Flicker Alley, a small independent home video company “born out of a passion for cinematic history and a desire to bring filmmakers and films from out of the past to new audiences with renewed recognition.” What… Continue reading Thoroughly MODern Alley: Victory (1919)/The Wicked Darling (1919)
The Colleen and the Minstrel Boy: The Bride’s Play (1922)
In May of this year, I joined 158 additional Kickstarter backers to raise funds for the restoration of The Bride’s Play—a 1922 feature film starring the legendary Marion Davies, released in the same year as her breakthrough picture, When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922). (Knighthood was the object of another Kickstarter project in late March, and successfully reached its initial goal within… Continue reading The Colleen and the Minstrel Boy: The Bride’s Play (1922)
On the Grapevine: Glorifying the American Girl (1929)/Dixiana (1930)
Back in May of this year, Grapevine Video offered those customers who previously purchased a double feature collection of the early talkie musicals Glorifying the American Girl (1929) and Dixiana (1930) an opportunity to upgrade their copies because they had improved the image quality on the earlier discs. And on the off chance you had not previously purchased the 2-DVD set…well, now… Continue reading On the Grapevine: Glorifying the American Girl (1929)/Dixiana (1930)
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear 