Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2025 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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The (?)
Motorist
(1906)
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This R.W. Paul comedy, directed by Walter R. Booth, gives us an anarchic automobile driver who speeds recklessly, running over policemen, up the side of a building, shooting into the sky and off into outer space.
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 BFI Video Publishing
2006 DVD edition
R.W. Paul: The Collected Films 1895-1908 (1895-1908), black & white, 147 minutes total, BBFC Classification E, including The ‘?’ Motorist (1906), black & white, 2 minutes, BBFC Classification E.
BFI Video Publishing, BFIVD642,
UPC 5-035673-00624-5, EAN 5.03567E+12.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 2 PAL DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 6.2 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 50 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, optional English language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; £19.99 (reduced to £10.99).
Release date: 27 November 2006.
Country of origin: England
Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 8 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.
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This Region 2 PAL DVD edition has been transferred from an archival 35mm print held by the British Film Institute that is very-good in visual quality.
The film is presented with a music score performed on piano by Stephen Horne.
Supplemental material includes audio commentaries on the films in the collection by Ian Christie (the commentaries are suplemented with optional subtitles if you choose not to listen to the audio); and an illustrated 24-page booklet with an essay by Christie and introductions to each of the films.
This being a slightly better-looking presentation than that in the Movies Begin set noted below, this is our recommended home video edition of the film. North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.
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This Region 2 PAL DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Kino on Video
2002 DVD edition
The Movies Begin (1894-1913), black & white and color-tinted black & white, 414 minutes total, not rated, including The (?) Motorist (1906), black & white, 2 minutes, not rated.
Kino International, K236A-E, UPC 7-38329-02362-1.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc (five DVDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 5.8 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; five standard DVD keepcases in cardboard box; $99.95.
Release date: 19 February 2002.
Country of origin: USA
Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 8 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.
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 This NTSC DVD edition has been transferred from an archival 35mm print held by the British Film Institute that is very-good in quality. The presentation has been windowboxed to allow the maximum image to be seen on all televisions.
Of note is a brief section of repeated footage as the errant automobile falls off the rings of Saturn and crashes through the roof of a courthouse. This repetition is not the case with the BFI edition noted above.
If you do not own a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal (to view the other editions noted on this page), this would be our recommended home video edition of the film.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD boxset has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Edition Filmmuseum
2007 DVD edition
Crazy Cinématographe: Europäisches Jahrmarktkino 1896-1916 (1896-1916), black & white, ? minutes total, not rated, including The (?) Motorist (1906), black & white, 3 minutes, not rated.
Edition Filmmuseum, 18, UPC/EAN 4-260100-330186.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 PAL DVD disc (two DVDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 50 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; German language intertitles, optional English language subtitles; chapter stops; standard two-disc DVD keepcase; €29,95.
Release date: July 2007 (sceond edition, September 2007; third edition, August 2008; fourth edition, January 2012).
Country of origin: Germany
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This PAL DVD collection has been produced by Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg, Medienwissenschaft der Universität Trier.
The film is presented with a music score performed by Günter A. Buchwald or John Sweeney.
North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.
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This Region 0 PAL DVD edition is available directly from . . .
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Other EARLY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
Other BRITISH FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
Other SHORT COMEDY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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