Birth of A Nation (1915) and Way Down East (1920) from Kino 11/22 - Reviews - Page 14 - Blu-ray Forum

Boob-Ray · 01-25-2012, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentblu

My Birth of a Nation seems to be stuck in the slipcover. Anybody know how to get it out?

Me too. It's stuck in there like a mother. I can't figure why they shipped them like that. The slip clearly wasn't made for the wide-body 3-disc cases. It's not tight - it simply don't fit.

adamhopelies · 02-09-2012, 02:07 PM

Does anybody know if Way Down East is region free? Thanks.

adamhopelies · 02-20-2012, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

Does anybody know if Way Down East is region free? Thanks.

To answer my own question, Yes, it is region free.

MPeriolat · 01-03-2013, 06:29 PM

Far be it for me to kick over a rock and start a debate anew, I'm actually wrestling with picking up Birth of a Nation myself to add to my collection of movies, but as a student of movies and culture, I am also painfully aware of its reputation. So, here to me are the pros and cons and my own internal struggle on the movie.

Pro: For good or ill, this was the birth of the modern feature film. Very few American made movies prior to BOAN were over 20-30 minutes at best. Griffith changed the rules and how movies were made and presented with one movie. It is for this reason the movie should be seen and respected.

Con: It is nakedly racist. There is no other way to even look at it. Just because it reflected cultural norms and acceptabilities of the time does not make it any less wrong now. It is for this reason the movie should be shunned as something disgraceful, something that actually revived the Klan which was forced underground following Reconstruction in the American South.

So, therein lies the issues for me. Am I going to get the movie? Eventually and inevitably, yes. Indeed, I am considering getting it and The Jazz Singer at the same time as the bookends for the silent era of Hollywood. But to me, the movie is a historical piece and a reflection of an era and of thought and nothing more. It does not make me racist, it does not make me wrong, it does make me educated and therefore capable of understanding the questions and issues and then able to debate them.

So, maybe even from a very dark and twisted seed, something beautiful can be cultivated, if that makes any sense.

sc1957 · 01-03-2013, 08:33 PM

Be careful... according to what you've written, just watching this film will make you join the KKK.

Watch it and enjoy it for what it is and for what it's meant to film.
And forget all that other stuff.

MPeriolat · 01-03-2013, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc1957

Be careful... according to what you've written, just watching this film will make you join the KKK.

Watch it and enjoy it for what it is and for what it's meant to film.
And forget all that other stuff.

Nah, just a film geek with a major in history and a minor in Poli Sci. Hard truth is the controversy is a part of BOAN's legacy and to ignore it is to ignore that history. It all has to be taken lump sum, contributions and detractions, profane and sacred.

SirEvolution · 04-11-2013, 03:25 PM

Is there a chance for a Criterion release of this? If so, I can hold off on buying this now.

bigshot · 04-11-2013, 06:07 PM

Kino has been doing a fine job on silent films. Their transfers are on a par with Criterion.

mshat18 · 04-11-2013, 06:26 PM

KKK is the same as the Black panthers or Nation of Islam.All of it is evil.

MTRodaba2468 · 04-11-2013, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirEvolution

Is there a chance for a Criterion release of this? If so, I can hold off on buying this now.

Not likely.

Kino's release is pretty good, so I wouldn't worry about holding out for a hypothetical release which probably won't happen...

Atreyu · 04-11-2013, 06:56 PM

I had seen bits and pieces Of Birth Of A Nation on TCM once and reading all these posts made me go and order the blu ray.

SirEvolution · 04-11-2013, 07:12 PM

@bigshot & MTRodaba2468,

Thanks guys, good to know. Haven't heard much about Kino releases but will get this.

DJ KNIGHT XIII · 04-11-2013, 10:26 PM

Just read this thread from the beginning to the end and I feel exhausted.

I first did a double take as I had no idea BOAN had been released on blu-ray, I have never watched this movie but I am aware of its reputation and place in history.

It was quite refreshing to read the different viewpoints expressed about this movie by members, especially the contributions made by Blu-Dog & Bigshot and this made quite a welcoming change from reading posts of "my steel book has a dent " or " my amazon order has not arrived ( I hasten to add I too have made these kind of posts

)

Will I be purchasing this movie ? Yes, will I enjoy it ? Probably not but as a "student " of film and a lover of blu-rays I feel I owe it to myself to at least watch it once.

jacksonwalker · 04-12-2013, 01:53 AM

Good for you. The Blu-ray is the best the film has looked so far. By the way, Griffiths’ next film "Intolerance" is also part of the Cohen Film Collection.:

The main feature in the set will have Carl Davis' score, but the set will also feature two stories that D.W. Griffith excised from Intolerance for re-release in 1919: The Mother and the Law, and The Fall of Babylon. I haven't done an exhaustive comparison, but the content of these two films is somewhat different from the footage that appears in Intolerance, including a completely different ending for one of them... which Griffith appears to have filmed as an alternate ending at the time, since it features the same actors in the same costumes, and is completely incompatible with the ending in Intolerance as it stands.

For more information, go to http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14524

bigshot · 04-12-2013, 02:10 AM

Any silent film with a Carl Davis score is worth getting.

Moe Szyslak · 04-12-2013, 02:21 AM

Does the BOAN blu-ray include the new version that plays "America F**k Yeah" during the credits?

m_007 · 04-12-2013, 03:43 AM

Every time I see BOAN in a forum the first claims are that this is a must see movie as it is the first real feature film released. In actual fact this is not true. Cabiria was released in 1914 - a year before BOAN and much less controversial. My $$$ are better spent on watching true innovation rather than someone collecting together ideas from other people and adding controversy to make a sale.

RBBrittain · 04-12-2013, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m_007

Every time I see BOAN in a forum the first claims are that this is a must see movie as it is the first real feature film released. In actual fact this is not true. Cabiria was released in 1914 - a year before BOAN and much less controversial. My $$$ are better spent on watching true innovation rather than someone collecting together ideas from other people and adding controversy to make a sale.

Yeah, and there were talking films before The Jazz Singer also, and 3D films before Avatar (not to mention it's Dances With Wolves with a bit of Titanic). Doesn't change the fact that Birth of a Nation, like The Jazz Singer and Avatar after it, changed the industry.

MasturB · 04-12-2013, 06:01 AM

Now I'm very intrigued to watch this.

04-11-2013, 06:56 PM	#271
Atreyu Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Dec 2008 Location:North Carolina Blu-ray collection:556 DVD collection:198 Blu-ray reviews:155 Trading Score:3	I had seen bits and pieces Of Birth Of A Nation on TCM once and reading all these posts made me go and order the blu ray. "If we're about to die anyways, I'd rather die fighting! Come for me Gmork, I am Atreyu!" "And use some of that cologne Gertrude got you for Christmas." "Oh do I have to Mother, it smells like ether?" "With pleasure."

04-11-2013, 10:26 PM	#273
DJ KNIGHT XIII Member Member since:Jul 2012 Blu-ray collection:31	Just read this thread from the beginning to the end and I feel exhausted. I first did a double take as I had no idea BOAN had been released on blu-ray, I have never watched this movie but I am aware of its reputation and place in history. It was quite refreshing to read the different viewpoints expressed about this movie by members, especially the contributions made by Blu-Dog & Bigshot and this made quite a welcoming change from reading posts of "my steel book has a dent " or " my amazon order has not arrived ( I hasten to add I too have made these kind of posts ) Will I be purchasing this movie ? Yes, will I enjoy it ? Probably not but as a "student " of film and a lover of blu-rays I feel I owe it to myself to at least watch it once. Last edited by DJ KNIGHT XIII; 04-11-2013 at 10:43 PM.

04-12-2013, 02:21 AM	#276
Moe Szyslak Senior Member Member since:Feb 2011 Home Theater Gallery:5 Blu-ray collection:378 DVD collection:48 PS3 collection:49 Trading Score:10	Does the BOAN blu-ray include the new version that plays "America F*k Yeah" during the credits? Last edited by Moe Szyslak; 04-12-2013 at 02:39 AM.*

04-12-2013, 06:01 AM	#279
MasturB Special Member Member since:Dec 2012 Blu-ray collection:386 DVD collection:30 PS3 collection:6 Trading Score:4	Now I'm very intrigued to watch this. Slipcovers Wanted Pandorum (lenticular), Sin City (Canadian), No Country for Old Men, Minority Report, Casino Royale, Pulp Fiction, Lawless, Where the Wild Things Are, Planet 51, Scott Pilgrim vs. World, Watchmen (lenticular), Stand By Me, Terminator

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02-09-2012, 02:07 PM	#262
adamhopelies Special Member Member since:Jan 2010 Location:Sheffield Blu-ray collection:67 Blu-ray reviews:1	Does anybody know if Way Down East is region free? Thanks.

01-03-2013, 06:29 PM	#264
MPeriolat Active Member Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Richmond, KY Blu-ray collection:94	Far be it for me to kick over a rock and start a debate anew, I'm actually wrestling with picking up Birth of a Nation myself to add to my collection of movies, but as a student of movies and culture, I am also painfully aware of its reputation. So, here to me are the pros and cons and my own internal struggle on the movie. Pro: For good or ill, this was the birth of the modern feature film. Very few American made movies prior to BOAN were over 20-30 minutes at best. Griffith changed the rules and how movies were made and presented with one movie. It is for this reason the movie should be seen and respected. Con: It is nakedly racist. There is no other way to even look at it. Just because it reflected cultural norms and acceptabilities of the time does not make it any less wrong now. It is for this reason the movie should be shunned as something disgraceful, something that actually revived the Klan which was forced underground following Reconstruction in the American South. So, therein lies the issues for me. Am I going to get the movie? Eventually and inevitably, yes. Indeed, I am considering getting it and The Jazz Singer at the same time as the bookends for the silent era of Hollywood. But to me, the movie is a historical piece and a reflection of an era and of thought and nothing more. It does not make me racist, it does not make me wrong, it does make me educated and therefore capable of understanding the questions and issues and then able to debate them. So, maybe even from a very dark and twisted seed, something beautiful can be cultivated, if that makes any sense.

01-03-2013, 08:33 PM	#265
sc1957 Active Member Member since:Jun 2010 Blu-ray reviews:1	Be careful... according to what you've written, just watching this film will make you join the KKK. Watch it and enjoy it for what it is and for what it's meant to film. And forget all that other stuff.

04-11-2013, 03:25 PM	#267
SirEvolution Member Member since:Jun 2012 Blu-ray collection:123	Is there a chance for a Criterion release of this? If so, I can hold off on buying this now.

04-11-2013, 06:07 PM	#268
bigshot Expert Member Member since:Aug 2010 Home Theater Gallery:6 Blu-ray collection:82 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:2	Kino has been doing a fine job on silent films. Their transfers are on a par with Criterion.

04-11-2013, 06:26 PM	#269
mshat18 Junior Member Member since:May 2011	KKK is the same as the Black panthers or Nation of Islam.All of it is evil.

04-11-2013, 07:12 PM	#272
SirEvolution Member Member since:Jun 2012 Blu-ray collection:123	@bigshot & MTRodaba2468, Thanks guys, good to know. Haven't heard much about Kino releases but will get this.

04-12-2013, 01:53 AM	#274
jacksonwalker Active Member Member since:Jul 2007 Blu-ray collection:300	Good for you. The Blu-ray is the best the film has looked so far. By the way, Griffiths’ next film "Intolerance" is also part of the Cohen Film Collection.: The main feature in the set will have Carl Davis' score, but the set will also feature two stories that D.W. Griffith excised from Intolerance for re-release in 1919: The Mother and the Law, and The Fall of Babylon. I haven't done an exhaustive comparison, but the content of these two films is somewhat different from the footage that appears in Intolerance, including a completely different ending for one of them... which Griffith appears to have filmed as an alternate ending at the time, since it features the same actors in the same costumes, and is completely incompatible with the ending in Intolerance as it stands. For more information, go to http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14524

04-12-2013, 02:10 AM	#275
bigshot Expert Member Member since:Aug 2010 Home Theater Gallery:6 Blu-ray collection:82 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:2	Any silent film with a Carl Davis score is worth getting.

04-12-2013, 03:43 AM	#277
m_007 Junior Member Member since:Feb 2008	Every time I see BOAN in a forum the first claims are that this is a must see movie as it is the first real feature film released. In actual fact this is not true. Cabiria was released in 1914 - a year before BOAN and much less controversial. My $$$ are better spent on watching true innovation rather than someone collecting together ideas from other people and adding controversy to make a sale.