Lon Chaney: Before The Thousand Faces Volume 1 and 2 coming July 26 (BD-R)

[whiteberry]

Volume 1 (1 Disc)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B61R13BR/

Volume 2 (2 Discs)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B61R474H/

These BD-Rs are from Undercrank Productions who released the DVD:
https://undercrankproductions.com/lo...rom-1915-1916/

If it contains the same content as the DVD, these discs should contain:

• A Mother's Atonement (1915) - 20 mins
• If My Country Should Call (1916) - 24 mins
• The Place Beyond The Winds (1916) - 39 mins

[happydood]

I'm a fan and I can't believe I didn't know this already existed in a prior format. Did a little research and found info on the project when it first came to dvd from an old podcast I'm about to check out:

https://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=25425

For anyone who has seen them... what's the word?

[whiteberry]

I found a trailer for volume 2 that was posted on YouTube back in April:

A trailer for an upcoming DVD/Blu-ray release from Undercrank Productions featuring five early Universal Lon Chaney films.

Lon Chaney: Before the 1000 Faces, Vol. 2 Trailer - YouTube

According to the trailer, volume 2 will contain:

• The Scarlet Car (1917) - New scan from the Library of Congress 35mm preservation negative
• Triumph (1917) - New scan from the sole 16mm negative
• By The Sun's Rays (1914) - New scan from the sole 16mm negative
• The Oubliette (1914) - New 4K scan from the Library of Congress nitrate print
• The Millionaire Paupers (1915) - Only surviving 5 minute fragment

If I had to guess, volume 1 will contain the movies that were on the DVD:

• A Mother's Atonement (1915) - 20 mins
• If My Country Should Call (1916) - 24 mins
• The Place Beyond The Winds (1916) - 39 mins

[whiteberry]

From the comments on the YouTube trailer:

Are these complete films?

THE SCARLET CAR, BY THE SUN'S RAYS and THE OUBLIETTE are essentially complete. For TRIUMPH, only Reels 1-3 of 5 survive and the final two reels have been reconstructed from the copyright records. THE MILLIONAIRE PAUPERS is just a 5-min fragment of a 5-reel film.

[whiteberry]

The press release for the DVD which has restoration information for the movies that will presumably be on volume 1:

Lon Chaney: Before the Thousand Faces contains three feature films from this era: A Mother’s Atonement(1915), If My Country Should Call (1916) and The Place Beyond the Winds (1916). Each has been newly scanned from the only surviving archival 35mm prints, preserved by the Library of Congress, and all three films feature new musical scores by Jon C. Mirsalis.

Jon Mirsalis, both a Lon Chaney historian and well-known silent film accompanist, selected these three rare titles for this release, having first seen and impressed by them in the late 1970s. The films have not been in circulation largely because each is incomplete, missing 1 or 2 reels. For this release, Mirsalis has reconstructed missing footage with titles based on contemporary reviews and copyright records. The films’ new availability gives Chaney fans the opportunity to see him in dramatic, supporting roles before starring for Universal and then MGM in the 1920s.

Lon Chaney: Before the Thousand Faces features 2K scans from 35mm preservation materials from the Library of Congress. Both A Mother’s Atonement and If My Country Should Call are from the Library of Congress’ Dawson City collection, a huge cache of lost silent films discovered in the Yukon in 1978 recently profiled in Bill Morrison’s documentary Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017).

https://bottomshelfmovies.com/rare-l...hemed-silents/

[whiteberry]

LON CHANEY: BEFORE THE THOUSAND FACES - VOL. 2 contains five more rare dramatic silent films from 1914-1917 in which Lon Chaney has a supporting role, selected by Chaney historian Jon Mirsalis. Lon Chaney's film work from the 1920s is well-known and- with the exception of the notoriously lost A Blind Bargain (1922) and London After Midnight (1927) - is mostly available on home video. In contrast, only 24 of the 111 films Chaney made at Universal in the 'teens survive, and only about 13 are complete. The films on this set have been curated from the Library of Congress and private collections; missing scenes and titles have been reconstructed where possible, and new musical scores have been created for each by Jon C. MIrsalis. The films on this 2-disc set: BY THE SUN'S RAYS (1914) - THE OUBLIETTE (1914) - THE MILLIONAIRE PAUPERS (1915) - TRIUMPH (1917) - THE SCARLET CAR (1917). Blu-ray is NTSC, Region-free. This product is an authorized manufactured on demand BD-R

https://www.amazon.com/Lon-Chaney-Be...dp/B0B61R474H/

[whiteberry]

LON CHANEY: BEFORE THE THOUSAND FACES contains three early feature-length dramatic silent films, made 1915-16 for Universal, in which Lon Chaney has a supporting role. These films have never been available for fans and are seen here in new 2K scans of 35mm elements preserved by the Library of Congress. Because of their age and rarity, some nitrate decomposition is visible in these films. The films were restored and scored by Jon C. Mirsalis. The films: A MOTHER'S ATONEMENT (1915) - IF MY COUNTRY SHOULD CALL (1916) - THE PLACE BEYOND THE WINDS (1916). Blu-ray is NTSC, Region-free. This product is an authorized manufactured on demand BD-R

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B61R13BR/

[thisis2]

..so these appear to be BD-Rs and not pressed discs..?

[filmlover22]

well, Amazon listing has "This product is an authorized manufactured on demand BD-R"4
That is pretty clear to me.

While normally I steer away from BD-Rs, I might make an exception in this case.

This is a small company doing this work and typically only releases DVDs. It is my understanding that it is a lot more money to produce true pressed BD than BD-R. Maybe if this sells well enough and they make enough profit, future releases could be pressed. We will see!

[whiteberry]

The release date is now August 2 according to Amazon.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Did anyone actually check out Undercrank's Lon Chaney blus and can give us a short review? I am also interested in the Frank Borzage double feature and their recently announced Tom Mix westerns.