Mack Sennett Collection: 100 Years of Keystone Comedy

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

I severely doubt that. Like many Kino releases, those were just taken "as-is". I'm sure if someone actually restored and/or reconstructed them - there is plenty of room for improvement.

Supposedly some of the more severely damaged shorts on the blu-ray, were in much better condition on other DVD releases (not from Kino). So that sort of implies there was at least some potential for alternate sources to clean up the most damaged sections.

You haven't seen those DVD releases! Some of the Keaton films survive in pristine condition and some are beat. It all depends on the title. The shorts have fared the worst.

[Tom Monahan]

Are these all silent films?

Sorry for the dumb question.

Tom

[bigshot]

Yes, and they all have wonderfully recorded scores.

[EddieLarkin]

C'mon bigshot, you're forgetting the Fields films are sound!

[Tom Monahan]

Close enough for me. Order placed.

[RipleyLV426]

Went through all the Chaplin Mutuals release and LOVED IT! There is some of the best restoration work I've seen overall on those so far! So I think I may have to get this Sennett set to complete the collection. Don't think it will ever really go down much in price, so I think I may bite at $38 with a coupon I have from Flicker Alley shipped.

[Bluyoda]

So, I am pretty disappointed that this is an MPEG-2 encode with a low bitrate
(15-18 Mbs) and lossy audio, but most importantly the PQ is not very good, though still better than the Buster Keaton shorts in the B.K. Collection from Kino. The Charlie Chaplin set is in AVC and looks beautiful.

Did anyone get a steelbook edition of the Sennett collection, because I got a Criterion style BD case, but the Charlie Chaplin one was a steelbook.
I didn't get a calender of a pin either, as others.

EDIT: I stand corrected: The first looks pretty rough, but it is from 1909. The other shorts I have seen so far look as good as the Charlie Chaplin shorts. Of course, the quality varies, due to the various sources they had to collect them from, but they have done a much better job than Kino with Buster Keaton, who seem to have slapped the films onto BD without any further cleaning up done.
I still find it odd, that the encode is MPEG-2 though.

[Tom Monahan]

How do you check your order status on flickeralley.com? I ordered this title days ago but haven't received an order comformation email

Thanks,
Tom

[Kevin Ridge]

I have had a couple chuckles here and there so far but I find this set much below Chaplin one. But it isn't really fair to compare them as Mutuals was pretty awesome. Stuff here does look pretty good though. Crazy to see something from 1909 look as well as it does. Am only half way through the first disk so still a lot more for me to watch so I do remain optimistic.

[bigshot]

I guess a lot of folks don't know what films from 1909 look like. This is the very earliest days of movies in the US. You are looking at ground zero on that first disk. The disks run chronologically. The meat of it is a bit further in.

These films have always been VERY difficult to see, and when they would be released, it would be in dim, choppy, dupey 16mm transfers. This set is a drop dead show stopper. Every short I watch off it opens my mind even more about what a great studio Sennett was. They didn't care about stories or personality or sentimentality. They were all about balls out funny action. Some of the stunts are astounding, and the editing is rapid fire. I had no idea that audiences back then could follow action cutting like this. Some of the chase scenes make modern movies look slow.

[RipleyLV426]

Can't wait to start fully experiencing the breadth of early shorts with this! LOVED the Chaplin set, which won't surpass this since I'm a Chaplin fanatic, but excited nonetheless to have this in my collection! Wish it was a steelcase too so that they would match next to one another.

[harpolini]

I got an email that this set is marked down to $34.95. Add promo code FLICKERFANS for 10% off. Total $31.46. It's today only for Cyber Monday.