[Released] Various Silents - 60fps - Improved Pulldown

[Nick_M]

Added: Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Sources: Kino BD, Eureka/Cohen BD

Neither release is ideal. The Cohen version has a nice scan, but is over-restored and has unnatural grain. Kino's has natural grain and minimal frozen temporal cloning, but the titles are brief fragments that loop, which is distracting once you see it, as you can see the same damage repeat. Both versions have footage not in the other, with differing source quality. Despite some sharpening and being an older transfer, Kino's version is more pleasing to look at in motion.

For my version, I replaced the titles on Kino's version with those from Cohen, which don't loop, and added grain to better match. I integrated one brief shot that was only in Cohen's. I deleted one instance of ugly frozen temporal cloning, though I didn't notice any others on Kino's disc. This resulted in two versions: one with Kino's scores at 24fps, and one synced to Timothy Brock's score at 60fps.

Available as 24fps BD (Kino scores), and 60fps MKV/1080i BD (Brock score). Blanks, postage, and proof of purchase required.

[Nick_M]

Added: The Valley of Silent Men (1922)

Source: Undercrank BD

Available as 60fps MKV and 1080i BD. Must provide blank media, postage, and proof of purchase.

[Nick_M]

Added: Blood and Sand (1922)

Source: Kino BD

Notes: Deleted interpolated frames, quick-reverse frames, and frames with excessive frozen temporal cloning.

Detailed look at the BD's shortcomings: https://badfilmrestoration.com/2023/07/2...sand-kino/

Available as 60fps MKV and 1080i BD. Must provide blank media, postage, and proof of purchase.

[Nick_M]

Added: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

Sources: Flicker Alley BD, Kino BD

This was tricky, since both versions are loaded with restoration artifacts. Details here: badfilmrestoration.com. I first worked as usual on the FA BD, which ended up being less than satisfying. Then I decided to sync the Universal restoration to the FA score, only to find different and more frequent artifacts, and they had different footage. This resulted in two versions.

- Flicker Alley version
- Universal's restoration synced to Donald Hunsberger's score, with significant holes filled in from the FA version

Processing artifacts are so prevalent that it was fruitless to delete all the frames with bad repairs, though I did get rid of some.

Lon Chaney home movie also included.

Available as 60fps MKV and 1080i BD. Proof of purchase, blank media, and postage required.

[Nick_M]

Added: Back Pay (1922)

Source: Undercrank BD

Available as 60fps MKV and 1080i BD. Proof of purchase, blank media, and postage required.

[Nick_M]

Added: Mother (1926)
           The End of St. Petersburg (1927)
Source: Flicker Alley BD

Available as 60fps MKV and 1080i BD. Proof of purchase, blank media, and postage required.

[Nick_M]

Added: The Spanish Dancer (1923)
Source: Milestone BD

Note: Corrected editing error (Detailed here)

Available as 60fps MKV and 1080i BD. Proof of purchase, blank media, and postage required.

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Added: The Funeral of Valentino (1926)
Source: BFI Valentino (1977) BD

Public domain.

[Nick_M]

Added: The Hands of Orlac (Orlacs Hände, 1924)
Source: Eureka BD

Filmarchiv Austria did a horrible restoration (details here). I removed interpolated frames and re-grained de-grained shots. It hardly seemed worth the effort, but I wanted to see how much it could be fixed (not much). At least it now has smooth motion and won't induce whiplash while watching it.

Available as 60fps MKV and 1080i M2TS. Proof of purchase, blank media, and postage required.