Archive
Charlie Chaplin Collectors’ Guide: Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914)
Charting the convoluted release history of the first feature length film for Chaplin, Keystone and comedy itself One of the most famous of all silver screen comedies, it was a huge success
Bootlegs Galore: The Great Alfred Hitchcock Rip-off
Contrary to popular belief, NONE of Hitchcock’s films are in the public domain – anywhere Years of speculation and misinformation by cocksure commentators muddy the waters The most pirated classic
Alfred Hitchcock Collectors’ Guide
First part of an in-depth series with a unique viewpoint on the Master of Suspense Reclaiming the roots of Hitchcock: focusing on the iconic director’s British years Best known for his
Charlie Chaplin Collectors’ Guide: A Burlesque on Carmen (1915)
Two big budget, dramatic versions of Carmen hit cinemas in 1915, inspiring Chaplin’s brilliant spoof But immediately on completion Chaplin’s original version disappeared, destroyed for decades Only mangled reissue edits
Beware of Pirates! How to Avoid Bootleg Blu-rays and DVDs, Part 4
Parodies and Bootlegging News It’s not all grim: the world of piracy and bootlegging provides much fodder for comedy Amazon and eBay are thieves’ global storefronts, but things are slowly
Beware of Pirates! How to Avoid Bootleg Blu-rays and DVDs, Part 3
Pirates and Their Victims Speak Behind the vast statistics of stolen films, real peoples’ livelihoods are being ruined Ultimately supporters of piracy pay twice for the price of condoning theft
Beware of Pirates! How to Avoid Bootleg Blu-rays and DVDs, Part 2
Pirate Companies and Distribution There are seemingly endless numbers of pirate labels, all hiding in plain sight Pointing the finger at those hardest to spot: those based in the Western
Multiple-Language Version Film Collectors’ Guide, Part 3
1933–1938 Films The international solution to language-restricted talkies passes its peak years However, many classics were yet to be made before the advent of WWII ended the practise The advent
Nosferatu: History and Home Video Guide, Part 8
The Many Faces of Orlok: Restored Versions on Blu-ray and DVD Count Orlok’s saga has metamorphosed through a bewildering variety of versions The restored releases have a total of seven completely different
Nosferatu: History and Home Video Guide, Part 7
Serenading the Undead: So Many Scores Count Orlok’s misdeeds have had countless live and recorded scores over the years The original 1922 première score no longer survives but there are