Cheap Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film, Complete Set 1-13 (Video) (David Gill, Kevin Brownlow) Price

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Customer Reviews of Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film, Complete Set 1-13

THE DEFINATIVE DOCUMENTARY ON THE HISTORY OF SILENT FILMS.
I fell in love with this series when it first appeared on PBS. Not only was it an excellent documentary, it gave many viewers their first and, probably, last look at stars from the silent era; most of whom would be dead within the next 5 years. Also since saving film wasn't much a concern back then, many of the clips used have probably deteriorated to dust. My only complaint is that this excellent 11+ hours series isn't released on DVD in America, as yet, and I still have to lug out 13 individual VHS tapes to watch it instead of 2 or 3 DVDs in a compact case.

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Heartbreaking documentary/ Brilliant and British
Before there was Ken Burns to do it, there was an extraordinary documentary about silent film. Absolutely riveting in its wonderful arcana, in-person interviews, stock photos and footage, narration by James Mason, and the terrific music by the brilliant Carl Davis, this series is a must-see for anyone who loves film and wants to know where it all started!! There are facts and anecdotes here to amaze, and break the heart as well. Mason's voice-overs are perfect....one minute he's the objective narrator, and the next moment, his inflection can have you chuckling, or tearing up at the stories of all the various players in the early days of Hollywood. And has there ever been a more beautiful score for television, or film for that matter, than the work of Carl Davis?? His opening title alone for the credits is gorgeous, and the producers then use different pieces that Davis has composed for these silent films. If only his music had been available to the original producers and directors for them to hear. Obviously, Davis must be one of the biggest fans of silent film of all time. If you can get a copy of this series, do so. It is never shown on television anymore, and it's a terrible thought that this series could be lost through neglect the way so much of the film from the 20's and 30's has been lost. It has been estimated that more than half of all silent film has disintegrated or been disposed of. Let's hope that the producers of this major documentary series re-release it on DVD as soon as possible for the many fans who remember it, and for the many more fans who will, I'm sure, be thrilled to discover it.

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Is it now...or never?
The upcoming UK DVD release of this title has now been withdrawn, after several delays. I wonder what type of problems prohibit the DVD release of a 26 year old TV series, while seemingly everything else ever released on TV is in our DVD shops. The problems didn't seem to arise when releasing the title on VHS. <
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>The series is still the best survey of cinema ever made. In particular it is an extremely valuable record of the achievements of silent film and the opinions of the actors who starred in those films. <
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>A lot of people want this series on DVD. What a pity it is crumbling away on tape, soon perhaps to be lost for ever.