Back in 2010 Lon & Debra Davis published a book entitled KING OF THE MOVIES: FRANCIS X BUSHMAN about the once popular but virtually forgotten larger than life personality and silent film star. I reviewed the book on Amazon back then and that review is still up to be read. Although this review will focus on this new release, I will say that the book is a wonderful source of information about the earliest days of the movies and it should be essential reading to anyone interested in film history.
THIS IS FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN is the initial offering in a new series from Flicker Alley called FLICKER FUSION.
Flicker Alley has been a purveyor of quality silent film home video since 2002 with their first release GARDEN OF EDEN. In addition to silent movies they have restored versions of Cinerama offerings from the 1950s, obscure titles such as SPRING NIGHT, SUMMER NIGHT, and forgotten Film Noir offerings like WOMAN ON THE RUN and THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF.
FLICKER FUSION plans to offer quality Blu-Rays at an affordable price that will focus on new projects, lesser known rarities, and archival restorations. THIS IS FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN combines all three as it is a video version of an existing book and features restorations of archival film material. Collaborating with Flicker Alley on this project are authors Lon & Debra Davis and the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. I can’t wait to see what else will be offered down the road in the FF series.
The main feature of the disc is the 60 minute titular documentary that contains a plethora of rare stills and clips from the movies’ earliest days as well as photos of Bushman at his height and at his nadir. Most of the doc is narrated by Bushman’s grandson Chris but the highlight is a restored audio interview with Bushman himself which runs throughout. The disc also comes with a number of bonus features including an interview with the author along with 4 restored short films from 1911-1926
The Capsule Critic 