Author Archives: chipkaufmann

German director Paul Leni (1885-1929), almost a century after his death, is finally getting the recognition he deserves. His 4 most important films are now available on home video with the last two in quality Blu-Ray/DVD editions from Flicker Alley. For the record the films are 1) WAXWORKS (made in Germany in 1924) and theContinue reading “THE LAST WARNING (1929): Paul Leni’s Swan Song Beautifully Restored”

Like many reviewers, I first saw this version as a child and even as a kid I was not impressed. It looked positively low budget compared to the Charles Laughton version (I didn’t see the Lon Chaney version until many years later) and Anthony Quinn was certainly no Charles Laughton. Of course I saw itContinue reading “HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1957): Despite Flaws This Version Has Surprising Staying Power”

Now that the long awaited version of the long running musical has finally made it to the big screen, it’s a worthwhile exercise to go back and look at two celebrated American versions of Victor Hugo’s original source material. There are two French versions (1934, 1957) that run almost 4 hours and there is theContinue reading “LES MISERABLES (1935 / 1952)”

I first encountered Karel Zeman in the 1960s when the dubbed American version of INVENTION FOR DESTRUCTION known as THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE with an introduction by Hugh Downs aired on my local TV station. I had never seen anything like it. This is shortly before I discovered the illustrations of Gustave Dore’Continue reading “KAREL ZEMAN: Unique Film Fantasies Must Be Seen To Be Believed”

Of all the early film pioneers, I have always had a soft spot for Georges Melies. I love tricks and magic as they invite you to suspend disbelief and make you believe, if only temporarily, that anything is possible. After all that is what movies do especially silent movies and no one in the silentContinue reading “THE MAGIC OF GEORGES MELIES: An Absolutely Splendid Set”

Thanks to Martin Scorsese and his movie HUGO, most of the world now knows who Georges Melies is and where that iconic shot of the Man in the Moon with a projectile stuck in his eye came from. Up until now A TRIP TO THE MOON has been available in several different editions of varyingContinue reading “A TRIP TO THE MOON: The Ultimate Edition”

As a devotee’ of silent movies since seeing a Harold Lloyd compilation in 1962, I have always had a special place in my heart for the fantasy films of Georges Melies. For years all I knew was A TRIP TO THE MOON and THE DEVIL IN A CONVENT from stills. I first saw TRIP inContinue reading “MELIES – FAIRY TALES IN COLOR: Latest Combo From Flicker Alley Is Truly Mind Blowing”

THE BAT is the great granddaddy of all “old dark house” films. Immediately after its release in 1926, its success quickly spawned the much better known THE CAT AND THE CANARY the following year and director Roland West remade it as a sound film, THE BAT WHISPERS, in 1930. The gold standard for this typeContinue reading “THE BAT (1926): First Film Version And Still The Best”

THE BAT WHISPERS is Roland West’s 1930 sound remake of his 1926 version of Mary Roberts Rinehart’s long running comedy/mystery play THE BAT. While the earlier version had the benefit of a better all around cast including Jack Pickford and Louise Fazenda (which deserves a quality DVD release), this version was shot in an earlyContinue reading “THE BAT WHISPERS (1930): The Inspiration for BATMAN”

This DVD is a compilation of seven of the best titles from a six volume VHS set that was issued in 1996 and 2000 by Thanhouser Company Film Preservation Inc. of Portland, Oregon which is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of films made by the Thanhouser Company of New Rochelle NY between 1910 andContinue reading “THANHOUSER: A Real Eye Opener For Silent Film Buffs”